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Item Environmental impact assessment for the proposed water production and distribution facility at Hanimaadhoo, Haa Dhaal Atoll, Maldives(2016-11) Zuhair, Mohamed; Abdul Fathah, Mariyam Shujaa-ath; Shareef, Mohamed1. The purpose of this EIA is to critically analyse and assess the potential environmental impacts associated with the development of the proposed water production and distribution facility at HDh. Hanimaadhoo and expose the solutions and preferred alternatives as well as mitigation measures to minimize any negative impacts whilst trying to derive the maximum positive impacts from the project; 2. Currently, rainwater is widely used in all houses as cooking water and groundwater is used for various other domestic uses. Almost all houses have a rainwater storage tank. Bottled water is now mainly used as drinking water. Nevertheless, the groundwater lens in the islands of Maldives is depleted and highly saline due to over use and polluted in some areas and not fit for use for domestic purposes. Even though rainwater is widely used, it is not a reliable source as rainwater cannot be collected during dry season. Therefore, it is understood that Hanimaadhoo is in dire need of a clean water facility; 3. In the proposed facility the water production system is designed for 15 years whereas the distribution system for 35 years; 4. Proposed project involves installation of an RO plant with a capacity of 100 tonnes per day with three independent drains. Seawater intake is proposed from two bore wells 13 m deep at a site near the desalination plant. In addition to the bore wells, the facility will also incorporate rain water collected from public roofs, hence this is an integrated water resource management facility. Project also includes laying of distribution pipeline to existing household and a fire hydrant system; 5. A full baseline of groundwater quality, seawater quality, vegetation clearance and marine environment was established. It was found that the vegetation need to be cleared from the pump station location. Marine environment study showed that living substrata and fish count at the proposed outfall location was low due to dynamic oceanographic conditions that exist on the eastern side of the island with waves, swells and heavy currents which prevents settlement of new corals. Additionally, it is a high mixing zone; 6. The construction works of new powerhouses presented in this report are not expected to adversely impact the environment if the mitigation measures mentioned in the report are followed. The most important mitigation measures are daily maintenance of machinery, following chemical handling procedures, waste segregation and storage in closed labelled containers until disposal; 7. Overall, the proposed project is expected to bring in positive outcomes. It is expected that the newly established water production and distribution facility will ensure water security to the population of Hanimaadhoo in addition to greatly reducing health impacts associated with the use of polluted water; and 8. Monitoring is essential to ensure that environmental thresholds are not exceeded and mitigation measures proposed are working. Water quality and marine environment monitoring shall be done as per to the proposed monitoring schedule.Item Environmental impact assessment proposed beach and swimming area development Himmafushi Island, Male’ Atoll(2016-06) Zuhair, Mohamed; Shakir, IbrahimThe Secretariat of the Himmafushi Council (Himmafushi Island Council), Male’ Atoll proposes to develop a beach having 220m on the northern side of the island and a swimming are within the lagoon on the northern side. The swimming are will be developed after removing seagrass found within the lagoon from an area having 1,300sqm. It is expected that a total of 3,252cbm of material will be obtained from the removal of seagrass. The seagrass content will be removed before the material will be used on the proposed beach. The proposed beach will be developed having an average width of 10m and a height of 1.4m above MSL. Two methods of material excavation will be used during the project implementation. Initially removal of seagrass will be undertaken by use of excavator and sand from the area will be obtained by using a sand pump. Under the Maldives Environmental Protection and Preservation Act (Law No. 4/93) and EIA Regulation 2012, the proposed beach and swimming area development project requires an EIA to be carried out. The report presents major findings of the EIA report. This EIA is prepared as per the Terms of Reference (TOR) approved by Environment Protection Agency (EPA) on 20 March 2016. Baseline environmental condition of the proposed project site as well as socio-economic environment was conducted for which the environmental impacts and mitigation measures as well as project alternatives are presented. It was found that there is a great need from the community for developing the beach and swimming area on the island, which is recognized as an important community need. The assessments carried out on the biophysical environment on the