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Item Environmental impact assessment for the proposed resort redevelopment project on Giraavaru, North Malé Atoll(2011-07) Adam, M. S.1. This Environmental Impact Assessment report concerns the proposed redevelopment of Giraavaru Island, North Malé Atoll, to a three-star tourist facility. The purpose of this EIA is to fulfill the obligations of the proponent under Clause 5 of the Environmental Protection and Preservation Act of the Maldives (Law # 4/93), and the requirements of Maldives Tourism Regulation. This EIA establishes the current state of the existing environment on Giraavaru Island where the redevelopment takes place. All the activities of the redevelopment and operations are evaluated for their environmental impacts. Corrective and mitigation measures are proposed for reversing or improving the predicted potential negative impacts so as to maintain the overall quality of the environment. 2. Giraavaru is in North Malé Atoll located about 11 km from capital Malé. Closest resort islands are Vaadhoo, Velassaru, Bolifushi in the South Malé Atoll and Kurunbaa Village, Fullmoon and Bandos in the North Malé Atoll. Giraavaru is at the centre of Maldives’ growing economic hub - the industrial area which also encompasses conurbations of the City of Malé (Malé, Vilingili, and Hulhuamle). 3. The industrial island of Thilafushi is only 1.5 km east where a major dredging and reclamation works is taking place. Some 157 Hectares are to be reclaimed using Cutter Suction Dredgers and excavators. Further east, only 6 km from Giraavaru, the new development of Gulhifalhu reclamation is taking place. The first phase of Gulhifalhu is complete and the second phase is expected to start in August where a Trailer Hopper Suction Dredger will borrow material just north of Gulhifalhu from the atoll lagoon to reclaim over 37 Hectares of land on the southern face of the reef facing Vaadhoo Channel. 4. Operation of Giraavaru island resort will take place at the centre of Maldivian economic activity where no other resort in the Maldives will have to operate. The development plans of Thilafushi also include an international port/container terminal on the western section of the island where the reclamations are now taking place. This would mean large number of ship traffic and port activities will take place only about 1 km from the resort. 5. Giraavaru Island Redevelopment project is a partnership between the current lease holder and Centara Group one of the largest hotel chain in Thailand. Centara now operates in several overseas destinations of Asia, including its home Thailand, Malaysia, Maldives Indonesia, India, Egypt and Vietnam and soon in Mauritius. Centara boast having over 56 hotels totaling over 9,000 rooms. Centara also operates Machchafushi Resort – the Centara Grand Island Resort & Spa in the Maldives. The whole redevelopment investment in Giraavaru is being made by the Centara Pvt Ltd. 6. The redevelopment concept essentially involves complete dismantling of about 85% of the existing infrastructure on Giraavaru Island, currently in a state of disrepair. The remaining buildings on the island would also be refurbished and modernized. A total 140 rooms are proposed of which 110 will be over-water villas spread out in three rows on the north western and south western reef flat connected by walkways. The remaining 30 would be beach bungalows that would replace existing old-fashioned rooms. Specialty restaurants and the full back-of-the house facilities will be completely rebuilt with modern equipment to provide the services for 280 guests expected to house and at full capacity. Repair of the existing seawalls, breakwater and groynes will take place. They will be renovated using the existing coral rock boulders or cement/sand bags. 7. Major redevelopment activities were assessed and evaluated for their impacts on the various characteristics of the environment in a Leopold Matrix framework. While the analysis does not provide an overall quantitative rating the Matrix portrays value judgments that help ascertain the magnitude and importance of the assumed impacts. On the 9 factors evaluated against 11 environmental characteristics significant impact causing activities were found to be placement of over 1200 concrete stilts (footing) on reef flat, potentially prolonged construction activities of over-water structures, clearing of vegetation and deconstruction and removal activities these were found to be most influential impact causing activities. Appropriate mitigation measures and alternatives have been proposed. These activities were found to cause negative environmental impacts to lagoon, coral reef, coastal processes, and scenic views - essentially during the development phase. 8. For those major impacts, and where possible, alternative and/or mitigation measures were proposed. The proponent is committed to taking responsibility, including financial commitment, on implementing them where practical. Environmental impacts relating to power generation and water production were emphasized as these require environmental compliance and for the new requirement of registration of these facilities at Maldives Energy Authority and Environmental Protection Agency respectively. 