ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT for the Proposed Resort Development in Kabaalifaru Resort, Shaviyani Atoll, Maldives

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT For the Proposed resort development in Kabaalifaru Resort, Shaviyani Atoll, Maldives

Proposed by

Ali Shareef Signature:

Prepared by

Aslam Shakir

For Water Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Maldives

September 2007 EIA for Kanbaalifaru, Vol 1, Rev 0 Page | ii

Table of Contents 1 INTRODUCTION ...... 1 1.1 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE EIA ...... 1 1.2 TERMS OF REFERENCE AND SCOPE FOR THIS EIA ...... 1 1.3 METHODOLOGIES ...... 2 1.4 EXECUTION OF THE EIA ...... 3 2 PROJECT DESCRIPTION ...... 4 2.1 PROJECT PROPONENT ...... 4 2.2 PROJECT LOCATION ...... 4 2.3 PROJECT JUSTIFICATION ...... 5 2.4 PROJECT DURATION ...... 5 2.5 BOUNDARIES OF THE AREAS AFFECTED BY THE PROJECT ...... 6 2.6 CONCEPT, DESIGN DETAILS AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT ...... 6 2.7 DESCRIPTION OF RESORT FACILITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE ...... 9 2.8 ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS ...... 10 2.9 ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS OF THE PROJECT ...... 11 2.9.1 Water Supply ...... 11 2.9.2 Sewage & Wastewater Management ...... 12 2.9.3 Waste management ...... 12 2.9.4 Power Generation and fuel management ...... 12 2.10 CONSTRUCTION, OPERATION & DECOMMISSIONING ...... 13 2.10.1 Site mobilization ...... 13 2.10.2 Workforce and workforce related services ...... 13 2.10.3 Waste Management and Disposal ...... 14 2.10.4 Health and Safety Measures ...... 14 2.10.5 Fire Prevention ...... 14 2.10.6 Transport ...... 14 2.10.7 Other Considerations...... 14 2.11 PROJECT INPUTS AND OUTPUTS ...... 15 3 PROJECT SETTING ...... 18 3.1 INTRODUCTION ...... 18 3.2 OVERVIEW OF THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATORY FRAMEWORK ...... 18 3.2.1 Environmental Protection Act ...... 18 3.2.2 Second National Environment Action Plan ...... 19 3.2.3 National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan ...... 19 3.2.4 Protected Areas and Sensitive Areas ...... 19 3.2.5 Cutting down, uprooting, digging out and export of trees and palms from one island to another 20 3.2.6 Waste management policy ...... 20 3.2.7 Laws and Regulations Concerning Public participation ...... 21

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3.2.8 Population policy ...... 21 3.2.9 Regulation on sand and aggregate mining ...... 21 3.2.10 Ban on coral mining ...... 21 3.2.11 Land Act (Law no. 1/02) ...... 21 3.2.12 Policy on water ...... 22 3.2.13 Regulation on registration of desalination plants ...... 22 3.2.14 General guidelines for wastewater disposal (draft) ...... 22 3.2.15 National energy policy (draft June 2005) ...... 22 3.2.16 Regulation on providing electricity services ...... 23 3.2.17 Tourism Act (Law no. 2/99) ...... 23 3.2.18 Ministry of Tourism Regulations and Circulars ...... 23 3.2.19 Fisheries Act (Law no. 5/87) ...... 23 3.3 FRAMEWORK FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT ...... 24 3.3.1 Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations ...... 24 3.3.2 Post EIA Monitoring, Auditing and Evaluation ...... 24 3.4 INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS, TREATIES AND PROTOCOLS ...... 25 3.4.1 United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol ...... 25 3.4.2 United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD) ...... 25 3.4.3 United Nations Conference on Desertification (UNCCD) ...... 26 3.4.4 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea ...... 26 3.4.5 International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) ...... 26 3.4.6 Malé Declaration on Control and Prevention of Air Pollution and its Likely Transboundary Effects for S. Asia...... 26 3.5 ENVIRONMENTAL PERMITS REQUIRED FOR THE PROJECT ...... 26 3.5.1 EIA Decision Note ...... 26 3.5.2 Registration of desalination plant ...... 27 3.5.3 Permit for electricity ...... 27 3.5.4 Wastewater disposal permits ...... 27 3.6 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES ...... 27 3.6.1 Environment Ministry ...... 27 3.6.2 National Environment Commission (NCPE) ...... 27 3.6.3 Ministry of Tourism & Civil Aviation ...... 28 3.6.4 Other Government Agencies ...... 28 3.6.5 Project Proponent ...... 28 3.6.6 Environmental Consultants ...... 29 3.6.7 The Public ...... 29 3.7 ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS ...... 29 4 EXISTING ENVIRONMENT ...... 33 4.1 INTRODUCTION ...... 33

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4.1 GENERAL METHODOLOGIES FOR DATA COLLECTION ...... 33 4.1.1 Mapping and Location identification ...... 33 4.1.2 Marine Water Quality ...... 34 4.1.3 Coastal processes ...... 34 4.1.4 Marine Environment ...... 34 4.2 GEOGRAPHY ...... 36 4.2.1 General Setting of Shaviyani Atoll ...... 36 4.2.2 Location & Physical setting of Kanbaalifaru ...... 36 4.3 CLIMATIC SETTING AND COASTAL ENVIRONMENT ...... 39 4.3.1 Monsoons ...... 40 4.3.2 Rainfall ...... 40 4.3.3 Temperature ...... 40 4.3.4 Wind ...... 40 4.3.5 Waves ...... 43 4.3.6 Tides ...... 45 4.3.7 Currents ...... 45 4.3.8 Geomorphologic Setting and Island Formation ...... 46 4.3.9 Sediment distribution pattern and topography ...... 46 4.4 EXISTING MARINE ENVIRONMENT ...... 47 4.4.1 Reef system ...... 48 4.4.2 Lagoon system ...... 48 4.4.3 Methodology of assessment ...... 50 4.4.4 Survey Results ...... 50 4.5 TERRESTRIAL ENVIRONMENT ...... 56 4.5.1 Methodology ...... 56 4.5.2 Floral Landscape ...... 56 4.5.3 Terrestrial Flora ...... 57 4.5.4 Result of the vegetation survey ...... 59 4.5.5 Summary of the Vegetation transect ...... 63 4.5.6 Terrestrial Fauna ...... 66 4.5.7 Soil and Groundwater Condition ...... 66 4.2 EXISTING SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONDITIONS ...... 67 4.5.8 Kanbaalifaru ...... 67 4.5.9 Shaviyani Atoll ...... 68 4.5.10 Project and its Socio-economic Impacts ...... 69 5 PUBLIC AND STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATION ...... 71 5.1 INTRODUCTION ...... 71 5.2 CONSULTATION WITH THE PROPONENT/STAFF ...... 72 5.3 CONSULTATIONS WITH THE ARCHITECT/DESIGNERS...... 72

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4.5.11 Consultations with Atoll and Island Office ...... 72 5.4 CONSULTATIONS WITH THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES ...... 72 5 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT AND MITIGATION ...... 74 5.1 IMPACT IDENTIFICATION ...... 74 5.2 OVERALL POSITIVE IMPACTS ...... 74 5.3 OVERALL NEGATIVE IMPACTS ...... 75 5.4 UNCERTAINTIES IN IMPACT PREDICTION ...... 75 5.5 COASTAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND MITIGATION ...... 75 5.5.1 Impact Zone, IZ - 1 ...... 76 5.5.2 Impact Zones IZ-2 and IZ-3 ...... 76 5.6 TERRESTRIAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND MITIGATION ...... 78 5.6.2 Water supply ...... 78 5.6.3 Wastewater treatment ...... 78 5.6.4 Solid Waste Disposal ...... 79 5.6.5 Energy Generation ...... 79 5.6.6 Fire and Rescue Facilities ...... 79 5.7 MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND MITIGATION...... 80 5.7.1 Identification of Impacts on Marine Environment ...... 80 5.7.2 Impacts from Construction Phase ...... 80 5.7.3 Impacts from Construction Phase ...... 81 5.7.4 Impacts from Operation Phase ...... 82 5.7.5 Mitigation during Construction Phase ...... 84 5.7.6 Mitigation during Operation phase ...... 85 5.8 SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACTS AND MITIGATION ...... 86 5.8.1 Positive Socio-Economic Impacts ...... 87 5.8.2 Negative Socio-Economic Impacts ...... 89 5.8.3 Measures to mitigate negative impacts ...... 89 5.9 SUMMARY OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACTS ...... 90 5.10 SUMMARY OF TERRESTRIAL IMPACTS AND MITIGATION MEASURES ...... 91 6 ALTERNATIVES ...... 96 6.1 ALTERNATIVE 1: NO DEVELOPMENT/PROJECT OPTION ...... 96 6.2 OVER THE WATER GUEST VILLAS (IMPACT ZONE, IZ-1) ...... 96 6.3 SERVICE BUILDINGS IN THE MANGROVE REGION ...... 96 7 ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING ...... 97 7.1 ANNUAL MONITORING PROGRAMME ...... 97 7.1.1 Terrestrial Environmental Monitoring ...... 99 7.1.2 Marine environmental monitoring ...... 105 7.1.3 Coastal Zone Monitoring ...... 107 7.2 MONITORING REPORT ...... 108

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7.3 PROPONENT’S COMMITMENT FOR MONITORING ...... 108 8 CONCLUSION ...... 109 9 REFERENCES – BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 110 MPE (1993), THE ENVIRONMENT PROTOCOL, MINISTRY OF PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT ...... 110 10 ANNEX: TERMS OF REFERENCE ...... 112 PROJECT SETTING ...... 112 PROJECT DESCRIPTION ...... 112 EXISTING ENVIRONMENT ...... 112 PUBLIC CONSULTATION ...... 113 IMPACTS ...... 113 ALTERNATIVES ...... 113 MITIGATION ...... 113 MONITORING ...... 114 PRESENTATION ...... 114 11 ANNEX: CONSULTANTS DECLARATION ...... 115 12 SKETCHES OF BUILDINGS AND OTHER STRUCTURES ...... 116 13 COMMITMENT LETTER FROM THE PROPONENT TO UNDERTAKE MONITORING ...... 119 14 NAMES AND REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE NUMBERS OF THE EIA CONSULTANTS ...... 120 15 ANNEX:CV’S OF UNREGISTERED CONSULTANTS ...... 121

Table of Figures

Figure 2-1: Site Plan and location of infrastructure ...... 8 Figure 4-1: Photographic summary of the major environmental and coastal conditions at Kanbaalifaru island resort...... 35 Figure 4-2: Location of Kanbaalifaru in Shaviyani Atoll ...... 37 Figure 4-3: Beach Profiles of Kanbaalifaru ...... 38 Figure 4-4: Trends in climatic variations and geomorphologic features across the Maldives ...... 39 Figure 4-5: General wind rose diagram for the Maldives (source MEEW 2005)...... 42 Figure 4-6: Area covered by different attributes of Kanbaalifaru island ...... 47 Figure 4-7: Kabaalifaru reef and lagoon survey sites and potential impact areas from the proposed development .... 49 Figure 4-8: Benthic cover of the reef at Site 1 ...... 51 Figure 4-9: Coral map of Site 1 ...... 51 Figure 4-10: Benthic cover of the reef at Site 2 ...... 52

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Figure 4-11: Coral map of Site 2 ...... 52 Figure 4-12: Benthic cover of the reef at Site 3 ...... 53 Figure 4-13: Coral map of Site 3 ...... 53 Figure 4-14: Benthic cover of the reef at Site 4 ...... 54 Figure 4-15: Coral map of Site 4 ...... 54 Figure 4-16: Benthic cover of the reef at Site 5 ...... 55 Figure 4-17: Coral map of Site 5 ...... 55 Figure 4-18: Terrestrial vegetation transect zones and the line transects ...... 58 Figure 4-19: Percentage and average canopy height of plant species observed along transect A to B ...... 60 Figure 4-20: Percentage and average canopy height of plant species observed along transect C to D ...... 61 Figure 4-21: Percentage and average canopy height of plant species observed along E to F ...... 62 Figure 4-22: Percentage and average canopy height of plant species observed along G to H ...... 63 Figure 4-23: Groundwater sampling locations ...... 67 Figure 5-1: Impact zones in the coastal environment ...... 75 Figure 5-2: Percentage of reef and lagoon area that will be impacted ...... 81

Table of Tables

Table 2-1: Matrix of major inputs ...... 15 Table 2-2: Matrix of major outputs of environmental significance ...... 17 Table 3-1: Air quality standards of some selected countries (in µg/m3) ...... 29 Table 3-2: USEPA ambient air quality standards ...... 30 Table 3-3: Some selected noise standards ...... 30 Table 3-4: Noise standards according to the World Bank Pollution Prevention and Abatement Handbook, 1998 ... 30 Table 3-5: Recommended effluent quality standards ...... 32 Table 4-1: Key meteorological information ...... 39 Table 4-2: Summary of general wind conditions in Kanbaalifaru ...... 41 Table 4-3: Scatter diagram for Kanbaalifaru. Wind speed versus wind direction (%). All Year (1999)- (adapted from DHI, 1999) ...... 42 Table 4-4: Summary of wave condition in Kanbaalifaru ...... 45 Table 4-5: Results of the sea water quality test conducted in Kabaalifaru island in February 2007...... 56 Table 4-6: Percentage of species and their average canopy height recorded from transect A to B of the vegetation line ...... 59 Table 4-7: Percentage of species and their average canopy height recorded along transect C to D of the vegetation line ...... 60 Table 4-8: Percentage of species and their average canopy height recorded along transect E to F ...... 61

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Table 4-9: Percentage of species and their average canopy height recorded along transect G to H ...... 62 Table 4-10: Results of the inner transect line ...... 65 Table 4-11: Results of the groundwater analysis in Kabaalifaru ...... 66 Table 4-12: School Enrolment in Shaviyani Atoll School, 2003 ...... 68 Table 4-13: Percentage of fish caught by Shaviyani Atoll ...... 68 Table 5-1: Summary of impacts of coastal works and proposed structures on the coastal environment ...... 77 Table 5-3: Extent of potential impacts on marine environment ...... 80 Table 5-4: Summary of Social Impacts and Mitigation Measures ...... 86 Table 5-5: Main Migration Streams to Male’ ...... 88 Table 5-6: Major impacts of tourism development on Kanbaalifaru summarised ...... 90 Table 5-7: Matrix of major terrestrial environmental impacts during construction and operation phase ...... 91 Table 7-1: Annual Monitoring Programme for Kanbaalifaru ...... 98 Table 7-2: Description of recommended standards for ground and marine water quality ...... 100 Table 7-3: Monitoring of solid waste ...... 101 Table 7-4 Recommended effluent quality standard ...... 101 Table 7-5: Implementation schedule for the terrestrial environment monitoring ...... 102 Table 7-6: Implementation schedule for the water quality monitoring programme ...... 103 Table 7-7: Implementation schedule for wastewater monitoring ...... 104 Table 7-8: Monitoring of health and safety ...... 105 Table 7-9: Coral reef monitoring programme recommended for the long-term evaluation of Kanbaalifaru reef system and ambient marine environment for impact assessment and mitigation of impacts...... 106 Table 7-10: Environmental monitoring requirements for the coastal zone of Kanbaalifaru ...... 107

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NON TECHNICAL SUMMARY

This report discusses the findings of an environmental impact study undertaken by Water Solutions Pvt. Ltd. for the resort development in Kabaalifaru island in Shaviyani Atoll.

The project involves the development of a resort in Kabaalifaru Island, in Shaviyaniatoll. Kanbaalifaru is located about 4 km from the eastern reef edge of Shaviyani Atoll in front of Fundhookandu (Chanel Opening) at longitude and latitude of 73o15’ E and 6o07’ N respectively. Kanbaalifaru is formed within its own coral reef system rising approximately 70m from the atoll basin. It lies approximately 5 km south and south-west of the inhabited islands of Lhaimagu and Funadhoo (the atoll capital) respectively. The closest inhabited islands to Kanbaalifaru are Laimagu and Funadhoo. The closest island is Firunbaidhoo which is now declared as an uninhabited island, roughly 3 km south-west of Kanbaalifaru. The Island of Vangaru, which would soon be developed as a tourist resort, lies 7 km south-west. The uninhabited island, Eriyadhoo lies on the eastern reef rim of Shaviyani Atoll, km 4 south-east of Kanbaalifaru

Environmental impacts of the proposed resort development have been examined through a number of processes. The report has identified that the impacts of the redevelopment process will mainly be felt on the coastal, terrestrial and marine environment. Impacts on the marine environment will be felt through sedimentation and siltation caused by the construction activities on the lagoon and the coral reef, during this period. Impacts on the coastal environment will be felt as a result of developing new structures on the coastal zone such as the jetty. Terrestrial impacts are going to be felt by means of vegetation clearing.

Several alternatives were considered for the proposed project, including no project alternatives. Other alternatives such as relocation and siting of buildings were also considered.These alternatives, though it was considered, has been avoided as they are more undesirable in terms of environmental impacts and costs. Finally, the report provides a conclusion which outlines the alternatives, the mitigation measures and the environmental monitoring that will be undertaken in Kabaalifaru Island.

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1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Aims and Objectives of the EIA

This EIA is prepared in order to fulfill the requirements of the EPPA of Maldives and EIA Regulations of MEEW in order to develop the island of Kanbaalifaru in Shaviyani Atoll as a Tourist Resort. The formulation of this EIA began in November 2006 and the EIA Report was submitted to the ERC in December 2006. An EIA decision note was subsequently issued by ERC in January 2007. A follow-up letter was sent to the proponent in March 2007, requesting to resubmit a revised EIA with additional information as requested in the EIA decision note. The current EIA report, therefore has been prepared to fulfill the requirements of the aforementioned decision note and is prepared in accordance with the requirements of both EPPA and EIA regulations of the Maldives. A scoping meeting was also held to finalize the terms of reference and it has been attached as annex.

This EIA is intended to prevent or minimize potentially adverse environmental impacts and enhance the overall quality of the project. Because EIA process allows environmental issues to be addressed in a timely and cost- effective manner during project design, preparation and implementation. This EIA can therefore help reduce overall project costs, assist in completing projects on schedule, and help design the project in a manner acceptable to all stakeholders.

From the perspective of the Proponent, the main objective of the EIA is to fulfill the legal obligations of the proponent to undertake an EIA under Clause 5 of the Environmental Protection and Preservation Act of the Maldives in accordance with the EIA regulations issued by the Government Ministry responsible for environmental issues in 2007.

The EIA more specifically helps to attain the following goals:

• lower project costs in the long-term

• increased project acceptance by the public and key stakeholders;

• improved project design/siting;

• more informed decision-making;

• more environmentally sensitive decisions;

• increased accountability and transparency during the development process;

• improved integration of projects into their environmental and social setting;

• reduced environmental damage (mitigation measures planned and implemented in time to minimize adverse impacts on the environment).

1.2 Terms of Reference and Scope for this EIA

The scope and the TOR for the EIA has been finalized after consultations with the proponent, the consultant, Tourism Ministry and the Environment Ministry. The approved TOR has been attached as an annex.

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1.3 Methodologies

The methodologies available to undertake EIA processes are numerous and are the subject of many textbooks and published articles. However, common and internationally recognized methods not entailing excessive costs have been used in this environmental evaluation and assessment. These are briefly discussed below:

EIA methodologies developed over the years which include screening, scoping and preliminary assessments have been employed. Due to time constraints, impact assessment has also been based on what is sometimes referred to as “ad hoc” methods which rely on expert opinion. Hence, a group of experts have been involved from varying disciplines to draw up and present the impacts. Checklists and matrices have been used for organizing and presenting material. In fact, most EIA methodologies, qualitative or quantitative, rely on expert judgement, based on the experience gained by EIA consultants over the past years.

Since EIA’s are not just scientific documents and evaluations of potential impacts of a project but also an opportunity for stakeholders to participate in the decision making, social and cultural view points are considered, although not to the maximum possible extent due to time constraints and nature of the project.

Conditions of the existing environment were analyzed by using appropriate scientific methods. This EIA is based mainly on data collected during a fact finding/field investigation mission in November 2006 and Feb 2007. The data collection methods are described in detail in the respective sections.

Conditions of the existing environment were analyzed by using appropriate scientific methods. Vegetation surveys, coastal surveys, beach profiles and reef surveys were undertaken. In addition, data from previous EIA report and other similar EIAs were used to aid in assessing the environmental impacts of the proposed activities. Additionally, impact predictions have been based on experience gained by the consultants from similar projects.

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1.4 Execution of the EIA

Water Solutions Pvt. Ltd (EIA consultant), a company registered with the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade with an objective of providing consultancy services in the field of environment and development, has been engaged by Mr. Ali Shareef of Ma. Anaa Villa (the proponent) to conduct an Environmental Impact Statement (EIA) and to provide assistance in other environmental related activities with regard to the development of a resort on the Island of Kanbaalifaru in Shaviyani Atoll, Maldives

As per the request Water Solutions have undertaken an EIA study by employing a multi disciplinary team The members of the EIA team is listed below and their CVs are attached with the report as an annex

1. Mr. Aslam Shakir (EIA Project Manager & EIA Consultant) – EIA 11/07

2. Mr. Hussan Naeem (EIA Consultant)

3. Mr. Abdul Aleem (EIA Consultant) –EIA 09/07

4. Mr. Ahmed Zahid (EIA Consultant)- EIA 08/07

5. Mr. Ahmed Firass Afif (Surveyor)

6. Mr. Farhath Jameel (Assistant Surveyor)

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2 PROJECT DESCRIPTION

2.1 Project Proponent

The proponent of the project is Mr. Ali Shareef. He owns all the leasehold rights of Kanbaalifaru as per the terms of the agreement entered between the Ministry of Tourism and Mr. Ali Shareef.

2.2 Project location

Kanbaalifaru is located about 4 km from the eastern reef edge of Shaviyani Atoll in front of Fundhookandu (Chanel Opening) at longitude and latitude of 73o15’ E and 6o07’ N respectively. Kanbaalifaru is formed within its own coral reef system rising approximately 70m from the atoll basin. It lies approximately 5 km south and south-west of the inhabited islands of Lhaimagu and Funadhoo (the atoll capital) respectively. The closest inhabited islands to Kanbaalifaru are Laimagu and Funadhoo. The closest island is Firunbaidhoo which is now declared as an uninhabited island, roughly 3 km south-west of Kanbaalifaru. The Island of Vangaru, which would soon be developed as a tourist resort, lies 7 km south-west. The uninhabited island, Eriyadhoo lies on the eastern reef rim of Shaviyani Atoll, km 4 south-east of Kanbaalifaru.

There is a single reef system and is formed in a letter C-shape and oriented or facing towards the west. The island is formed on the eastern edge of the circular reef system on its eastern side. The island is narrow towards north and uniformly bulges towards the south creating a shape depicting a semi circle. The length of the island is 13,400 m. The width at the widest point is 268 meters. A white sandy beach of approximately 1,000 m composing mainly of fine sand runs along the western side of the island, from the southern tip towards north. The average height of the island is 1.2 -1.7 meters above mean sea level. The water around Kanbaalifaru is clear and pollution free. Salinity around the island ranged between 33,000-34,000 mg/l.

The landscape of Kanbaalifaru is representative of many other small islands with general characteristics unique to most uninhabited islands. However there are two areas of marshy-Mangroves. One in the narrow region in the north and other near the south-end, both on the eastern side of the island. The Mangrove area near the narrow end has aged with the island and has matured Mangroves trees (Kandoo) in a marshy area. The area towards the south end has only young Kandoo trees of 3-4 years growing in a marshy area. No matured Kandoo trees are found in this area. Apart from these two areas no terrestrial landscapes of significance was found on this island. The landscape could be described as having two major types of vegetation; more established vegetation on the inside of the island and relatively young vegetation along the islands vegetation line. The island experiences natural erosion at different sections, mainly on the eastern side.

Hydro-geological assessment indicates a shallow fresh water lens that is variable with the changing tide. The groundwater table during the time of investigation was 1.2 - 1.7 m from the ground level. There are three (two old, one new) groundwater well accessible for sampling. Groundwater was found to be saline and conductivity levels reading well below 2500 uS/cm.

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2.3 Project Justification

Tourism which started in the Maldives in 1972 is considered as the economic backbone of the country and is expanding rapidly. Tourist arrivals have increased at about 60% between 1990 and 1995 and about 50% from 1995 to 2000. In the period of the Second Tourism Master Plan, the growth of tourism industry has expanded away from the central region, bringing with it various economic benefits to the inhabitants of other atolls.

The project proponent, Mr. Ali Shareef, intends to invest an initial amount of U$25 million to develop and operate a 200 bed 5 star tourist resort on the island of Kanbaalifaru during 2008.

Kanbaalifaru will be among the 1st batch of resorts to be developed in Shaviyani atoll. Development of tourism in Shaviyani Atoll would have many direct and indirect economic and social benefits to Shaviyani Atoll and to the nation in general. For instance this will contribute for a more equitable distribution of natural resources in the country. Furthermore the arrival of tourism industry into Shaviyani Atoll would lead to an increase in the percentage share in employment and resulting income from the service sector of the atoll. There will be an increase in economic activities and new opportunities will open up within the region. There would also be an increase in demand for fisheries and agriculture to cater for the resorts. There are also other obvious multiplier effects on the economy related to tourism development. Most of all, tourism development in Shaviyani Atoll is urgently needed to distribute national wealth more equally and to open opportunities for development across the nation. Therefore development of a resort on Kanbaalifaru is beyond any doubt an important milestone in realizing this goal.

2.4 Project Duration

It is expected that the all the construction activates would finish in 18 months from the granting of all the approvals and the resort would be in operation before Christmas of 2008. A detailed construction schedule showing details of the main project components/tasks and their duration is attached as Annex.

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2.5 Boundaries of the areas affected by the project

The project takes place in Sh. Kanbaalifaru, an inhabited island previously leased for agricultural activities. Kanbaalifaru is located about 4 km from the eastern reef edge of Shaviyani Atoll in front of Fundhookandu (Chanel Opening) at longitude and latitude of 73o15’ E and 6o07’ N respectively. Kanbaalifaru is formed within its own coral reef system rising approximately 70m from the atoll basin. It lies approximately 5 km south and south-west of the inhabited islands of Lhaimagu and Funadhoo (the atoll capital) respectively. The closest inhabited islands to Kanbaalifaru are Laimagu and Funadhoo. The closest island is Firunbaidhoo which is now declared as an uninhabited island, roughly 3 km south-west of Kanbaalifaru. The Island of Vagaru, which would soon be developed as a tourist resort, lies 7 km south-west. The uninhabited island, Eriyadhoo lies on the eastern reef rim of Shaviyani Atoll, 4 km south-east of Kanbaalifaru.

2.6 Concept, Design Details and Built Environment

The tourism product of the Maldives is almost entirely based on the natural beauty of the islands and clean environment. As the natural resources of the Maldives are being exploited for economic benefits, it is important to ensure that local people derive the benefits directly and indirectly and the enjoyment of the resources by future generations are not adversely affected. Therefore, the following socio-cultural and environmental features of the project shall be given special consideration throughout the project implementation period: Employment and income-generation benefits to local population. Minimizing adverse social impacts of tourism development. Protection and preservation of white sandy beaches in their natural state to the greatest possible extent. Protection and preservation of live and healthy coral reefs and marine biological diversity Protection and preservation of tropical vegetation of the island. Protection and preservation of the Maldives’ environment in general.