northern side of the island indicate that the coral reefs within the project boundary had very little live coral cover and limited reef fish abundance and diversity. The depth of the project area ranges from -0.4m MSL in the nearshore areas to -0.8m MSL at the proposed burrow site. The current flow was from east to west reaching to speeds of 0.14m/s and 0.18m/s. The area in close proximity to the project has known surf points. Most of the lagoon environment was covered with seagrass Thalassia hemprichii. There are two Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) within close proximity of the project location. Thamburudhoo Thila MPA is located close to the project site at distance of 1.2km NE and Lankan Thila MPA is located 5km SW. There are two Sensitive Sites (SSs) within the vicinity of the project site, they are Huraagandu SS located at a distance of 4.3km north and Okebe Thila SS located at a distance of 7.4km SW. Key environmental impacts from the proposed project will be from sedimentation to the reef areas on the northern and NW sides, changes in the hydrodynamics of the burrow area and nearshore lagoon on northern side of the island as well as potential changes to the northern shoreline of the island and these impacts can be reduced by implementing various environmental management and mitigation measures such as undertaking excavation, sand pumping and beach nourishment operations coinciding with low tide and on calm days to reduce spread of sedimentation as well as undertaking the operations in the quickest possible timeframe to reduce impact exposure period. Although there are some environmental impacts from the proposed project, most of these impacts can be reduced and mitigated by use of appropriate methodology and timing. The effectiveness of these methodologies can be documented by implementing a comprehensive monitoring programme. Also, with positive socio-economic outlook of the project and the community needs for the project, it is concluded that the project should go ahead as planned.Item Environmental impact assessment for the proposed water production and distribution facility at Milandhoo, Shaviyani Atoll, Maldives(2016-12) Zuhair, Mohamed; Abdul Fathah, Mariyam Shujaa-ath; Shareef, Mohamed1. The purpose of this EIA is to critically analyse and assess the potential environmental impacts associated with the development of the proposed water production and distribution facility at Sh. Milandhoo and expose the solutions and preferred alternatives as well as mitigation measures to minimize any negative impacts whilst trying to derive the maximum positive impacts from the project; 2. Currently, rainwater is widely used in all houses as cooking water and groundwater is used for various other domestic uses. Almost all houses have a rainwater storage tank. Bottled water is now mainly used as drinking water. Nevertheless, the groundwater lens in the islands of Maldives is depleted and highly saline due to over use and polluted in some areas and not fit for use for domestic purposes. Even though rainwater is widely used, it is not a reliable source as rainwater cannot be collected during dry season. Therefore, it is understood that residents of Milandhoo are in urgent need of a clean water facility; 3. In the proposed facility the water production system is designed for 15 years whereas the distribution system for 35 years; 4. Proposed project involves installation of an RO plant with a capacity of 65 tonnes per day with three independent drains. Seawater intake is proposed from two bore wells 30 m deep at a site near the desalination plant. In addition to the bore wells, the facility will also incorporate rain water collected from public roofs, hence this is an integrated water resource management facility. Project also includes laying of distribution pipeline to existing household and a fire hydrant system; 5. A full baseline of groundwater quality, seawater quality, vegetation clearance and marine environment was established. Marine environment study showed that living substrata and fish count at the proposed outfall location was low; 6. The construction works of new RO plant presented in this report are not expected to adversely impact the environment if the mitigation measures mentioned in the report are followed. The most important mitigation measures are daily maintenance of machinery, following chemical handling procedures, waste segregation and storage in closed labelled containers until disposal; 7. Overall, the proposed project is expected to bring in positive outcomes. It is expected that the newly established water production and distribution facility will ensure water security to the population of Milandhoo in addition to greatly reducing health impacts associated with the use of polluted water; and 8. Monitoring is essential to ensure that environmental thresholds are not exceeded and mitigation measures proposed are working. Water quality and marine environment monitoring shall be done as per the proposed monitoring schedule.Item Environmental impact assessment for the proposed water production and distribution facility at Hoarafushi, Haa Alif