9. Stakeholder consultations were undertaken with Thilafushi Corporation Ltd, Global Projects Development Pvt. Ltd. (Gulhifalhu Development Project), Ameen Construction, Malé City Council (Waste Management Section), Maldives Ports Limited, and CDE Consulting firm. CDE is currently undertaking a baseline assessment of Thilafushi area prior to a major IFC assisted investments on waste management to be managed by the Malé City Council. The current practices of open-burning and burying of waste is to be transformed to incineration and landfill operations with some recycling of nonbiodegradable waste. 10. Given the large number of economic activities taking place in the area, Giraavaru redevelopment project may have little or no socioeconomic economic impact. During the construction period close 300 people are expected to be employed and nearly 85% of them would be unskilled labourers from Bangladesh, Nepal and to some extend Sri Lanka and India. Centara Maldives is Thailand-based firm and so it is expected engineers and supervisors will mostly from Thailand. The resort is expected to have guest to staff ratio nearly 1:0.65 and so only about 250 people would be employed on the resort. 11. The redevelopment activities proposed are standard for any resort development in the Maldives. The contractor would be made responsible for the compliance and reporting required during the construction phase. A monitoring programme has been proposed which include monitoring of shorelines, sand movement, coral cover, fish fauna and coastal processes. Reports are to be submitted as required during construction and operation phase. 12. It was concluded that environmental impacts from Giraavaru Redevelopment project will not be significant and only short term (1-2 years). It was also noted that the potential medium to long term environmental impacts from developments of Thilafushi and Gulhifalhu and its related activities will mask the environmental impacts of resort operation on Giraavaru in the medium to long-term.Item Environmental audit for the compliance and registration of existing water plant at Maandhoo Fisheries Complex L. Maandhoo(2011-05) Adam, M. S.; Abdulla, Lugumaan1. Maandhoo Fisheries Complex (MFC), based in Maandhoo, Laamu Atoll, requires registration of the existing water production plant on their facility. As part of the registration process an Environmental Audit (EA) has to be undertaken as required under Schedule D of the Maldives Environmental Impact Assessment Regulation. 2. A scoping meeting for this audit was held at EPA on 14 April 2011 and was attended by the key stakeholders, EPA, the proponent and the consultant. The approved TOR is given in Appendix 1. 3. At the time of establishment of MFC in 2005, an EIA was undertaken for the construction of the fish processing facility involving cold storage, Katsoubushi plant for dried fish products, fishmeal facility, power generation and water production, vacuum packing, waste management, laboratory and testing facilities. A revision of the EIA was done for removal of the sea grass bed on either side of the harbour. Later, a further revision was undertaken to expand the harbour basin and to use the dredged material to reclaim the area on either side of the harbour to further extend the area. Those reports provide description of existing environment, proposed development activities and their potential environmental impacts and possible mitigation measures. Aspects specifically relating to water production plant have not been addressed in those reports. 4. This EA concerns the status of the existing water production plant, documenting its operation, safety issues, and its potential environmental impacts of its operation and their possible mitigation measures. Since the MFC have been maintaining ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management System and ISO 14001:2004 Environmental Management System, it was found the MFC maintains stringent measures on all of its processes including the water production. 5. Production of water and maintenance of its quality is of critical importance to canning plant as such consideration is given to ensure highest standards are maintained in water production. Source water for the desalination plant is drawn by gravity flow and collected in a concreted tank beneath the water level. The inlet pipe is 500 m into lagoon on the south side of the harbour. Stringent quality control checks are done routinely throughout the process to ensure maintenance of high standards. 6. Water from the gravity flow tank is pumped through a sediment filter before passing through the RO membranes. Controlled chlorination is done at two stages before the water is used for canning and drinking. The brine outflow is released into the harbour basin mixed with the engine cooling outflow. The release of diluted brine water into the harbour area has no apparent detrimental environmental impact. 7. It was noted that above normal levels of sediment in the intake water was creating additional load to RO membranes resulting to replace the membranes too often. This was due to dredging that has been going on for the last 6-8 months. Once the dredging is complete the sediment load in the intake water is expected to return normal levels. In the meantime it was recommended to use additional sediment filters before the water is passed through the RO membranes. 