The basic design concept and the of the resort on Kanbaalifaru will be based on features special to this island. They are mostly determined by the island’s shape, size and other features such as the natural setting and the history of the island. The prominent features of the island particularly studied for the overall physical plan are: The curving or crescent shape of the of the island

Total Land Area is 170,000 square meter 3 km long beach of mostly fine white sand (South and West) and some patches of rocks and pebbles (North and East) Thick vegetation and tropical undergrowth Lack of coconut palms (unlike in many other Maldivian Islands) Deep and calm lagoon on the southwest side suitable for a natural harbor Lack of suitable beach for recreation on the South and Western coast.

The proposed development design will reflect and blend with the inspirational natural setting of the island without disturbing the island’s natural integrity, by considering the abovementioned features. In general:

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All buildings and pathways would be planned around major trees to the greatest extent possible to ensure conservation of trees. Walking tracks will be made as narrow as possible in order to minimize the impacts on the island vegetation. Buildings on the coastal zone will be planned and constructed in such a way that the natural hydrodynamics of the coastal zone is not affected. The majority of guest accommodation will be concentrated on the beach as classic beach bungalows.

Water villas will be located in a way to make viewing of the sunrise and sunset easy.

The layout and total area of the various resort buildings are required to meet the government regulations and guidelines concerning retention of sufficient vegetation and provision of coastal protection zone. The total built area takes up about 17,694 square meters or 10.4 percent of the existing total land area of Kanbaalifaru.

Guest accommodation will be provided in 100 guest villas in various distinctive concepts. The following main buildings, facilities and supporting infrastructure would also be developed as proposed in the Site Plan, Figure 2-1 (Site Plan).

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Figure 2-1: Site Plan and location of infrastructure

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2.7 Description of Resort Facilities and Infrastructure

All the buildings will be constructed using brick, mason, concrete, cement and timber and local coconut thatch. The material used for finishing would depend on the intended uses of the building.

Beach Guest Villas (Guest Villa Type 1)

There will be 62 single storey Beach Guest Villas

Beach Executive Guest villas (Guest Villa Type 3)

There will be 02 single storey water villas (over the water)

Lagoon Guest Villas (Guest Villa Type 2)

There will be 30 single storey land or beach villas

Detached Lagoon Guest Villas (Guest Villa Type 4)

All the guest villas will be made of timber ceilings, timber-cladding glazed windows and solid timber doors. All guest room will further be covered with treated timber floorings. Roof will be covered with Maldivian coconut- thatch upon a hard wood timber framework with exposed rafter plywood ceiling.

All guest villas would have hot & cold water, air conditioning, IDD telephone, internet & cable television and personal hi-fi system or personal home theater system.

Reception

The floor area of reception will be 72 sq m and the reception complex will contain an office area, reception area, waiting lounge and 2 toilets.

Restaurant 1: Main Restaurant and Main Kitchen

The main restaurant has 3 round buildings with an open deck. The main kitchen is located adjacent to the main restaurant.

Restaurant 2: Specialty Restaurant

Specialty restaurant is housed in on main building and 2 annexes. This restaurant is supported by a longue, reception are toilets, kitchen and kitchen support services.

Spa

The spa builds are segregated: The massage rooms are detached from the spa office and reception.

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Jetty 1: Main/Guest Jetty and Jetty 2: BOH, Service Jetty

There will be 2 jetties on the island. The main arrival jetty would located on the west side towards the lagoon. The second jetty would be provided on the west as a supply jetty. Both jetties will be constructed using treated timber planks laid on concrete columns standing on piled concrete footings driven into the seabed.

In addition, the following facilities will be made available. Bar/Coffee shop Water Sports Complex/Area Sports Complex Dive School

Staff Accommodation 1A, 2A, 2B, 2C, and 3 Staff Restaurant and Kitchen

Staff Recreation Centre Administrative, Clinic & Fire Laundry and House Keeping Service Hut Waste Management Centre Power and Water Plant Buggy Station Maintenance Workshop Stores Complex Water Storage Mosque Antenna Base.

2.8 Environmental Design Considerations

Site Planning

All buildings have been located so as to minimize disruption to the existing environment, especially the large trees and the mangrove area1 on the island. During the final setting-out, buildings will be adjusted and if necessary re-located on site so that the existing vegetation can remain as untouched as possible.

1 Note: we have noted 2 mangrove areas in Kanbaalifaru, however only one area is a natural mangrove, which is towards the North-tip; what is on the east is not a natural mangrove, it is an area where the person looked after has attempted to grow mangrove species (especially Knadoo).

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Setback of Waterfront Buildings

All the waterfront buildings have located with at least 5 meter setback from the vegetation line of the island following the guidelines of the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation regarding the development of infrastructure on the tourist resort. The waterfront buildings have been located more than 20 meters as set back from the high water mark on the island. (For details of the setbacks please refer to the site plan)

Public Areas and other infrastructure

Public facilities will be developed on the south of the main arrival jetty on the widest area of the island along the west coast. All public areas have been designed to fully maximize natural lighting and ventilation. These areas, such as the main lobby and restaurants, are naturally ventilated and supplemented with ceiling fans to provide the necessary cooling for hotel guests. The design of the public buildings ensure energy efficient buildings by allowing entrance of natural light into the buildings during the day time. High ceilings will further enhance the natural lighting and negate the need for the use of air-conditioning in these areas.

Jetties

The main arrival jetty of the resort is on the western side of the island which will be protected from the harsh weather conditions of the northeast monsoon, during the peak tourist season. This side of the island, facing the island lagoon, can also be used as a harbor during both northeast and southwest monsoon as this area is in the lee of the elongated Kanbaalifaru. The supply jetty would be located on the west side.

Jetties will be built by using treated timber planks laid on piled concrete columns rather than solid structures to minimize disruption to natural long-shore sediment transport around the island.

2.9 Environmental Aspects of the Project

During construction and operation stages of the proposed resort development, the following components and activities are considered to have significant impacts upon the environment: Site mobilization/construction/demobilization and the provision of workforce related infrastructure and services Clearance of vegetation for resort infrastructure development Development of resort infrastructure and services Construction of beach and coastal infrastructure including jetty, coastal defense (if necessary), seaplane platform and lagoon villas. Resort operation – waste management, water supply, sewerage and wastewater disposal, energy generation, and transportation of guests, passengers and goods. Staff and guest activities

The rest of this section discusses main environmental aspects of the project.

2.9.1 Water Supply

Desalination plant will be installed for production of fresh water supply for this development, for the development and operational phase. For the desalination plant, ground water will be extracted from bore holes

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near the desalination plant room. Ground water will be pre-filtered and would undergo two stage reverse osmosis to produce fresh water complying with WHO standards. Rainwater will be collected from the back of house of the development and conveyed to be mixed with the first stage reverse osmosis treated water. The mixed water will then pass the second stage of the reverse osmosis for potable water production. The potable water production capacity of desalination plant will be 100,000 litres per day during construction and operation. The desalination plant by product, brine, will be discharged to sea via marine outfall.

The location of the brine and wastewater outfall has been attached with the site plan. Please refer to the site plan for details.

Hot Water Installation

Passive solar collectors complete with storage vessel will be installed at all villa buildings and tall objects to preheat the incoming cold water to approximately 40 degree C. Electrical heaters will be installed to further booster the pre-heated hot water to the designed temperature prior to supplying to the water faucets and showers for guests’ consumption.

Swimming Pools

A swimming pool will be located in the public area near the coffee shop which would form an important element of the resort.

2.9.2 Sewage & Wastewater Management

Sewage treatment plant of sequential batch reactor type will be installed for the treatment of wastewater collected from the development. Treated wastewater will achieve a quality better than BOD 10mg/l, SS 10mg/l and COD 25mg/l. Treated wastewater will be reused for the sanitary fitment flushing of the villas, floor cleansing and irrigation purposes. Excessive treated wastewater will be discharged to the sea via marine outfall. The treatment capacity of the sewage treatment plant will be 400 cubic metres per day.

Grease traps located outside all kitchens are provided for trapping of grease from kitchen waste before discharging to the sewer network.

2.9.3 Waste management

A Crushing machine will be installed to crush metal tins to reduce volume of final waste. An incinerator will be installed to incinerate all the wastes safely. Most of the green waste will be used to make compost and fertilizer. Access green waste, crushed tins and other solid wastes will be transported to Thilifushi or any other regional waste management site.

2.9.4 Power Generation and fuel management

Diesel-fired electricity generators of 100kVA and 50kVA will be installed for the development. Light diesel of sulphur content less than 0.5% will be selected as the fuel for the generators. 3-phase centricity at 50 Hz would be generated for the resort operation via two 100kVA prime fuel oil generation sets. An additional generator-set of 100kVA would be installed as a backup.

Waste heat will be recovered from the generators for hot water generation for areas near the generator plant.

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All lighting in the resort will be energy saving light bulbs. Electrical machinery will also be energy efficient machinery.

2.10 Construction, Operation & Decommissioning

2.10.1 Site mobilization

Site mobilisation can have major environmental consequences if over looked during the project design, EIA process, and execution of the work. Site mobilisation for this project involves the mobilisation of the construction material, machinery, equipments and workforce to the project site. This component covers the provision of transportation, site access, storage and services for the work force.

Therefore site mobilisation would have its environmental implications including tansport related impacts, site access related impacts and workforce related impacts. All the impacts related to site mobilisation are considered in detail later in the EIA report.

Kanbaalifaru already has good access from the west side and has good harbouring and mooring area in the lagoon in front, as a result access or entrance channels and harbours are not required for the site mobilisation.

However, all the site mobilisation and construction related activities would be carried in a planned manner as per the recommendations of the EIA report.

2.10.2 Workforce and workforce related services

Approximately 800 workers will be employed during the construction stage for approximately 18 months. These workers will be accommodated on the island. Therefore all the workforce related infrastructure and services will be provided on Kanbaaliufaru.

Site office and temporary accommodation

A site office and temporary accommodation blocks will be constructed during the initial phase. The island has some clear areas and areas with only grass, scrub and non-wooden bush . These areas will be mainly utilised to erect the temporary structures related to site office, accommodation and storage of construction materials, plants and equipments. In addition, provision of all the temporary infrastructure would be kept to a minimum in order to reduce environmental impacts during the construction stage especially in the initial phase. Once the construction stage is over, all the temporary structures would be removed from the island.

Utilities

Water, electricity and sanitation facilities would be provided during the construction phase as required for the construction workers. HDPE waters tanks of storage capacity 2,500-5,000 litres would be provided on the island to collect rain water from the roofs of the temporary buildings. A 100-ton desalination plant (plus a bask of 50m3) will be installed to supplement the rain water supply and to increase the capacity of potable water supply during the construction phase. Electricity will be provided using 100 kVA generator set (plus a back up of 50kVA) on site. Sanitation facilities will be provide by means of temporary toilets and septic tanks attached to them.

Services

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The contractor is expected to provide their workers with meals, health care facility, leaves and appropriate entertainment facilities. The proponent would not be responsible for any of the services to be provided to the contractor’s staff or workers.

2.10.3 Waste Management and Disposal

All the waste generated would be managed according to the Tourism Regulations and the contractor would be made responsible to dispose of all the construction related waste during the construction period and during demobilisation along with any other waste. The contractor will be required to clear all areas of work.

A significant amount of green waste is expected to be generated due to site clearance. These will be composed or burnt on site again in accordance with the Tourism Regulations.

2.10.4 Health and Safety Measures The contractor would ensure that Health and Safety procedures are complied with at all the times Construction activities would be carried out under the supervisor of a suitably experienced person. All reasonable precautions will be taken for the safety of employees, and equipment will operated by competent persons. Warning signs, barricades or warning devices will be provided and used. Necessary safety gear will be worn at all times. Control measures for mosquito, fly, rats and other vectors would be strictly followed. Spraying will be done one a weekly basis to control mosquito and fly. Rat traps will be installed throughout the island. The island will be kept clean and tidy to prevent out break of vectors and disease. First aid officers would be trained and stationed on the island and an emergency firs aid kit would be provided.

2.10.5 Fire Prevention Fire fighting officers would be trained and stationed on the island during the construction period. Fire extinguishers would be installed during the construction stage. Oxygen, acetylene or LPG bottles will not be left free-standing. All welding and cutting will be done in accordance to high safety regulations by experienced personnel.

2.10.6 Transport

During the construction stage mainly sea transport will be used to transport supplies, resort staff, construction workers and visitors. On rare occasions, even at this stage seaplanes will be used to transport people. During the operation stage sea-transportation will mainly be used to transport supplies and seaplanes will be used to transfer tourists. Marine vessels will use both jetties, but the seaplanes will only use vilu area on the western lagoon for landing and taking off.

2.10.7 Other Considerations Machinery will be properly tuned and maintained to reduce emissions and minimize risk of spills/leaks Fuel storage will be appropriately bunded as detailed in the engineering drawings Spill kits will be maintained around the island to handle any liquid spills Septic tanks will be utilised for sewage and wastewater disposal during construction period

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All pants, lubricants, and other chemicals used on site will be stored in secure and bunded locations to minimise risk of spill.

2.11 Project Inputs and Outputs

The types of materials that will go into the development of the resort and from where and how this will be obtained are given in Table 2-1 and the type of outputs (products and waste streams) and what is expected to happen to the outputs are given in Table 2-2.

Table 2-1: Matrix of major inputs

Input resource (s) Source/Type How to obtain resources

Construction workers Maldivians and foreigners Advertise in local papers/other (800+) sources

Operational Staff (120) Maldivians and foreigners Advertise/recruitment agencies

Toursts/Guests(full occupation) Guest (foreign and local) Travel agent and direct marketing

Construction material Timber; Thatch for roof, electrical cables and Import and purchase where locally wires, DBs and MCBs, PVC pipes, light weight available at competitive prices – concrete blocks, reinforcement steel bars, Main Contractor’s responsibility. sand, cement, aggregates, telephone cable CAT 5, PVC conduits, floor and wall tiles, gypsum boards, calcium silicate boards, zinc coated corrugated metal roof, paint, varnish, lacquer, thinner, etc

Maintenance material Similar to above Import or purchase locally where available

Water supply (during construction) Rain water and desalinated water Water produced using 2x50 m3/day production capacity desalination plants and rain water collected for from the roofs which would be stored in HDPE tanks

Water supply (during operation) Rain water and desalinated water Water produced using 2x50 m3/day production capacity desalination plants and rain water collected for from the roofs which would be stored in HDPE tanks

Electricity/Energy (during Diesel 100 kVA generator plus construction) 50 kVA generator

Electricity/Energy (during Light diesel (low sulphur content) 3x100kVA production capacity operation) generator sets, energy produced using solar heaters, and energy produced using waster heat from the generators.

Diving and sports gear Air Compressor Import Nitrox Enabled Air Compressor Nitrox Membrane System High Pressured Airbank (for Nitrox Membrane System)

Electrical appliances/machinery Energy efficient machinery and lighting; ozone- Local suppliers friendly refrigerators

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Telecommunications Hotel Phone Systems, Fax Machines, E-mail Local telecom company to provide and internet facilities. telecom service

Transport (air and sea) International air travel, domestic air and sea transport

Food and Beverage (during Mainly imported sources except a few locally Import/local purchase construction and operation) available. Preference will be given to locally produced food items

Laundry chemicals Detergent, All Purpose Cleaners, Glass Local resort suppliers Cleaners, Bathroom Cleaners, Destainer Bleach, Oxygen Bleach, Softener, Alkali Neutraliser, Detergent, DetergentPlus, Starch, Stain Spots Remover, etc. NOTE: All Chemicals are Bio-degradable compounds

Paper Products Tissue Roll, Tissue Boxes, Hand Tissues, Import/purchase locally Guest In-room Paper Amenities/ Brochures Office Use Paper Products

Insecticides, pesticides, etc. Imported pesticides Import/local suppliers

Fire fighting equipment Fire Pumps, Fire Protection System, Smoke Import/local suppliers Detectors, Carbon Dioxide and Foam Fire Extinguishers, etc.

Fuel, Kerosene and LPG Light Diesel, LPG Gas, Petrol, Lubricants Local suppliers

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Table 2-2: Matrix of major outputs of environmental significance

Products and waste materials Anticipated quantities Method of disposal

Potable water bottles 8160 Plastic bottles per Plastic Bottles – recycled and disposed off to month Kulhudhufushi;

453 Glass bottles per Glass – crushed and regularly sent to landfill in month Kulhudhufushi

Sewage and wastewater Estimated to be at 300 Treated wastewater reuse and excess pumped to sea. Grey water/laundry wastewater litres/person/day Chemicals used will be bio-degradable

General/domestic waste 346 bags per month

Food and kitchen waste 226 Garbage Bags per Bio-degradable: composted on site and excess month of 30 days/ 800 KG disposed to open sea with minimum 50 miles from any per day land-natural waste.

Some quantities will also be incinerated

Waste oil and grease 226 litres per month Incineration, disposal to waste management centre in Kulhudhufushi. They may also be made available for local fisherman free.

Scrap metal/cans/plastics 113 kg per day Crushed and compacted by mechanical compactors and eventually transported to the waste management center in Kulhudhufushi

Paper and cardboard 46 boxes per day Recycled, Send to waste management center in Kulhudhufushi and also some incineration will be undertaken.

Glass and glass bottles 119 bottles per day Crushed and regularly sent to landfill in Kulhudhufushi

Hazardous waste 195 litres of diesel and oils Barrelled and sent to waste management centre in per month Kulhudhufushi

Garden wastes Estimated to be in Mulched and used as fertilizer. Excess will be moderate quantities incinerated.

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3 PROJECT SETTING

3.1 Introduction

The main legal instruments of concern are the Environmental Protection and Preservation Act (Law No. 4/93) of the Maldives passed by the Citizen’s Majlis in April 1993, The EIA Regulations of 2007 issued by Ministry of Environment, Energy and Water (MEEW) and the Fisheries Law and Regulations enforced by the Ministry of Fisheries, Agriculture and Marine Resources of the Maldives with effect from August 1987. Law No. 4/93 provides MEEW with wide statutory powers of environmental regulation and enforcement. This umbrella law covers issues such as environmental impact assessment, protected areas management and pollution prevention.

Although there are no existing national standards pertaining to the control of noise, air and water pollution, a Food Safety Regulation, Water and Sanitation Regulations, waste disposal guidelines and National Fire Code and National Building Code and similar legislation are now in the draft stage.

3.2 Overview of the national environmental regulatory framework

3.2.1 Environmental Protection Act

The Articles of the Environmental Protection and Preservation Act (Law No. 4/93) addresses the following aspects of environmental management: Guidelines and advice on environmental protection shall be provided by the concerned government authorities. Formulating policies, rules and regulations for protection and conservation of the environment in areas that do not already have a designated government authority already carrying out such functions shall be carried out by MEEW. Identifying and registering protected areas and natural reserves and drawing up of rules and regulations for their protection and preservation. An EIA shall be submitted to MEEW before implementing any developing project that may have a potential impact on the environment. Project that has any undesirable impact on the environment can be terminated without compensation. Disposal of waste, oil, poisonous substances and other harmful substances within the territory of the Maldives is prohibited. Waste shall be disposed only in the areas designated for the purpose by the government. Hazardous / Toxic or Nuclear Wastes shall not be disposed anywhere within the territory of the country. Permission should be obtained for any transboundary movement of such wastes through the territory of Maldives. The Penalty for Breaking the Law and Damaging the Environment are specified. The government of the Maldives reserves the right to claim compensation for all damages that are caused by activities that are detrimental to the environment.

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3.2.2 Second National Environment Action Plan

The aim of NEAP II is to protect and preserve the environment of the Maldives and to sustainably manage its resources for the collective benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations.

Main strategies of the NEAP II are: Continuous assessment of the state of the environment in the Maldives, including impacts of human activities on land, atmosphere, freshwater, lagoons, reefs and the ocean; and the effects of these activities on human well-being Development and implementation of management methods suitable for the natural and social environment of the Maldives, and maintain or enhance environmental quality and protect human health, while at the same time using resources on a sustainable basis Consultation and collaboration with all relevant sectors of society to ensure stakeholder participation in the decision making process Preparation and implementation of comprehensive national environmental legislation in order to provide for responsible and effective management of the environment Adhering to international and regional environmental conventions and agreements and implementation of commitments embodied in such conventions.

NEAP II specifies priority actions in the following areas. Climate change and sea level rise; coastal zone management; biological diversity conservation; integrated reef resources management; integrated water resources management; management of solid waste and sewerage; Pollution control and management of hazardous waste; sustainable tourism development; land resources management and sustainable agriculture; human settlement and urbanisation.

NEAP II contains environmental policies and guidelines that should be adhered to in the implementation of the proposed project activities.

3.2.3 National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan

The goals of the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan are: Conserve biological diversity and sustainably utilize biological resources. Build capacity for biodiversity conservation through a strong governance framework, and improved knowledge and understanding. Foster community participation, ownership and support for biodiversity conservation.

In implementing the proposed project activities due to care has to be given to ensure that the national biodiversity strategies are adhered to.

3.2.4 Protected Areas and Sensitive Areas

Under Article 4 of the Environment Protection and Preservation Act, the Ministry of Environment is vested with the responsibility of identifying and registering protected areas and natural reserves and drawing up of rules and regulations for their protection and preservation. At present there are no rules and regulations made available to the public on designation and protection of habitats and heritage areas.

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3.2.5 Cutting down, uprooting, digging out and export of trees and palms from one island to another

The regulation on cutting down, uprooting, digging out and export of trees and palms from one island to another is issued by the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Water. The purpose of these regulations is to minimize the ill effects posed by deforestation to the Nation’s environment and to use our land in a sustainable way”. Clause 2 (b) provides “ That the cutting-down, uprooting, digging out and export of trees and palms from one island to another can only be done if it is absolutely necessary and there is no other alternative.” Clause 2 (d) states that “For every tree or palm removed in Maldives two more trees should be planted in the island.”

Under the regulations, the removal of following trees are prohibited: The coastal vegetation growing around the islands extending to about 15 meters into the island All the trees and palms growing in mangrove and wetland spreading to 15 meters of land area. All the trees that are in the Government Protected Area Trees that are being protected by the government in order to protect species of animals/organisms that live on such trees Trees/palms that is abnormal in structure

Furthermore Clause 8: requires permission be obtained from Ministry of Environment, Energy and Water, if more than 10 palms that measure up to 15 ft (from base of the palm to the tip of the palm frond) or trees measuring up to 8 ft (from the lowest point of the trunk to the tip of the highest branch) are cut, uprooted or relocated to another island. Plants smaller than that specified in the 8 (a) can be removed with a written permission from the respective Island Office Logging on inhabited islands must be done under supervision of the islands chief or an official appointed by the island chief

Removal of trees are necessary to some extent to develop a resort on any of the islands in the Maldives. Therefore, these regulations have to be strictly followed when removing trees from this island for this project.

3.2.6 Waste management policy

The Ministry of Environment, Energy and Water has developed the framework for a national waste management policy. The key elements of the policy include: Ensure safe disposal of solid waste and encourage recycling and reduction in waste generated. Develop guidelines on waste management and disposal and advocate to enforce these guidelines through inter-sectoral collaboration. Ensure safe disposal of chemical, industrial and hazardous waste.

The key objective of the waste management policy would be the formulation and implementation of guidelines and means for solid waste management to maintain a healthy environment.

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3.2.7 Laws and Regulations Concerning Public participation

Schedule E of the EIA regulations now require public consultation and wider stakeholder consultation when conducting IEEs and EIAs. Furthermore Article 9 of the EIA Regulation requires the EIS to be made available for public comment at MEEW for one month on a public domain, which is currently the website of the Environment Research Center. It is implied that the Minister will take into consideration the public comments when making recommendations to the licensing agencies. According to the regulation, information in the EIS that are considered necessary to be kept confidential for protecting the business interests would not be made available for public.

The EIA Regulations in the Maldives were developed after the Rio Earth Summit (United Nations Conference on Environment and Development) and the adoption of Agenda 21. However, the public participation conducted through the EIA process in the Maldives is yet to reflect the degree of public participation in decision making encouraged in Agenda 21.

3.2.8 Population policy

The objective of the population policy of Maldives is to contribute to improve standard of living and quality of life of the Maldivian people through socio-economic development with a sustainable balance between population and development. The resort development in Kanbaalifaru would certainly facilitate the strategy of population and development consolidation.

3.2.9 Regulation on sand and aggregate mining

This regulation addresses sand mining from uninhabited islands that have been leased; sand mining from the coastal zone of other uninhabited islands; and aggregate mining from uninhabited islands that have been leased and from the coastal zone of other uninhabited islands.

It is not envisaged that this regulation would have much implication on the proposed project. The construction processes proposed for this resort development would be using imported aggregate and river sand. It will be ensured that imported material is used and cheaper local materials are not used for any purposes.

3.2.10 Ban on coral mining

Coral mining from the house reef and the atoll rim has been banned through a directive from the President’s Office dated 26th September 1990. Coral would not be mined and used in any of the developments in the Resort on Kanbaalifaru.

3.2.11 Land Act (Law no. 1/02)

This law provides for: Allocation and releasing of land for different needs Releasing of public land for housing Conditions that govern the using of, owning, selling, renting and transferring of ownership of public and private land.

The state owns the land and management of the land is a responsibility of an authority that is designated by the President of the Maldives.

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3.2.12 Policy on water

As addressed in Health Master Plan 1996 – 2005, the key elements of the policy on water are: Preserve water resources and protect the aquifer and marine environment from contamination. Provide access to safe potable and non-potable water.

The key objectives of the policy on water are to: Reduce infant and child mortality rate due to diarrhoea and other waterborne diseases. Provide universal access to 10L of water/person/day for drinking and cooking and 40L/person/day on islands with groundwater contamination. Minimise groundwater contamination from septic tanks Promote protection and conservation of water resources and facilitate use of rainwater. Protect the groundwater aquifers. Expand water supply technology to the islands.

Identify alternative technologies for water supply. Ensure 50 per cent of households have access to water conservation materials. Ensure 50 per cent of islands have trained and equipped water supply system operators. Develop policies, procedures, approaches and long-term strategies for water supply. Ensure that 50 per cent of the community school water tanks are well-maintained and regularly chlorinated.

3.2.13 Regulation on registration of desalination plants

Desalination System regulation requires the registration of Desalination Systems that will be operated for use by a population exceeding 200 or for large-scale agricultural or tourism activities or for the purpose of implementing project(s) that involves economic or industrial operations.

Prior to the establishment of the Desalination System, an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) must be carried out in accordance with the guidelines provided by Ministry of Environment, Energy and Water.

3.2.14 General guidelines for wastewater disposal (draft)

These guidelines have been drawn up to assist those providing public sewerage networks and private house owners constructing on-site sanitation systems, whose activities may pose a pollution risk. These guidelines have been targeted at provisions in local inhabited islands.

3.2.15 National energy policy (draft June 2005)

The stated objectives of the energy policy are:

Ensure a continuous and economically viable diversity of energy supplies to sustain socio-economic development, without compromising the environment, health and safety. Guarantee accessibility of affordable and reliable energy services to all people.

