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Item Item Environment impact assessment for the proposed land clearing and tree relocation project in Fulhadhoo island, Baa atoll(2018-02) CDE ConsultantThe purpose of this document is to fulfil the requirements to get necessary environmental clearance from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to carry out the proposed land clearing and tree relocation project at Fulhadhoo Island, Baa Atoll. The proponent of the project is B.Fulhadhoo Island Council. This EIA also serves as a document to be submitted to Ministry of Tourism (MoT) to transport trees from Fulhadhoo to Bolidhuffaru Reef reclamation project. An EIA has already been approved for Bolidhuffaru Resort project. However, the report excludes landscaping components, as the vegetation source islands were not identified at the time. The original EIA recommended preparing EIA Addendums when the vegetation source islands were identified. MoT now accepts reports submitted to EPA (and Decision Notes) if the project boundaries span multiple agency jurisdictions. Hence this report and Decision Note will be submitted to MoT to seek construction approval for landscaping. Fulhadhoo Island is in need for land clearing to create an access road to the western end of the island. The island council requires removing the vegetation within the road foot print but has been unable to do so due to the need for heavy equipment. The landscaping contractors for Bolidhuffaru Resort development project approached the Island Council with an offer to clear the required land in return for the opportunity to transport the trees to Bolidhuffaru for transplantation. The aim of the project from proponent’s perspective are to create the planned ring road around the island and assist in better access to the western sand spit for the booming guest houses on the island. From the contractor’s perspective the aim is to acquire a portion of the native landscaping plants required to landscape Bolidhuffaru Resort. The project has three main components: (i) Vegetation removal; (ii) transplantation, and (iii) demobilization and clean-up. Vegetation removal involves mobilization and site setup, identifying and marking areas to be cleared, and vegetation uprooting and backfilling.Transplantation involves site preparation at receiving site, transporting trees, transplantation and maintenance . The final component is demobilizing equipment and cleaning up the sites. The proposed site for land clearance is located on the undeveloped western part of Fulhadhoo island. The vegetation in this part of the island is modified with forestry areas. The proposed site (road) for vegetation removal contains both forestry areas and natural vegetation zones. The proposed dredging site has been dredged before and is currently used as a basin. The site is predominantly made up of coral sand and does not contain any live coral colonies. All project designs are in conformance to most of the laws and regulations of the Maldives, and relevant international conventions that Maldives is party to. The key laws and regulations applicable to this project are: Environmental Protection and Preservation Act, Environmental Impact Assessment Regulation 2012, Tourism Related Environmental Impact Assessment Regulation 2015, Waste Management Regulation, Regulation on Cutting Down and Uprooting Trees, and Dredging and Reclamation Regulation. The project at present is non-compliant to some of the clauses in Dredging and Reclamation Regulation. Due to the geography of the island, the proposed borrow site falls within 500 m of the reef edge, same as most of the dredging works done on the island so far. A section of the site falls within 50 m of shoreline but it has to be noted that there is an existing basin within this distance. Project will require special consideration and approval from EPA on grounds of high socio-economic benefits. EPA has the authority to provide approval in exceptional circumstances. Additional approvals are required from EPA for land clearing and dredging and reclamation before commencement of project activities. The most significant impact of this project is the impact on terrestrial biodiversity. It is anticipated that approximately 245-260 trees and plants, including 135-150 palms may need to be removed from Fulhadhoo during land clearing. All trees that are useable for replanting will be transferred to Bolidhuffaru resort and replanted. Impacts will also be felt on marine biodiversity due dredging and associated direct removal of marine flora and fauna, turbidity and sedimentation; contamination of marine and ground water and soil due to accidental spillage/leakage of fuel and waste; salinization of ground water due to use of dredged sand for backfilling and risks to the health of construction workers. There will also be positive impacts on the island community due to improved access to the western beach of the island and subsequent improvement in guesthouse businesses, and in the form of employment and business opportunities. Mitigation measures have been proposed to minimise anticipated impacts. These include replanting two trees for every tree removed from the island at designated areas in Fulhadhoo Island, storing the vegetation removed in a nursery, making reusable green waste available for the community, and restricting excavator movement within predefined routes. This report has evaluated alternative options for the most significant anticipated impacts. The options evaluated include the ‘No project’ option, alternative locations for borrow sites, alternative tree relocation sites, and alternative green waste disposal options. Since land clearing for road development is a necessity for the island and the disadvantages of not using the opportunity to transplant the trees are higher than the advantages it presents for the Island Council, it is recommended to proceed with the project with the mitigation measures proposed in this report. Consultations were carried out with members of Fulhadhoo Island Council. Island community of Fulhadhoo, Baa Atoll Council, Baa Atoll Biosphere Reserve Office, Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure, Ministry