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Item Environmental impact assessment : for the Proposed resort development in Dhoores island, Dhaalu Atoll, Maldives(2013-08-01) Abdul, AleemThis report discusses the findings of an environmental impact study undertaken by Water Solutions Pvt Ltd for the development of Dhoores Island in Dhaalu atoll in to a resort. This project is proposed by Vermillion Pvt Ltd of Maldives to develop Dhoores as a resort. The resort will be completed and under operation in 2014 with a total bed capacity of 90. Dhoores is located inside Dhaalu atoll, slightly on the western side on its own reef system. The island will be developed to a resort with 45 rooms. The development of Dhoores will include only land structures and no over water structures are proposed. All the public facilities including restaurant, kitchen, staff area, fuel storage, waste management area etc. are located inside the island. All of the guest villas will be developed on land, mostly on the periphery of the island to take advantage of the beach environment.The design of Dhoores concentrates the guest villas on the periphery of island and public facilities are concentrated on the western side. The staff and back of house areas will be developed in the centre of the island. Two jetties are proposed to be constructed in Dhoores, located on the northern side of the island. Access to this jetty (labelled jetty 1 located on the north-west) is aligned with an existing entrance channel. However, this access channel is narrow and hence it is proposed to widen and deepen this entrance channel so that large Dhoni‟s can access the jetty head during construction period as well as during the operational period. It is proposed to construct this jetty first which will also be used as a temporary jetty. The dredged material from the channel will be deposited on thewestern side of the jetty as a means of protecting the leeward side of the channel. The deposited material will protected using jumbo bags which will ensure that the sand remains in one mass. Although the approved site plan indicates an L-shaped jetty head, the construction of the jetty will not consider the L-shaped jetty head for jetty 1. The second jetty (jetty 2) will be constructed on the east of jetty 1 and will require creation of an access channel and a mooring basin towards the jetty head (refer to the project description section for details of the breakwater and dredging details). The jetty head will be L-shaped with rock boulders placed underneath to create a safe mooring space. The breakwaters underneath the jetty head will prevent wave action inside the mooring basin, creating a protective area for boats to moore at all times. It is proposed to develop this jetty at a later stage of construction. The dredged material from the channel and the mooring basin will be used as core material for the breakwater and excess will be used as backfilling some island infrastructure at the back of house. During the construction stage, construction waste will be managed by periodically transporting them to Thilafushi. During the operation stage, management of the resort‟s waste will be undertaken through the waste management centre that will address all the types of waste generated in the island. Wastes that can be managed on the island, such as green waste and food wastes will be managed on the island using a combination of incinerators, composting and deep water disposal. This EIA report has identified impacts during construction and operational stage. During the construction stage, impacts will be felt on the terrestrial, coastal and the marine environment. Impacts on the marine environment will be felt through sedimentation and siltation caused by the construction activities on the lagoon and the associated indirect impacts on the coral reef, during this period. Coastal impacts will also be felt as a result of alteration brought about. Terrestrial impacts will be felt through land clearing and cutting of trees. The most significant impacts during the operational stage will be felt as a result of the on-going waste generation and how well it is managed during the operational stage. Baseline data has, therefore, been collected in order to monitor the changes to the terrestrial, coastal and marine environment which will be identified in periodical monitoring reports. Alternatives to the project have also been considered in detail and several alternatives to the proposed project were considered. The advantages and disadvantages of these alternatives have been discussed and they include environmental as well as financial reasons. Therefore, several design consideratioalthough initially were considered, has been rejected due to these reasons. Towards, the end of the report, a monitoring programme has been suggested which covers components of terrestrial, coastal and the marine environment. These include coral cover and marine water quality among many other parameters. The opening of the resort will increase the bed capacity of Dhaalu Atoll and the Maldives and hence increase job opportunities in the tourism sector. This will have a profound impact on the geographical distribution of jobs and open up opportunities for people of Dhaalu atoll to engage in a job close to their islandItem Environmental impact assessment report : harbour developments works at Hulhumeedhoo, Addu City(2010-04) Land and Marine Environmental Resources Group1. This Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report is to fulfill the regulatory requirements under the Environmental Protection and Preservation Act of Maldives prior to the proposed harbor development at Hulhumeedhoo in Addu City. 2. Project proponent of the proposed harbor development project is Ministry of Housing and Environment. The project was bided as a design and build project. The contractor for the project is Works Corporation Limited. 