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Enhance national energy security by promoting indigenously available renewable sources of energy while creating new jobs and strengthening the economy. Protect the environment and health of the people by ensuring environmentally sound energy supply and usage. Promote energy conservation and energy efficiency to achieve optimum economic use of renewable and non-renewable sources of energy and reduce consumption without lowering the quality of service rendered. Ensure transparency of energy sector planning and operations to attract both national and international investors where appropriate.

The Energy Policy of the Maldives covers energy needs for power generation, transport, lighting and cooking. The Energy Policy calls for increasing the share of renewable energy use in the Maldives. Hence there is scope for pilot testing renewable energy initiatives in the proposed Resort and also use the proven solar photovoltaic technology wherever cost effective and with long term sustainable benefits.

3.2.16 Regulation on providing electricity services

Under this regulation, construction of the powerhouse and, handling and storage of fuel must be according to standards issued by Ministry of Construction and Public Infrastructure and MEEW respectively.

3.2.17 Tourism Act (Law no. 2/99)

This Act provides for the determination of zones and islands for the development of tourism in the Maldives: the leasing of islands for development as tourist resorts, the leasing of land for development as tourist hotels and tourist guesthouses, the leasing of places for development as marinas,

the management of all such facilities; and the operation of tourist vessels, diving centers and travel agencies, and the regulation of persons providing such services.

3.2.18 Ministry of Tourism Regulations and Circulars

The Tourism Regulations in the Maldives ensure that carrying capacity of the island and atoll ecosystems are well within limits and the negative effects of the development are minimal. Tourism regulations describe the quality and standards according to which tourist resorts must be developed and tourist services provided. These regulations have been in force for several years with recent additions including Tourist Resort Fire Safety Systems and Regulations, Maldives Recreational Diving Regulations, Regulation of Tourism other than Resorts and Vessels and the Atoll Travel Regulations.

3.2.19 Fisheries Act (Law no. 5/87)

This Act provides for Formulation of Fisheries Regulations and fisheries Management and Development Fisheries Information

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Fishing by Foreigners in the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Country. Licensing Procedure fro entering the Exclusive Economic Zone of the country by fishing vessels without a license. Cancellation of license. Research fisheries Conservation of living marine resources for a special purpose. Steps to be taken in case of suspected illegal activities. What is done with apprehended vessels or articles.

Penalties Fishing grounds most commonly used by Maldivians.

3.3 Framework for Environmental Assessment

The enforcement of EIA regulations in the country began with the formulation of the Environmental Protection and Preservation Act (Law 4/93) in April 1993 in order to protect, preserve and safeguard the fragile environment of the country. The Environmental Act gives very high prominence towards safeguarding the environment with regard to all the development activities and is currently being implemented by the Environment Section of the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Water. The Ministry has been formed recently and its mandate includes: organizing, developing and managing systems for environmental monitoring, including periodically evaluating the actual state of the environment, and forecasting environmental changes; evaluating environmental impact assessment reports of new projects and monitoring reports for existing facilities; issuing and revoking certificates based on compliance with environmental standards;

According to article 5 (a) of the Act, an Environmental Impact Assessment shall be submitted to the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Water according to guidelines formulated by the Ministry before implementing any activity that may have an adverse impact on the environment. The Ministry shall determine projects that need such assessment. This umbrella law gives the Ministry the right to terminate projects that have undesirable impacts or claim compensation for damages caused by activities that are detrimental to the environment.

3.3.1 Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations

In 2007 MEEW issued EIA regulations, providing EIA guidelines by refining the contents of the earlier EIA hand book of MEEW. Present EIA regulations provide EIA Guidelines and set up effective mechanisms for the implementation of EIA procedures. The requirements of the EIA regulations were taken into consideration in the preparation of this EIA report.

3.3.2 Post EIA Monitoring, Auditing and Evaluation

The environmental monitoring programme given in EIA reports is an important aspect of the EIA process, yet an area that is poorly enforced. The monitoring programme outlines the objectives of the monitoring; the

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specific information to be collected; the data collection program, and managing the monitoring program. Managing the monitoring programme requires assigning institutional responsibility, reporting requirements, enforcement capability, and ensuring that adequate resources are provided in terms of funds, skilled staff, etc.

Even weaker is the implementation of post EIA audits or evaluations. Most EIA processes recognize the need for follow-up and evaluation. Follow-up is required to determine whether the environmental protection measures and monitoring programs that were conditions of project approval have been undertaken as required. Further follow-up is required to determine if the environmental protection measures were successful and if the monitoring data have been analyzed and acted upon. EIAs can be useless if follow-up and evaluations or audits are neglected. This is an area that needs to be strengthened in terms of EIA administration.

3.4 International Conventions, Treaties and Protocols

The following international conventions, treaties and protocols may have certain relevance to the project that will be undertaken in Kanbaalifaru.

3.4.1 United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol

The UNFCCC is an “an overall framework for the intergovernmental efforts to achieve stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a low enough level to prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system, recognizing that the climate system is a shared resource whose stability can be affected by industrial and other emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.”

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol allows implementing project activities that reduce emissions in non-Annex I Parties, in return for certified emission reductions (CERs). The CERs generated by such project activities can be used by Annex I Parties to help meet their emissions targets under the Kyoto Protocol.

The government is presently preparing the National Adaptation Plan of Action (NAPA), Technology Needs Assessment (TNA) and National Capacity Self-Assessment (NCSA).

3.4.2 United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD)

The objective of UNCBD is “the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources, including by appropriate access to genetic resources and by appropriate transfer of relevant technologies, taking into account all rights over those resources and to technologies, and by appropriate funding”.

Maldives was one of the first nations to ratify UNCBD. Maldives has developed the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) in 2002. Formulation of NBSAP was through wide consultation and extensive stakeholder participation.

The proposed project involves the clearing vegetation and due consideration needs to be given to possible loss of biological diversity and genetic resources.

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3.4.3 United Nations Conference on Desertification (UNCCD)

The objective of UNCCD “is to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought in countries experiencing serious drought and/or desertification, particularly in Africa, through effective action at all levels, supported by international cooperation and partnership arrangements, in the framework of an integrated approach which is consistent with Agenda 21, with a view to contributing to the achievement of sustainable development in affected areas.”

The Convention calls for improved productivity of land, and the rehabilitation, conservation and sustainable management of land and water resources, leading to improved living conditions, in particular at the community level.

3.4.4 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

UNCLOS provides a legal order for the seas and oceans to facilitate international communication, promote the peaceful uses of the seas and oceans, the equitable and efficient utilization of their resources, the conservation of their living resources, and the study, protection and preservation of the marine environment.

Under the UNCLOS the Maldives is an archipelagic state and UNCLOS provides important provisions for the utilization of fishery resources within the territory of the Maldives and ensure that there is no serious pollution or dumping of waste by vessels that use the territory of the Maldives

3.4.5 International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL)

MARPOL is the main international convention covering prevention of pollution of the marine environment by ships from operational or accidental causes. It is a combination of two treaties adopted in 1973 and 1978 and includes regulations aimed at preventing and minimizing pollution from ships - both accidental pollution and that from routine operations - and currently includes Prevention of Pollution by Oil; Control of Pollution by Noxious Liquid Substances in Bulk; Prevention of Pollution by Harmful Substances Carried by Sea in Packaged Form; Prevention of Pollution by Sewage from Ships; Prevention of Pollution by Garbage from Ships; and Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships.

3.4.6 Malé Declaration on Control and Prevention of Air Pollution and its Likely Transboundary Effects for S. Asia

The objectives of Male’ Declaration include: assessing and analyzing the origin and causes, nature, extent and effects of local and regional air pollution; developing and/or adopting strategies to prevent and minimize air pollution; setting up monitoring arrangements beginning with the study of sulphur and nitrogen and volatile organic compounds emissions, concentrations and deposition.

3.5 Environmental permits required for the project

3.5.1 EIA Decision Note

The most important environmental permit to initiate construction work in Kanbaalifaru would be a decision regarding this EIA from the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Water. The EIA Decision Note, as it is referred to, shall govern the manner in which the project activities must be undertaken. This EIA report assists

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decision makers in understanding the existing environment and potential impacts of the project. Therefore, the Decision Note may only be given to the Proponent after a review of this document following which the Ministry may request for further information or provide a decision if further information is not required. In some cases, where there are no major environmental impacts associated with the project, the Ministry may provide the Decision Note while at the same time requesting for further information.

3.5.2 Registration of desalination plant

According to the Desalination Regulation of the Maldives, all desalination plants operating in the Maldives catering for public water supplies and commercial purposes would have to be registered with the Maldives Water and Sanitation Authority (MWSA). Therefore, the 750-ton desalination plant to be installed in Kanbaalifaru for the operation of the resort would have to be registered with MWSA. For this the Proponent will be required to submit the EIA Decision Note for this EIA report, completed application forms with all details of the plant to be registered. A copy of the relevant section of this EIA may be appended to the forms as justification for the desalination plant.

3.5.3 Permit for electricity

All electricity provisions to the resort must conform to the electricity regulations. Necessary permits must be sought from the Maldives Energy Authority.

3.5.4 Wastewater disposal permits

No wastewater disposal permits are required. However, guidelines must be followed. A copy of the guidelines may be obtained from the Maldives Water and Sanitation Authority.

3.6 Roles and Responsibilities

3.6.1 Environment Ministry

The Ministry of Environment, Energy and Water plays the main role within the Government for implementing EIA and other environmental matters. It has central control over environmental protection and related issues.

The Environment Section has responsibility for efficient operation of the EIA process. This encompasses a number of tasks, including screening of projects and provision of general procedural advice to the project proponents throughout the EIA process. In cases where an IEE or full-scale EIA is required, the Environment Section will provide the scope for the EIA report and provide the necessary formal procedural guidelines to the Proponent and EIA consultants. The Environment Section manages the review of the EIA report and is responsible for any approvals or recommendations associated with the EIA. It is also responsible for verifying that environmental protection measures are properly implemented by undertaking environmental audits in collaboration with other government as well as non-government agencies with a role for environmental protection and preservation.

3.6.2 National Environment Commission (NCPE)

The National Commission for the Protection of the Environment (NCPE) was appointed by the President of the Maldives in 1989 and re-structured in 1993. The NCPE is mandated to advise the government on environmental assessment, planning and management to ensure that environmental protection is a vital component of all developmental projects.

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3.6.3 Ministry of Tourism & Civil Aviation

Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation regulates all tourism developments and special consideration is given in the Tourism Law and regulations on environmental protection. In fact, tourism sector has the best practices in terms of environmental protection enforced so far.

3.6.4 Other Government Agencies

Other government agencies are often charged with management and/or protection of environmental resources, social development, public health, and economic development. If a project will have an impact on one or more of these sectors, the agencies responsible should have an opportunity to raise issues and provide input into the EIA process. These agencies can also play an important role in post EIA evaluation or auditing. These agencies are often contacted by the EIA team during the preparation of the EIA report, and may be represented in the EIA review panel/committee.

There are several government agencies other than the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Water with a role in environmental protection as well as environmental management. These are: Ministry of Health, which can have an important role in evaluating the health impacts of projects Maldives Electricity Bureau, which lays down energy policies, controls on electricity provision including emissions from power houses and license and audits the performance of electricity providers Maldives Water and Sanitation Authority, which regulates water supply and sewerage undertakings, sets regulations and guidelines for the protection of water resources and implementation of water and sanitation projects in the country Ministry of Fisheries, Agriculture and Marine Resources regulates fishing and capture or removal of life forms from the ocean. Fisheries Law and regulations have been laid down for this purpose. Ministry of Employment and Labour with a mandate to set workplace health and safety regulations and guidelines and implement those.

3.6.5 Project Proponent

The project proponent is the party responsible for the effective implementation of the project. The proponent may be a private sector developer, a government agency, a joint venture, or some combination of these. The proponent is responsible for providing the scientific and technical information necessary at all stages of the EIA process. Proponents usually contract outside experts skilled in EIA to assist them in this task. The proponent is also responsible for providing access to information about the project activities and the environmental setting of those activities. During a full-scale EIA, the proponent normally commissions a study to gather the required information. As the EIA will be conducted as an integral part of the feasibility study, much of EIA team’s data needs may be provided by other members of the project team.

In the review process, the proponent must be available to answer questions about the project, its potential impacts, and the proposed environmental protection measures. The proponent is responsible for the implementation of mitigation measures and shall implement the proposed monitoring measures if it was required to conduct environmental monitoring.

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3.6.6 Environmental Consultants

The Environmental Consultants, as described earlier are selected by the Proponent. They undertake the EIA or IEE on behalf of the Proponent and also liaise with government agencies as well as with persons undertaking other components of the feasibility study. They have considerable influence on the scientific and technical aspects of the EIA process. Over time, EIA consultants have accumulated considerable procedural knowledge. This knowledge is applied to help proponents satisfy the requirement of the EIA process. Some times EIA consultants may be required to provide technical advice and guidance in the evaluation process as well as in developing EIA regulations and guidelines. EIA consultants may also be hired to undertake environmental monitoring of the project.

3.6.7 The Public

Although public consultation is the most important element of Environmental Impact Assessment, the EIA process in the Maldives has not given adequate consideration to public consultation until recently. The recent EIA Regulation has placed emphasis on this important aspect. Public participation is expected to be achieved by both consultations by the EIA study team with stakeholders as well as by subjecting the EIA for public review within a fifteen day period.

Most development projects affect a wide range of people with varied interests. Public participation is required to allow the affected people to identify significant environmental and social issues. An effective EIA process takes issues raised by the public into account in the project design, or addresses the issues through appropriate environmental protection measures. While the practice of community consultation and public participation is relatively new, it is assuming increasing importance and is thus becoming more prevalent.

Public consultation and its outcomes will be considered in the full EIA as it is not within the scope of this EIA.

3.7 Environmental Standards

Environmental management in the Maldives is still at infancy and lacks the necessary environmental standards and the institutional capacity to manage. Water quality, air quality and noise standards are based on international standards or standards of developed countries. For instance, water quality standards are based on WHO standards. For air quality, the Maldives has not yet established ambient air quality standards to serve as a basis for air quality management. Consequently, the standards of other countries will have to be employed in evaluating project impacts on air quality. However, standards vary for different countries depending on their circumstances. Table 3-2 represents ambient air quality standards for the USA, Japan, Germany, Thailand,

Malaysia and the Philippines for PM and SO2. The standards vary among these countries. The standard for PM adopted by the USA is the most stringent while the standard for SO2 adopted by Japan is the most stringent. In the Maldives, for reference purposes, the air quality standards of the United States are used.

Table 3-1: Air quality standards of some selected countries (in µg/m3)

Country PM10 SO2

1-yr average 24-hr average 1-hr average 24-hr average

USA 60 365

Germany 100 150

Japan 100 260 100

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Thailand 100 330 500 300

Malaysia 90 260 350 100

Philippines 180 500 360

Table 3-2: USEPA ambient air quality standards

Pollutant/Critical Parameter Primary Standard Averaging Times Secondary Standards

Carbon Monoxide 10mg/m3 8-hour None

40mg/m3 1-hour None

Lead 1.5µg/m3 1-hour Same as primary

Nitrogen Dioxide 100µg/m3 Annual mean Same as primary

Particulate Matter (PM10) 50µg/m3 Annual mean Same as primary

150µg/m3 24-hour

Particulate Matter (PM2.5) 15µg/m3 Annual mean

65µg/m3 24-hour

Sulphur dioxide 365µg/m3 24-hour average

Similarly, there are no national standards for noise. In the absence of local standards, internationally acceptable noise standards have to be adopted in reducing noise emanating from the power house. USEPA noise standards are usually used for reference in the Maldives. Table 3-4 gives noise standards implemented by USEPA and Germany, which is similar to European standards.

Table 3-3: Some selected noise standards

Country/Body Standard Averaging Times

US EPA <65 dB(A) Day time

<55 dB(A) Night time

Germany <55dB(A) Day time

<40dB(A) Night time

Table 3-4: Noise standards according to the World Bank Pollution Prevention and Abatement Handbook, 1998

Maximum allowable log equivalent (hourly measurements), in dB(A)

Receptor Day (07:00 - 22:00) Night (22:00 - 07:00)

Residential, institutional, educational 55 45

Industrial, commercial 70 70

In cases where the baseline noise level is already above these levels, the plant noise should not cause an increase of more than 3 dB(A).

Source: World Bank Pollution Prevention and Abatement Handbook, 1998

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Currently there are no surface water quality standards for the Maldives. The pristine nature of the Maldivian waters requires high standards to be met. Given the existing trend for reclamation of land in many islands, there should be surface water quality standards that ensure that the pristine state of the coastal waters is not adversely affected.

However, effluent quality standards are also non-existent in the Maldives. Therefore, for reference, the standards given in table 3-7 may be used. These effluent quality standards are based on standards of some developed countries.

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Table 3-5: Recommended effluent quality standards

Parameter Justification for monitoring Standard

Temperature An important determinant because of its effects on chemical reaction, 40 o C reaction rates, aquatic life and suitability for beneficial uses pH Hydrogen ion concentration is an important quality parameter of both 5-9 natural water and wastewater. Concentration range suitable for the existence of most biological life is quite narrow and critical

BOD5 Most widely used parameter of organic pollution applied to both 20-60 mg/l wastewater and surface water is the 5-day biochemical oxygen demand

(BOD5). This determination involves measurement of dissolved oxygen used by microorganism with biochemical oxidation of organic matter. Treated effluents should usually meet this criteria.

COD Chemical oxygen demand (COD) test is used to measure the contents of 120 mg/l organic matter of both wastewater and industrial water. Oxygen equivalent of organic matter that can be oxidized is measured by using strong oxidizing agent against an acidic medium. This test is also used to measure organic matter in wastewater that contains compounds that are toxic to biological life. COD of wastewater is in general higher than BOD, because more compounds can be chemically oxidized than can be biologically oxidized.

Total Suspended Solid This is also one of the most important contaminant of concern in 150 mg/l (TSS) wastewater treatment. Suspended solids can lead to the development of sludge deposits and anaerobic conditions when untreated wastewater is discharged in the entire environment.

There are also no standard guidelines on construction of coastal structures or coastal development activities. Some guidelines on environmental protection have been issued by the Ministry of Tourism. Therefore, guidelines issued by other countries have been adhered to the maximum possible extent. These include the Guidelines on Erosion Control for Development Projects in the Coastal Zone issues by the Department of Irrigation and Drainage, Malaysia. However, it should be mentioned that these are not well suited to the conditions of the Maldives.

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4 EXISTING ENVIRONMENT

4.1 Introduction

This section covers the status of existing environmental of Kanbaalifaru which would be affected by the development and operation of the proposed resort. The section also explains the methodologies used to collect and evaluate data on the existing environment. This section reviews in detail the specific environmental components of Kanbaalifaru. The key bio-physical and socio-economic aspects/components of the project under consideration are:

Vital Environmental, Social and Economic Components Coral reef areas around the proposed water villas Marine biodiversity Accretion/ Erosion patterns around the island Land/seascape aesthetic value Terrestrial Flora and Fauna Ground and Marine water quality

The existing environment of the island has been studied by the consultants (1) during field visits undertaken from in February (2) by reviewing published and unpublished reports and studies, (3) by talking to different people

A photographic summary of the existing environmental conditions is provided in Figure 4-1

4.1 General Methodologies for Data Collection

Conditions of the existing environment of the study area were analyzed by using appropriate scientific methods. The main environmental components of the study area were divided into marine, coastal resources, terrestrial and socio-economic.

The marine environment of the island covered the coral patches, the lagoon and the house reef of Kanbaalifaru, The coastal environment covered the beaches, the coastal processes, including long shore sediment transport, near shore currents, tides and wave climate. The terrestrial component has some overlapping with the costal environment, but generally includes vegetation and other features on the island, excluding what is generally covered under the coastal component.

The environmental conditions were assessed by dividing the tasks among three groups – marine, coastal, terrestrial and socio-economic. The different methods used in assessing and reporting the conditions of the existing environment of the island are outlined in the following subsections.

4.1.1 Mapping and Location identification

The geographic attributes of the island was initially established using Maldives Admiralty Charts of 1970s, the Malways, Google Earth and other reports.

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Each of the field teams was dispatched with a hand held differential GPS to map the required geographic attributes of the island. The entire island, including reef line, shore line, vegetation line, was mapped using GPSs as a starting point. Island specific features such as coral patches, important trees and mangrove area and various data collection sites including beach profiles were also marked.

Beach profile locations have also been marked by permanent markers or bench marks on site.

All the attributes collected were later integrated into one single map (having different layers).

4.1.2 Marine Water Quality

One of the main environmental components that would be affected by implementing the project would be marine water quality, especially the lagoon on the western side and northern tip of the island. Water quality was assessed at selected locations within the impact zones. The locations, frequency and parameters to be monitored are given in the Monitoring Programme outlined.

Water quality was assessed during the field trips in November 2006 and February 2007 using a handheld water quality logger and also testing at National Health Laboratory.

4.1.3 Coastal processes

Several beach profiles were taken from designated locations around Kanbaalifaru by means of standard leveling techniques using dumpy level and staff. Measurements were taken along the beach profile line at different intervals when there occurs a distinctive morphological feature such as beach ridge, high water mark, an erosion scarp, dip, rise, or other significant break in the beach slope up to a minimum distance of 30m from the Benchmark. These benchmarks would be used for long term monitoring.

In addition, long term monitoring of the coastal processes such as currents, wind and tides will be undertaken at regular intervals in order to understand the dynamics of beach profiles which will be used to formulate an appropriate coastal zone management plan.

4.1.4 Marine Environment

Marine environmental surveys were conducted to collect data on key environmental components. Purpose of the surveys were to define and establish marine environmental baseline conditions for impact evaluation during the development and operation of the proposed resort. Surveys were based on standard marine environmental surveys so that they can be repeatedly carried out to monitor and record changes and assess possible impacts on the marine environment from the proposed work activities as well as operation of the resort. These surveys should be continually repeated to assess the short-term and long-term impacts on the marine environment. Surveys include quantitative and qualitative surveys. These methodologies are discussed in detailed under the Marine Environment.

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Figure 4-1: Photographic summary of the major environmental and coastal conditions at Kanbaalifaru island resort.

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Figure 4-1: Photgraphic Summary of major environmental attributes and conditions at Kanbaalifaru

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4.2 Geography

4.2.1 General Setting of Shaviyani Atoll

Kanbaalifaru is located in Shaviyani Atoll (North Miladhunmadulu), which is the mid region of Bodu Thiladhunmathi, the longest natural atoll in the Maldives, Bodu Thiladhunmathi covers the chain of islands that forms all the administrative atolls of Haa Alif, Haadhaal, Shaviyani and Noonu are covered under Thiladhunmathi. Shaviyani Atoll is not geographically demarcated as a separate atoll, however the area between latitudes 5055’45”N and 6000’30”N and longitudes 730 51’30” E and 730 18’00” E are considered as a separate administrative atoll (unit) and is demarcated as Shaviyani Atoll for administrative or political purposes. Haa Dhaalu Atoll is on the north and Noonu Atoll is on the south of Shaviyani Atoll.

The length of the atoll is 65km from north to south and the widest width varies between is 30 km to 10.5 km from east to west. Depths of over 60 m have been recorded inside the atoll. The atoll is formed with patches of reef systems lined on the atoll rim on both east and west sides. Similar to other reef systems found on the north of the Maldives, the channels between reef systems are wide in Shaviyani Atoll. The reef systems protect the atoll from both east and west sides and therefore provides shelter for the islands inside the atoll and usually calm sea conditions prevail within the atoll. However, given the large size of this atoll, sea conditions can get very rough during ‘bad’ weather, especially during southwest monsoons usually from May to November.

Shaviyani Atoll consists of 41 islands, of varying sizes; 14 are inhabited and the rest are uninhabited. Most of these islands are formed on the eastern atoll rim and inside the atoll. Islands on the atoll rim are fairly exposed to the main ocean and tidal currents. Coastal dynamic around these islands are more profound than islands inside the atoll. Sixteen islands are formed inside the atoll lagoon. The largest island in this atoll is, Milandhoo and the smallest island is Migoodhoo.

4.2.2 Location & Physical setting of Kanbaalifaru

Kanbaalifaru is located about 4 km from the eastern reef ridge of Shaviyani Atoll in front of Fundhookandu (Chanel Opening) at longitude and latitude of 73o15’ E and 6o07’ N respectively. Kanbaalifaru lies between the islands formed inside the atoll and the islands on the atoll rim, especially on the east side. Kanbaalifaru is formed within its own coral reef system rising approximately 60 m from the atoll basin. It lies approximately 5 km south and south-west of the inhabited islands of Lhaimagu and Funadhoo (the atoll capital) respectively. The closest inhabited islands to Kanbaalifaru are Lhaimagu and Funadhoo. The closest island is Firunbaidhoo which is now declared as an uninhabited island, roughly 3 km south-west of Kanbaalifaru. The Island of Vangaru, which would soon be developed as a tourist resort, lies 7 km south-west. The uninhabited island, Eriyadhoo lies on the eastern reef rim of Shaviyani Atoll, km 4 south-east of Kanbaalifaru.

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Figure 4-2: Location of Kanbaalifaru in Shaviyani Atoll

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Figure 4-3: Beach Profiles of Kanbaalifaru

Proposed by Mr. Ali Shareef Prepared by: Water Solutions Profile 16 - Kanbaalifaru Profile 9 - Kanbaalifaru Profile 15 - Kanbaalifaru Profile 14 - Kanbaalifaru

5.5 6 5.5 5.5

5.5 5 5 5 5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4 4 4 4 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 3 3 3 3

2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 0 123 456 78 0 12345678910 024681012140 12345678 Distance (m) Distance (m) Distance (m) Distance (m)

Profile 8 - Kanbaalifaru Profile 10- Kanbaalifaru

5.5 5.5 5 5 4.5 4.5 4 4 3.5 3.5 3 3 2.5 MT-1 0 123456789 PQ-1 2.5 Distance (m) BP-16 MT-5 024681012141618 TS-6 Distance (m) Reef slope PQ-3

Profile 7 - Kanbaalifaru Coral rubbles BP-15 BP-9 5.5 TS-5 Profile 13 - Kanbaalifaru 5 BP-14

4.5 Shallow lagoon 5.5 4 TS-7 5 3.5 <3.7m 4.5 3 CR-1 4 2.5 BP-8 Mangrove 024681012 SW-1 3.5 Distance (m) Reef Flat 3 2.5 0123456 Profile 6 - Kanbaalifaru TS-4 Distance (m) 5.5 White fine sandy beach TS-8 BP-13 5 Beach, mix of discrete 4.5 along the entire length of 4 coral rubble, & Profile 12 - Kanbaalifaru 3.5 west-side BP-7 corse sand 3 (except the north end) 5.5 2.5 (entire length of East side) 5 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

Distance (m) 4.5 BP-12 Deep lagoon TS-3 4 MT-2 (7.3-4.2m) 3.5 TS-9 3

SW-3 2.5 BP-6 0 12345678 Profile 5 - Kanbaalifaru Distance (m) BP-11 5.5

5 BP-5 Profile 11 - Kanbaalifaru 4.5 Shallow Lagoon 4 BP-10 5.5 3.5 <3.7m BP-4 Existing channel 5 3 TS-2 4.5 2.5 BP-3 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 TS-10 Mangrove 4 Distance (m) 3.5 BP-2 Accretion, 3 BP-1 2.5 Profile 4 - Kanbaalifaru Sand accumulation 0 123 4 5 67 8 9 TS-1 Distance (m)

5.5

5 4.5 Erosion Large Coral rubbles 4 MT-4 3.5 MT-3 PQ-3 3

2.5 0 5 10 15 20 25 CR-2 Distance (m) SW-2 N KEY Reef slope TS = Tree Survey Profile 3 - Kanbaalifaru Profile 2 - Kanbaalifaru Profile 1 - Kanbaalifaru BP = Beach Profile 5.5 5.5 6 5 5 5 MT = Manta Tow 4.5 4.5 4

4 4 3 3.5 PQ = Photo Quadrate 2 3.5 3 1 3 0 2.5 CR = Current Reading 2.5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 0 5 10 15 20 25 0 24 6810121416 Distance (m) Di stance (m) Distance (m) SW = Sea-water Sample

Figure : Beach Profiles and important survey areas EIA for Kanbaalifaru, Vol 1, Rev 0 Page | 39

4.3 Climatic Setting and Coastal Environment

The Maldives, in general, has a warm and humid tropical climate with average temperatures ranging between 25°C to 30°C (MHAHE, 2001) and relative humidity ranging from 73 per cent to 85 per cent. The country receives an annual average rainfall of 1,948.4mm. Table 4-1 provides a summary of key meteorological findings for Maldives.