of Environment and Energy, project contractor, and Bolidhuffaru Resort Developer. Fulhadhoo Island Council and Fulhadhoo public were very welcoming of the project as it is believed that the project will benefit the entire community. The Environmental Management Plan (EMP) for this project is designed to produce a framework for anticipated impacts, including practicable and achievable performance requirements and systems for monitoring, reporting and implementing corrective actions. In addition, it will also provide evidence of compliance to legislation, policies, guidelines and requirements of relevant authorities. Monitoring plan is designed to assess any changes to the physical environment as a result of the project activities. Environmental monitoring cost of pre-construction stage (if required) is approximately MVR 35,000. Monthly environmental monitoring cost during the construction phase is MVR 25,000. The main conclusion of this report is to move forward with the proposed development on grounds of high socio-economic benefits. Environmental and socio-economic risks associated with the project are expected to be significantly reduced if the mitigation measures and monitoring programme presented in the report are properly implemented within the framework of the environmental management plan.Item Environmental impact assessment : the flood mitigation project at Feydhoo, Addu city(2018-01) Water SolutionsThis report discusses the findings of an environmental impact study undertaken by Water Solutions Pvt. Ltd. at the request of Ministry of Environment and Energy. This EIA report covers the storm water management project at Feydhoo of Addu City in Maldives. This project would be undertaken on all the flood vulnerable roads of Feydhoo with a total length of more than 5 kilo metres. Feydhoo is one of the islands that is very vulnerable to floods and past such events has caused damages and losses to properties and wellbeing of the people. Due this the government has selected Feydhoo to undertake the flood mitigation project which will be implemented by the Ministry of Environment and Energy and later the operation and maintenance will be handed over to one of the state owned utility company such as FENAKA or MRDC. The proposed project would help to improve the living condition of the island and facilitate the development of the island. The environmental impacts have been assessed and the proposed storm water management system and associated work of the project has been assessed. The storm water management system development and associated work of the project would have some irreversible impacts on the island of Feydhoo. The impacts of the project results mainly from dust, noise, backfilling and levelling of the road surface at the island. There is no requirement for backfilling materials as the excavated material will be adequate and a sand burrow area is not required. The implementation of the project would have socio-economic benefits not only to the Feydhoo Island, but as whole to the group of islands in the city. The socio-economic benefit outweighs far more than the negative impacts of the project on the physical environment of the Feydhoo. Mitigation measures for these anticipated impacts have been identified and outlined in detail, including measures for minimizing negative effects of generation of waste. These mitigation measures will have to be followed in order to minimize environmental damage. The details of the project have been established based on the concept design, detailed design and the land use plan that had been developed for Feydhoo. Alternative designs and technologies have been investigated for the different components of the project. However, the present project design seems to be a feasible option in terms of costs, durability and safety. An environmental management plan with environmental monitoring has been developed including the most important elements that require regular checks. This monitoring component need to adhere to and would allow assessing the changes to the island environment due to the road development project. Although the project involves inevitable negative environmental impacts, such impacts are predicted to be not severe as to not undertake the project in accordance with the concept plan developed for the island. The project is justifiable in light of the socio-economic conditions and anticipated benefits resulting from the project, which seem to outweigh the negative environmental impacts.Item Environmental impact assessment for the proposed outer reef maintenance dredging project in Maafaru island, Noonu atoll(2018-02) CDE ConsultantThe purpose of this document is to fulfil the requirements to get necessary environmental clearance from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to carry out the proposed maintenance dredging and widening of the outer reef entrance of Maafaru Island, Noonu Atoll. The project is part of International airport development project in Maafaru, which has an existing EIA Approval. This EIA was meant to be an EIA Addendum to the project but did not qualify as an Addendum. As per EIA procedures, additional activities, although it is part of an existing project, cannot be addressed in an EIA Addendum, if the site is 500 m away from the approved project site. The proponent of the project is Regional Airports, Ministry of Tourism, Maldives. The main additional works proposed are to widen and deepen the existing outer reef entrance and to build a temporary sand bed to unload construction material and equipment on to the airport site. The changes are required to allow the Contractor’s barge to access the lagoon and the airport site for unloading. The existing reef entrance and lagoon depths are not suitable for the proposed barge to access. The proposed channel widening activity offers significant benefits to the local community and the airport. The channel is narrow and with the increase in traffic during airport operations, a widened channel offers a welcome development to the community, especially since the harbour redevelopment project is also ongoing on the island. The proposed sand bed offers no specific benefit to the community but