8. The audit team concluded the environmental standards meet expected levels required by the existing government rules. The only issue that required to be followed up was the recommendation for additional sand filters to avoid the frequent replacement of RO membranes.Item Environmental audit for the compliance and registration of existing of power and water plants at Malé Aerated Waters Company Ltd. Thulushdhoo – K. Malé(2011-03) Adam, M. S.; Abdulla, Lugumaan1. Malé Aerated Waters Company Pvt Ltd (MAWC), based in K. Thulusdhoo, requires registration of existing water production and power generation plants on their facility. As part of the registration process an Environmental Audit (EA) has to be undertaken as required under Schedule D of the Maldives Environmental Impact Assessment Regulation. 2. The Scoping Meeting for this audit was held at EPA on 10 March 2011 and was attended by the key stakeholders, EPA, Maldives Energy Authority, the proponent and the consultant. The approved TOR is given in Appendix 1. 3. At the time of establishment of MAWC, EIA regulation was not in force and so an EIA was no undertaken for the facility. However, in 2005, and later in 2010, an EIA was done for the construction of its service jetty and subsequently for its expansion. Those reports provide description of some of the operational features and their potential environmental impacts. Aspects relating to power generation and water production plants on the facility have not been addressed in these EIA reports. 4. This EA report concerns the status of the existing water production and power generation plants, documenting its operation, safety issues, and its potential environmental impacts and their possible mitigation measures. Owing to the nature of the operational requirement of the franchise agreements, it was found the MAWC maintains stringent measures on all of its processes including the water production and power generation plants. 5. Production of water and maintenance of its quality is of critical importance to their business as such a high consideration is given to ensure highest standards are maintained throughout all stages of water production. Source water for the desalination plant is drawn from deep underground through two bore-holes located close to the beach area at the service jetty. Water is initially passed through a series of sand filters reducing the TDS to < 2500 ppm. The water then undergoes further filtration and 3 different stages of desalination, gradually reducing the TDS to mere 24 ppm for carbonated Soft Drinking production and 2 ppm for package water production. During the process reject water at different stages of filtration and desalination is re-fed into the system to ensure optimal use of the water. Stringent quality control checks are done routinely throughout the process to ensure maintenance of highest standards. 6. The brine water is mixed with the outflow water used for cooling the power generators. This results in dilution of the brine to almost normal sea-water concentrations before being released into the lagoon. The outflow is located some 700 m from the service jetty in the deep lagoon (6-8 m) in front of the entrance channel. Mixing the brine with the return flow of the heated water slightly increase the temperature, but only 1-2 degrees above ambient temperature. The outflow water is mixed instantaneously with the lagoon water reducing the temperature to ambient levels immediately after its release. Roughly 200- 250 cubic meters of desalinated water is produced per day of which about 150-200 cubic meters used for bottling. 7. The power plant is located on the northern section of the MAWC compound. The power plant built at MAWC is powered by 4 Cummins brand diesel electric generators of 1500KVA, 750KVA, 450KVA and 250KVA and distribution equipment. The power generation equipment includes a powerhouse building, a fuel storage facility. The emission stacks are about 9 meters tall and four stacks are installed at the powerhouse. The average production is 560 kWh ranging from 300-900 kWh. Fuel consumption for the plants is about 100-200 L/h 8. Transport of fuel and its usage ensures highest standard of safety to avoid accidental spillage and leaks. Fuel is dispensed to the engines via tanks elevated to about 3 meter with bunded concrete tanks underneath. 9. With regards to safety issues, firefighting equipment was found to be in working condition and within the re-check date limit. Unfortunately there was no earth / lightening rod at the engine house. It was recommended that earth-rod be installed as soon as possible. 10. The team also noted that facility is currently undergoing the compliance process for ISO 14001 which will establish a framework for the conduct of environmental management by requiring the organization to define an Environmental Policy and to establish management procedures that support the policy. 