Table 4-1: Key meteorological information

Parameter Data

Average Rainfall 9.1mm/day in May, November 1.1mm/day in February

Maximum Rainfall 184.5 mm/day in October 1994

Average air temperaturec 30.0 C in November 1973 31.7 C in April

Extreme Air Temperature 34.1 C in April 1973 17.2 C in April 1978

Average wind speed 3.7 m/s in March 5.7 m/s in January, June

Maximum wind speed W 31.9 m/s in November 1978

Average air pressure 1012 mb in December 1010 mb in April

General studies on climatic conditions of Maldives were taken into account for this study as local level time- series data are limited for longer periods at the nearest meteorological station. There is no major variation of climate between northern and southern atolls however some useful trends in climatic variation is observed when studied in detail and a generic a summary of climatic variations and geographic features across the Maldives is shown in the figure below.

Depth of Lagoon

Patch Reefs in Lagoon Continuity of Atoll Rim Occurance of Faroes Proportion of Rim with Islands Effect of Storms Annual Rainfall

Monsoonal Reversal Figure 4-4: Trends in climatic variations and geomorphologic features across the Maldives

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4.3.1 Monsoons

In general monsoons of Indian Ocean govern the climatology of the Maldives and Shaviyani Atoll for that matter. Monsoon wind reversal plays a significant role in weather patterns. Two monsoon seasons are observed: the Northeast (Iruvai) and the Southwest (Hulhangu) monsoon. Monsoons can be best characterized by wind and rainfall patterns. The southwest monsoon is the rainy season which lasts from May to September and the northeast monsoon is the dry season that occurs from December to February. The transition period of southwest monsoon occurs between March and April while that of northeast monsoon occurs from October to November.

4.3.2 Rainfall

Annual average rainfall in Maldives is about 1900mm. There is a marked variation in rainfall across Maldives with an increasing trend towards south. The annual average rainfall in north in the region of Kanbaalifaru is 1977mm and for south is 2470mm.

The southwest monsoon is known as the wet season with monthly average rainfall ranging from 125-250mm. The northeast monsoon is known as the dry season with average monthly rainfall of 50-75mm.

Long term data for Hanimaadhoo area or the Kanbaalifaru region is not available. Medium term records indicate an average annual rainfall of 2500mm. The intensity of rainfall is a concern in the Maldives since intensity is high with low frequency. However, excessive rainfall is not a concern for Kanbaalifaru since the island does not cup towards the middle but rather diverts the runoff towards the coast especially towards the western shore.

4.3.3 Temperature

Daily temperatures of Maldives vary little throughout the year with a mean annual temperature of 28°C. The annual mean maximum temperature recorded for Male’ during the period 1967-1995 was 30.4°C and the annual mean minimum temperature for the same period was 25.7°C. The highest recorded temperature for Male’ was 34.1°C on 16th and 28th of April 1973. The hottest month recorded was April 1975 with a maximum monthly average temperature of 32.7°C, the next highest being 32.6°C in April 1998. The lowest minimum average temperature of 23.7°C was recorded in July 1992. Similar conditions hold true for Knbaalifaru as our observations, during the field trip reveal a low of 25°C during the early morning and a high of 33°C during noon.

4.3.4 Wind

Wind has been shown to be an important indirect process affecting formation development and seasonal dynamics of the islands in the Maldives. Winds often help to regenerate waves that have been weakened by travelling across the reef and they also cause locally generated waves in lagoons. Therefore winds are important here, as being the dominant influence on the sediment transportation process (waves and currents). With the reversal of winds in the Maldives, NE monsoon period form December to March and a SW monsoon from April to November, over the year, the accompanying wave and current processes respond accordingly too. These aspects have ramification on the seasonal sediment movement pattern on the islands and also the delivery/removal of sediments from the reef platform/island.

The two monsoon seasons have a dominant influence on winds experienced across Maldives. These monsoons are relatively mild due to the country’s location close to the equator and strong winds and gales are infrequent. However, storms and line squalls can occur, usually in the period May to July; gusts of up to 60 knots have been recorded at Male’ during such storms.

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Wind was uniform in speed and direction over the past twenty-plus monsoon seasons in the Maldives (Naseer, 2003). Wind speed is usually higher in central region of Maldives during both monsoons, with a maximum wind speed recorded at 18 m.s-1 for the period 1975 to 2001. Maximum wind speed recorded in the south was 17.5 m.s-1 during the period 1978 to 2001. Mean wind speed was highest during the months January and June in the central region, while wind speed was in general lower and more uniform throughout the year in the southern region. Wind analysis indicated that the monsoon was considerably weaker in the south (Naseer, 2003). During the peak months of the SW monsoon, southern regions have a weak wind blowing from the south and southeastern sectors.

Table 4-2 summarizes the projected wind conditions for Kanbaalifaru for a calendar year. Medium term meteorological data from Malé International Airport weather station was used in this analysis.

Table 4-2: Summary of general wind conditions in Kanbaalifaru

Season Month Wind

NE - Monsoon December Predominantly from NW-NE.

January High Speeds from W

February

Transition Period 1 March From all directions. Mainly W.

April High Speeds from W

SW - Monsoon May Mainly from W.

June High Speeds from W

July

August

September

Transition Period 2 October Mainly from W.

November High Speeds from W

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Table 4-3: Scatter diagram for Kanbaalifaru. Wind speed versus wind direction (%). All Year (1999)- (adapted from DHI, 1999)

Wind speed Wind Direction

(m/s) NE E SE S SW W NW N

1 0.94 0.95 0.96 1.19 1.02 0.97 0.82 0.78

2 2.02 1.95 2.13 1.91 1.81 1.92 1.57 1.46

3 2.30 2.79 2.98 2.74 2.74 2.99 2.31 2.12

4 2.04 2.26 2.75 2.91 2.86 2.90 2.15 1.91

5 1.45 1.97 2.30 2.21 2.98 2.49 1.51 1.27

6 0.54 0.99 1.42 0.94 1.79 2.36 1.02 0.80

7 0.10 0.32 0.74 0.28 0.91 2.04 0.43 1.10

8 0.05 0.06 0.26 0.11 0.52 1.39 0.19 0.04

9 0.01 0.01 0.16 0.01 0.19 0.94 0.10 0

10 0 0 0.05 0 0.04 0.75 0.04 0

11 0 0 0 0 0 0.46 0.01 0

12 0 0 0 0 0 0.07 0.01 0

13 0 0 0 0 0 0.02 0 0 Since most of the project components including public areas, water bungalows, land villas as well as aqua villas and jetty face the western side of the island, the site could experience significantly high wind speeds during southwest monsoon and northeast monsoon and transition periods. This means that peak tourism season would fortunately fall out of the strong wind periods. The western side would be usually in the lee of the island especially during the peak tourist season, which is the northeast monsoon.

N NNW 20 NNE NW 15 NE

10 WNW ENE 5

W 0 E

WSW ESE

SW SE SSW SSE S

Figure 4-5: General wind rose diagram for the Maldives (source MEEW 2005).

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4.3.5 Waves

Wave energy is important for sediment movements and settlement, and it is also a crucial factor controlling coral growth and reef development. Waves have been attributed to the diversity and the abundance of coral and algal species. These aspects have implications for the type and perhaps the supply of sediment s into the island.

Studies by Lanka Hydraulics (1988a & 1998b) on Malé reef indicated that two major types of waves on Maldives coasts: wave generated by local monsoon wind and swells generated by distance storms. The local monsoon predominantly generates wind waves which are typically strongest during April-July in the south-west monsoon period. During this season, swells generated north of the equator with heights of 2-3 m with periods of 18-20 seconds have been reported in the region. Local wave periods are generally in the range 2-4 seconds and are easily distinguished from the swell waves.

Distant cyclones and low pressure systems originating from the intense South Indian Ocean storms are reported to generate long distance swells that occasionally cause flooding in Maldives (Goda, 1988). The swell waves that reached Malé and Hulhule in 1987, thought to have originated from a low pressure system of west coast of Australia, had significant wave heights in the order of 3 metres.

In addition, Maldives has recently been subject to earthquake generated tsunami reaching heights of 4.0m on land (UNEP, 2005). Historical wave data from Indian Ocean countries show that tsunamis have occurred in more than one occasion, most notable been the 1883 tsunami resulting from the volcanic explosion of Karakatoa (Choi et al, 2003). Kanbaalifaru was not badly affected by the recent tsunami of 26 December 2004.

Kanbaalifaru is exposed to high waves generated by swells from the eastern side of the island during the NE monsoon and short wind-generated waves from the atoll lagoon on the western side during the SW monsoon. Waves breaking on the eastern side is stronger because it is facing Eriyadhoo Kandu and Fonadhoo Kandu which are on the outer rim of the atoll, therefore the island ridge is higher here than the western side, also the beach material of the eastern side consists of large rubbles. Waves breaking on the western side would be less strong because it faces the atoll lagoon; therefore it has less influence in island building. Possibly more fresh input of sediment takes place during the NE monsoon and the shaping and medium term dynamic movement of the island takes place during the SW monsoon. The overall result of wave influence on the morphodynamics of the island during the NE monsoon might be rapid deposition of sediment and shaping of the island takes place during the SW monsoon.

General wave conditions in Kanbaalifaru is summarised in

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Table 4-4 (adapted from DHI, 1999).

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Table 4-4: Summary of wave condition in Kanbaalifaru

Season Total Long Period Short Period

NE - Monsoon Predominantly from E-S. High Waves from W From S-SW Mainly E-NE. High waves from E

Transition Period 1 Mainly from SE-E From S-SW Mainly from NE-SE

SW - Monsoon From SE-SW. Mainly from S. High Waves also From S-SW Mainly from SE-S. High waves from W from E

Transition Period 2 As SW monsoon From S-SW From SE-W. Higher waves from E

This aspect of climate will therefore have an effect on the design of any coastal infrastructure and water sports activities planned for the resort.

4.3.6 Tides

Tides affect wave conditions, wave-generated and other reef-top currents. Tide levels are believed to be significant in controlling amount of wave energy reaching an island, as no wave energy crosses the edge of the reef at low tide under normal conditions. In the Maldives where the tidal range is small (1m), tides may have significantly important influence on the formation, development, and sediment movement process around the island. Tides can play an important role in lagoon flushing, water circulation within the reef and water residence time within an enclosed reef highly depends on tidal fluctuations.

4.3.7 Currents

Generally current flow through the Maldives is driven by the dominating two-monsoon season winds. Westwardly flowing currents are dominated from January to March and eastwardly from May to November. The change in currents flow pattern occurs in April and December. In April the westward currents flow are weak and eastward currents flow will slowly take place. Similarly in December eastward currents flows are weak and westward currents will take over slowly.

Spot data was taken from 3 locations around the island during the field visit. The data we collected suggest that tidal currents within the lagoon of Kanbaalifaru and reef flat are not strong enough to transport a large amount of sediments due to small tidal range and would not have a direct impact on the project, but it does propose issue to consider in water sports planning and safety of swimmers and potential coastal protection measures.

Studies on current flow process within a coral atoll and reef flats have shown that waves and tides generate currents across the reef platforms, which are capable of transporting sediments on them (Binnie Black & Veatch, 2000). Currents, like waves are also modified by reef morphology. Under low-input wave conditions (0.5m heights) strong lagoonward surge currents (>60cm/sec) are created by waves breaking at the crest. Studies on current flow across reef platforms have shown that long-period oscillations in water level cause transportation of fine-grained sediments out of the reef-lagoon system, while strong, short duration surge currents (<5sec.) transport coarse sediments from the breaker zone to seaward margin of the backreef lagoon. Always sediment accumulates at the lee of high-speed current zones. Generally zones of high current speed (jets or rips, 50-80cm/sec) are systematically located around islands.

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However, further data on current speed and direction around the island needs to be collected over a period of time in order to understand actual effects of current on coastal dynamics of the island and the surrounding environment. Therefore, long-term monitoring of coastal environment and observation of current is recommended in the monitoring programme proposed for the resort.

4.3.8 Geomorphologic Setting and Island Formation

Kanbaalifaru is a young island with very young vegetation cover and a few coconut palms in relation to the size of the island. This is a coralline island cay formed as separate natural island and lies within an oval shape island lagoon, 4 km from the eastern rim of Shaviyani Atoll towards the southern end of the atoll.

According to the geological formation, vegetation and soil characteristics of the island it is believed that the island has been created from a point on the southeast corner of the reef system and grown as an elongated semi- circular shingle rampart, in a roughly north-south orientation, on oceanward side of the reef and gradually accretion took place to the lee of the island (westwards). Now the island possesses a morphologically distinct elongated arch or C-shape.

The northern reef flat is narrower and shallower than the southern reef flat. The northern sand spit or thundi area is exposed to wind-generated wave action during Northeast as well as Southwest monsoons. The southern sand spit appears to be more stable than the northern sand spit. However, there is similar sort of wave overwash or wave topping on this side as for the northern side. Wind-generated waves from the western side meet swell- generated waves or surfs from the eastern side. Kanbaalifaru being in the middle of the atoll lagoon is prone to short-wind-generated waves within the atoll lagoon. The gradually sloping reef on the eastern side also creates tide-related waves or swells with a profound effect on the eastern beaches, especially during the northeast monsoon.

The northeast and eastern coasts are exposed to strong wave action especially during the northeast monsoon, which is the peak tourist season. However, the combination of coral, rocks and beach rock mix along the northeast and eastern coast prevent severe erosion from the island. In spite of this, coral and rocks are gradually being exposed, and the formation of sandy beach is discouraged on this coast except for small, temporarily seasonal patches of coarse sand. The unique topographic features such as to this may pose challenges in the built environment design, as the northeast and eastern ridges would need to remain unaltered as much as possible due to environmental sensitivity.

4.3.9 Sediment distribution pattern and topography

Current, tides, waves and wind play a major role in sediment distribution and topographic pattern of island. Beach profiles have been taken around the island. These profiles are shown in

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Figure 4-3. The profiles provide useful information on the topography and also useful benchmarks against which shoreline changes may be evaluated in the future.

The island in general does not have high ridges as we see in many older islands. Generally, the eastern ridge of the island is higher than the western side and the eastern coast of Kanbaalifaru consists of large coral deposited in a very high-energy condition (storm deposits). The sediment composition of the island grades from coral to rubble to sand from east to west.

The topographic including the coastal features play a vital role in maintaining the natural defenses of the island, from wave action, strong wind and other whether related incidences. For instance, the shape and topography of the island encourages excess storm water to be flushed off from the island in all direction in to the surrounding lagoon, especially from the western coast, because of its low elevation.

4.4 Existing Marine environment

Kanbaalifaru island is within an individual separate reef system situated closer to eastern rim in south of the atoll. It is highly exposed to the open sea on eastern side as no shallow reef is formed on the atoll rim on eastern side towards the island. It is also very exposed on western side as the atoll has wide open channels to the open sea. Exposure of the reef system is also shown in the characteristic geomorphology of the reef system. Eastern side of the reef system has wider and gentler reef slope creating extensive surf zone. The reef system of the island is complex in terms of geomorphology. The reef top or reef-flat in northern side is wider. It has a deeper lagoon area in the center surrounded by shallow lagoon. The island is formed in eastern side of the reef system.

Marine environment of Kanbaalifaru island system encompasses three main attributes. They are the coral reef, the shallow lagoon and the deep lagoon. Distinctive reef areas exist within the reef system. They are the reef slope, reef-flat and patch reefs within the deep lagoon. Geomorphology and biodiversity of each of these reef areas are also significantly different. The shallow lagoon surrounding the island also consists of sandy bottom substrate. The most significant marine environmental attribute in terms of area and biotic environment of the island system is its coral reef system covering approximately 36% of the whole island system. The following figure shows area covered by different environmental attributes of Kanbaalifaru island system.

Area of attributes (hectares)

reef slope, land, 14 22 deep lagoon, 24 reef-flat, 35

shallow lagoon, 66

Figure 4-6: Area covered by different attributes of Kanbaalifaru island

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4.4.1 Reef system

Reef system of Kanbaalifiaru is oval shape and oriented northwest-southeast direction. Maximum linear length (from north to south) and width (from east to west) of the reef system are approximately 1.5 km and 1.3km respectively. Total area of the island system including the reef, lagoon and island is approximately 161 hectares.

The coral reef covers approximately 57 hectares out of which reef slope and reef-flat cover 22 hectares and 35 hectares respectively. The reef slope on eastern and southeastern side of the island is gentler and wider than in other areas. The reef-flat in northern side of the island is wider than in other areas.

4.4.2 Lagoon system

The lagoon system has two distinctively different lagoon areas. They are deeper lagoon area in the center of the system and a shallower lagoon area surrounding the deeper lagoon and the island. The deeper lagoon in the middle is circular and has a diameter of approximately 500m and covers an area of approximately 24 hectares. Coral patches are found within the deeper lagoon. The shallow lagoon has an area of approximately 66 hectares and consists of sandy bottom.

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Shaviyani Atoll Kanditheemu Neyo north Noomaraa Goidhoo

Feydhoo Feevah Bilehfahi Foakaidhoo Nalandhoo Madidhoo

Gaakoshibee Narudhoo Maakandhoodhoo

Farukolhu Maroshi Lhaimagu Funadhoo KANBAALIFARU Firunbaidhoo Eriyadhoo Vagaru Komandhoo Ekasdhoo Maaungoodhoo Keekimini Dholhiyadhoo Kuda north lhaimendhoo

Over-water bungalow construction impact area PQ Reef survey wide Site 3 reef-flat PQ Reef survey Site 2 Kanbaalifaru

PQ Reef survey Site 1 narrow reef slope

Deep lagoon entrance channel deepening impact area shallow lagoon

Jetty 1 construction narrow impact area reef-flat

surf zone PQ Reef survey vegetation Site 5 PQ Reef survey Site 4 Jetty 2 construction impact area

wide reef slope

Figure 4-7: Kabaalifaru reef and lagoon survey sites and potential impact areas from the proposed development

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4.4.3 Methodology of assessment

Marine environmental surveys were conducted to collect data on key environmental components (i.e. the coral reef system and the lagoon system) for the purpose of defining and establishing marine environmental baseline conditions for impact evaluation during and after the proposed work of developing the island as a tourist resort. Surveys were based on standard marine environmental surveys so that they can be repeatedly carried out to monitor and record changes and assess possible impacts on the marine environment from the proposed work activities as well as operation of the proposed resort. These surveys should be continually repeated to assess the short-term and long-term impacts on the marine environment.

4.4.3.1 Coral Reef Surveys

Quantitative surveys were conducted to establish the status of the coral reef of the island. Methodology adopted for these surveys are internationally accepted and widely used to assess the status of coral reefs in the country as well. Photo Quadrates and visual observation of the reef were conducted at the coral reef system.

The purpose of these surveys are to assess the status of the reef system and gather quantitative baseline data in order to monitor both natural and human induced impacts including boating activities, diving and snorkeling, coastal development, littering, sewage discharge and various other activities carried out by the resort on a long term basis for better environmental management during the resort operation in addition to physical impacts of construction.

4.4.3.2 Quantitative Reef Survey

Quantitative assessment of the reef system was conducted using Photo Quadrat method. Representative areas of the reef were identified to establish a permanent monitoring site.

Photo Quadrate technique has been used for objectives ranging from large-scale special problems to morphological comparison of coral communities and studies assessing impacts natural and anthropogenic disturbances.

4.4.3.3 Photo Quadrate Survey Sites

Photo Quadrates surveys were conducted at five locations of the reef as shown in Figure 4-7:. These sites are representative area within the reef system that can be monitored on long-term basis for assessing magnitude of possible impacts. Some of these areas will be most prone to negative impacts from the proposed work, therefore establishing a permanent monitoring site at this area is important to assess the impacts.

4.4.4 Survey Results

4.4.4.1 Quantitative surveys

Quantitative assessment of the reef benthos were assessed by using Photo Quadrat method. Photo Quadrates were conducted in representative sections of the reef and following attributes were recorded. Dead corals Live corals of different coral categories and genera Other benthos of the reef Rubble

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Sand

Site 1

Benthic cover at Site 1 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 Status of Site 1 7 6 5 sand

area cover(sq.m) area 4 3 18% live 2 1 8% 0 sand encrusting rubble massive sub- rubble algae coral mas s iv e 74% coral benthic category

Figure 4-8: Benthic cover of the reef at Site 1

The bar-chart shows actual area covered by different categories of the reef bottom at this site and the pi-chart shows percentage cover of main reef bottom categories. Error estimated for these assessments are ±10% as shown by the error bar in the bar-chart.

Photo Quadrate survey and assessment of coral reef at Site 1 showed that the reef consisted of 74% unconsolidated rubble, 18% sand, and 8% live corals belonging to massive and sub-massive corals as individual colonies forming reef patches in this site. The following figure shows reef bottom mapped by the photo quadrate survey. Each square is approximately 1m² totalling the mapped bottom area of 20m².

massive sand coral ecrusting algae

rubble

sub-massive coral

Figure 4-9: Coral map of Site 1 Site 2

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Benthic cover at Site 2 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 Status of Site 2 5

area cover(sq.m)area 4 3 sand other 4% 2 14% live 1 10% 0 sand massive sub- other table coral dead coral dead coral massive benthos 72% coral

benthic category

Figure 4-10: Benthic cover of the reef at Site 2

Photo Quadrate survey and assessment of coral reef at Site 2 showed that the reef consisted of 72% dead, 14% sand, 10% live corals belonging to massive and sub-massive corals and 4% other benthos consisting of soft corals. The following figure shows reef bottom mapped by the photo quadrate survey. Each square is approximately 1m² totalling the mapped bottom area of 20m².

sand table coral

massive coral

sub-massive coral other benthos

Figure 4-11: Coral map of Site 2 Site 3

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Benthic cover at Site 3 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 Status of Site 3 5 percentge cover 4 3 other live sand 2 1% 8% 2% 1 0 sand sub- massive other dead massive coral benthos dead coral 89% benthic category

Figure 4-12: Benthic cover of the reef at Site 3

Photo Quadrate survey and assessment of coral reef at Site 3 showed that the reef consisted of 89% dead, 2% sand, 8% live corals belonging to massive and sub-massive corals and 1% other benthos. The following figure shows reef bottom mapped by the photo quadrate survey. Each square is approximately 1m² totalling the mapped bottom area of 20m².

sand other sub-massive benthos coral

massive coral

Figure 4-13: Coral map of Site 3

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Site 4

Benthic cover at Site 4

16 14 12 10 8 Status of Site 4 6 4 sand live area cover(qs.m)area 10% 2 1% 0 sand sub- massive table coral other dead coral massive coral benthos coral dead 89% benthic category

Figure 4-14: Benthic cover of the reef at Site 4

Photo Quadrate survey and assessment of coral reef at Site 4 showed that the reef consisted of 89% dead, 1% sand, 10% live corals belonging to massive, sub-massive and table corals. The following figure shows reef bottom mapped by the photo quadrate survey. Each square is approximately 1m² totalling the mapped bottom area of 20m².

rubble massive coral other benthos encrusting algae sand sub-massive coral

table coral

Figure 4-15: Coral map of Site 4

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Site 5

Benthic cover at Site 5 12

6 Status of Site 5 4 area cover(sq.m)area 2 live sand 6% 7% 0 sand sub- mas s iv e other rubble dead coral rubble dead mas s iv e coral benthos 29% 58% coral benthic category

Figure 4-16: Benthic cover of the reef at Site 5

Photo Quadrate survey and assessment of coral reef at Site 5 showed that the reef consisted of 58% dead corals, 29% rubble 7% sand, 6% live corals belonging to massive and sub-massive corals. The following figure shows reef bottom mapped by the photo quadrate survey. Each square is approximately 1m² totalling the mapped bottom area of 20m².

other benthos

rubble

sub-massive sand coral massive coral

Figure 4-17: Coral map of Site 5

The quantitative assessment of the reef at different location showed that the shallow reef areas of Kambaalifaru unfortunately is in poor condition with respect to percentage of live coral cover. The average percentage of live coral cover estimated for the reef was between 6% and 10% of the reef benthos. This reef system may naturally have lower percentage live coral cover as it is very exposed to high wave energy. Some of the reef close by Kambaalifaru has higher percentage of live corals as shown by other surveys using the same methodologies. Long-term data of the reef system is needed to establish whether this reef system naturally has low percentage of live coral cover.

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4.4.4.2 Marine water quality

The primary objective of the marine water quality sampling was to determine the baseline conditions of the marine water around the island. Qualitative and quantitative assessments were made on sea water, mainly the quality of the water around the islands immediate lagoon. As tourism activities are mainly associated with the surrounding marine environment, this was considered to be a very significant aspect of the EIA process. Two sampling stations were selected in the coastal waters. The sites were based on both sides of the island, one from east and one from west side. Since the island is narrow and stretches from north to south, these locations were identified as the most suitable. Physical inspection of the seawater from the immediate lagoon from north, east and west of the island revealed no sign of contamination or pollution. The sea water is clean and clear. To confirm this, water quality tests were done at the National Health laboratory. The results indicate no pollution from any human activities or any other source. Salinity around the island ranged between 33,000-34,000 mg/l. Nitrate and phosphate levels were untraceable in all the two samples. These readings indicate negligible nutrient loading from any possible terrestrial run-off which can carry fertilizers or human waste as well as loose soil. Table 4-5: illustrates the result of the marine water quality test.

Table 4-5: Results of the sea water quality test conducted in Kabaalifaru island in February 2007.

Parameters tested (SW-east side) (SW-west side)

Nitrates mg/l 0.0 0.0

Phosphates mg/l 0.0 0.0

The results generated indicate that the water quality around the island (lagoon and sea) is not showing any signs of serious stress. It is clear, nutrient levels are negligible and pollution free.