Atoll, Maldives(2016-11) Zuhair, Mohamed; Abdul Fathah, Mariyam Shujaa-ath; Shareef, Mohamed1. The purpose of this EIA is to critically analyse and assess the potential environmental impacts associated with the development of the proposed water production and distribution facility at HA. Hoarafushi and expose the solutions and preferred alternatives as well as mitigation measures to minimize any negative impacts whilst trying to derive the maximum positive impacts from the project; 2. Currently, rainwater is widely used in all houses as cooking water and groundwater is used for various other domestic uses. Almost all houses have a rainwater storage tank. Bottled water is now mainly used as drinking water. Nevertheless, the groundwater lens in the islands of Maldives is depleted and highly saline due to over use and polluted in some areas and not fit for use for domestic purposes. Even though rainwater is widely used, it is not a reliable source as rainwater cannot be collected during dry season. Therefore, it is understood that residents of Hoarafushi are in dire need of a clean water facility; 3. In the proposed facility the water production system is designed for 15 years whereas the distribution system for 35 years; 4. Proposed project involves installation of an RO plant with a capacity of 80 tonnes per day with three independent drains. Seawater intake is proposed from two bore wells 13 m deep at a site near the desalination plant. In addition to the bore wells, the facility will also incorporate rain water collected from public roofs, hence this is an integrated water resource management facility. Project also includes laying of distribution pipeline to existing household and a fire hydrant system; 5. A full baseline of groundwater quality, seawater quality, vegetation clearance and marine environment was established. Marine environment study showed that living substrata and fish count at the proposed outfall location was low; 6. The construction works of new powerhouses presented in this report are not expected to adversely impact the environment if the mitigation measures mentioned in the report are followed. The most important mitigation measures are daily maintenance of machinery, following chemical handling procedures, waste segregation and storage in closed labelled containers until disposal; 7. Overall, the proposed project is expected to bring in positive outcomes. It is expected that the newly established water production and distribution facility will ensure water security to the population of Hoarafushi in addition to greatly reducing health impacts associated with the use of polluted water; and 8. Monitoring is essential to ensure that environmental thresholds are not exceeded and mitigation measures proposed are working. Water quality and marine environment monitoring shall be done as per to the proposed monitoring schedule.Item Environmental impact assessment for proposed farming development project in B. Aidhoo Island(2016-11) Zuhair, Mohamed; Shakir, IbrahimMr. Mohamed Saeed of M. Snowflakes has proposed to develop a farming project on Aidhoo Island located in Baa Atoll. As part of the project, it is proposed to undertake different types of farming methods by using modern technology including setting up of a vertical farm, hydroponics farm, orchid farm and container farm. Separate plots will be developed for each farming method where lettuce, tomato, melon, chili, cucumber, bell pepper, etc are proposed to be produced. The project will be developed with all support facilities, services and infrastructure. This EIA is prepared as per the Terms of Reference (TOR) approved by Environment Protection Agency (EPA) on 19 October 2016. For such development projects, a mandatory EIA is required as per the EIA Regulations of 2012 before commencement of any activity relating to the project. The scope of this EIA is to assess the existing environmental condition of Aidhoo Island and surrounding environment, identify potential environmental impacts, propose environmental management and mitigation measures to minimize environmental impacts as well as propose an environmental monitoring plan with appropriate environmental parameters to monitor changes on a regular basis. Aidhoo Island is located at 5°11'13.73"N and 73°9'48.93"Eand is found on the eastern periphery of Baa Atoll rim in a single reef system. The island is found on the western parts of the reef in an elliptical shape similar to the reef and has an orientation from E-W. The closest inhabited island is Dhonfanu located at 4.2km west, the closest tourist resort is Kihaad Maldives located at 3km west and the closes uninhabited island is Hanifaru Island found within Hanifaru Marine Protected Area located at 1.5km SW of Aidhoo. The Domestic Airport in Dhravandhoo is found 4.5km south. The island is about 280m long from the longest point and 115m wide from the widest point and has an approximate area of 2.3ha. The island has healthy vegetation in the middle parts and young and pioneering vegetation all around it. A dynamic sand spit is found on the western tip of the island while surf breaks are found on the eastern