3. The proposed development project involves construction of a harbor facility at Hulhumeedhoo, Addu City. Under the proposed project, a new harbor facility will be constructed in between Hulhudhoo and Meedhoo village at the lagoon area approximately 465m away from the existing shoreline. The proposed harbor’s eastern edge (main quay wall side) is aligned to the quay wall line marked in the land use plan of the island. Existing main access route will be maintenance dredged and used, while the shallow section leading to the proposed harbor will be deepened. Strip of land behind harbor will be reclaimed to use as harbor front, while a reclaimed walkway will connect the harbor to the island. 4. The island of Hulhumeedhoo lies at the north eastern corner of Addu, separate from the other three inhabited islands. The island is triangular in shape, while at the southern side Kedevaaheraa is joined with Hulhumeedhoo. Previously Herethere was also joined, but few years back a channel was dug separating the two islands. Measuring 2.3 km in length (approximate length to channel area) and around 1.7 km in width (at maximum), the island covers an area of approximately 283ha; the island is oriented north to south, while the northern side is wider. The island is located at 00° 35' 19" N and 73° 13' 53" E. 5. The design of the harbor is formulated in light of future development. The land use plan of the island is done with a harbor basin in between Hulhudhoo and Meedhoo village of size 786m by 222m. Due to budgetary constraints the proposed harbor size will be 366m by 91m. The sediment generated by the proposed project is too little for the level of reclamation proposed in the land use plan (sediment required for reclamation according to the land use plan is approximately 700,000m3, sediment generated from the proposed project is 110333m3), therefore a temporary access road is proposed connecting the island and harbor facility. 6. The harbor front area proposed for reclamation is 514m long and 100m, while a 30m wide and 372.8m long access road will connect the harbor to the island. The proposed harbor design includes 366m long main quay wall and 152m length of side quay walls (two side quay wall length). The main quay wall and side quay walls will be constructed of L section concrete elements. The proposed entrance channel will be 748m long, from this 125m is existing cleared (previously blasted areas) area where depth exceeds design depth of -3MSL. Approximately 623m length of entrance channel will require excavation to attain design depth of -3MSL. The harbor design includes a side quay wall at the southern side and northern for use as fish land and loading and unloading area respectively. The harbor basin and entrance channel will have a finish depth of -3MSL. 7. Although reefs are closely associated with harbors as in typical reef flat environments where the reef edge is close to the harbor basin the environmental setting at Hulhumeedhoo is somewhat different. There is no proper consolidated reef slope as a continuous reef morphological feature. It is rather a discontinuous reef margin with isolated reef patches that reach to a few meters below the sea surface. As such there is an extensive lagoon of several kilometers wide starting from the rudimentary or discontinuous reef to the shoreline. The distance between the edge of proposed harbor and reef slope is estimated over 2 km. There are several patch reefs as larger reef areas and smaller coral out crops within the larger lagoonal area. 8. 20 genera were recorded on reef flat among all coral patches surveyed. Porites, Goniastrea and Favia and Favites were the dominant genera recorded. Many massive colonies of Porites lobata and Goniastrea retiformis were observed in the area, many of the colonies exceeding 1m in maximum in diameter. Encrusting life form of Echinopora lamellose colonies were also observed in high numbers. Among other poritids, Porites lutea, Porites rus was recorded. The most dominant live coral groups are of massive growth forms such as Poritids and Faviids. Other encrusting species recorded includes, Favites Abdita, Favites helicora, Pavona varians, Astreopora myriophthalma, Pocillopora demicornis, Platygyra sinensis. 9. Sea grass forms the dominant benthic marine ecosystem where the proposed harbor would be located. The dominant species are Thallassia hemprichii, Thalassodendron ciliate, Syringodium filiforme, commercially important seaweed Eucheuma cotoni fc sp was present at various location of the sea grass meadow. This species does not naturally occur in the Maldives. Therefore the occurrence of this species in this area is difficult to explain. However, this species was a mariculture species that was introduced to Maldives as a commercially viable species for export. Several efforts were made to culture this in wild such as in Laamu and Baa atoll. The brood stock for this was made available from Marine Research Centre of Maldives who shows interest to culture this in the wild. As such this species may have been introduced to this environment and may be the reason for the presence of this species in this habitat. 