4.5 Terrestrial Environment

4.5.1 Methodology

The terrestrial environment of Kabaalifaru was studied in detail by selecting random transects at different regions of the island. These transects were selected based on the concept plan and where development will take place. In addition, visual and qualitative surveys were carried out during the field trip to the island on 14th Feb 2007. Vegetation survey was carried out for vegetation line using line transects and tree counts along the coastal vegetation line. Two transects were selected to study the floral composition along the islands vegetation (see Figure 4-18) and tree classification and enumeration was undertaken. Inner vegetation was also studied using two line transects taken from inside the island (see Figure 4-18). Tree species were identified and recorded on a piece of paper together with an estimation of their canopy height. The presence of rare and endemic plants was also determined, and an indication of biodiversity of the island was determined. These findings are discussed in detail in the sections below. Soil conditions and groundwater conditions were appraised through soil profile analyses and water samples. Water samples were taken from 3 points from within the island. Water samples were tested onsite using a conductivity meter and chemical test strips. Noise and air quality was not considered crucial for Kabaalifaru environment as the island has no processes that would be considered a hazard from noise.

4.5.2 Floral Landscape

The landscape of Kabaalifaru is very fairly young and cannot be considered diverse and representative of many other uninhabited islands of similar nature in Maldives. There are limited varieties of plant species than what is

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observed in other large uninhabited islands with greater diversity. There are also no terrestrial landscapes of significance nor any threatened species of plants. The landscape could be described as having two major types of vegetation: vegetation on the coast line or vegetation line and inner vegetation. Stark differences can be noticed along the vegetation line and the vegetation on the inside of the island. The main difference is the composition of different tree species along the inside of the island in contrast to the vegetation line. Differences also exists in their diversity along the vegetation line and from inside the island.

There are more mature trees on the inside than along the vegetation line and mature trees such as coconut palms are very limited. As a result, the percentage of large mature trees in the island is quite low. The main type of mature trees in the island is coconut palms and Funa.

4.5.3 Terrestrial Flora

Kabaalifaru’s flora was assessed using line transects along the coastal vegetation line and using line transects along the inner vegetation. The findings of these line transects are described in the following section.

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Figure 4-18: Terrestrial vegetation transect zones and the line transects

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4.5.4 Result of the vegetation survey

Transect A to B

The vegetation along this section vegetation line was found to contain 6 species of trees. They are illustrated in Table 4-6

Name Count Percentage Canopy height

Boakashikeyo (Pandanus tectorus) 23 10,70 3,10

Boashi (Tournefortia argentea) 3 1,40 2,50

Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera) 19 8,84 4,07

Kuredhi (Pemphis acidula) 42 19,53 2,69

Magoo (Scaevola taccada) 125 58,14 2,26

Uni (Guettarda speciosa) 4 1,86 2,63

Table 4-6: Percentage of species and their average canopy height recorded from transect A to B of the vegetation line

The dominant species observed in this region was mainly Magoo (Scaevola taccada) and Boakashikeyo (Pandanus tectorus) See Table 4-6. The highest canopy was recorded for Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera), which was observed to be fairly young to mature. The average canopy height of this zone varied between 2 to 4 meters. The summary of the vegetation survey conducted in this zone and the average canopy height is illustrated in Figure 4-19.

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Figure 4-19: Percentage and average canopy height of plant species observed along transect A to B Transect C to D

The vegetation along this section vegetation line was found to contain 8 species of trees. The dominant species observed in this region was mainly Kuredhi (Pemphis acidula) and Boakashikeyo (Pandanus tectorus) (see Table 4-7 ). Table 4-7: Percentage of species and their average canopy height recorded along transect C to D of the vegetation line

Name Count Percentage Canopy height

Boakashikeyo (Pandanus tectorus) 13 17,33 2,32

Boashi (Tournefortia argentea) 1 1,33 2,50

Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera) 3 4,00 8,00

Dhiggaa (Hibiscus tiliaceus) 1 1,33 6,00

Hirundhu (Thespesia populnea) 11 14,67 4,59

Kuredhi (Pemphis acidula) 41 54,67 2,98

Magoo (Scaevola taccada) 2 2,67 2,00

Uni (Guettarda speciosa) 3 4,00 5,00

The highest canopy was recorded for Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera), which was observed to be relatively mature and recording over 8 meters. The average canopy height of this zone varied between 2 to 8 meters. The summary of the vegetation survey conducted in this zone and the average canopy height is illustrated in Figure 4-20 :.

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Figure 4-20: Percentage and average canopy height of plant species observed along transect C to D Transect E to F

The vegetation along this section vegetation line was found to contain 7 species of trees. The dominant species observed in this region was Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera) and Boakashikeyo (Pandanus tectorus) (see Table 4-8).

Table 4-8: Percentage of species and their average canopy height recorded along transect E to F

Name Count Percentage Canopy height Boakashikeyo (Pandanus tectorus) 13 30,23 2,75 Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera) 17 39,53 8,18 Funa (Calophyllum inophyllum) 1 2,33 6,37 Halaveli (Suriana maritima) 2 4,65 3,00 Magoo (Scaevola taccada) 5 11,63 2,90 Midhili (Terminalia catappa) 1 2,33 10,00 Uni (Guettarda speciosa) 1 2,33 8,00

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The highest canopy was recorded for Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera), which was observed to be over 8 meters. The average canopy height of this zone varied between 2 to 8 meters. The summary of the vegetation survey conducted in this zone and the average canopy height is illustrated in Figure 4-21:.

Figure 4-21: Percentage and average canopy height of plant species observed along E to F Transect G to H

The vegetation along this section vegetation line was found to contain 3 species of trees. The dominant species observed in this region was mainly Funa (Calophyllum inophyllum) and Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera) (see Table 4-9 ). Table 4-9: Percentage of species and their average canopy height recorded along transect G to H

Name Count Percentage Canopy height

Boakashikeyo (Pandanus tectorus) 2 11,76 5,50

Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera) 7 41,18 6,57

Funa (Calophyllum inophyllum) 8 47,06 7,00

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The highest canopy was recorded for Funa (Calophyllum inophyllum) which was observed to be over 7 meters. The average canopy height of this zone varied between 5 to 7 meters. The summary of the vegetation survey conducted in this zone and the average canopy height is illustrated in Figure 4-22:.

Figure 4-22: Percentage and average canopy height of plant species observed along G to H

4.5.5 Summary of the Vegetation transect

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Table 4-10 outlines the summary of the vegetation survey conducted in Kabaalifaru on 14 February 2007. These results indicate that the inner vegetation is more mature and constitute of species of plants that are not commonly observed along the vegetation line.

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Table 4-10: Results of the inner transect line

Name Count Percentage Canopy height

Transect A to B

Boakashikeyo (Pandanus tectorus) 23 10,70 3,10

Boashi (Tournefortia argentea) 3 1,40 2,50

Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera) 19 8,84 4,07

Kuredhi (Pemphis acidula) 42 19,53 2,69

Magoo (Scaevola taccada) 125 58,14 2,26

Uni (Guettarda speciosa) 4 1,86 2,63

Transect C to D

Boakashikeyo (Pandanus tectorus) 13 17,33 2,32

Boashi (Tournefortia argentea) 1 1,33 2,50

Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera) 3 4,00 8,00

Dhiggaa (Hibiscus tiliaceus) 1 1,33 6,00

Hirundhu (Thespesia populnea) 11 14,67 4,59

Kuredhi (Pemphis acidula) 41 54,67 2,98

Magoo (Scaevola taccada) 2 2,67 2,00

Uni (Guettarda speciosa) 3 4,00 5,00

Transect E to F

Boakashikeyo (Pandanus tectorus) 13 30,23 2,75

Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera) 17 39,53 8,18

Funa (Calophyllum inophyllum) 1 2,33 6,37

Halaveli (Suriana maritima) 2 4,65 3,00

Magoo (Scaevola taccada) 5 11,63 2,90

Midhili (Terminalia catappa) 1 2,33 10,00

Uni (Guettarda speciosa) 1 2,33 8,00

Transect G to H

Boakashikeyo (Pandanus tectorus) 2 11,76 5,50

Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera) 7 41,18 6,57

Funa (Calophyllum inophyllum) 8 47,06 7,00

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4.5.6 Terrestrial Fauna

No attempts were made to do a detailed survey of their habitat. However, various species of crabs, Grey Heron and common garden ants were observed in the island. There were also signs of turtle nesting in the island on the western side beach

4.5.7 Soil and Groundwater Condition

Soil conditions in Kabaalifaru are not expected to be fertile. Visual surveys done near the centre of the island does show much dark humus soil. The absence of mature trees also indicates that the soil is not fertile. The main tree compositions resemble trees that are mostly salt tolerant and that grow in harsh conditions such as high salinity areas.

Groundwater assessment was conducted to assess the ambient conditions of groundwater. The water table stands at 1.2 to 1.7 meter below ground. Groundwater samples tested on site using a water quality logger. Groundwater of the island was tested for electrical conductivity. Onsite chemical analysis was also undertaken. These investigations of groundwater revealed that the groundwater of the island is relatively fresh. Samples were taken from three existing wells in the island. These wells are relatively close to each other.

Nitrates Phosphates Sample No EC (uS/cm) pH (mg/L) (mg/L)

Gw1 5300.00 7.9 0.32 0.01

Gw2 7200.00 6.3 2.3 0.02

Gw3 6800.00 6.8 0.34 0.00

Table 4-11: Results of the groundwater analysis in Kabaalifaru

Conductivity readings were generally high and the lowest reading was at 5300 us/cm which is way above the freshwater mark. Conductivity readings of 2500 us/cm is the cut off limit for freshwater. Figure 4-23 illustrates the groundwater sampling locations in Kabaalifaru. Nitrates and phosphate levels were also tested in addition to pH. Nitrate levels were relatively low but the three locations had variations. Well 2 has the highest reading for nitrates. This high level of nitrates in comparison to the other two wells was found to be attributed to septic tanks and toilets near well two. A set of four toilets had been constructed near the well. Wastewater from these toilets are collected in the underground septic tank. It is possible to conclude that this septic tank may be leaking minute quantities of wastewater thus causing a slightly higher reading for nitrates. However, this is not considered to be a significant problem, as these septic tanks will be removed after the construction period thus preventing any further contamination of the soil.

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Figure 4-23: Groundwater sampling locations

4.2 Existing Socio-economic conditions

The information for this section obtained from Government sources such as the Ministry of Planning and Development, MEEW, MOF&A, MOAD, Shaviyani Atoll Office and Island Offices in Shaviyani Atoll. Furthermore various stake holders and public (Refer Section 5) was consulted.

4.5.8 Kanbaalifaru

Kanbaalifaru is an uninhabited island; as such nobody will be directly affected by the proposed resort development on this island. This means that no settlement or a population group would be required to move voluntarily or forcefully as a result of this project.

The island has sea turtle nesting sites on the elongated northern beach. The reef and lagoon of Kanbaalifaru has some of the best sites for reef fishing and bait fishing in Shaviyani Atoll. Up till now the island was leased under local varuvaa system and which allows the lease holder to use the island for various agricultural use. The island was also used by people from close by islands as a picnic island.

As Knabaalifaru is an uninhabited island, it is required to evaluate the socio economic conditions of the neighboring islands and the atoll for the assessment of socio economic impacts of the development as illustrated below.

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4.5.9 Shaviyani Atoll

Kabaalifaru is located within Shaviyani (North Miladhunmadulu) Atoll, about 200 km away from Male’ International Airport and 85 km away from the nearest airport, Hanimaadhoo. The island lies towards the centre of the atoll and close to the capital island Fonadhoo.

The nearest islands of Kabaalifaru are mostly uninhabited islands including, Eriyadhoo, Firubaidhoo and Ekasadhoo. The nearest inhabited island is, Laimagu and Funadhoo. Kabaalifaru is also located east within 30 minutes of the proposed airstrip at Dhiguvelidhoo. Kabaalifaru’s location allows it to have a 30minute boat access to about 5000 inhabitants of Shaviyani Atoll.

The socio economic profile of the atoll is being outlined using student and amount of fish caught as the key indicators.

School 2003 Sub total 2003 Total IslandGrade 7 Grade 8 Grade 9 Grade 10 2003 FM FM FM FM F M Atholhu Madharusa Kanditheemu 44 45 51 57 58 50 25 34 302 303 605 Atholhu Thauleemee Markaz Komandoo 46 67 41 45 41 40 38 60 279 353 632 Funadhoo School Funadhoo 34 37 31 17 44 32 39 28 296 257 553 Bilehfahi School Bilehfahi 10 18 50 72 122 Feevaku School Feevaku 21 26 9 15 28 26 138 157 295 Feydhoo School Feydhoo 16 7 75 81 156 Firunbaidhoo School Firunbaidhoo 5 3 8 Foakaidhoo School Foakaidhoo 26 38 26 21 24 24 199 213 412 Goidhoo School Goidhoo 18 15 56 45 101 Lhaimagu School Lhaimagu 9 13 75 81 156 Maakandoodhoo School Maakandoodhoo 21 33 87 116 203 Maaungoodhoo School Maaungoodhoo 25 27 24 33 122 153 275 Narudhoo School Narudhoo 16 10 75 69 144 Noomaraa School Noomaraa 6 12 54 59 113 Milandhoo School Milandhoo 24 24 31 42 32 37 30 36 188 216 404 Al'Madharsathul Munavvaru Maroshi 13 12 12 13 12 11 14 14 126 120 246 TOTAL 329 384 225 243 239 220 146 172 2,127 2,298 4,425 Source: Educational Statistics 2003, Ministry of Education

Table 4-12: School Enrolment in Shaviyani Atoll School, 2003

Table 4-12 presents primary and secondary school enrolment statistics for the sixteen Schools in the sixteen inhabited islands of Shaviyani Atoll. Of these Schools only five Schools have all three grades of low secondary schooling, two Schools have classes up to Grade 9, one School has classes up to Grade 8, and seven Schools have classes up to Grade 7. The Firubaidhoo School has classes up to Grade 2, with one student in Grade 1 and seven students in Grade 2. The total student population of Shaviyani Atoll Schools is 4,425 of which 2,127 are females and 2,298 are males.

The total student population of Grades 8, 9 and 10 of Shaviyani Atoll schools is 1,245, of which 610 and 635 are females and males respectively.

Region of Shaviyani atoll has approximately 9 % of fishing in the country in 2002. As of the records published by Ministry of Planning and National Development (2005) the region consistently catches around 10,500 tonns of pelagic fish species annually. (see Table 4-13)

Table 4-13: Percentage of fish caught by Shaviyani Atoll

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(In '000 metric tons) Fish catch Percentage share

Locality 2002 1_/ 2003 2004 2002 1_/ 2003 2004 Republic 163.4 155.4 158.6 100.0 100.0 100.0 Male' 13.3 11.3 17.0 8.2 7.3 10.7 Atolls 146.9 141.0 139.1 89.9 90.7 87.7 EEZ 3.1 3.2 2.5 1.9 2.0 1.6 North Thiladhunmathi (HA) 14.2 12.6 12.9 8.7 8.1 8.1 South Thiladhunmathi (HDh) 3.9 3.1 3.9 2.4 2.0 2.5 North Miladhunmadulu (Sh) 14.9 7.8 7.9 9.1 5.0 5.0 South Miladhunmadulu (N) 3.0 2.1 2.6 1.8 1.4 1.6 North Maalhosmadulu (R) 8.0 8.0 7.4 4.9 5.1 4.7 South Maalhosmadulu (B) 4.2 4.0 2.8 2.6 2.6 1.7 Faadhippolhu (Lh) 8.2 7.5 8.5 5.0 4.8 5.3 Male' Atoll (K) 10.3 8.5 5.8 6.3 5.5 3.7 North Ari Atoll (AA) 9.4 7.7 7.8 5.8 5.0 4.9 South Ari Atoll (ADh) 6.0 8.2 7.8 3.6 5.2 4.9 Felidhu Atoll (V) 0.4 0.6 0.9 0.2 0.4 0.6 Mulakatholhu (M) 5.4 4.2 5.5 3.3 2.7 3.5 North Nilandhe Atoll (F) 0.9 0.8 0.9 0.5 0.5 0.5 South Nilandhe Atoll (D) 1.6 1.5 2.3 1.0 1.0 1.4 Kolhumadulu (Th) 6.1 5.6 6.1 3.7 3.6 3.9 Hadhdhunmathi (L) 11.4 11.3 10.0 7.0 7.3 6.3 North Huvadhu Atoll (GA) 18.3 21.6 19.5 11.2 13.9 12.3 South Huvadhu Atoll (GDh) 12.3 12.6 11.9 7.5 8.1 7.5 Fuvahmulah (Gn) 0.5 0.5 0.7 0.3 0.3 0.4 Addu Atoll (S) 7.9 12.6 14.1 4.9 8.1 8.9 1_/ EEZ figures in 2002 is being modified Source: Ministry of Fisheries, Agriculture and Marine Reso

The share of the Shvaiyani Atoll in the national fisheries sector has been declining for a number of years. As of the records published by Ministry of Planning and National Development (2005) the share of Shaviyani Atoll fisheries has declined from 9.2% in 2002 to 5.0 % in 2004.

4.5.10 Project and its Socio-economic Impacts

The proposed tourist resort development on Kanbaalifaru, from the construction and during the operation stage would have few negative but many important socio economic benefits to Shaviyani atoll in general and the islands close to Kanbaalifaru in particular. Some of the impacts would be direct but many would be indirect due to the creation of economic and employment activities as discussed below and further highlighted in the stakeholder and public consultation sections.

4.5.10.1 Significant negative socio-economic impacts

The development of a resort would mean an end to: the reef and bait fishing from the reef and lagoon of knabaalifaru; all the other tradition al and existing rights and uses of Kanbaalifaru for the community. Furthermore the atoll community and the other Maldivians would no longer be allowed to visit the island as before and use Knbaalifaru as a picnic island.

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4.5.10.2 Significant positive socio-economic impacts

In spite of the negative impacts of the project as mentioned above the atoll community as well as the nation in general would have many benefits from this island being developed as a resort as mentioned under the project justification and is elaborated under this section. For instance socio economic benefits of the combined phase of construction and operation of the resort would include the (a) creation employment, (b) expansion of commerce and business (c) easy access to and from Male’ for the local community members.

(a) Creation of employment

The proposed development and operation of the resort will create many employment opportunities. The construction of the resort can create 800 employment opportunities. The proponent intends to employ as many Maldivians as possible during the construction stage and seeks to contract the major construction contract to a local party. If suitable local parties are not available or selected for the construction, still the proponent would encourage sub contracting as many components to the locals. For the people directly employed by the proponent a market rate salary so similar jobs will be given, Furthermore they would be provided with an acceptable level of food and accommodation.

The operation of the resort would create more than 150 new jobs, more than 50% of them would be reserved for Maldivians focusing more on Shaviyani atoll and the region. So as a result of this development about 75 new employment opportunities will be created in the Maldives for the Maldivians. The salaries would be based on the market rates for similar jobs with additional benefits.

The creation of new employment opportunities would enhance the quality of life of the families of the employees as they would be able to pay more for basic services and other requirements such as food, cloth, shelter, education, health and alike.

Food and Accommodation for staff will be provided in the resort and they would have access to medical facilities of the resort. During the off days they would be encouraged to visit their families.

(b) Expansion of commerce and business

The proponent further intends to arrange excursion trips to various islands in the atoll especially Funadhoo in order to give the locals to sell their produces and products directly to the tourists.

The opponent is also studying the possibilities of making uses of local produces, products and services during the construction and operation.

More accessibility will be created to and from Male’ due to frequent operation of sea plans and cargo ships to the region.

All the above mentioned activates would benefit various levels of community members, finally contributing positively to the GDP of the country.

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5 PUBLIC AND STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATION

5.1 Introduction

Public and stakeholder consultation or involvement is an important element of the IEE and EIA process. Public and stakeholder involvement in the EIA process is important for: Informing stakeholders Gaining their views, concerns and values Taking account of public inputs into decision making Infusing project design Obtaining local knowledge Increase public confidence

Improving transparency and accountability in decision making Reducing potential conflicts (Source, UNEP, 2006)

Ideally public consultation has to be initiated as soon as the information permits. It has to be done during screening, scoping, data collection, impact analyzing, reviewing and during implementation and monitoring stages of EIA. However in the Maldives, this sort of comprehensive public consultation is not required and the consultation stage could be labeled as one of the weakest areas in the EIA process.

With regard to public consultation, annex E of current EIA Regulations, 2007 requires to include: a list of the persons consulted including persons in statutory bodies, atoll and island offices, community groups and NGOs, local residents, local fishermen, tourism operators and any other likely to be affected by the proposed development. Information on how when and where the consultations were conducted, e.g stakeholder meetings in the effected area, individual meetings and questionnaires

Summary of the outcomes of the consultations including the main concerns identified (MEEW, 2007: Annex E)

For this EIA, people from following groups were considered for the consolation: Proponent Architect and the design consultant Government authorities including MEEW and MOFTCA MATI Shaviyani Atoll Office Shaviyani Funadhoo island offices, Community members including fisherman and other people from various trades from Shaviyani Funadhoo NGOs,

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5.2 Consultation with the proponent/staff

In general, discussions were held with the proponent to obtain information about the need for this redevelopment and to justify the project. The proponent wishes to develop the resort in order to expand their business increase profitability in a socially responsible manner by supplying an additional 100 rooms to the Maldives resort market. They intend to construct and operate the resort in a socially responsible many so that the general public and the government would benefit from the project.

5.3 Consultations with the Architect/Designers

Consultations were held with Mr. Imran and Mr. Abdulla Thallal/Chief Architect, Gedor Architecture Pvt. Ltd. regarding the proposed development. Following are the main outcome. The design concept has been developed after considering similar projects elsewhere in Maldives and abroad. Several alternative designs were considered. Special services and facilities were designed based on expert opinion on those areas. Various design options including the location, orientation, physical design and material and construction and operation methods were considered, but the current design adopded in consultation with the EIA consultants, as it suits the environment and is more visually pleasing to the eye.

4.5.11 Consultations with Atoll and Island Office

For this EIA we did not meet with the Atoll Office as this office is under MOAD and as the development of resort on Kanbaalifaru is an informed decision of the government, the concerns of the atoll office must have been communicated to the Tourism Ministry and should have been discussed during the scoping. However during one of the field trips our attempt to meet island chief of Funadhoo was unsuccessful as he declined to meet the EIA consultants because he did not get appropriate notice and he was also busily occupied with one of the ministers during a trip.

5.4 Consultations with the Local Communities

Since public is altogether excluded from the scoping process and not meaningfully consulted during the screening phase, their opinions are not sufficiently addressed at the scoping stage. However, for this EIA opinion of the general public was sought. It was obtained by talking to people in small groups and individually mostly in Funadhoo and Lhaimagu because of their proximity to Kanbaalifaru. Due to the limited time available we did not get the opportunity to bring together a reprehensive cross-section of the community for a consultation session.

The public knew that Kanbaalifaru has been selected for resort development and that it has been awarded to the winning bidder. They were not well informed about the nature of the development on the island of Kanbaalifaru. In spite of this, rather than opposing and criticizing the development, they were keener to see a resort developed on Kanbaalifaru. Many of them raise concern over the delay in starting the construction work and some of them were skeptic about the construction and operation of a resort on Kanbaalifaru.

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However, most of the people consulted indicate that they expect some direct and indirect benefits from the construction and operation of a resort on Kanbaalifaru. They express their desire to work during the construction and operation of the stage. They also expect the development to create more demand for local produces and products.

On the negative side, some people mainly the fisherman raised their concern for depriving them of fishing and bait fishing from Kanbaalifaru reef and lagoon, especially when Kanbaalifaru has few of the bait fishing areas in Shaviyani atoll.

On the positive side they specifically mentioned about the need to employ more local workers during the construction and operation of the resort. They also indicated the need to use more local produces and products such as coconut, fruits, fish and coconut thatches, roanu (coconut fiber rope) during construction and operation of the resort. Furthermore they expect an increase of local trade supply and merchandise during construction operation.

The biggest doubt the public has was to know that a resort on Kanbaalifaru would ever be developed and if it gets developed the public expects the resort owners and operators to understand the socio economic situation of the atoll and to act rationally in a socially responsible manner to empower the atoll community by providing education and training for the atoll population. In this regard they specifically mention about their desire to get teachers, doctors and varios development infrastructure for the atoll and islands (jetty, harbor etc.)

Concerns related to specific areas are discussed in under the appropriate headings in this EIA, further they are elaborated more under the socio-economic section and various other sections. The consultation has played an important role in finding VECs.

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5 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT AND MITIGATION

Construction of a resort on an island that has been naturally preserved in the past is bound to have some degree of negative effects on the island flora, fauna, soil, groundwater, air and microclimatic conditions of the island. Kanbaalifaru is believed to be no exception. However, if implemented correctly, such impacts could be minimized and further benefits and improvement to the environment could be brought about in the future. Some impacts are more serious during the construction phase. For example, trees and shrubs will be felled for clearing land and most faunal species may find themselves displaced. The operational phase on the other hand is forecasted to provide positive impacts on the terrestrial environment where new trees will be planted as part of landscaping. However, during the operational phase the island beaches may be of principal focus and erosion prevention measures may lead to aesthetic and environmental concerns.

5.1 Impact Identification

Impacts on the environment from various activities of the proposed development work (constructional impacts) and operation of the resort (operational impacts) have been identified through a consultative process with the project development team, field surveys, observations and assessment as well as based on field experience of similar other developments in the country. Analogous research data have been used wherever possible since the use of such data is applicable and less time consuming.

Possible negative impacts on the environment have been considered in worst-case scenario to recommend mitigation measures in the best possible ways so that these impacts would be minimized and perhaps eliminated in both constructional and operational phases.

This EIA identifies and quantifies the significance of adverse impacts on the environment from the proposed project. Impacts on the environment were identified and described according to their location/attribute, extent (magnitude) and characteristics (such as short-term or long term, direct or indirect, reversible or irreversible) and assessed in terms of their significance according to the following categories: Negligible – the impact is too small to be of any significance; Minor adverse – the impact is undesirable but accepted;

Moderate adverse – the impact give rise to some concern but is likely to be tolerable in short-term (e.g. construction phase) or will require a value judgement as to its acceptability; Major adverse – the impact is large scale giving rise to great concern; it should be considered unacceptable and requires significant change or halting of the project.

5.2 Overall Positive Impacts

Ideally tourism brings in various positive influences on the natural, socio-economic and cultural environment. In fact, tourism, which depends on the environment, has to have positive impacts on the environment in order to develop in a sustainable manner. Some of these positive impacts include: a. Economic development fostered b. Increased need for improved environmental protection c. Improved legislative framework for environmental management d. Increased awareness on environmental issues and environment profile raised e. Increased socio-cultural tolerance within the community

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f. Better understanding and acceptance of other cultures

5.3 Overall Negative Impacts

There will be some disruption to wildlife habitats as sea-turtles using this island as a nesting site. There will also be some disruption to the socio-economic condition/wellbeing of the Shaviyani Atoll population as various locations around this island is very widely used for bait fishing (required for tuna fishery) by Shaviyani Atoll fishermen. This island was previously used by Shaviyani atoll people especially by Funadhoo people for agriculture and for picnic.