side of the island. During the construction period, key environmental impacts are believed to occur from site clearing and construction waste disposal. During operation a number of significant environmental impacts have also been envisaged including solid waste disposal and inappropriate methods of wastewater disposal from the island will generate long-term impacts on the environment including effects on island environment, changes in reef community structure, damage to coral reefs and degraded seawater quality, etc The socio-economic impacts of the proposed development have been identified to be mostly positive. These include, opening of new employment opportunities, contribution to improving living standards of nearby communities through direct and indirect economic benefits, development of skills as well as contribution to the local economy from the above. In order to mitigate and reduce environmental impacts from the proposed project, key considerations have been given to minimize vegetation clearance on island for facilities and farming development, development of an appropriate waste management center with equipment and staff. An Environmental Monitoring Plan, which will be implemented during construction and operation phases of the development will be undertaken. An environmental monitoring report will be prepared twice a year, which will be submitted to relevant government authorities. Although there are a number of environmental impacts from the proposed development, most of these impacts can be reduced and mitigated by use of appropriate methodology. The effectiveness of these methodologies can be documented by implementing a comprehensive monitoring programme. Also, with positive social and economic outlook of the project and considering the overall contribution of the project to local and national economies, it is concluded that the project could be undertaken.Item First addendum to the EIA report for the proposed coastal protection works in AA. Ukulhas(2016-04) Zuhair, MohamedThis is the First Addendum to the project’s approved main EIA, which has been prepared for obtaining permit and environmental clearance for a new burrow site that will be used for obtaining required fill material for the request by the AA Ukulhas Island Council to extend the project shoreline to 2005 shoreline. The Proponent of the project is Ministry of Environment and Energy and the contractor of the project is SAS e Senok JV Pvt. Ltd. As part of this Addendum, it is proposed to obtain additional 13,125cbm of sand from the extended burrow site located close to the approved burrow site. The request by the AA Ukulhas Island Council was agreed by Ministry of Environment and Energy and further 2 months have been added to the original project scope. It is a legal requirement under the Amended EIA Regulation 2012 EIAs/Addendums for projects that are believed to generate negative environmental impacts. This Addendum has been prepared as per the approved Terms of Reference (TOR) on 12 April 2016. The scope of this Addendum is to assess the existing environmental condition of the proposed project areas and surrounding environment, identify potential environmental impacts, propose environmental management and mitigation measures to minimize environmental impacts as well as propose an environmental monitoring plan with appropriate environmental parameters to monitor changes on a regular basis. A detailed environmental assessment was undertaken as part of the main EIA and marine and coastal environmental assessments relevant for the proposed project have been used as the baseline environmental condition in this Addendum. The major environmental impacts from the proposed dredging and filling works are direct removal of reef section of the new burrow site, effects of sedimentation within the surrounding environment, changes in the lagoon hydrodynamics as well as increased turbidity in seawater due to sedimentation. Careful planning and scheduling of the proposed activities to coincide with calm days and low tide operations has been proposed as the main mitigation measures in addition to regular monitoring of the various aspects of the environment. Although there are a number of environmental impacts from the proposed development, some of these can bring permanent changes to the environment of the island, other impacts can be reduced and mitigated by use of appropriate methodology. The effectiveness of these methodologies can be documented by implementing a comprehensive monitoring programme. Also, with positive social outlook of the project and considering the overall need for the project, it is concluded that the request by the AA Ukulhas Island Council to be implemented.Item Environmental impact assessment for proposed access channel and boat mooring area deepening in Fehendhoo Island, Baa Atoll(2016-03) Zuhair, MohamedThe Secretariat of the Fehendhoo Council (Fenhendhoo Island Council) proposes to develop an access channel and a boat mooring area by deepening a 244m long, 10m wide access channel and a 45.75m long and 30.50m wide boat mooring area on the northern side of Fehendhoo Island. These areas