is meant to be removed. To-date 3 EIAs have been prepared for this project for different proponents. This report takes note of the progressive changes that have taken place over the life of the project since 2009. The most recent report was approved 2 months ago. Hence, some of the baseline data used in this report uses the latest EIA results especially closer to the island. New assessments were conducted on the outer channel area. Most components of the proposed developments are generally in conformance to the laws and regulations of the Maldives. Dredging and Reclamation Approval is required from EPA. The two proposed work sites have been heavily modified in the past. The outer channel was dredged before and the proposed location for the temporary sand bed has been used to create a similar temporary sand bed by the previous developer. Thus the foot print of the impact is largely limited to previously dredged areas. Significant impacts associated with dredging and reclamation activities are present in this project. However, given the work is being undertaken on previously dredged foot prints and due to the short-time frame of works the overall impacts are expected to be moderate compared to an untouched area. One of the most critical impacts highlighted in the assessment is the potential for dredge waste to create further environmental issues, including continued turbidity due to erosion and deposition in the dredged channel. After discussions during Scoping Meeting, Island Council meeting and Proponent consultations, it has been recommended to avoid disposing the dredge waste on the side of the channel and to transport them back to the Airport Construction site to be used for reclamation. This will help reduce the overall reclamation foot print as envisaged in the original EIA. The Island Council also sought to address the possibility of creating a new channel instead of widening the existing channel. This was due to the presence of three patch reefs in front of (but 180 m away from) the channel. The Contractor and the Proponent identified that it may be difficult to accommodate a new component to the project that has significant budget implications. Alternative options have been evaluated for the most significant impacts. Options to avoid the temporary sand beds, create a new channel and to dispose channel dredge waste was considered. Among these a new option to dispose the dredge waste preferred, as explained above. Consultations were carried out with members of Noonu Maafaru Island Council. Island community of Maafaru, Regional Airports - Ministry of Tourism, and Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure. Maafaru island council and the public are in favour of this project since the project is beneficial for the community. An Environment Management Plan (EMP) and Monitoring Plan (MP) are presented in this report that addresses the new activities. However, the EMP and MP presented here must be combined with the programmes presented in the Original EIA. Overall the community of Maafaru, and island council were welcoming of this project. It offers benefits to the community and the airport during operations stage. Thus, this report concludes that the project should be implemented on grounds of very high socio-economic benefits.Item Item Environmental impact assessment for establishment of sewer network at Aa. Ukulhas(2018-01) Wahhab, Mahfooz Abdul; Adam, Ibrahim RashihuThe purpose of this EIA is to critically analyse and assess the potential environmental impacts associated with the establishment of a sewer network in AA.Ukulhas 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; Existing sewer situation at the aforementioned island are not proper and are subject to cause ground water contamination. In this sewer establishment project, sewer facilities are proposed to be constructed at a location whereby public nuisance could be minimised along with little disturbance to the natural setting of the proposed locations of sewer facility and allied pump stations for the network. All the components of the sewer network will be constructed according to EPA specification complying to both MEE and EPA regulations; Additionally, this study also involved identification of several alternative locations for laying the outfall and selecting the most ideal location based on thorough study of the current patterns, proximity to the public recreational beaches and ease of design effectiveness. The preferred locations were selected based on best met design criteria of EPA and environmental options; The construction works of sewer network 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 to Thilafushi and most importantly following the EPA guidelines for operation of sewer system; Potential groundwater contamination from damages to sewer network, potential impacts to marine life from discharge of sewerage from the outfall, excavation and dewatering are the most significant environmental impacts associated with the project. Therefore, it is extremely important to follow the proposed mitigation measure, relevant guidelines and regulations and the operation and maintenance manual of the sewer system during the operational phase. Overall, the proposed project is expected to bring in positive outcomes. It is expected that the newly established sewer network will ensure safe sanitation services to islandާ community in addition to greatly reducing further disturbance and contamination of the ground water and surrounding environment; and Monitoring is essential to ensure that environmental thresholds are not exceeded and mitigation measures proposed are working. Ground water and marine water quality monitoring will be done according to the proposed monitoring schedule.Item Environmental impact assessment report : construction and operation of Maniyafushi field station Maniyafushi, Kaafu Atoll(2018-01) Land and Marine Environmental Resource GroupThe proposed project is a continuous project implemented by the MRC and executed by MOFA, which will seek funds for its continuation. The project is an extension of an existing mariculture research and development operation, focusing on research and development of mariculture techniques