Environment - ތިމާވެށި
Browse
37 results
Search Results
Item Post-tsunami infrastructure rehabilitation project : rehabilitation of 6 selected harbors : social and environmental impact assessment for the rehabilitation of the harbor in Makunudhoo island, Haa Dhaal atoll(2007-11) SOGREAH Consultants; Water SolutionsThis report discusses the findings of a social and environmental impact study undertaken by Water Solutions Pvt. Ltd. and SOGREAH consultants of France upon request from Ministry of Construction and Public Infrastructure. The project involves the rehabilitation of the existing harbour in Makunudhoo, Haa Dhaal Atoll with improved infrastructures. This project is initiated by the government of Maldives with funding from Agence Française de Dévelopement” (AFD) as part of the Tsunami rehabilitation programme. The harbour of Makunudhoo has been damaged to various extents and requires repair and upgrading, including deepening the harbour basin, and increasing slightly the size. A detail assessment of the environmental and social conditions was assessed based on which a rehabilitation project has been proposed. This EIA has been prepared to assess the social and environmental impacts of this proposed rehabilitation project. Major environmental impacts of the project have been identified as resulting mainly from dredging and disposal of dredged materials. Dredging will be undertaken in the harbour basin and to some extent in the access channel. In view of the assessment, the environmental damages to marine resources have not been considered major due to the limited boundary of the project and also due to confined nature of the project. The impacts are likely to be felt on an estimated 5% of the lagoon and reef‐flat of that extensive reef system. These environmental impacts were assessed for both construction and operation phase of the project. Mitigation measures for these anticipated impacts have been identified and outlined in detail, including sedimentation control methods and other measures. These mitigation measures will have to be followed in order to minimize environmental damage. Stakeholder consultations were held with various groups, including the community and the client in order to incorporate the socio‐ economic components in the project. The proposed rehabilitation plans for Makunudhoo has been prepared after considering the needs and requirements from the community by assessing and incorporating the outcomes from the extensive community consultations held during the data collection stage. It is inevitable that there would be some negative environmental impacts, especially when dredging is undertaken. However, these minor negative impacts out weight the socioeconomic benefits gained by rehabilitating the harbour. As a result, a comprehensive monitoring component has been suggested which takes in to consideration, the most important elements that require regular checks. This monitoring component will be adhered and will allow the assessment of long term changes, despite the limited nature of the impact. The most important consideration is the socioeconomic impacts that have been assessed mainly as positive in nature. Not only they are positive, but most importantly in the long term. Therefore, it appears justified from a technical and from an environmental point of view, to carry out the proposed rehabilitation project if the island is to absorb the economic gains achieved by the project.Item Environmental impact assessment for the proposed construction of housing units at Hanimaadhoo(Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, 2008-05) Water SolutionsItem Environmental impact assessment for the proposed redevelopment of island hideaway at Dhonakulhi Island Resort, Haa Alif Atoll, Maldives(2011-03) Water Solutions3 Non Technical Summary This report discusses the findings of an environmental impact study undertaken by Water Solutions Pvt. Ltd. for the proposed redevelopment of Island Hideaway resort at Dhonakulhi Island in Haa Alif Atoll. Dhonakulhi is formed on its own reef system. The island is located at about latitude of 6°50'40.54"N and longitude of 73° 3'4.15"E. The island is formed on an isolated coral reef system, almost round in shape and east of another triangular shaped reef called Mathifaru. The reef is on the northern rim of Haa Alif Atoll. The house reef on south eastern side is approximately 200 m from the island’s southern side and varies between 30 to 60 meters on the western side. On the west of the island’s house reef is a narrow channel approximately 100 meters wide and with an average depth of 20 meters at the deepest part. This narrow channel separates Mathifaru and the reef of Dhonakulhi and is well known to have very strong currents. The proposed redevelopment consists of two major components, namely over water development and development on land. Over water development consists of constructing a new set of water villas (different categories), over water restaurants, and a presidential suit, while the redevelopment activities on land includes new developments on the island. Following are the major components of this development: Development of 74 new water villas with an access jetty (over water). Development of the pool bar (on land). Construction of new junior staff quarters (on land). Upgrading and extension of theatre bar and disco (on land). Construction of new senior staff bungalows (on land). New Japanese / Thai restaurant (over water). New Arabic restaurant (over water). New presidential suit (over water). New owners villa (on land) New conference hall (on land) Environmental impacts of the proposed redevelopment works have been examined through a number of processes. The report has identified that the impacts of the redevelopment process will mainly be felt on the marine and coastal environment. Impacts on the marine environment will be felt through sedimentation and siltation caused by the construction activities on the lagoon during this period. Impacts on the coastal environment will be felt as a result of developing new structures on the lagoon resulting in alteration of the sediment and long shore patterns. Fortunately, the lagoon where new water villas will be developed does not contain much live corals. On the overall, the redevelopment process will have the greatest impacts during the construction period. Terrestrial impacts are not going to be significant, but there will be vegetation clearance to some extent to make way for new land structures. The resort’s redevelopment plan have been designed and developed to increase the