10. The shoreline of the proposed harbor location and vicinity is predominantly inter-tidal forming small creeks and tributaries at various location of the shoreline during low tide. As such this habitat becomes an important feeding habitat for several species of sea birds, fiddler crabs and sea shells. A significant habitat within the intertidal area there the island community boasts as a mud crab breading habitat is located at the southern end of the bay. The islanders apparently collect adult mud crabs (Scylla serreta). This is a commercially important species of a crab that has high value both locally and internationally. Countries such as Sri Lanka and India produce this in large numbers as cultured species. Although no adult individuals were found from the wild during the field visit several number of juveniles were found during the field surveys confirming the presence of brood stock in the vicinity. Based on their estimated abundance it is likely that the crabs can be cultured that could provide lucrative income to the island community especially with potential sale of this to the tourist industry. To explore the viability of culturing mud crabs locally it is therefore important to ensure that the brood stock and their habitat are appropriately safeguarded. With the construction of the harbor and future development plan for this area currently at planning stage have the potential to threaten or endanger this habitat. Even if the commercial value of the habitat is not seen significant from current perception the ecological importance of these types of habitats are significant nationally. Coastal development projects such as these should give due consideration to protect ecological integrity of the ecosystem where ever possible through appropriate design and decision making. 11. Most significant impact associated with the project would be impact on the marine environment from sedimentation. Dredging and excavation often carry a heavy load of sediments increasing sediment load in the water column causing discoloration (limiting light penetration which is essential for coral growth) due to suspended sediments of the impact area for a prolonged period. 12. The reclamation works will cause loss of sea grass habitat and associated organism, this impact is an unavoidable impact. Also it has to be noted that a larger reclamation component is proposed at this area according to the land use plan. Potential commercially important area is located at the southern side of the proposed harbor, north of Hulhudhoo harbor (mud crab habitat), which will be indirectly impacts due to the proposed project in terms of sedimentation and smothering. This habitat is a muddy inter tidal area, therefore impacts is envisaged to be minor to moderate. But if the larger reclamation is anticipated in the future, this habitat will be lost, thereby causing habitat loss (but it has to be noted that the scope of current EIA does not involve reclamation of bay area, but disposal of dredged material and connection of harbor and island). 13. Mitigation measures are provided in the report for impacts that were categorized minor to moderate. Impact mitigation measures and monitoring is carried out to compare predicted and actual impacts occurring from project activities to determine the efficiency of the mitigation measures. The timing of future reclamation works is not yet decided, therefore temporary protection shoreline measures has to be considered for the reclaimed strip of land and access route. The mitigation measures proposed includes construction of revetments at the erosion prone areas that were identified by the consultants after reviewing the concept plan. Any erosion at the reclaimed area has the potential to cause sedimentation and water quality impacts, therefore shoreline monitoring has to be carried out to identify erosion areas and take mitigation measures. 14. With due consideration to main environmental components identified and the magnitude of impacts on these components from the proposed developments, the consultant concludes that the project components and designs are feasible and appropriate mitigation measures are given to correct and minimize unfavorable environmental consequences. Furthermore, the public and community consultation responses were in favor of the project due to the socioeconomic benefits foreseen to the community from a functional harbor.Item EIA report for restoration of Ga Dhevadhoo harbour under construction of harbours for tsunami victims project(2010-08-01) Ministry of Housing, Transport and environmentThis Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report is to fulfill the regulatory requirements under the Environmental Protection and Preservation Act of Maldives prior to the proposed harbor restoration at Ga Dhevadhoo in Ga Atoll. Ga Dhevadhoo harbor restoration project is part of the Construction of Harbors for Tsunami Victims Project. This restoration project involves repair of harbors at 10 islands. The project is funded by a joint loan taken from Islamic Development Bank (IDB), the Saudi Government and Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) by the government of Maldives. The design consultancy was awarded to Alhabshi Consultants Office, a Kuwaiti Company in association with Riyan Pvt Ltd (a Maldivian company). The Agreement for consultancy was signed on 6th November 2008 between the Government of Maldives and Alhabshi Consultant. Project proponent of the proposed harbor restoration project is Ministry of Housing, Transport and Environment. The project was bided as a design and consultancy project. The main design consulting company Alhabhsi Consultants is assigned to carry out the design works, preparing tender documents, carrying out EIAs and construction phase supervision consultant. The proposed development project involves renovation and restoration of Ga Dhevadhoo harbor. Under the proposed project, new quay wall (concrete sheet piles, L section) and breakwaters (armor rocks) will be constructed at the existing foot prints. The harbor basin will also undergo maintenance dredging to -3MSL (where necessary). Since the proposed project is only a restoration project, basin size will not be increased. The concept plan is formulated in light of the new third generation harbor concept which is focused at functionality of the harbor. In this regard harbor usage components such as passenger embarking/disembarking, loading unloading area, fish landing, water and fuel recharging and mooring area will be demarcated. Ga Dhevadhoo is located at Ga atoll, 400km from Male’. It is just about 28km from Kaadedhoo Airport. Nearest inhabited island is Ga Nilandhoo (24km at eastern side) and GDh Thinadhoo (26km at the western side of Dhevadhoo). In terms of geographic coordinates, it