11. The audit team concluded the environmental standards meet over and above the expected levels required by the existing government rules. No major issue was found that needs to be followed up.Item Environmental audit for the compliance and registration of existing water plant at Cocoa Island Resort, K.Makunufushi(2011-06) Adam, M. S.1. Cocoa Island Resort (Makunufushi), South Malé Atoll, requires registration of their existing water production plant in operation. As part of the registration process an Environmental Audit (EA) has to be undertaken required under Schedule D of the Maldives Environmental Impact Assessment Regulation. A scoping meeting for this audit was held at EPA on 05 June 2011. The meeting was attended by the key stakeholders, official of EPA, the proponent and the consultant. The approved TOR is given in Appendix 1. 2. Cocoa Island is a small five-star resort with only 33 rooms. All rooms are on over-water located on southern side of the island. At full capacity the resort can accommodate 70 guests. The resort employs 155 staff and roughly 20% of them are administrative staff. The arrival jetty and service jetties are located on the northern side of the island. Owing to the island narrow (area ~ 3.0 hectare) back-of-the-house facilities are arranged in a compact way located on the western section of the island. The laundry, power house and water plant are all in very close proximity. 3. This EA concerns the status of the existing water production plant, documenting its operation, safety issues, and its potential environmental impacts of its operation and their possible mitigation measures. The management has plans to refurbish and renovate the water production facility in the next 2-3 months. These include change of pumps, meters, pipes and renovation of the building with sound proofing tiles. 4. As there is no arrangement for rainwater harvesting the water used on the island is entirely produced from the plant. Ground water has never been used on the resort and so the ground water no affected by the resort operation. At full capacity the plant is capable of producing 180m3 per day. The water is stored in 2 tanks; 40,000 litres and 15,000 litres located adjacent to the production facility. Roughly 70-80% of the production is consumed on the island on a daily basis. 5. The source of water is direct from the sea. Two high grade PVC pipes pipe lines, 5.0 – 6.0 cm diameter, run under the service jetty draws sea water direct from the reef edge at about 3 – 4 m, and feeds into the two sand filters before passing to the to RO membranes. The desalinated water are initially stored in 40,000 litre tank, but part of the water is re-fed into the second membrane system to produce “drinking water” stored in 15,000 litre tank. 6. Regular testing of the desalinated water from MFDA/NHL ensures the water quality is maintained. The Engineering Department is responsible for this task of water quality testing that includes water chemistry and microbiology tests. Full records of the tests are maintained at the Engineering Department of the resort for inspection. 7. It was concluded that environmental standards meet expected levels required by the existing government rules. The only issue that required to be followed up was the noise levels. The issue will be solved once the renovation is complete.Item Environmental impact assessment for the proposed resort redevelopment project on K. Vilivaru, South Malé Atoll(2011-05) Adam, M. S.1. This Environmental Impact Assessment report concerns the proposed redevelopment of Vilivaru Island, south Malé Atoll, to a premium 5-star plus resort. The purpose of this EIA is to fulfill the obligations of the proponent under Clause 5 of the Environmental Protection and Preservation Act (Law # 4/93) of the Maldives and the requirements of Maldives Tourism Regulation. This EIA establishes the current state of the existing environment on Vilivaru where the development takes place. All the activities of the development and operation are evaluated for their environmental impacts. Corrective and mitigation measures are proposed for reversing or improving the predicted potential impacts so as to maintain the overall quality of the environment. 2. Vilivaru is located in south Malé Atoll about 30 km from capital Malé. Closest islands are Biyaadhoo Resort, Cocoa Island Resort (Makunufushi), Kandooma Resort and the inhabited island of Guraidhoo. Vilivaru has been operating as resort since mid 1980s. On expiry of the lease period the island was put on tender in 2005 and was won by Mr. Athamaa Ibrahim Didi. Unfortunately the reclamations undertaken in 2006 as part the redevelopment plan was found to be illegal. A hefty fine was imposed on the developer/proponent and the authorities ordered the work be suspended. Since then the resort was left idle and abandoned. 3. The resort has now been bought by Parallax Venture Partners XV Ltd, an international firm based in Singapore, including the lease transfer from the previous owner. A major feature of the new redevelopment plan, proposed by the Parallax Venture Partners is re-shaping of the island including additional reclamation of about 35,000 m2 of the shallow reef flat on the west of the island. The new configuration of the island would cover the present disfigured shape. A visual feature of the new Vilivaru would be the two prominent headlands on the western side with long and wide beach in between. A total of 100 guest units have been proposed; 56 beach and 44 over-water villas. In addition specialty restaurants, bar and cafés gyms, swimming pool, meeting and banquet areas, and the usual back-of-the-house buildings are proposed. 