5.4 Uncertainties in Impact Prediction

Environmental impact prediction involves a certain degree of uncertainty as the natural and anthropogenic impacts can vary from place to place due to even slight differences in ecological, geomorpholical or social conditions in a particular place. There is also limited data and information regarding the particular site under consideration, which makes it difficult to predict impacts. However, the level of uncertainty, in the case of Kanbaalifaru may be expected to be low due to the experience of resort operation in similar settings in the Maldives. Nevertheless, it is important to consider that there will be uncertainties and to undertake voluntary monitoring of natural processes as described in the monitoring programme given in this report.

Uncertainties also arise due to the unavailability of appropriate tools for data collection, which restricts the amount and type of data available for measuring or predicting impacts. In addition, uncertainties also arise due to time constraints in data collection. This is mainly linked to project planning and the lack of importance given to the EIA process in the strategic planning and development of the project. Typically, an EIA study is expected to collect data to represent changes that occur within a period of 12 months in order to more realistically predict monsoonal changes.

5.5 Coastal Environmental Impacts and Mitigation

As described earlier, the environmental impacts of the proposed coastal structures are discussed below in terms of specific Impact Zones. The zones are shown in Figure 5-1. A summary of impacts and mitigation measures is also given in Table 5-1. The summary also gives the nature, extent, duration and significance of the impacts.

Jetty 2 IZ-3 IZ-1

IZ-2 Water Villas

Jetty 1

Figure 5-1: Impact zones in the coastal environment

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5.5.1 Impact Zone, IZ - 1

Impact Zone, IZ - 1 (Refer Figure 5-1) has two wings of over-water guest villas in a narrow reef flat. The construction of this would involve some form of piling or foundation work for the room and the connecting jetty. The main impacts of the proposed development and mitigation measures are discussed below.

5.5.1.1 Impacts

Low levels of siltation or sedimentation on the seabed floor and the house reef. The sediment will be easily dispersed thereby causing low levels of sedimentation on the reef. The impacts of such sedimentation on the reef are discussed separately in the Marine Environment Chapter. The other impacts include the death of benthic organisms and juveniles including crabs. The spillage of construction material is also a concern which needs to be dealt with.

The footings and the columns of the villas and connection jetty would cause wave scour at the bottom thereby affecting longshore movement of sand to some degree. The impact would be small and would not affect the geomorphology of the island beaches in the long-term.

5.5.1.2 Mitigation Measures

The following mitigation measures will help minimize the impacts. Ensure appropriate supervision and monitoring during works Use precast columns and footings Carry out the work in low tide hours and in calm condition Complete the work in as shortest time period as possible Use manual methods as much as possible Create awareness and brief the workforce how to minimize impacts Erect signboards on environmental protection in staff areas STRICTLY, no solid structures shall be constructed but the bungalows would be built on columns. Build the connection jetty and other footing work using concrete columns which are prefabricated onshore.

5.5.2 Impact Zones IZ-2 and IZ-3

The impacts of development of the jeties are also similar to that of the development of the water bungalows. However, the impacts on longshore transport would be less as the jetty structure is built on a les dynamic area in terms of sand/sediment movement. Therefore, there is less potential for the jetty structure to act as a groyne and affect longshore sediment transport in the short term, which may lead to loss of sand or erosion in some areas and accretion in the jetty area in the long term. Therefore, this impact is less likely for both jetties. Mitigation Measures for the jetties are also similar to that of the water bungalows given above.

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Table 5-1: Summary of impacts of coastal works and proposed structures on the coastal environment

Activity Causal Factors Impact Short Term Effects Long term Effects Impact Significance

MACHINERY & Heavy machinery operation and Local noise and air pollution Temporary Disturbance to Not significant EQUIPMENT construction particularly sensitive habitats such as Maldivian Water Hen

Spillout or leaching of toxic Groundwater contamination Increased reliance on rain or Not significant substances from stockpiled desalinated water material (oil, fuel etc.)

COASTAL Changes in shoreline Sediment distribution and Accelerated accretion, bottom Additional costs for shoreline Not significant INFRASTRUCTURE configuration and appearance current pattern changes scouring, coastal erosion (filled protection (i.e. seawalls,

(WATER VILLAS and and piled structures) breakwaters, revetments etc.) JETTIES) Loss of coastal areas for recreational, commercial and/or traditional uses

Visual impact Landscape aesthetic Landscape aesthetic Not significant degradation degradation

Release of preservatives from Marine water pollution by Contamination of biota and Decrease in tuna catches Not significant installed wood structures release of heavy metals fisheries resources

Bottom shading (piled structures Loss of bottom biota Not significant only)

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5.6 Terrestrial Environmental Impacts and mitigation

5.6.1.1 Impacts

During the construction, there will have impacts on the terrestrial environment. The construction of the building and facilities would require removal of some vegetation and disturbances to the ground. The majority of the impacts would be felt on the back of house area where the most number of trees will be removed. A line transect was done in this area indicated by transect E to F and G to H (see Figure 4-18).

5.6.1.2 Recommendation

Try to locate all the building and other facilities in a way to minimize the removal of vegetation. Remove only the required vegetation and try to limit to only under bush and shrubs. Do not remove matured trees and coconut palms. Avoid the mangrove areas when constructing the building (see Figure 4-18).

The following areas have to be considered too.

5.6.2 Water supply

During construction, a 40 - 100 cubic meters per day capacity desalination plant will be installed to provide water for the construction period. Desalination plant will be installed for production of fresh water supply for this development. Water for the desalination plant will be obtained from the lagoon. Ground water will be pre- filtered and undergo two stage reverse osmosis to produce fresh water complying to WHO and national drinking water standards. Rainwater will be collected from the back of house of the development and mixed with the first stage reverse osmosis treated water. The mixed water will then pass the second stage of the reverse osmosis for potable water production. The desalination plant by product, brine, will be discharged to sea via marine outfall.

5.6.2.1 Discharge of brine

Brine from desalination plants will be disposed to the open sea where dilution will occur. Please refer to the site plan for the location of the outfall.

5.6.2.2 Water Saving Appliances

To meet the high standards at the resort, environmental technologies will be incorporated in Kanbaalifaru so as to conserve water during operation. Water filtration and treatment systems will be installed to ultra filter and treat the water at the pools in the guest accommodation and public pools. The pools require a large amount of water. Treated water from the wastewater treatment plant will be used for flushing toilets. Water efficient taps will be installed at bath rooms and toilets and all operational areas such as kitchen and laundry. The use of water efficient taps will reduce the water consumption by 35 percent. High quality water efficient shower heads will be installed in all guest showers. The consumption of water will be 9 litres per minute against 25 litres per minute for a conventional shower head.

5.6.3 Wastewater treatment

Wastewater from the resort activities will be treated through the new sewage treatment plant established within the island A Wastewater treatment plant of sequential batch reactor type will be installed for treatment of wastewater collected from the resort operations. Treated wastewater will achieve a quality better than BOD 10 mg/l, Suspended Solid (SS) 10 mg/l and COD 25mg/l. Treated wastewater will be reused for flushing of toilets.

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Excessive treated wastewater will be discharged to the sea via marine outfall. The treatment capacity of the sewage treatment plant will be 400 cu.m per day. The resort would operate and maintain the wastewater treatment plant and the main outfall that stretches all the way to the reef edge. Please refer to the site plan for the location of the outfall.

5.6.4 Solid Waste Disposal

An integrated solid waste management plan will be in place once the resort becomes operational. An Incinerator will be provided for solid waste incineration. A separate waste management area will be established within the island that will deal with waste management issues. Management of inert waste will be packed and disposed to Khulhudhufushi at regular intervals. In addition to the incinerator, there will be, bottle crusher, metal compactor and shredder. Table 2-2 outlines the estimated quantities of waste generation once the resort is in operation. These estimates are calculated with respect to the number of beds.

5.6.5 Energy Generation

Diesel fired electricity generators will be installed for the development. The configuration of the electricity generators will be 2 numbers, each @ 100 kVA capacity, two serve as duty, one serves as standby and one serves as maintenance. Light diesel of sulphur content less than 0.5% will be selected as the fuel of the generators. Waste heat will be recovered from the flue gas for hot water generation for areas near the generator plant.

A fully-computerized panel board will be installed at the powerhouse to synchronize the energy generation and load sharing. The computerized panel board will optimize electricity generation to meet the load requirement and facilitate fuel consumption and hence increase fuel efficiency.

The powerhouse will be designed with appropriate insulation to minimize the radiation of heat, soot filters at the chimneys and chimneys height appropriately to minimize the soot emission and effective dispersion outside the boundaries of the island environment. The powerhouse is proposed to be adequately sound proofed to achieve the allowable limits of 70 -75 dB (A) at 3 meters radius. Fuel storage tanks of the resort will be constructed with appropriate bunding wall to contain the fuel in case of spill and oil recovery trenches at the power house floors. The bunding will hold 110% of the total capacity of the fuel tank.

5.6.5.1 Solar Energy

Passive solar collectors complete with storage vessel will be installed at villa buildings not significantly shaded by the trees and tall objects to preheat the incoming cold water to approximately 40 degree C. Electrical heaters will be installed to further booster the pre-heated hot water to the designed temperature prior to supplying to the water faucets and showers for guests.

5.6.5.2 Disposal of waste oil

Waste oil from the generators will be collected and will be incinerated. Alternatively it will also be made available to the local fisherman for free. It is estimated that 350 liters of waste oil will be generated per month.

5.6.6 Fire and Rescue Facilities

Hydrant and hose reel at strategic location, portable fire extinguishers, automatic fire alarm system will be provided in all buildings and guest rooms.

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5.7 Marine Environmental Impacts and Mitigation

5.7.1 Identification of Impacts on Marine Environment

Impacts on the marine environment from various activities of the proposed development work (construction phase) and operation of the resort (operation phase) have been identified through a consultative process with the project development team, field surveys, observations and assessment as well as based on field experience of similar other developments in the country. Possible negative impacts on the marine environment have been considered in worst-case scenario to recommend mitigation measures in the best possible ways so that these impacts would be minimized in both constructional and operational phases.

5.7.2 Impacts from Construction Phase

Construction phase will have the major direct shot-term impacts and some secondary long-term impacts on the marine environment. Potential negative impacts on the marine environment especially on the lagoon and reef system from the proposed work are limited to a relatively few number of activities which include: Clearance of an approximately 100m by 25m access channel through the reef-flat Construction of over-water bungalows in the lagoon and part of reef-flat area Construction of approximately 200m long jetty in the lagoon southwestern side of the island Construction of approximately 140m long jetty on southwestern side of the island in the lagoon and part of the reef-flat.

The following table shows potential impacts and extent of these impacts on different marine environmental components from the activities of proposed development

Table 5-2: Extent of potential impacts on marine environment

Attribute impacted Lagoon Reef

Directly/Indirectly Direct Indirect Direct Indirect (m²) (m²) (m²) (m²)

Over-water Villas + walkways 3,853 61,034 4,757 43,586

Jetty 1 1,262 56,731 0 0

Jetty 2 170 3,236 684 25,413

Entrance channel 2,620 35,266 3,515 26,549

Total area impacted 7,905 156,267 8,956 95,548

The extent of impacts from the proposed development have been assessed and estimated in terms of area based on the field surveys conducted in Kanbaalifaru island system and previous experience of similar development in similar environments.

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The following figure depicts the estimated magnitude and nature of potential impacts that may arise from the construction activities of the proposed development on the different attributes of marine environment of Kanbaalifaru island system.

Impact Areas 24 22 direct impact on lagoon 20 18 indirect impact on lagoon 16 direct impact on reef 14 indirect impact on reef 12 10 8

Area ImpactedArea (%) 6 4 2 0 Over-w ater Jetty 1 Jetty 2 Entrance Total area Villas + channel impacted walkways Construction Activities

Figure 5-2: Percentage of reef and lagoon area that will be impacted

This assessment showed that major impact in term of area will be felt indirectly on the lagoon environment from construction activities of the proposed over-water villas in the lagoon in northern side of the island. This impact will be related to the potential increase in turbidity due to disturbances in the lagoon bottom during the construction activities. It was estimated that approximately 23% of the shallow lagoon area will be indirectly impacted and 2% of the lagoon will be directly impacted as a result of all construction activities of the proposed development. These impacts will be short-term depending on the duration of construction activities.

Indirect impact on the coral reef was estimated as approximately 17% area of the whole reef system and direct impact will felt on 2% area of the reef system. Indirect impact will be related to potential turbidity increase during the construction activities. Major direct impact on the reef will be from construction of over-water villas in northern side of the island as part of the over-water villas are planned to be constructed on the reef-flat areas. Second major direct impacts will be due to clearance of the reef to make an entrance for the boats to access the island. Indirect impacts will be reversible over time depending on various natural and human induced factors such as natural rate of reef recovery and magnitude of disturbances from operation of the proposed resort. These can only be assessed through long-term monitoring the coral reef system.

5.7.3 Impacts from Construction Phase Construction phase will have the major direct shot-term impacts and some secondary long-term impacts on the marine environment. The works in the Impact Zones, IZ-1, IZ – 2 and IZ – 4 will have some marine impacts. Some of them have been covered under the costal impacts. Potential negative impacts on the marine environment especially on the reef system from the proposed work is limited to a relatively small number of activities which include: Possible siltation and excessive sedimentation on coral reef and the lagoon bottom from (i) coastal modification and beach alteration (ii) by putting up of over-water structures and jetties as these may alter the hydrodynamics within the system resulting in siltation and increased water turbidity.

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Littering of construction waste and accidental spillage to the marine environment Physical damage to the reef from equipment mobilization Direct alteration of the lagoon bottom by driving concrete piles for erecting over-water structures and the long jetty.

5.7.4 Impacts from Operation Phase

Operational phase would have major long-term impacts on the marine environment. Possible impacts from the operational phase of the proposed resort are limited to a relatively few activities however, would be long-term impacts as experienced in most other similar resort islands which include: Sewage and waste water disposal

Solid wastes generated from the resort operation Hypersaline water disposal from desalination plant Wastes from supply boats and transfer vessels and boat-induced damage Recreational diver and snorkeller impacts on the reef system Recreational reef fishing

5.7.4.1 Construction Phase Impact Evaluation The proposed work activities do not include any dredging or direct alteration of beach or the lagoon area. However, structures such as jetties and water over the water villa (bungalows) can lead to coastal modification leading to alteration of current regime that may facilitate increased chronic release of nutrients from the lagoon bottom and siltation that would have a negative impact on the reef system. Increased nutrient in the system can lead to colonization of reef substrata by algae, which can also reduce coral recruitment by reducing suitable area available for coral larvae attachment.

Siltation on coral reefs have been found to have detrimental chronic and acute impacts on coral reef system depending on various factors such as present status, geomorphological characteristics, climatic and weather conditions, magnitude of the work and precautionary measures taken. Siltation and excessive sedimentation can smother and kill corals and reduce coral recruitment by reducing suitable substrate area of the reef for coral recruitment. Intense siltation can cut down light availability to benthic organisms including corals which require light for growth. Transportation of construction materials such as cement, aggregate and river sand to the site has the potential to aesthetically damage the marine environment especially the lagoon areas due to accidental spillage. Accidental disposal of construction wastes have been too often occurred especially during transportation and transfer work. Often spillage of construction wastes into the marine environment occur during the course of their disposal unless necessary measures taken to avoid this happening. Pollution of the sea can be caused by water borne and windblown debris escaping from construction site. Mobilization of heavy equipment such as barges to the site have the potential to physically damage some areas of the reef. Increased activities of larger vessels to supply the construction materials will also have direct and indirect damage to the reef through anchoring, waste from these vessels as well as accidental oil spills in some instances Construction of over-water structures and the jetty would directly alter the lagoon bottom by clearing some of the coral rocks found in the area. This would lead to short-term sedimentation and increased

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turbidity in the area. Any clearing of the coral rocks and patch reef may lead to some but not significant loss of habitats for certain cryptic organisms such as sea urchins which are important grazers in the reef ecosystem.

5.7.4.2 Operational Phase Impact Evaluation Major chronic impact on the marine environment from the proposed resort operation would be attributed to sewage disposal into the marine environment. The ecological impacts of sewage discharge into the water would be increased level of nutrient that would facilitate excessive growth of algae on the reef substrata and decreased live coral cover and as a result disrupt natural fish population structure on the reef system and sometimes outbreak of other algal feeding organisms. It is argued that outbreak of Crown-of-thorn starfish in many instances is due increased nutrient in the water. Coral reef systems naturally flourish in nutrient-poor environment. Increased nutrient levels can replace benthic-algal food source by phytoplankton-based food chains. In such circumstances, corals may be out-competed by turf algae, filamentous algae, bryozoans, sponges and bioeroders which do well under nutrient-rich conditions. Sewage pollution also poses human health risks as a number of strains of bacteria and viruses are found in raw sewage. These include faecal coliform, faecal streptococci, salmonella bacteria and Hepatitis A and enteric viruses. Numerous studies have indicated that the greater the sewage contamination and exposure of people, the higher the risk of contracting ear, nose and throat infections and stomach upsets such as gastroenteritis. Impacts of sewage and waste water pollution depend on amount discharged, level of treatment before discharging, the degree of natural flushing by currents and point of discharge. As solid wastes will be taken away from the island to designated disposal grounds they will not have a significant impact on the immediate environment of the island. However, sometimes spillage occurs during the transportation due to careless handling of wastes. Outlet from the desalination plant would contain hypersaline water of significantly higher salinity than the natural seawater. Salinity ranges between 32 - 42o/oo depending on the geographic regions are required for instant by corals to grow. Normal salinity of 35 o/oo is recorded in seawater around coral reefs in the country. Normally discharge from desalination plants are diluted by currents and the impacts are minimal. Intensity of boating activities would be relatively high as the resort starts full operation. Intense boating activities have proven chronically detrimental to marine environment especially coral reefs both resulting from direct and indirect impacts such as physical damage to the benthos especially to corals through anchor damage and littering by boat crew and indirectly through disturbing the lagoon bottoms especially in shallow areas. Small usually insignificant amounts of oils will be released from operation of boats in and around jetty areas as have been found in existing resorts. Leaching of antifoulants, maybe insignificant given the flushing rate in the boating areas but likely to be considerable in long- term and difficult to determine. Boat grounding and anchor damage to the reef are potential risks especially in bad whether conditions and boat operation after dark. Recreational diving and snorkelling are major tourist activities in the resorts. Approximately 26% of the tourist arrivals in the Maldives were divers in 2001. An estimated 1200 dives were performed per month per resort in 2001, forty dives per day per resort (Zameer 2003) which is 14,400 dives per year per resort. Considering there are 87 resorts, over a million (1,252,800) dives (excluding divers from safari boats) were performed in 2001 in the Maldives. Given there are approximately 5,000 reefs in the Maldives (Taylor et al. 1990), 250 dives per site per year can be performed, well below the carrying

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capacity of 5,000 divers per site per year, as determined by, Harriott, (2002) above this level of intensity coral reef deterioration has been noted. However, only selected reefs are visited, therefore, actual dive intensity on reefs will be much higher than 250 dives/year/site in the Maldives. Actual number of reefs utilized for diving are not estimated. If each resort utilized 5 reefs for diving 2,913 dives per site per year will be performed, which is still below carrying capacity. Diver impact on coral reef have not been documented in the country Given most of the reefs out of a limited number, are being shared by many resorts for diving, damage to corals should be considered significant in term of direct physical damage and indirect ecological deterioration by divers such as alteration of natural behaviour of reef organisms and boat activities such as wastes and oil spills from boat operation. Anchor damage from dive boats at dive sites do not occur as they do not anchor during the divers are under water and most dives are drifting dives. It has been documented that 15% of divers damaged or broke corals, 95% damage by fin kicks. Damage caused by specialist underwater photographers were 1.6 breaks per 10 minutes and damage caused by divers without Kanbaalifarus were 0.3 kicks per 10 minutes, (Rouphael and Inglis, 2001). Snorkeling is considered less damaging to coral reefs as mostly it involves floating on the surface there is less chances of physical damage to corals. However, in many instances the reef flats are too shallow to swim that the snorkeller trampling damage occurs while trying to get to the reef slope where snorkelling is done mostly. Allison (1996) reports that most damage in the Maldives occurred when snorkllers kick or stood on coral colonies. Recreational fishing is a very popular activity carried out in nearly all the resort in the Maldives. Anchor damage have been noticed at reefs used by resorts for recreational fishing as opposed to diving sites because the resort operators usually avoid diving sites for fishing by the guests. Ecological effects of recreational fishing have not been documented, however, intense fishing can reduce populations of certain predatory species that may lead to population explosions of other species resulting local decrease in biodiversity. Recreational fishing activity reduces the aesthetic value of the reefs by considerable amount of broken fishing lines, which accumulate over time at these sites.

5.7.5 Mitigation during Construction Phase An environmental firm that has experienced in same or similar work in the local environment should be consulted and allowed to inspect and monitor the development work activities throughout the whole construction phase. Coordination and communication among the environmental firm, the contractor and the client is vital to minimize adverse impacts on the environment from construction phase. Sedimentation and siltation resulting from the proposed work activity should be minimized by using appropriate techniques such as use of silt screens and other appropriate retention features to reduce spreading of sediment and silt plumes to the lagoon floor and the reef system. Work such as mooring area development that involve disruption of lagoon floor should be carried out when the tide is going out and the current direction is outwards to minimize the impacts of silt on the lagoon floor and the coral reef. Jetties and water bungalows should be located and oriented such that hydrodynamics of the system is least altered to minimize any possible siltation and turbidity problems resulting from alteration of local hydrodynamics. Outfalls such as outlet of desalination plant, waste water from kitchen, and sewage, should be located furthest from the sea bathing areas and oriented such that natural dilution by currents will be maximum. These outfalls should be taken over the reef edge out of the lagoon area into the open water. The

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opening of these outfalls should be at a depth not less than 5m below the surface during lowest tide. It is most appropriate to conceal and firmly fix these pipelines in the lagoon floor so that rupture and leakage is avoided. It has been found that in many resorts these pipelines were damaged and effluent leaking in the shallow lagoon areas. Septic tanks and initial filtration tanks should be located furthest from freshwater wells if ground water from the island is to be used. During pipe laying waste water from restaurant, kitchen, shower water from bathrooms and effluent from laundries should be led to a separate storage tank to reduce overall water volume to septic system to prevent overload. Littering, accidental disposal and spillage of any construction wastes should be avoided by pre- planning ways of their transportation and unloading to the island. Careful planning of the work activities can also reduce the amount of waste generated. In case heavy equipment and vessels such as barges and cranes are to be mobilized closer to the reef care should be taken to avoid accidents and damage to the reef. Awareness raising of project managers and labourers on environmental friendly practises in all the work activities should encouraged to minimize any possible negative impact on the environment.

Construction work activities should be completed within as short period as possible to avoid chronic impacts on the marine environment from construction work activities such as mobilization of heavy equipment and activities that involve disturbing the lagoon floor.

5.7.6 Mitigation during Operation phase Proper sewage system should be established and maintained through consistent monitoring for leakages in the pipelines and operation of the system. At least initial and primary treatment should be given to the effluent that is to be discharged into the marine environment. Use of water in the restaurant, bathrooms, laundry and kitchen should be minimized and re-used as much as possible. Such practices would minimize effluent discharged into the marine environment and reduce running costs of equipments such as desalination plant and generators. Sewage pollution can be reduced and avoided by the application of various levels of treatment to remove solids, bacteria, viruses and nutrients. These treatments aim to produce a final effluent that can be discharged to the marine environment, so that the bathing water is clean enough to achieve international water quality standards. Bathing water should be monitored fortnightly at the discharge point and bathing areas for colour, temperature, salinity, nutrients and dissolved oxygen and pathogens such as faecal coliform, faecal streptococci and total coliform in accordance with international standards to minimize ecological damage and avoid health risks.

Waste management system should be established to handle wastes generated from the resort. Awareness programme should be conducted for managers, staff and the guests about various problems of wastes and how to reduce them. Recycling should be practised and environment friendly products should be introduced and used encouraged whenever possible. Wastes taken out from the resort for disposal in the designated areas should be monitored to make sure that they reach the designated site of disposal. Wastes should be handle with care during loading, unloading and transportation to make sure that, no wastes enter the marine environment. Waste water from bathrooms, laundry, kitchen and restaurant can be recycled to minimize the water usage reduce load on the desalination planting which would in turn reduce hypersaline water discharged into the marine environment. Water at the hypersaline water discharge point and at down

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currents should be monitored for salinity during high and low seasons. If impacts such as alteration of benthos in the discharge area were found, point of discharge may have to be relocated or discharge diluted by other means. All supply boats, dive boats and transfer vessels should be equipt with trash bins within easy reach and sign should be displayed to encourage use of trash bins. Crew members as well as passengers should made aware of that littering to the marine environment is strictly prohibited. Effluent from toilets should not be discharged while boats are moored, anchored or close to the island. Care should be taken in the refuelling process of boats to avoid any spillage of oils. Mooring facilities should be provided to avoid any possible anchor damages to corals and benthic organisms. Codes-of-practice for boating should be formulated and implemented. Environmental awareness of boat crew and passengers should be raised on environment friendly practices. Dive boats should abide by the dive regulations “Maldives Recreational Diving Regulation” Section 14 set out by the Ministry of Tourism. Environmental briefing should be given to all snorkellers the divers before and after each recreational SCUBA diving session. These briefings should be based on various aspects of coral biology, damages to coral reefs caused by divers and environmental conservation. Briefing should also be given on importance of controlling buoyancy, fins, weight, eye and equipment control while diving. Medio et al. (1996) demonstrated that a single environmental briefing reduce the rate of divers’ contact with reef substrate from 1.4 to 0.4 contacts per diver per 7 minute observation period. This means that damage to reef caused by divers can be reduced by 28% if proper environmental briefing is given. Details of all the dives should be logged and maintained. These logs should include; reef/location, number of divers in each group, number of dives each day, average depths, and overall status of the reef, signs of coral bleaching, crown-of-thorn starfish infestation if any, and sighting of endangered and protected species and any other important attribute. All diving activities should be carried out in accordance with the “Maldives Recreational Diving Regulation” set out by the Ministry of Tourism. Mooring buoys should be installed at all the reefs used for recreational fishing by tourists to avoid anchor damage. Environment friendly boating practises should be adapted by the recreational fishing boats to avoid littering, oil spillage and any physical/ecological damage to coral reef systems. Logs of fish caught should be maintained. These log should include species, size/weight, amount caught and location to avoid population collapse. Reefs used for fishing should be regularly cleaned of broken fishing lines and any litter. Impacts to coral reefs from recreational fishing by tourist should be mitigated by appropriate management plan such as the five-step management plane given above.