is located at 00° 33' 26" N and 73° 14' 32" E. Nearest islands are Hagadhoo approximately 4.5km south west and Funamudua approximately 5km west of Dhevadhoo. The existing harbor facility is located at the western side of the island, while access to the harbor is via an entrance channel south western side of harbor. The project boundaries are the harbor front area, either side breakwaters, eastern side seawall and entrance area). Under the proposed project maintenance dredging will be done at the basin and entrance area where necessary and this activity will generate sediment plumes west wards. Dredged material removed during the maintenance dredging works will be reused for construction. The existing harbor footprint will not be changed due to the proposed project, breakwaters and quay wall will be constructed at existing foot print area (apart from small section of breakwater at the southern side of the harbor for protection of entrance channel). Therefore the existing design of the harbor will remain as it is. The length of the harbor after completion of renovation works will be 149.2m and width 95m. The length of entrance channel is approximately 63m, while width is 40m. The harbor will have a total length of 190m of breakwater at the western side. The breakwater will be constructed of armor stones and remains of existing breakwater as core The side quay will have a total length of 190m of type 2 design quay wall, while the main quay will have a length of 149.2m. Approximately 1500m3 of dredged material will be generated by the maintenance dredging works. This sand will be reused during construction stage, thereby avoiding the need for disposal. Existing environment was examined to identify significant environmental components that would be affected and to establish a baseline condition of the site. Available and relevant literature on environmental impacts associated with similar projects was evaluated to identify possible impacts. Oceanographic data and information on local hydrodynamics were qualitatively assessed to determine the current pattern around the island which was based on monsoonal wind patterns, wind generated waves, tidal flushing, geographic setting, the topography of the lagoon and shape of the shoreline. The reef flat area in front of harbor was dominated by tabulate life forms of Acropora and massive life forms of Porites. Large table corals and branching coral colonies were abundant at the area. Numerous small table coral colonies were observed behind the reef flat area dominating the rocky back reef towards the lagoon. The reef slope area was dominated by large table corals and branching forms of acropora. Live coral cover at the reef flat area is approximately 45%, from which 30% is estimated to be Acroporids. Large porties bommies were mainly observed just off the crust area at the reef slope. Other live coral generas observed are Pocillopora, Pavona, Echinopora, Goniastrea, Psammacora and Favites. It is important to note that the most significant impact associated with the project would be impact on the marine environment from sedimentation. Dredging and excavation often carry a heavy load of sediments increasing sediment load in the water column causing discoloration due to suspended sediments of the impact area for a prolonged period. Since the project is a restoration project, the extent of sediment plum will be limited at the harbor basin area. Since the proposed project is restoration project, environmental impacts associated with the proposed project are considered minor. The significant environmental components that are likely to be affected are the coral community at harbor front area. Mitigation measures are provided in the report for impacts that were categorized minor to moderate. Impact mitigation measures and monitoring is carried out to compare predicted and actual impacts occurring from project activities to determine the efficiency of the mitigation measures. It has to be noted that environmental monitoring has not been done since the completion of harbor, and extent of changes to habitat, live coral cover and shoreline is not known. Even though the project is not envisaged to cause impacts to shoreline (since construction will be done at existing footprint), it is important to monitor shoreline changes. One of the main issues highlighted by most of the participants of the meeting held at Dhevadhoo as part of stakeholder consultation was the issue of repeated surveys and no action. The community strongly feels that the restoration project would only ease the accessibility issue but will not resolve the issue of accommodating all the vessels used by the community especially the fishing fleet. The participants of the meeting stated that the harbor facility is in need for expansion (800x300ft). The participants stated that due to location of Dhevadhoo many trade vessels and Safaris use Dhevadhoo harbor as a transit point, therefore the harbor is always crowded. Also during fishing season the harbor is used by fishing vessels from other atoll as well. Due to this reason the community feels very strongly that the harbor needs to be expanded. Since resorts are opening near the island, additional usage of harbor is envisaged therefore burden on harbor will increase. Overall the IDC and harbor committee was in favor of the project and very little issues apart from extension of harbor were raised during the stakeholder meeting With due consideration to main environmental components identified and the magnitude of impacts on these components from the proposed developments, the consultant concludes that the project components and designs are feasible and appropriate mitigation measures are given to correct and minimize unfavorable environmental consequences. Furthermore, the public and community consultation responses were in favor of the project due to the socio-economic benefits foreseen to the community from a functional harbor.