4. Since the current concept plan does not intend to use any of the existing structures, a major first step would be the deconstruction of the existing buildings. Over 15 buildings need to be deconstructed and carefully disposed. It is proposed that the material will be transported to Thilafushi waste site. It is likely that the contractor may salvage some of the material that may be used for the construction of temporary structures for the work-force that needs to be deployed before the construction work begins. 5. A major development activity would be the proposed reclamation on the western side of the island. It is proposed that material would be borrowed from three sites clearly identified in the report. An excavator would remove material to 1 meter deep from the proposed areas to obtain about 125,000 m3 to be used for the reclamations and beach modification works. A series of options have been proposed to excavate the material. Where necessary it has been proposed dredging to take place with excavator mounted on flat-top barges and transport to the reclamation site. 6. The reclamation on the western side and the beach extension on the southern side would create considerable length of the beach around Vilivaru. Except for the existing seawall on the north eastern side beach areas would exist around the island. Proposal for shore protections are minimal. A rubble-mound revetment structures have been proposed on the headlands. Regular monitoring have been proposed that would allow proposing appropriate engineering solution to maintain the beaches if required. It is likely that regular nourishment of beaches would be required but the frequency and extent of these activities will precisely be known following the proposed monitoring activities. 7. Major project activities were assessed and evaluated for their impacts on the various characteristics of the environment in a Leopold Matrix framework. While the analysis does not provide an overall quantitative rating the Matrix portrays value judgments that help ascertain the magnitude and importance of the assumed impacts. On the 11 factors evaluated against 11 environmental characteristics significant impact causing activities were found to be dredging (for borrow material), reclamation (re-shaping the island) and construction activities (land and on water). These were found to be most influential and therefore appropriate mitigation measures and alternatives have been proposed. These activities were found to cause negative environmental impacts on lagoon, coral reef, coastal processes, and scenic views - essentially during the development phase. 8. For those major impacts, where possible, alternative and/or mitigation measures were proposed. The proponent is committed to taking responsibility on implementing them where practical. Alternatives have been proposed for dredging, reshaping the island, and borrow areas. 9. Environmental impacts relating to power generation and water production were emphasized as these require environmental compliance and for the new requirement of registration of these facilities at Maldives Energy Authority and Environmental Protection Agency respectively. 10. Aside from the re-shaping and increase in area of the island, the project activities are standard for any resort development in the Maldives. The contractor would be made responsible for the compliance and reporting required during the construction phase. 11. A monitoring programme has been proposed which include monitoring of shorelines, sand movement, coral cover, fish census and coastal processes. Reports are to be submitted as required during construction and operation phase. 12. Public consultations fared well for this project. The nearby resorts and particularly Guriadhoo community welcomed the redevelopment project after a long hiatus. Guraidhoo Council was very keen to interact with the proponent and/or management to see if a localization programme could be in place that would create job opportunities for locals.Item Environmental impact assessment for the proposed resort redevelopment project on K. Vilivaru, South Malé Atoll(2011-05) Adam, M. S.1. This Environmental Impact Assessment report concerns the proposed redevelopment of Vilivaru Island, south Malé Atoll, to a premium 5-star plus resort. The purpose of this EIA is to fulfill the obligations of the proponent under Clause 5 of the Environmental Protection and Preservation Act (Law # 4/93) of the Maldives and the requirements of Maldives Tourism Regulation. This EIA establishes the current state of the existing environment on Vilivaru where the development takes place. All the activities of the development and operation are evaluated for their environmental impacts. Corrective and mitigation measures are proposed for reversing or improving the predicted potential impacts so as to maintain the overall quality of the environment. 