will be excavated to a depth of 3m at low tide. Also, as part of the proposed project, a retain wall by use of concrete blocks on the island-ward side of the boat mooring area will be undertaken. An area of 2,440sqm from the access channel and an area of 1,395sqm from the boat mooring area require to be excavated as part of the proposed project. A total of 6,100cbm from the access channel and 3,488cbm from the boat mooring area (total 9,588cbm) will be obtained from these locations. Two areas have been identified for use of the excavated material from the proposed project including use of material on the small islet by the existing partial access channel on the northern side and on the NW shoreline of Fehendhoo where long-term beach erosion has been identified. Under the Maldives Environmental Protection and Preservation Act (Law No. 4/93) and EIA Regulation 2012, the proposed deepening of access channel and boat mooring area project requires an EIA to be carried out. The report presents major findings of the EIA report. Baseline environmental condition of the proposed project site as well as socio-economic environment was conducted for which the environmental impacts and mitigation measures as well as project alternatives are presented. It was found that there is a great need for developing an access channel and a boat mooring area on the island, which is recognized as an important community need. The assessments carried out on the biophysical environment indicate that the coral reefs within the project boundary had very little live coral cover and limited reef fish abundance and diversity. The depth of the project area ranges from 2.7m on the north to 0.4m on the south below MSL. The current flow was from north to south taking a slightly westward direction and strong currents were identified on the outer reef area and decreased currents were observed in the lagoon closer to the island. Most of the lagoon environment was covered with seagrass in the nearshore and isolated corals, rubble and rock in the middle lagoon areas. As a result of the proposed project during construction phase, some environmental impacts such as sedimentation, direct destruction of lagoon habitats, turbid marine water quality and certain degree of impacts to corals and seagrasses have been identified. Most significant impacts based on evaluation will be from excavation works where the impacts have been identified to be moderately significant. With regards to mitigating most severe impacts, work will be carried out during low and on calm days in order to reduce spread of sedimentation related impacts. Although there are some environmental impacts from the proposed project, most of these impacts can be reduced and mitigated by use of appropriate methodology and timing. The effectiveness of these methodologies can be documented by implementing a comprehensive monitoring programme. Also, with positive socio-economic outlook of the project and the community needs for the project, it is concluded that the project should go ahead as planned.Item Environmental impact assessment for resort development in K. Akirifushi, North Male’ Atoll(2014-08) Riyaz, Mahmood; Zuhair, MohamedThis is the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report carried out for Akirifushi Investmentt Pvt. Ltd to develop and operate a resort in Akirifushi Island located in North Western part of Male Atoll. Akirifushi development project involves creation of land through reclamation and develop and operate 70 room high-end tourist resort with all the necessary facilities and amnesties. The EIA was prepared as fulfilment of the requirement by the Ministry Tourism (MoT) for granting permission for the project. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of development projects is a requirement by the Environmental Protection and Preservation Act (EPPA) (law 4/93) of the Government of the Republic of Maldives. The total cost of the proposed project is approximately 20 million USD. The project will be developed within 18 months. The project will create a relatively large number of direct and indirect employment opportunities for the Maldives. Therefore the project will significantly contribute to the economic growth, particularly tourism sector, and other relevant socioeconomic activities This report has been prepared in accordance with the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations published by the Ministry of Environment and Energy 2012 and covers both negative and positive environmental and socio-economic impact arising from the proposed project in Akirifushi Island. Major findings of this report are based on information gathered during the field inspection of both the existing environment and possible effects of the project activities, through extensive literature review and experiences gained from similar projects elsewhere in the Maldives. The proposed project activity will take place on Akririfushi Island and Falhu. Akirifushi Island is an uninhabited island and lies in an E-W oriented triangular shape reef on the western periphery of North Male Atoll. The island is situated on the south western end of