5.8 Socio-Economic Impacts and Mitigation

Table 5-3: Summary of Social Impacts and Mitigation Measures

Component Impact Impact Potential Duration

Construction of the resort During the construction phase more than 800 POSITIVE 12 months

workers will be employed

Generation of Employment in the cottage POSITIVE 12 months industries

Operational phase During the Operation phase more than 200 POSITIVE Till resort is closed

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workers will be employed

Generation of Employment in the cottage POSITIVE Till resort is closed industries

Generation in tourism related support industries POSITIVE Long term

Return of Shaviyani and Noonu Atoll families to POSITIVE Long term

their respective Atolls

Diversion of youths to tourism from fishing MODERATE Long term NEGATIVE

5.8.1 Positive Socio-Economic Impacts

The resort development in Kabaalifaru in Shaviyani Atoll will bring a positive socio-economic impact. This includes direct benefit to the community in terms of employment opportunities as well as will strengthen the local economy of the chain of islands and other islands. Also, the resort development will bring other positive effects strengthening and development of international airport not only to cater the resort but others as well as development of other facilities.

The population of the Shaviyani Atoll has been shrinking due to the outward migration from the atoll to other regions. Migration is linked to the socio-economic well being of the migrant, and is very much influenced by opportunities and incentives as perceived by the migrants. The Internal Migration Patterns and its Impact in the Maldives (2005) examined the reasons for migration reveal the lack of employment opportunity is one of the driving factors for migration. Table 5-4 shows the pattern of migration within Maldives.

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Table 5-4 : Main Migration Streams to Male’

The development of the resort will create a large number of employment opportunities during its construction and operation phases. In the Construction Stage, it is expected that more than 450 people will be employed in the project. The development will flourish cottage industries in the atoll as to support the construction activity of the island.

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Similarly in the operation stages, the resort would employ more than 100 people. The operation of the resort will flourish cottage industries in the atoll as to support the construction activity of the island.

Generation of the employment which would locally be available to Noonu and Shaviyani Atoll will help to return families which have been migrated from Shaviyani and Noonu Atoll.

Social Economic & Environmental Impact Study of Tourism (2000) indicated that family instability due to absent father and husbands. Generation of the employment in the atoll will help to return the out-migrant male population back to the atoll. This would help to balance the demographic unbalance which was at the ratio of 0.83 men per women in 1995 and 0.87 in 2006 respectively.

Close proximity of the resort to the nearby inhabited islands in the atoll would provide the opportunity for the employees to commute to Kabaalifaru. These options would attract locals including women in the operation stage of the development.

The development of tourism product targeted to the luxury travellers would help the local communities to revive the cultural heritage sites in the atoll and the region.

5.8.2 Negative Socio-Economic Impacts

The development and operation of the Kabaalifaru as a tourist resort will generate new employment. Enhancement of the tourism sector in Shaviyani Atoll may impact on the existing fisheries sector in the atoll.

Presently, Shaviyani Atoll does not have an island developed as a tourist resort. Hence the conflict between the fisher folks and tourists are not visible in the atoll. However, conflicts over fishing arises between divers and snorkellers and local fishermen’s when fishermen are involved in the bait fishing over the house reef. Shaviyani Atoll has limited reefs where fishermen can do bait fishing which is crucial for the dolphin friendly pole and line fishing which is done in the Maldives.

The development creates lot of employment during construction and operation. Though priority is given to local contractors in the construction period and Maldivian in the operation stage, foreign workforce needs to be employed in order to fill all the jobs due to shortage of locals for the skilled and unskilled jobs. This leads to leakages and social conflicts in the island communities.

5.8.3 Measures to mitigate negative impacts

Conflict which arises to due multiple users of the natural resources is a difficult issue to manage as it could be dealt with appropriate policy, laws and raising awareness of the users. When the resort is in operation, the local fishermen’s will use the Kabaalifaru reef for bait fishing. This will create confliction on tourist who would use the reef for diving and snorkeling. This will be mitigated with continuous awareness activities which will be targeted to the fishermen’s who will be using the reefs of the Kabaalifaru for bait fishing.

Work to regulate fisheries in a manner that minimizes multiple use conflicts and conflicts between fishers using different vessels, gear, fishing methods and fishing for different species.

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5.9 Summary of Environmental and Social Impacts

Table 5-5: Major impacts of tourism development on Kanbaalifaru summarised

Activity and Impact Component Impact Duration Affected Potential Site clearance and excavation and disposal of construction waste and Vegetation MOD Short-term debris Habitats MIN Short term Air and noise quality MIN Short term Waste disposal - accumulation of waste in the environment and Air and water MAJ Long term leachate and by-products of incomplete combustion Oil spillages from fuel transfer, filling tanks/boats, etc. Surface water, soil MAJ Long term and groundwater Coral mining for use as base material for mortar and plaster, building Marine ecosystems MIN Long term material for bungalows (coral mining has now been banned) Damage to reefs from anchoring of dive boats and supply vessels Marine ecosystems MOD Long term Stripping of reef flats by divers and shell collectors Marine ecosystems MOD Long term Over-exploitation of resources for tourist feed and export (e.g. lobster, Marine ecosystems MAJ Long term crab, prawns, reef fish) Collection of coral shells and reef fish for ornamental trade and Marine ecosystems MOD Long term causing breakage of living and dead coral Inappropriate fishing practices such as spearfishing, which is forbidden Marine ecosystems MOD Long term but sometimes illegally practiced and use of cyanide. Site access and clearance for temporary and permanent structures Air quality and MIN Short term landscape Construction of pipelines, intake and outfalls cause turbidity and Marine ecosystems MIN Short term siltation Surface water quality Reef entrance clearance will cause turbidity and siltation Marine ecosystems MOD Short term Surface water quality Water supply, safety and good quality Health POS Long term Powerhouse emissions and discharges of waste oil and spillages Soil and groundwater MIN Long term Air quality Jetties and water bungalows affecting littoral movement Marine ecosystems MOD Short to Beach quality med. term Beach replenishment Marine ecosystems MOD Short to Beach quality med. term High dependence on imports and employment of foreign labour cause Socio-economic MAJ Short to foreign exchange leakage med. term Resource use conflicts. These include mainly the wooded trees and Socio-cultural MOD Short to housereef of Kanbaalifaru med. term

Key:

POS = Positive or No Impact MOD = Moderate Adverse Impact

MIN = Minor Adverse Impact MAJ = Major Adverse Impact

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5.10 Summary of Terrestrial Impacts and Mitigation Measures

Table 5-6: Matrix of major terrestrial environmental impacts during construction and operation phase

Environmental Potential Impacts Mitigation Measures

Aspect

Construction Phase

Groundwater and surface • Excavation for foundations may lead to exposure of groundwater and increase • The salinity of groundwater is already very saline in Kabaalifaru. This is illustrated water the chance of salinization and contamination of the groundwater in Kabaalifaru in Table 4-11. Furthermore, during construction, if dewatering of groundwater is

Island. required for foundations and other civil work such as pipe laying, it will be • Excavation of soil may increase runoff and sedimentation of the surface undertaken with the guidelines set by Maldives Water and Sanitation Authority. waters and marine water (the surrounding lagoon, since the island is very The extracted water will eventually be discharged within the island to assist narrow), especially during rain. aquifer recharge. It is impossible to totally avoid any impact, since excavation cannot be avoided. But with the mitigation measures in place, impacts on the • Indirect, contamination caused by diesel and other fuel oils used by groundwater can be minimized greatly. construction vehicles, machinery and improper handling. • If excavation occurs during the rainy season, runoff will be regulated through a storm water management/erosion control plan that will include temporary onsite silt traps to avoid loss of soil in to the lagoon. Furthermore, excavation will be phased so storm water runoff will be minimized. Traps will be set within the construction boundary to contain any runoff, since the island is very narrow, it will not be eco

• Good construction practices will be followed such as not leaving open ditches where groundwater is exposed to contamination. Hazardous materials such as fuel oils and diesel used on the island during the construction period will be stored in covered containers and protected from rainfall, runoff and direct sunlight. A stockpile of spill cleanup materials will be readily available on the island. Workers will be trained in spill prevention and cleanup, and individuals will be designated as responsible for prevention and cleanup activities.

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Environmental Potential Impacts Mitigation Measures

Aspect

Hazard Vulnerability • Impacts during site preparation or construction relate to the effect of storm • Construction and site preparation schedules will take account of the rainy season.

water run-off to the marine environment. The major impact is derived from the Runoff prevention barriers or buffers will be in place to prevent runoff to the effect of heavy runoff, during intense rain. lagoon. Construction zone will be properly buffered.

• With respect to man-made/technological hazards, accidents can occur as a • A safety management plan including material handling and equipment result of construction activities directly within the island environment and as a management procedures will be developed as part of the construction result of activities such as transportation of equipment and materials. scheduling. This will eliminate potential man made hazards during the construction stage.

Noise • The noise level is expected to increase during site preparation and • Although not expected to create a significant negative impact on human construction with the use of heavy machinery and earth moving equipment. settlement, noise will impact the construction workers. Therefore construction Construction noise impacts are not expected to be a nuisance to human workers will be provided with proper personal protection equipments (PPE) such settlements as Kabaalifaru is isolated. as ear muffs. Site supervisors will also be required to ensure that workers wear

• Noise impacts are therefore going to be localized to Kabaalifaru Island only. these PPE. • Construction machinery and vehicles will be serviced at regular intervals in order to keep noise to a minimum. Perimeter noise monitoring is recommended during the construction phase

Land and Vegetation • Some vegetation will have to be cleared for pathways and for buildings. • Vegetation is a vital part of the resort and the design has been incorporated clearing Vegetation in Kabaalifaru is not diverse, and no threatened species are found taking in to consideration the vegetation, and to remove only the required

(Refer Table 4-10 for a list of tree species observed from the inner vegetation. vegetation). Loss of vegetation can increase surface run-off after heavy • Though some vegetation will be removed, extensive landscaping and re- rainfall. vegetation will be undertaken even during construction stage that will improve • During the construction stage, staff quarters will be constructed initially to vegetative cover. Mature trees and especially coconut trees will be preserved and house the construction workers and therefore vegetation removal will be done avoided.

only on required areas. These staff quarters will also be used once the resort • Therefore, through these measures, the operators will ensure that minimal goes in to operation. Therefore, these buildings will be constructed in areas damage to vegetation is caused and to remove minimal vegetation. where clearance is required for permanent structures.

• New pathways clearance will require the removal of trees, but will be done

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Environmental Potential Impacts Mitigation Measures

Aspect

only if necessary. Impacts are therefore going to be very minimal.

Solid Waste • Solid waste generated from the site preparation and construction activities will • Construction of the resort will generate considerable waste and provision will be Management include construction debris, vegetation, and solid waste generated from made for suitable separation and storage of waste in designated and labelled Kabaalifaru island areas throughout the island.

• Disposal of waste during this period will be to Kulhuldhufushi on a regular basis. Waste will be collected and transported in barges on a monthly basis. This will eliminate any potential accumulation of waste in Kabaalifaru island and will allow easy management of the waste.

• All hazardous waste such as used fuels, empty paint buckets etc. will be separated and stored in areas clearly designated and labeled until they are transported to the Kulhuldhufushi

• Enough temporary toilets will be constructed during the construction stage with septic tanks. These septic tanks will be constructed to meet the Maldives Water and Sanitation Authority’s (MWSA) minimum standards to avoid leaching of wastewater in to the ground.

Wastewater • Temporary septic tanks will be constructed during construction stage to be • Raw sewage will not be pumped into the sea even during the construction stage.

utilized to human waste and grey water during construction period. These Temporary septic tanks will be used. The final effluent will be discharged to the septic tanks will be constructed to meet the Maldives Water and Sanitation ground through soakpits. Authority’s (MWSA) minimum standards in order to avoid leaching of wastewater in to the ground. Impact is therefore anticipated to be minimal

Operational Phase

Groundwater and surface • Groundwater may be impacted if it is used for resort activities during the • Once the resort is in operation, no groundwater will be used for any resort activity water operational stage. However, tourism regulations prohibit the use of other than gardening.

groundwater for any resort activity. Therefore, negligible or no impacts are • Desalination plants will provide fresh water for most of the resorts activity expected to be caused by groundwater usage including, guest toilets, showers, cooking, cleaning etc.

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Environmental Potential Impacts Mitigation Measures

Aspect

• However, contamination of groundwater from hazardous and selected areas • Therefore groundwater will be positively impacted in that the overall quality will be could be a potential risk during operational stage. These selected hazardous maintained by not using this vital resource. By not using groundwater, the aquifer areas include, fuel storage tanks, engine room and chemical storage areas. will not be impacted.

• Contamination of groundwater from solid waste generated within the island. • Hazardous materials such as fuel oils and diesel used on the island during construction and operation stage will be stored in covered containers and protected from rainfall, runoff and direct sunlight. A stockpile of spill cleanup materials will be readily available on the island. Workers will be trained in spill prevention and cleanup, and individuals will be designated as responsible for prevention and cleanup activities.

• During the operational stage, this component will be more robust and strictly enforced as the operators cannot afford risking any environmental damage. Hence, Fuel tanks within the island will have bund walls to contain at least 110 percent of the tanks capacity in case of an accident. Other hazardous materials will have proper labels and material safety datasheets (MSDS) clearly labeled. Access and use of these substances will also be strictly controlled and be monitored by specially trained personnel. Therefore, with these mitigation measures, the likelihood of any groundwater contamination is not expected.

• Kanbaalifaru operators will setup a sound waste management plan that will address solid waste issues and ensure that neither nuisance nor environmental damage occur as a result. The proposed waste management plan will incorporate elements requiring onsite and offsite disposal. Incinerators will be in place to deal with general solid waste from the operations. Compostable waste such as green and kitchen waste will be composed within the island and used as manure to enrich the soil.

Noise • During the operation stage, no major noise impacts are likely to occur • No negative vegetation impacts are going to be felt on vegetation during resorts operation. Once operational, Kabaalifaru operators will continue to maintain the vegetation of the island and continuous re-vegetation and plantation will be

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Environmental Potential Impacts Mitigation Measures

Aspect

undertaken. A plant nursery will be established to ensure plenty of trees are available that blend with the existing vegetation of the island. Therefore once the resort is in operation, positive impacts are expected as vegetation will be managed since it is one of the integral components of the resort

Solid Waste • Operational stage of the resort will generate large quantities of solid waste as • The resort operators will establish a comprehensive integrated Solid Waste Management almost all supplies will be imported. Likely types of waste generated include Management Plan (details are discussed in the project description section) once kitchen waste, packaging waste, green waste, cans, bottles, hazardous waste the resort is operation.

(chemicals used in laundry, used fuels etc). • A sound waste management plan that will address solid waste issues and ensure • However, solid waste management is likely to cause moderate environmental that neither nuisance nor environmental damage occurs. The proposed waste impact with the proposed mitigation measures. management plan will incorporate elements requiring onsite and offsite disposal.

• Once the resort is operational, there will be additional burden on Incinerators will be in place to deal with general solid waste from the operations. Kulhuldhufushi waste management center. There will be an overall long term Compostable waste such as green and kitchen waste will be composed within the moderate impact as a result. island and used as manure to enrich the soil. • Hazardous waste will be transported to Kulhuldhufushi waste management center.

Wastewater • Wastewater will be generated during the Operation Phase. Impacts from • Treated wastewater will achieve a quality better than BOD 30 mg/l, SS 10 mg/l wastewater are anticipated to be minimal as wastewater will be treated and and COD 25mg/l.

reused in the island. • Excessive treated wastewater will be discharged to the sea via marine outfall • Impacts are therefore going to be minimal.

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6 ALTERNATIVES

This section considers various alternatives to the proposed “development” or “project” . In this EIA report the “development” or “project” is referred to the development of a luxury, nature tourist resort on the island of Kanbaalifaru, Shaviyani Atoll.

6.1 Alternative 1: No development/project option

If the resort is developed without the golf course, the whole development concept for development of the Hondaafushi Golf and Spa Resort would become a flop as the resort would not be able to capture the target segment of the market. However this option will preserver the native vegetation of the island could remain as a typical island of the Maldives without much negative impacts to the environment.

The project location (Island for the Development of Resort) has been considered by the Ministry of Tourism during the resort selection process. Therefore, this section will not consider siting or location alternatives. However, there are alternatives that may be considered for the design and location of some of the features. These mainly include the buildings and facilities, that is the back of house area.

6.2 Over the Water Guest Villas (Impact Zone, IZ-1)

The over the water guest villas in the resort can also be said to be located in an appropriate location in terms of overall resort design. However, the north-wing of these villas in the Impact Zone IZ- 1, on the reef flat and reef edge can get quite strong wind and wave action during the northeast monsoon as a result it is advisable to reconsider the exact location of the north wing of these villas.

6.3 Service Buildings in the mangrove region

As there are mangroves on the east coast towards the service builds, consideration has to be given to keep the builds off the mangrove area.

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7 ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING

Environmental monitoring and auditing is an essential component of the development. Adequate environmental monitoring is the only means by which environmental authorities and the public can know whether the project will perform as anticipated or, if not, whether additional mitigation measures are necessary. With the exception of accidents, environmental changes occur over time and therefore need continuous monitoring. Monitoring programs are designed, as far as possible, not only to assess if there is an impact, but what has caused the impact. Regular monitoring is a key strategy to ensure that environmental guidelines are met and followed. This is not only important to satisfy the Maldivian environmental regulations, but also to confer to other international standards and regulations to which Maldives is a signatory. Monitoring has the potential to identify problems that can be dealt without costing huge financial burden. The financial spending for such a monitoring programme will be negligible in comparison to the long term benefits. Continuous monitoring is the only means to obtain information over time.

Under the EIA regulations of Maldives, a detailed monitoring plan is a mandatory component of any EIA. Major areas that will impact the environment should be included in the monitoring programme. In this regard, the project components should specify the location of monitoring points, which parameters will be analyzed, and the frequency of such analyses. An appropriate time interval can be planned for monitoring activities that will address the major areas of concern. For the purpose of this project, monitoring should be done on all aspects of the resort operation that have the potential to influence the environment. Such areas where monitoring is required include changes to ground and seawater quality, solid waste generation, energy production and fuel consumption, coastal management, terrestrial environment and wastewater. These are the general accepted environmental aspects that are related to the resorts operation with the potential to cause harm to the environment. Some of these environmental aspects need monitoring even during the construction period. The reason for this is because construction period often involves several concurrent activities and processes that take place within a limited time. Therefore, the combined environmental impacts can be anticipated as high as the island environment will undergo stresses from many different activities. Some of these impacts, if not checked properly may cause harmful and sometimes irreversible damage to the environment. A classical example would be changes to the marine environment, especially the immediate lagoon and the reef as a result of construction of new water bungalows. During this process, there would be several impacts on the marine environment, namely siltation, sedimentation and changes to benthic organism and fish behaviour. These changes therefore have to be monitored during the construction stage also.

7.1 Annual Monitoring Programme

Table 7-1 shows the basic annual monitoring programme, which is project-specific with the control points identified. The costs of monitoring have also been included. Some of these monitoring requirements are detailed out in the following sub-sections. Additional monitoring parameters have also been incorporated in the detailed sections.

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Table 7-1: Annual Monitoring Programme for Kanbaalifaru

Baseline / Reference Impact Area Indicators Technique Frequency* Cost (US$) values/control points

Beach material Sediment distribution/ Baseline given in EIA Differential GPS 3-monthly 600 distribution movement/beachline report

Beach Profiles Rates of accretion Baseline data collected in Beach profile 3-monthly 800 and/or erosion Feb by EIA consultants surveys

Currents Nearshore currents To be established Drogue (spaghetti 3-monthly 600 diagrams)

Coastal Water Nutrients, DO, Three locations given in On-site water 6-monthly 800 Quality Coliforms, pH, PAHs, EIA quality logger and other toxic substances lab analysis

Ambient marine Temp, salinity, Manta tow locations given On-site 6-monthly 300 environment turbidity, visibility, in EIA report measurements currents

General status of General status of reef, Baseline given in EIA Manta Tow 6-monthly 300 reef coral recruitment

Marine Wastes on reef and Baseline given in EIA Timed Swims and 6-monthly 300 aesthetics general appeal Manta Tows

Fish population Fish population of Baseline given in EIA Underwater fish 6-monthly 300 structure selected species census

Benthic cover of Coral growth rates and Baseline given in EIA Permanent photo 6-monthly 600 reef other temporal quadrates changes in the reef

Sedimentation Sediment loading on Baseline given in EIA Sediment traps 3-monthly 600 reef benthos

Diving and Reef damage from Baseline given in EIA Comparison with 3-monthly 600 snorkelling anthropogenic activities control sites using damage Visual observation

Terrestrial flora Presence, loss or Baseline given in EIA Visual observation 1-yearly 500 damage of transects

Avian fauna Selected bird species Baseline given in EIA Bird count (visual) 1-yearly 500 and numbers

Turtle nesting Turtle nests Baseline given in EIA and Nests and 3-monthly 0 to be identified hatchlings

Soil quality Soil pH, nutrients, Three selected locations Visual observation 6-monthly 400 toxicants such as oil at STP, fuel tanks and and lab tests and visual quality control point

Groundwater pH, E-conductivity, Baseline given in EIA and Field water quality 6-monthly 800 TDS, nitrates, selected locations at STP,

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Baseline / Reference Impact Area Indicators Technique Frequency* Cost (US$) values/control points

phosphates, oil, total fuel tanks logger/lab tests and faecal coliforms and BOD

Effluent quality BOD, nitrates, Emergency outfall Lab tests/on-site 1-yearly 600 phosphates, total and discharge location faecal coliforms Treated effluent Lab tests/on-site 3-monthly 800

Brine discharge Temperature and Brine outlet location Field water quality 6-monthly 400 salinity variance logger

Employment % employees from Baseline to be identified Resort data 1-yearly 0 atoll, % Maldivians, No. of female employees

Trade in local Products bought by the Baseline to be identified Resort data 1-yearly 0 goods resort from the atoll and contribution to atoll revenue

Crime No of arrests in atoll, Baseline to be identified Atoll data 1-yearly 0 no of sentences for crime

Social conflicts Reported incidences of Baseline to be identified Review of 6-monthly 0 social conflicts related newspapers, staff to the resort interviews, etc.

TOTAL COST OF MONITORING PROGRAMME (per year) 9700.00

* In addition, monitoring will also be undertaken following all significant natural events such as coral bleaching, tsunami or tidal waves, etc.

7.1.1 Terrestrial Environmental Monitoring

With the completion of the development, the resort operation should monitor the outcomes within the terrestrial environment in conjunction with a more comprehensive program of monitoring for the whole island. There should be a performance evaluation plan and indicators in place once the resort is operational to evaluate the changes and impacts on the terrestrial environment. Performance indicators that would apply to the terrestrial environment include indicators for: The extent of vegetation cover or floral pattern in the island (which is a fairly good indicator of the state of ecosystem diversity); Evidence of soil contamination Changes in vegetation, bird colony and other animal species Beach loss due to erosion and associated changes to the shore line

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7.1.1.1 Water quality monitoring

Monitoring and auditing of ground and marine water quality is vital for environmental protection of the resort. Considering this as an important component, a baseline data set was gathered based on the existing data and field surveys conducted on 23 – 25 November 2006. This monitoring programme would be required to ensure the implementation of the recommended water quality mitigation measures and to assess the effectiveness of these measures. If monitoring results indicate that the water quality is not improving after the implementation of the recommended mitigation measures, then appropriate alternatives need to be carefully considered. Groundwater will not be used for drinking purposes in the resort; therefore a threshold or a maximum limit of freshwater has to be set in order to make comparison for monitoring purpose. According to the WHO guidelines (WHO, 1993), the maximum limit of freshwater is 2,500 uS/cm and this value can be used to define the boundary of “freshwater lens” for monitoring purpose. Therefore monitoring will be undertaken to compare changes to groundwater in comparison to the baseline values and as well as the upper limits for freshwater Table 7-6 outlines the implementation schedule for water quality monitoring, both ground and marine water. Baseline data for groundwater was collected from a single location due to the small size of the island. However, once the resort goes in to operation, additional monitoring locations will be identified and selected for continuous monitoring. These locations will be preserved and marked for monitoring purpose. Table 7-2 outlines the necessary parameters for water quality and a brief description of these parameters.

Table 7-2: Description of recommended standards for ground and marine water quality

Parameter Description Maximum value

Salinity level using Maximum limit of freshwater as per WHO guidelines is 2500 uS/cm. A 2500 uS/cm

electrical conductivity higher value than the maximum indicates saltwater intrusion. (EC) Base line values for salinity of groundwater in Kanbaalifaru obtained on 1 7905 uS/cm and 2nd August 2006

Faecal and total The best indicator commonly associated with human waste. Drinking water 0 per 100 ml for Coliforms should not have any coliform for each 100 ml. drinking water.

Nitrates Results form organic decomposition, often from human waste and excreta. 50 mg/L The WHO guideline for drinking water is 50 mg/L, based on aesthetic, taste and odour considerations.

Nitrites The WHO drinking water guideline value for nitrite is 3 mg/l (nitrite as NO2) 3 mg/L based on health considerations.

Phosphates Phosphate concentrations in groundwater are normally less than 0.1 mg/L, 0.1 mg/L where there are no impacts from human wastewater or any other source of pollution such as fertilizers. Elevated levels are commonly caused by excreta and cleaning products such as detergents and shampoo.

BOD5 BOD5 correspond to organic pollution which is a fairly good indicator. There 0-2 mg/L are various guideline values for different water, but unpolluted water should conform to this range.

7.1.1.2 Solid Waste Management

Waste management and disposal has been identified as one of the key environmental aspects of tourism development in the Maldives. Therefore, appropriate mechanisms for effective disposal of waste can only be devised if accurate and useful data on the types and quantities are obtained.

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Table 7-3: Monitoring of solid waste

Impact Area Data sought Min. Frequency Purpose

Solid Waste Disposal Quantity and type of waste Regular records and Reduce impacts of waste floating

monitoring aesthetic onto beaches and effects on quality every month biodiversity and corals Method of disposal Reduce eutrophication of lagoons Frequency of disposal

Hazardous wastes Quantity and type Regular records Reduce safety risks and health

Disposal methods risks from inappropriate handling and disposal Frequency of disposal

7.1.1.3 Wastewater monitoring

Quality of wastewater discharged in to the environment play a key role in contaminating the receiving water body, which would be the marine environment in Maldives. Therefore the effluent quality of the sewage treatment plant will need to be monitored in order to determine the efficacy of the treatment system in terms of its claimed standards and to provide a means of accurately monitoring any changes in treated effluent quality. Wastewater will therefore be regularly monitored for selected parameters. Table 7-4 outlines recommended effluent quality standards and reasons for monitoring them, while Table 7-6 indicates Recommended effluent quality standards for monitoring. Table 7-7 outlines the implementation schedule for wastewater monitoring and the required parameters.

Table 7-4 Recommended effluent quality standard

Parameter Justification for monitoring Standard

BOD5 Most widely used parameter of organic pollution applied to both 20-60 mg/l wastewater and surface water is the 5-day biochemical oxygen

demand (BOD5). This determination involves measurement of dissolved oxygen used by micro organism with biochemical oxidation of organic matter. Treated effluents should usually meet these criteria.

COD Chemical oxygen demand (COD) test is used to measure the contents 120 mg/l of organic matter of both wastewater and industrial water. Oxygen equivalent of organic matter that can be oxidized is measured by using strong oxidizing agent against an acidic medium. This test is also used to measure organic matter in wastewater that contains compounds that are toxic to biological life. COD of wastewater is in general higher than BOD, because more compounds can be chemically oxidized than can be biologically oxidized.