2. Vilivaru is located in south Malé Atoll about 30 km from capital Malé. Closest islands are Biyaadhoo Resort, Cocoa Island Resort (Makunufushi), Kandooma Resort and the inhabited island of Guraidhoo. Vilivaru has been operating as resort since mid 1980s. On expiry of the lease period the island was put on tender in 2005 and was won by Mr. Athamaa Ibrahim Didi. Unfortunately the reclamations undertaken in 2006 as part the redevelopment plan was found to be illegal. A hefty fine was imposed on the developer/proponent and the authorities ordered the work be suspended. Since then the resort was left idle and abandoned. 3. The resort has now been bought by Parallax Venture Partners XV Ltd, an international firm based in Singapore, including the lease transfer from the previous owner. A major feature of the new redevelopment plan, proposed by the Parallax Venture Partners is re-shaping of the island including additional reclamation of about 35,000 m2 of the shallow reef flat on the west of the island. The new configuration of the island would cover the present disfigured shape. A visual feature of the new Vilivaru would be the two prominent headlands on the western side with long and wide beach in between. A total of 100 guest units have been proposed; 56 beach and 44 over-water villas. In addition specialty restaurants, bar and cafés gyms, swimming pool, meeting and banquet areas, and the usual back-of-the-house buildings are proposed. 4. Since the current concept plan does not intend to use any of the existing structures, a major first step would be the deconstruction of the existing buildings. Over 15 buildings need to be deconstructed and carefully disposed. It is proposed that the material will be transported to Thilafushi waste site. It is likely that the contractor may salvage some of the material that may be used for the construction of temporary structures for the work-force that needs to be deployed before the construction work begins. 5. A major development activity would be the proposed reclamation on the western side of the island. It is proposed that material would be borrowed from three sites clearly identified in the report. An excavator would remove material to 1 meter deep from the proposed areas to obtain about 125,000 m3 to be used for the reclamations and beach modification works. A series of options have been proposed to excavate the material. Where necessary it has been proposed dredging to take place with excavator mounted on flat-top barges and transport to the reclamation site. 6. The reclamation on the western side and the beach extension on the southern side would create considerable length of the beach around Vilivaru. Except for the existing seawall on the north eastern side beach areas would exist around the island. Proposal for shore protections are minimal. A rubble-mound revetment structures have been proposed on the headlands. Regular monitoring have been proposed that would allow proposing appropriate engineering solution to maintain the beaches if required. It is likely that regular nourishment of beaches would be required but the frequency and extent of these activities will precisely be known following the proposed monitoring activities. 7. Major project activities were assessed and evaluated for their impacts on the various characteristics of the environment in a Leopold Matrix framework. While the analysis does not provide an overall quantitative rating the Matrix portrays value judgments that help ascertain the magnitude and importance of the assumed impacts. On the 11 factors evaluated against 11 environmental characteristics significant impact causing activities were found to be dredging (for borrow material), reclamation (re-shaping the island) and construction activities (land and on water). These were found to be most influential and therefore appropriate mitigation measures and alternatives have been proposed. These activities were found to cause negative environmental impacts on lagoon, coral reef, coastal processes, and scenic views - essentially during the development phase. 8. For those major impacts, where possible, alternative and/or mitigation measures were proposed. The proponent is committed to taking responsibility on implementing them where practical. Alternatives have been proposed for dredging, reshaping the island, and borrow areas. 9. Environmental impacts relating to power generation and water production were emphasized as these require environmental compliance and for the new requirement of registration of these facilities at Maldives Energy Authority and Environmental Protection Agency respectively. 10. Aside from the re-shaping and increase in area of the island, the project activities are standard for any resort development in the Maldives. The contractor would be made responsible for the compliance and reporting required during the construction phase. 11. A monitoring programme has been proposed which include monitoring of shorelines, sand movement, coral cover, fish census and coastal processes. Reports are to be submitted as required during construction and operation phase. 12. Public consultations fared well for this project. The nearby resorts and particularly Guriadhoo community welcomed the redevelopment project after a long hiatus. Guraidhoo Council was very keen to interact with the proponent and/or management to see if a localization programme could be in place that would create job opportunities for locals. *******