Akirifushi Falhu in a north south orientation. Akirifushi ISland is a vegetated rubble cay (Huraa). Vegetated area of Akirifushi is approximately 8000 m2 and island area is approximately 1.4 hectares. Total area of the reef where Akirifushi Island is situated is approximately 75 hectares. After the land reclamation the area of the island will be 8.2 hectares. The island is characterized by fairly young natural vegetation mainly consisting of Kaani, Hirundhu, Dhigga, to a great extent and Magoo, Kuredhi, Boa Kashikeyo and Boashi to a smaller extent in the coastline. A small area covered in Kandoo (mangrove) is found on the northern side of the island in a slight depression where the ground gets occasionally flooded from tidal fluctuations. Only a couple of planted young Ruh were found in the middle of the island. The dominant vegetation on the island was observed to be Kaani, which was mostly found on the eastern parts as well as mixed with other vegetation such as Dhigga and Hirundhu in the middle parts. On the southern side, patches of Magoo were observed while on some of the northern parts mixed coastal vegetation including Magoo, Kuredhi, Boa kashikeyo and Boashi were found Akirifushi Island is found in a single reef on the NW rim of North Male’ Atoll. The reef is triangular in shape with western side slightly curved and the island is located almost at the edge of this curvature. The length of the reef including the reef slope from west to east is estimated to be 1km and the width of the reef from north to south is estimated to be 960m. The total area of the reef is estimated to be 75ha with most parts found in shallow lagoon. The large and deep Vilu on the eastern side of the island occupies almost 15% of the whole reef, while the island and the smaller Vilu on the northern side occupy approximately only 3% each of the whole reef. Hence, the shallow lagoon of the reef is approximately 79% and mostly comprised of sand and rubble, while the western side mostly composed of dead rocks. The general condition of the reef in terms of percent live coral cover is low approximately 10%. During the preparation of the EIA report an impact matrix, which is a standard tool for identifying the possible impacts of project activities, has been created for proposed development project in Akirifushi Island. The activities carried out during the construction and post-construction or operational phases are arrayed against a selection of environmental factors that may be affected directly or indirectly as a result of project activities. The report has identified and described in detail possible change that would occur to the existing condition of the environment caused during the construction phase and have suggested appropriate mitigation measures for each and every impact identified in the report. Dredging has been identified as the most significant negative environmental impact that could be associated with the proposed development. Liquid, solid and other forms of wastes and particularly hazardous waste generated during the construction and operational phase has also been identified as significant impact associated with the project and appropriate mitigation measures are suggested for each and every waste related impact identified in the study. The study has evaluated alternative options for some components of the project and has suggested some modifications to the shape of reclaimed area. Also the report found, based on the similar project activities elsewhere in the Maldives, the island and the reef will recover from the expected impacts rapidly and will re-establish a new ecological balance soon. However the report has come-up with an extensive monitoring programme that will keep on monitoring the environmental changes associated with the development and make necessary adjustment to the activities of the project based on the findings of various measured environmental parameters suggested in the monitoring plan. The report has identified the following beneficial effects form resort development in Akirifushi: Increased direct employment and training opportunities; Improvements in environmental quality of the island; Stimulation of local economy, cultivation and small business opportunities for nearby island communities; and Increased government revenue and increased GDP. The report found no evidence that the resort development in Akirifushi requires or involves any of the following environmental or socio-economic impacts. loss of unique habitat or wilderness areas; resettling of local communities; removing or destroying cultural properties; contravening national government of the Republic of Maldives, or island community policies, regulations, criteria, customs or aspirations concerning environment, economy, employment, cultural traditions or life styles. On the basis this environmental impact assessment study and the impact mitigation measures proposed in the report will be duly implemented and recommendations are given due consideration, it is concluded that the benefits of the planned resort development in Akirifushi Island will substantially outweigh its imposition on the environment.