number of guest rooms without disrupting the existing guest rooms on the island. The guest rooms on Dhonakulhi have been developed with lot of space and privacy for each room, which is the defining characteristic of the resort. Large rooms, with complimentary services and facilities like private decks, pools, living space and bar per each guest room requires lot of space which cannot be compromised. Such compromises will affect the special requirements for the existing guest villas on the island. Therefore the goal of the developers is to create additional room without disturbing this balance in the island. Hence, all new guest rooms will be developed over water. A significant impact will also be felt with the increasing demand for water and energy production. With the additional facilities and services offered, there will be a higher demand for energy. Production of increased amounts of water will also require more energy and thus there will be an overall increase in the emission of green house gases. Several mitigation measures have been identified including working in low tide hours, proper supervision. In addition, limiting construction to the minimum time period possible and a management and monitoring plan has also been identified as mitigation measures. These measures are proposed in order to mitigate the impacts on the coral reef and generally the marine environment. Finally, the report provides a conclusion which outlines the alternatives, the mitigation measures and the environmental monitoring that will be undertaken in Dhonakulhi Resort.Item Environmental impact assessment for the proposed concept change in Vagaru, Shaviyani Atoll, Maldives(2011-03) Water SolutionsThis report discusses the findings of an environmental impact study undertaken by Water Solutions Pvt. Ltd. upon request from Vagaru holdings Pvt Ltd to assess the impact of the proposed concept change in Vagaru. The project involves bringing some modifications to the original concept for Vagaru. Vagaru island has been under construction since 2006 and over the past 4 to 5 years, the change in the hotel operator has created the need to bring some concept changes in order to align with the new operators requirements. Most of these proposed modifications do not involve any physical alteration of the environment. However, some components of the change do involve physical alteration of the environment. Environmental impacts of the proposed project have been identified as resulting mainly from the construction of the new additional water villas and from the creation of the entrance channel. In view of the assessment, the environmental damage to marine resources have not been considered major from the water villa construction as this area has already sustained a lot of damage over the course of the construction. However, the impact of creating the channel has been considered significant. Mitigation measures for these anticipated impacts have been identified and outlined in the report, including sedimentation control methods and other measures. These mitigation measures will have to be followed in order to minimize environmental damage. In this project, it is inevitable that there would be negative environmental impacts. However, these negative impacts are applicable only for some of the proposed changes. Therefore, it appears justified from a technical and from a developmental point of view, to carry out the proposed modification project in light of the existing and future needs of the developer.Item Environmental impact assessment for the proposed reclamation of 24 hectare at Thimarafushi, Thaa Atoll, Maldives(2011-12) Water SolutionsThis report discusses the findings of an environmental impact assessment undertaken by Water Solutions Pvt. Ltd for undertaking the propose reclamation of 24 hectares in Thimarafushi island, Thaa Atoll. An area of 240,000 square meters or24 hectares will be reclaimed in order to expand the available land space for Thimarafushi, mostly for housing and industrial activities. This EIA report discusses the findings of the reclamation project. The project is proposed by Ministry of Housing and Environment. The biggest challenge facing Thimarafushi is lack of space and overcrowding. Reclamation is a real need for Thimarafushi as the island is saturated and there are no additional land for housing plots nor industrial activities. The presently reclaimed area, although it is quite huge, most of which cannot be used for domestic use as majority of this land will be allocated to develop an airport and its boundaries. The present population of the island is 2817 and there are 350 households. This is 8 people on average per house. The island needs an additional 400 houses as existing houses are over crowded and too many families having to live in the same house is creating social and health issues. Twenty hectares will be reclaimed from area 1 and approximately 50% of this area would be usable domestic purposes due to airport development restrictions. Further development of Thimarafushi can only be achieved through creating additional land. Reclamation is therefore very much a serious requirement for the people as lack of space is causing many problems. Environmental impacts were assessed and most of the environmental impacts of the project have been identified as resulting mainly from the coral reef damage from dredging and reclamation works. Mitigation measures for the negative impacts have been identified and outlined in detail, especially sedimentation control methods. The most important mitigation measure is the use of bund walls in the fill areas. The proposed mitigation measures will have to be followed in order to minimize environmental damage. The measures proposed to minimize or mitigate environmental impacts may be considered to be quite appropriate, thereby minimizing the impact by about 90%. The main negative environmental impact of the proposed project would be sedimentation and destruction of the lagoon and some areas of the reef, which will cause death or partial death of corals. Coastal protection of the reclaimed area 2 will be undertaken in order to protect the shore. The project is mainly driven by the economic gain to the development of Thimarafushi, mainly through benefits achieved from increased land.Item Environmental impact assessment for the proposed coastal protection of Summer Island (Ziyaaraifushi Island), North Male’ Atoll, Maldives(2011-01) Water SolutionsThis report discusses the findings of an environmental impact assessment undertaken by Water Solutions Pvt. Ltd for undertaking