for the brown marbled grouper, milkfish, sandfish and local varieties of sea cucumbers such as the white teatfish. In addition, the project will target on establishing research and capacity for coral reef studies and reef fisheries. In the immediate term, mariculture research and development capacity will be established to facilitate the establishment and development of a mariculture industry in the country. The project aims at establishing production capacity for approximately 25,000 pieces of fingerling size groupers per production cycle to pilot viability of grow out operations. Further, the project aims at developing research capacity for sea cucumber hatchery technology as well as the production of milkfish. Impacts on the environment from various activities of the construction work and during the operation of the facility have been identified through interviews with the project management team, field data collection and surveys are also based on past experience of consultant in similar development projects. The impacts identified are also described according to their location, extent and characteristics. Mitigation measures have also been identified for impacts which are irreversible in nature. Impact analysis was done using the Leopold matrix. Impact analysis showed that impact of highest significance is on seawater quality as majority of the project is established in the lagoon and sea. The proposed development is expected to bring significant socioeconomic impacts on the locals, especially the island communities as the project will mainly focus on training Atoll communities interested in grouper and sea cucumber farming on a large scale. Since there is a high demand for export business of these two species, it will bring high economic benefits to the local communities. Moreover, it will create many job opportunities especially for the unskilled workers. Mitigation measures are discussed in the report for potential impacts, including measures to minimize the impacts on seawater quality, such as regular change of water (by 25%) of the closed hatchery system and avoiding trampling outside project boundary. Detailed mitigation measures are discussed in Section 11 of the report. Alternatives have been considered for the specific location of the grow-out pens. The ‘no project’ alternative is also considered. If this alternative was to be chosen, this would mean that all negative environmental impacts which would arise due to construction would not be there. However, the ‘no-project’ scenario would take away an opportunity the local communities to explore a highly rewarding economic venture.Item Environmental impact assessment for the dredging of a seaplane strip at Dh. Kudahuvadhoo airport(Dhaalu Airport Holdings, 2018-12) SandcaysDhaalu Airport Holdings Pvt. Ltd. proposes to develop its seaplane operations as part of the Domestic Airport which has been recently opened after reclaiming 62.81hectares of land from the southern lagoon of Kudahuvadhoo, Dhaalu Atoll. The seaplane runway is a 60m x1000m and the taxiway is 30mx450m rectangular strips of lagoon dredged in the shallow area between Kudahuvadhoo and recently reclaimed airstrip. A seaplane terminal is also proposed to be developed. Kudahuvadhoo Island is located on the southern side of Dh. Atoll on geographic coordinates of 72.893716 longitude and 2.671707 latitudes having a land area of 71.2Hectares. The proposed seaplane facility at Dhaalu Airport will be subject to the key legal instruments including Environmental Protection and Preservation Act (No. 4/93), Civil Aviation Act (No. 2/2001) of Maldives. Thus, it must satisfy the EIA process according to the EIA Regulations and get approval as well as conform to the Dredging and Reclamation Regulation as well as civil aviation standards and safety measures. The construction work involves the main activities to be carried out including dredging and reclamation, shore protection measures, levelling of the land, development of paved roads, terminal building, pontoon jetties and other related infrastructure. All utilities including water, sewerage, waste management, fuel services and electricity are currently in place and additional facilities would not be required. The main activity that will be involved with the development of this project in the marine environment is dredging of the shallow lagoon and disposal of dredge material at the project site. The proposed dredging takes place between already reclaimed areas devoid of any coral. Therefore, there would be negligible or few minor negative impacts on the reef areas of Kudahuvadhoo. However, there would be possible shoaling of dredged areas and water quality deterioration in the proposed seaplane taxiway and part of the seaplane runway due to stagnation. Aircraft operation will cause noise pollution due to aircraft or its components, during various phases of a flight: on the ground while parked such as auxiliary power units; while taxiing; on run-up from propeller and jet exhaust during take-off; underneath and lateral to departure and arrival paths; over-flying while en-route or during landing time. However, as discussed in the airport EIA, noise sensitive places such as schools and hospitals are already at considerable distance and future developments would also take this into consideration. Owing to the intermittent nature of aircraft noise due to low traffic, it is not considered to be of significance even with the addition of the seaplane operations.A detailed environmental monitoring programme has been included in the EIA for Airport development, which is sufficient to cover the proposed operations. Therefore, the programme has been revised and included in this EIA. The overall environmental impacts of the project assessed using appropriate matrices, professional experience/judgement and the results obtained on existing situation of Kudahuvadhoo indicated that the proposed project has net positive impact compared to a few (mostly cumulative) negative environmental impacts. Given that the project has major socio-economic benefits although there would be some negative environmental impacts, it is recommended to allow the project to proceed as proposed.