the coastal protection works at Summer island resort (Ziyaaraifushi). Summer island is currently under operation. For many years, the island has been a victim of chronic erosion. As a result, various coastal protection methods have been used to combat and manage erosion. However, despite these measures, the problem of erosion seems to be taking its toll and the northern part of the island has suffered greatly as a result. Although Summer island has various types of coastal protection structures build around the island, not all of them are functioning and some areas of the coastline are undergoing very serious erosion. Some of the rooms have been completely destroyed and in response, desperate measures have been taken around the island. Roughly 400 meters of emerged breakwater is already constructed on the eastern side of the island from coral rubble, but most of it is now damaged and do not perform the function for which they were designed for. Repairs and realignment of the breakwater is thus required in order to make them properly functional. The coral rubble from which the breakwater has been constructed have failed due to their small size as the exposure of the breakwater to extreme weather do not match their design capacity. Summer island is in desperate need for new, robust and durable coastal protection measures as without them, the island will further fall victim to erosion. This report outlines the details of such measures proposed which includes the rehabilitation of damaged structures, construction of new structures and compensation for erosion through beach replenishment. This EIA is focused on measures aimed at controlling this ongoing and chronic erosion.The proposed project conforms to all prevalent environmental and tourism legislation and thrives to achieve its objectives in the most environmentally friendly manner. Environmental impacts were assessed for both the construction and operation phase of the project. Most of the environmental impacts of the project have been identified as resulting mainly from beach replenishment. The main impact from beach replenishment would be that of sedimentation of the lagoon. This impact is considered to be short‐term and cumulative. The other most significant impact will be the permanent alteration of the shore due to the new coastal protection structures proposed. These structures are going to change the shape and size of the beach line permanently.Item Item Environmental audit at Maafushivaru for the registration of existing desalination plant and powerhouse(2011-03) Water SolutionsThe Ministry of Housing and Environment requires that desalination plants and powerhouse in the Maldives are registered. In order to carry out the registration process, environmental clearance is required from EPA. A decision statement regarding the Environmental Impact Assessment of the power and water infrastructure needs to be obtained from EPA. In order to provide such clearance EPA requires that an environmental audit be done for existing facilities. Environmental Protection Agency has decided that an Environmental Audit Environmental is required for the registration of desalination plant under the Desalination Regulation of the Maldives and Guidelines for Power System Approval issued by the Maldives Energy Authority. The objective of the report is to: to assess the environmental performance of the existing powerhouse and desalination plant at Maafushivaru to facilitate the application to register of existing powerhouse and desalination plant according to the requirements of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Maldives Energy Authority. To demonstrate the commitment by the proponent to undertaken environmental monitoring. To fulfill the obligations of the proponent to undertake an EIA under Clause 5 of the Environmental Protection and Preservation Act of the Maldives and requirements of the Tourism Regulations.Item Environmental audit at Four Seasons Landaagiraavaru for the registration of existing desalination plant(2011-03) Water SolutionsThe Ministry of Housing and Environment requires that desalination plants in the Maldives are registered. In order to carry out the registration process, environmental clearance is required from EPA. A decision statement regarding the Environmental Impact Assessment of the water infrastructure needs to be obtained from EPA. In order to provide such clearance EPA requires that an environmental audit be done for existing facilities. Environmental Protection Agency has decided that an Environmental Audit is required for the registration of desalination plant under the Desalination Regulation of the Maldives. The objective of the report is to: to assess the environmental performance of the existing desalination plants to facilitate the application to register of existing desalination plant according to the requirements of the Environmental Protection Agency To demonstrate the commitment by the proponent to undertaken environmental monitoring To fulfill the obligations of the proponent to undertake an EIA under Clause 5 of the Environmental Protection and Preservation Act of the Maldives and requirements of the Tourism RegulationsItem Environmental audit at Kuramathi for the registration of existing desalination plant and powerhouse(2011-01) Water SolutionsThe Ministry of Housing and Environment requires that desalination plants and powerhouse in the Maldives be registered. In order to carry out the registration process, environmental clearance is required from EPA. A decision statement regarding the Environmental Impact Assessment of the power and water infrastructure needs to be obtained from EPA. In order to provide such clearance, EPA requires that an environmental audit be done for existing facilities. Environmental Protection Agency has decided that an Environmental Audit Environmental is required for the registration of desalination plant under the Desalination Regulation of the Maldives and Guidelines for Power System Approval issued by the Maldives Energy Authority. The objectives of the report are: • to assess the environmental performance of the existing powerhouse and desalination plant at Kuramati • to facilitate the application to register the existing powerhouse and desalination plant according to the requirements of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Maldives Energy Authority. • To demonstrate the commitment by the proponent to undertaken environmental monitoring. • To fulfill the obligations of the proponent to undertake an EIA under Clause 5 of the Environmental Protection