Total Suspended Solid This is also one of the most important contaminant of concern in 150 mg/l (TSS) wastewater treatment. Suspended solids can lead to the development

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of sludge deposits and anaerobic conditions when untreated wastewater is discharged in the entire environment.

7.1.1.4 Monitoring Schedule for Terrestrial Flora and Fauna

Table 7-5: Implementation schedule for the terrestrial environment monitoring

Type Frequency of Main Concerns to address What to monitor monitoring

During the construction period

Flora Fortnightly Loss of vegetation and To ensure that unnecessary unnecessary removal of trees, vegetation removal do not take place especially mature trees other and that vegetation clearing is than those required to be consistent with the landscape and cleared for construction. architectural plans

Fauna Weekly or Monthly To avoid loosing potential Identify whether birds and other depending on the type fauna such as birds, and animal species are not threatened by of faunal species molluscs. the construction including bird nesting and ensure that these events do not decline.

Once the resort is operational

Flora Annually Preservation and retention of Presence, loss or damage existing mature trees of high amenity value in the island.

Flora Annually Vegetation loss or increase The amount of vegetation cover indicates either improvement within the island or damage to the flora.

Soil Six monthly Ensure that resort activities do Evidence of soil contamination in high not contaminate the soil and risk locations such as outside the fuel land, especially as a result of storage, near the power house, fuel and chemical storage, workshops or garages (if any). transportation handling and use.

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7.1.1.5 Water quality

Table 7-6: Implementation schedule for the water quality monitoring programme

Type of water and Frequency of Main Concerns to Parameters to monitor location monitoring address

During the construction period

Ground water from Every three months Ensure that salinization of Electrical conductivity (EC), TDS the island from where groundwater is prevented the baseline data was by regularly assessing the colleted changes to groundwater quality in terms of salinity.

Seawater quality near Every three months Water quality of the lagoon BOD 5, Nitrates, Phosphates, the temporary outfall around the temporary Faecal and total coliforms, outfall should be checked to ensure quality standards are within acceptable limits and that no serious marine pollution takes place.

During the operational stage

Ground water from all Every three months Assess the changes to Electrical conductivity (EC), TDS monitoring locations groundwater quality in (these locations must terms of salinity. be fixed once the resort is operational). Already baseline data has been collected from one location. More locations should be fixed later.

Ground water from Every three months Identify any faecal Faecal, total coliforms selected locations contamination from a (around the possible leak from the wastewater treatment retention tank or the plant or near the sewerage network. wastewater retention tank).

Ground water from Every three months To assess oil Hydrocarbons selected locations contamination from around (around the power the location where oil is house or near the fuel stored or from around the

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storage tanks) power house

Seawater quality of Every three months Water quality control in the Temperature variance, Salinity the lagoon near the immediate lagoon to brine discharge ensure that water quality is location not affected by brine discharge.

Seawater quality near Every three months Water quality of the lagoon BOD 5, Nitrates, Phosphates, the sewage outfall around the outfall and Faecal and total coliforms, ensure quality standards are within acceptable limits.

7.1.1.6 Wastewater

At present, Maldives do not have a water quality standard for effluents. Therefore international guidelines should be used. Considering the monitoring requirements and parameters, the effluent standards outlined in Table 28 should be followed as a guideline. These guideline values are adopted from the World Health Organizations (WHO) environmental quality standards.

Table 7-7: Implementation schedule for wastewater monitoring

Type of water and Frequency of Main Concerns to address Parameters to monitor location monitoring

Wastewater effluent Every three months -Poor water quality of BOD5, COD, Total suspended solids from the treatment effluent has the potential to (TSS), E. coli, ammonia, total plant. contaminate the lagoon and nitrogen, total phosphorus, pH and the regional environment. It dissolved oxygen.

is also a public health hazard for the guests who use the marine environment for recreational purpose.

-Failure of the wastewater treatment system will result in poor effluent quality and hence pollution of the environment.

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7.1.1.7 Health and safety

Island resorts are discrete management units existing on their own and where all facilities are provided on site. Therefore, health and safety risks can occur from natural and man-made hazards. Some of the hazards include fuel, chemical and waste handling and fires. Therefore, identification and monitoring of hazards help to minimize risks.

Table 7-8: Monitoring of health and safety

Impact Area Data sought Min. Frequency Purpose

Incident/accidents No. of fatalities Regular records Reduce

No. of lost workdays incidents/accidents

Incidence of accidents/incidents Understand safety hazards and eliminate or reduce No. of falls from wet surfaces risks No. of stepping on sharp objects

No. of cuts and burns

Training/Awareness No. of training sessions Regular records Promote health and safety

No. of fire drills

No. of awareness sessions

Fire safety No. and frequency of fire detection Regular records Reduce the risk of fire system inspections

Frequency of refilling fire extinguishers

Safety equipment No. and types of equipment Regular records Provide safe working

Frequency of equipment environment for staff maintenance or inspection

Food safety Inspections against HACCP plan Every three months Ensure health and safety of guests

7.1.2 Marine environmental monitoring

Ecological change often occurs gradually over time. Therefore, long term monitoring and research programs are necessary to accurately assess environmental change. This is particularly true when the change is due to small but chronic perturbations to the environment which have a cumulative effect. It should be kept in mind that (1) many ecological processes are slow occurring over a number of years, (2) inter-annual variability is often high, (3) short term studies miss rare but important events, and (4) monitoring only reveals recent historical events.

Environmental change can occur in two directions: (1) from a healthy, pristine ecosystem to a degraded one, or (2) in the opposite direction of making a degraded environment to a healthier one. The latter would be the case for the monitoring programme given which should be followed in order to best management of the existing marine environment of Kanbaalifaru reef system during the construction and especially the operational phase.

The objectives of this monitoring programme are to detect and document the changes occurring to the reef system due to the proposed project. The purpose will be to 1) assess the magnitude of the impacts resulting from

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the various phases of the project activities 2) evaluate the success of a particular management action, 3) to quantify the change in abundances of certain marine organisms, e.g. indicator species near a sewage outfall and elsewhere to compare.

By the time coral abundance, for instance declines management action may be too late; early warning indicators of community stress and impending change would be valuable. For this reason long term monitoring is needed. The level of change that must be detected to meet monitoring objectives will partially determine the approach which must be taken, in particular the precision that is required. Selection of methods will depend not only on what should be measured but on the intended use of the data and the available logistics.

Because changes in marine environment especially in a coral reef ecosystem may be almost imperceptible over the short term or highly variable from one year to the next, looking at the long-term trends in the conditions of reefs is vitally important.

Given the incredible variety in the elements of the coral reef system, it is difficult (and risky) to depend on a single set of observations or on "indicators" when trying to evaluate reef conditions and assess any impact. For example, high coral species richness is not necessarily a sign of optimal reef conditions because many of the stresses which affect reefs result in decreases in abundances of organisms rather than loss of species. High densities of juvenile corals probably are one of the better indicators of the status of a reef. In general, the best approach is to look for relative changes in a particular habitat over time when trying to elucidate trends. The following methods were selected to monitor the reef system considering all these aspects. The data should be used for regulatory and management purposes to minimize any adverse affect resulting from the proposed work and operations of the resort.

Table 7-9: Coral reef monitoring programme recommended for the long-term evaluation of Kanbaalifaru reef system and ambient marine environment for impact assessment and mitigation of impacts.

Methods Frequency of Monitoring Purpose

Ambient Environmental Once every month Important to the ‘health’ of living marine Parameters resources, reefs and fish populations and other

Temperature,Salinity,Turbidity/light benthos penetration, Currents

Manta Tow Technique Once every year or following a Broad scale qualitative and Semi-quantitative significant natural event e.g. coral assessment of general status of the reef bleaching, COT infestation etc. system / coral and other benthic recruitment

Marine Environmental Aesthetic Once every 6 months Broad scale semi quantitative assessment of Survey using Time Swim and anthropogenic activities e.g. wastes disposal, Manta Tow Technique amount of rubbish on the reef and general appeal of the reef system

Line Intercept Transect Once every 6 months Quantitative assessment of spatial patterns of coral and other benthic cover

Underwater Fish Census Once every 6 months in conjunction Quantitative assessment of fish population of with Line Intercept Transects selected species

Permanent Photo quadrats Once every 6 months Quantitative assessment of temporal changes in the reef system e.g. coral growth rates

Sediment traps Once every 3 months Quantitative assessment of sediment loading

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deployment/collection on the reef benthos.

Water quality test Once every month Quantitative assessment of Nitrogen and Phosphorous contents and other parameters: Total and faecal coliform and streptococci counts

Impacts from Diving and Once every 3 months Quantitative assessment of damage from Snorkelling activities these activities.

7.1.3 Coastal Zone Monitoring

There are few coastal developments that would affect the quality of the coastal environment. However, the impact of jetties and water villas and other similar structures in the coastal zone of the island shall be monitored to ensure that mitigation measures are taken before irreversible damage occurs. Coastal environmental monitoring also helps in understanding the changes that occur to the islands beach, which is the main attraction to tourists. As a result of such longterm monitoring, there would be sufficient data that will help in devising future coastal protection measures. Hence, the following monitoring programme is suggested.

Table 7-10: Environmental monitoring requirements for the coastal zone of Kanbaalifaru

Monitoring Baseline / Reference Indicators Technique Frequency Parameter values

Beachlines Sediment distribution Baseline given in EIA Differential GPS 3-monthly report

Beach Profiles Rates of accretion Baseline data collected in Beach profile surveys 3-monthly and/or erosion Feb by EIA consultants

Currents Nearshore currents To be established Drogue (spaghetti 3-monthly diagrams)

Coastal Water Nutrients, DO, Internationally recognised Laboratory Analysis Twice a year for Quality Coliforms, pH, PAHs, safety reference values standard other toxic substances available monitoring.

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7.2 Monitoring report

A detail monitoring report will be compiled yearly based on the data collected for the monitoring the parameters included in the monitoring plan. This report will be submitted to the relevant Government agencies for compliance. The report will include details of the site, strategy of data collection and analysis, quality control measures, sampling frequency and monitoring analysis and details of methodologies and protocols followed. In addition to this more frequent reporting of environmental monitoring will be communicated among the project proponent, the contractors and supervisors to ensure possible negative impacts are mitigated appropriately.

7.3 Proponent’s Commitment for monitoring

The proponent intends to follow the monitoring programme proposed in this report and commits to make budgetary allocations from the resort based on the prevailing market rate for consultancy of this nature. Attached is a letter of commitment from the proponent to undertake monitoring according to the Decision Statement issued by the Ministry.

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8 Conclusion

This EIA report has identified the major impacts of the proposed resort development. The project will only have its environmental impact on the project boundaries which is confined mainly to the island itself. Mitigation measures have been proposed to these anticipated impacts including a detailed environmental monitoring programme.

It has been assessed that the most significant negative impacts from the proposed development will be on the coastal dynamics, water column and the coral reef system as a result of developing water villas and jetties.

More specifically, the most significant impact period will be during construction stage. In the coastal environment, construction of jetties will have some impact on the shore line, as sediment transportation mechanism will be disrupted to some extent. In the marine environment, the construction of beach villas will have significant impacts, especially during the construction stage. The terrestrial environment will also be impacts as some trees will be removed to construct buildings. However, once the resort begins operations, this will not be a major issue as trees and plants will be re-vegetated.

Although several alternatives to the proposed project were considered, these alternatives cannot be implemented for various reasons. The monitoring programme for this project will focus on coastal, terrestrial and marine components and for this reason, sedimentation levels on the reef, water quality and visibility and the coral cover has been considered in the monitoring programme. Monitoring of coastal aspects will include, high and low tide lines, beach profiles and water quality of the lagoon in selected areas.

In conclusion, the proposed resort development in Kabaalifaru will have both positive and negative environmental and social impacts. Since the project requires intensive construction activities, the construction period is expected to have a lot of impacts, but mostly of a temporary nature. Once the resort is developed, there will be impacts related to the operational stage such as issues arising from waste, coastal changes and the marine environment. These impacts and their magnitude can only be practically assessed if the monitoring programme is followed.

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9 References – Bibliography

Allison W R. (1996). Snorkeler damage to reef corals in the Maldive Islands, Coral Reefs 15: 215-218

Carsten, M., Alan, H. and White , T. (2002). Sustainable coastal tourism handbook for the Philippines. Department of Tourism.

Clark, S., Akester, S. and Naeem, H. (1999). Conservation and Sustainable Use of Coral Reefs: Status of Coral Reef Communities in North Male’ Atoll, Maldives; Recovery Following a Severe Bleaching Event in 1998, MacAlister Elliot and Partners Ltd.

English, S., Wilkinson, C. and Baker, V. (1997). Survey Manual for Tropical Marine Resources (2nd edition), Australian Institute of Marine Science

Environmental Guidelines for Reclamation in Coastal Areas, Environment and Heritage Division, Department of Land, Planning and Environment, January 1999

Harriott, V. J. (2002). Marine tourism impacts and their management on the Great Barrier Reef. CRC Reef Research Centre Technical Report No. 46. CRC Reef Research Centre, Townsville.

Haveeru (7 December 2003), Overbookings result in tourists diverted away from the Maldives

Kenchington, R.A., The Republic of Maldives, pp 184-204. Managing Marine Environment, Taylor and Francis New York Inc. (1990).

Maldives Recreational Diving Regulation (unofficial translation), Ministry of Tourism 2003, Republic of Maldives

Medio, D., Ormond, R. F. G. and Pearson, M. (1996). Effects of briefing on rates of damage to corals by SCUBA divers. Biological Conservation 79: 91-95

MHAHE (2001), State of the Environment Report, Ministry of Home Affairs, Housing and Environment, Maldives

MPE (1993), The Environment Protocol, Ministry of Planning and Environment

MPND (2001), Statistical Year Book of the Maldives 2001, Ministry of Planning and National Development, Maldives

Tissot, B. N. and Hallacher, L. E. (2000). Diver Impacts on Coral Reefs at Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii, p8.

Twinning-Ward, L and Butler, R. (2002), Implementing STD on a Small Island: Development and Use of Sustainable Tourism Development Indicators in Samoa, Journal of Sustainable Tourism 10(5)

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Viles, H. and Spencer, T. (1995). Coral Reefs pp. 206-252, Coastal Problems: Geomorphology, Ecology and Society at the Coast, Edward Arnold, a division of Hodder Headline PLC, 338 Euston Road, London.

WTO (2002), Final Report of the Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Sustainable Development of Ecotourism, Malé, Maldives, 11-13 February 2002

Zahid, A (1996), Environmental Impact Assessment for the Third Power Project, Malé prepared for Maldives Electricity Board.

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10 Annex: Terms of Reference

The EIA will be undertaken in accordance with the provisions and instructions of the EIA regulations of MEEW (2007). The format and structure of the EIA report will adhere to the format given in “Schedule E” of the EIA Regulation. As such a title page, non-technical summary and this TOR (as finalized by the Ministry of Environment) will be included in addition to the following project specific topics.

Project Setting

The project takes place in the Maldives Environment and therefore, the extent to which the project conforms to existing plans, policies, guidelines, regulations and laws of the Maldives will be considered. This EIA will specifically consider the national Environmental Protection and Preservation Act, regulations Tourism Act and Tourism Regulations of the Maldives. The report will also review the policies and standards set out by the Tourism Ministry regarding resort development and operation in the context of the proposed resort development on the island of Kanbaalfaru. Other national environmental policies, regulations and guidelines of relevance such as the Regulation on removal and transplantation of trees will also be considered. Reference will also be made to international conventions and protocol which have strong linkages to the proposed development such as the Montreal Protocol on the Substances that deplete ozone layer with reference to use of Ozone Depleting Substances and ODS based equipments.

Project Description

The EIA report shall properly describe the proposed development including duration of the project, need and justification of the proposed changes, and brief description of the Proponent and proposed project components. The EIA should provide a clearly labelled site plan of the development. The report should also provide a detailed description of how the project activities will be undertaken including work method for constructing structures, how mature trees will be removed and how construction materials and workers will be obtained and how wastes and emissions will be managed. Sketches of foundation pads and columns of over-water structures may be provided.

Existing Environment

The EIA report should properly describe the project site environment. Since most of the proposed project components take place in the coastal environment, the emphasis should be on describing the coastal and marine environment in detail. Particular reference needs to be made to describe the various marine environments such as coral reefs, deep lagoon, and shallow lagoon. A proper assessment of the bathymetric conditions of the project site should be undertaken, including local hydrodynamics. Due to time constraints, wave and currents data may be avoided or spot readings included. General patterns of wind, wave, tide and currents shall be provided. A proper assessment on the quality of the marine water should be undertaken with focus on areas that are likely to be impacted by the project component. Terrestrial environmental conditions may be limited to an overall assessment of vegetation (both inland and coastal with greater focus on areas from which trees may be removed), groundwater in terms of electrical conductivity or total suspended solids, pH and nitrates and phosphates should be tested and provided. Any other parameter advised by the government will be included during the EIA stage and during monitoring and evaluation.

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The report should also outline the detail methodology of data collection utilized to describe the existing environment. The report also should provide the GPS coordinates for the locations chosen for sample and profile collection for further monitoring and evaluation.

Public Consultation

The EIA report should include a list of persons consulted and the methodology of consultation as required under the Schedule E (pages 32-33) of the EIA Regulations. Public consultation may be limited to the neighbouring islands of Funadhoo and Lhaimagu. Consultations will also be undertaken with senior official(s) from the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Environment, Energy and Water (MEEW) and any other party suggested by MEEW or ERC in order to incorporate their views.

Impacts

The EIA report should provide a full and proper assessment of the impacts with particular reference to the proposed development. In particular, the impacts should be described for both during the construction stage and also during the operational stage. Impacts of the proposed structures in the coastal zone especially those in the beach line and beyond must be given specific emphasis. Impacts of structures that require removal of vegetation will be discussed and the number of major trees that will be removed will be assessed. Impacts of water supply, sewage disposal and solid-waste disposal will also be considered. The report will outline the impacts on the coastal processes and marine environment of all the elements of the proposed development as described in the project brief submitted. Areas of the housereef that are likely to be impacted should be indicated and significance of these impacts defined. The consultant should provide an impact matrix for all the impacts identified and quantify the impacts, by providing appropriate weighing scale for impact identification. The report should outline the uncertainties in impact prediction and also outline all the positive and negative impacts.

Alternatives

Alternatives for the proposed structures and the overall development may be discussed. However, if the project components have no alternatives, it should be specified. At least three alternatives should be discussed including no development option. Alternatives to the location of the island will not be discussed as the site had been selected and finalized by the Ministry of Tourism prior to the EIA exercise.

Mitigation

The EIA report should provide detailed mitigation measures that are proposed to minimize the impacts. All the impacts identified in the report should be backed by proper mitigation measures. Mitigation should cover construction and operation phase, however it should mainly focus on mitigation measures during the construction period, especially during the construction of beach and water villas and the provision of water supply, sewage disposal and waste disposal facilities. The report should follow the mitigation hierarchy (avoid, minimise and mitigate). This hierarchy should be applied to identify mitigation measures for the significant impacts identified in the ‘Impact’ section of the EIA report. The most effective mitigation option should be determined. The report should also outline the cost of mitigation measures and the commitment of the proponent to undertake the mitigation measures.

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Monitoring

A reasonable time period should be outlined for environmental monitoring. Monitoring should focus during construction stage and operational stage. Therefore a detailed monitoring plan needs to be outlined in this section which should outline the parameters for monitoring, frequency, duration and the responsible person. The proponent is also required to engage a consultant during the monitoring period The report should also provide a detailed cost breakdown for implementing the monitoring plan. The report should also provide the full commitment of the proponent for monitoring.

Presentation

The report (soft copies and hard copies) shall be presented to the Ministry in the format detailed in the EIA regulations 2007.

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11 Annex: Consultants Declaration

This EIA has been prepared according to the EIA Regulations 2007, issued by the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Water. The EIA was carried out by a multidisciplinary consulting team representing Water Solutions Private Ltd. In preparing this report, no data has been manipulated. All data has been collected by field visits.

I certify that the statements in this Environmental Impact Assessment study are true, complete and correct.

Name: Aslam Shakir( EIA 11/07 )

Signature:

Date:

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12 Sketches of buildings and other structures

Water Villa

Restaurant

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Restaurant

Beach Villa

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Spa concept

Bar and Coffee shop

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13 Commitment letter from the proponent to undertake monitoring

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14 Names and Registration Certificate numbers of the EIA consultants

Aslam Shakir – EIA Registration no: EIA 11/07

Abdul Aleem – EIA Registration no: EIA09/07

Ahmed Zahid – EIA Registration no: EIA08/07

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15 Annex:CV’s of unregistered consultants

Proposed by Mr. Ali Shareef Prepared by: Water Solutions

HUSSAIN NAEEM Environment Analyst

OFFICE HOME Ministry of Environment, Energy and Water Felicia, Dhubugas Magu, Henveiru Environment Department Male’ 2006 Republic of Maldives Huravee Building, Male’ 20-05 Republic of Maldives Mobile Phone No. 960 7777178 Telephone No. 960 3324861 Facsimile 960 3322286 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected]

ACADEMIC QUALIFICATION

July 1998 Bachelor of Science with Honours Degree in Coastal Marine Biology (Upper second / 2(i)) University of York/University Collage Scarborough, England, UK (1995 - July 1998)

OTHER QUALIFICATIONS

June 1996 First Aid Certificate Wearside College, Sunderland, England, UK (June 1996)

August 1994 PADI Open Water Diver Sea Explorers Maldives, Male’/ PADI Willoughby, N.S.W. Australia (August 1994)

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EMPLOYMENT AND WORK EXPERIENCE

May 2006 Environment Analyst Ministry of Environment, Energy and Water. Work include surveying of islands with severe beach erosion, harbour construction, dredging and reclamation islands and consultations and attending other environmental issues in the islands.

May 2006 Environmental Consultant (February 2002 to present) Working for private organisations in the Maldives. Organized and conducted extensive field studies and consultations in major development projects including tourist resort establishments, commercial fisheries development projects and commercial agriculture development projects, airport development projects and conducted environmental impact assessments for over 40 development projects in the Maldives. Designed, developed and conducted marine environmental monitoring programmes for tourist resort establishments.

Dec. 2004 Environment Analyst Ministry of Environment and Construction. Worked at National Disaster Management Centre established in Maldives following the Asian Tsunami in 2004. Carried out rapid assessment of Tsunami impacts to the islands in Northern and central atolls. The assessments were focused on overall environmental impacts to the islands including beach, coastal damage, impacts on the vegetations, groundwater, coastal structures and facilities such as harbours, seawalls and beach retention structures. Carried out consultancy work with UNEP and World Bank consultants in identifying tsunami related and other environmental issues in the country. Prepared environmental needs assessments for the country with respect to coastal and marine environment including coral reefs.

Aug. 2003 Environment Analyst Environment Section, (Ministry of Home Affairs, Housing and Environment), now Ministry of Environment, Energy and Water, Republic of Maldives. Coordinated and conducted Coastal Zone Management Training Course for participants from all inhabited islands in Ha. Ha. Dh. and Shaviyani Atolls. Preparation of Coastal Zone Management Training Course syllabus and Course Handbook for the trainers and the participants. Carrying out technical and field work related to harbour, jetty and land reclamation.

Apr. 2002 Technical Staff Worked for Maldives Protected Areas System Project (funded jointly by GoM and AusAid) aimed at biodiversity conservation by establishing PAs in the country. Extensive work conducted to identify potential sites to declare as national Protected Areas. Conducted a long process of consultations with international experts, locals and government authorities and other stakeholders to establish pilot protected areas in south and north of the country. Organized and participated in stakeholder workshops. Conducted extensive marine and coastal surveys in northern and southern atolls of Maldives

May 2001 Local Counterpart (May to June 2001) Worked for the (Global Environment Facility funded Project) Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity Associated with Coral Reefs of the Maldives. Worked with overseas consultants and experts. Conducted extensive marine and coastal surveys and stakeholder consultations in Baa Atoll and Vaavu Atoll as part of the project preparation.

Aug. 1998 Assistant Environment Analyst Environment Research Centre, Ministry of Home Affairs, Housing and Environment Travelled to all the atolls and most islands in the country to carry out various environment related work such as inspection of harbour construction, reclamation, coastal development sites and organized and conducted various stakeholder consultation. Visited most of the tourist resort islands on assignments related to environmental issues in tourism establishments.

Sep. 1993 Research Assistant Environment Research Unit, Ministry of Planning and Environment Worked with overseas consultants and experts in marine environmental and coastal aspects related to tourist resorts, inhabited and uninhabited islands in the country. Worked on identification of coral and sand mining areas for regulation.

Feb. 1992 Research Assistant (Trainee) Environment Research Unit, Ministry of Planning and Environment Work included administrative and technical work related to environmental issues in outer atolls and islands

Jan. 1990 Technician Dhiraagu Telecommunication Pvt. Ltd. Maldives Responsibilities were installation of telephone radios in outer atoll / islands and customer services of telephones.

Jan. 1987 Technician Modern Techniques Pvt. Ltd. (Maldives) Work included repair of electronic equipment and mechanisms of electronic systems

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CONFERENCES, SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS ATTENDED

Dec. 2005 11th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 28 November – 9 December 2005 Montreal, Canada

Dec. 2005 European Capacity Building Initiative pre-COP Workshop to strengthen the capacity of Least Developed Countries to negotiate and implement the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol 24 - 25 November 2005 Montreal, Canada

Jan. 2005 7th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification 17 – 28 October 2005 Nairobi, Kenya

Jan. 2005 United Nations World Conference on Disaster Reduction 18 – 22 January 2005, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan

Nov. 2004 Concluding Regional Workshop on Strategic Planning and Management of Natural Resources 24 – 26 November 2004 Bangkok, Thailand

Nov. 2004 Capacity Development Forum for Millennium Development Goals 7 (Environment in Asia) Role of National Capacity Self Assessment and Public Private Partnership. 1 – 5 November 2004. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Oct. 2004 South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation – Meeting of Experts to Strengthen Environment Management Infrastructure 14 – 15 October 2004. New Delhi, India

Oct. 2004 Global Climate Observing Systems - Regional Workshop for South and South-West Asia 11 – 13 October 2004. Held in New Delhi, India

Jul. 2004 Renewable Energy Workshop Introduction of technical aspects and policy issues related to using renewable energy in rural and urban areas. Solar, Wind, Hydro, Biomass and Hybrid systems. 19 – 20 July 2004. Male’, Maldives

Jun. 2004 Dive Seminar 2004 Diving safety and amendment of diving regulation in the Maldives 29 June, 2004, Male’ Maldives. Organised by Ministry of Tourism

Jan. 2004 National Workshop to Review Draft Fisheries Law Maldives Fisheries and Marine Resources Management Policy and Legislation Project 21 – 22 January 2004 Male’, Maldives. Organised by Ministry of Fisheries, Agriculture and Marine Resources

Dec. 2003 National Workshop on the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries Implementation of FAO code of conduct for responsible fisheries 18 – 19 December 2003 Male’, Maldives. Organised by MRC, (under BOBP) Ministry of Fisheries, Agriculture and Marine Resources.

Dec. 2003 National Workshop on Bay of Bagal Large Marine Ecosystem Management Focusing on a wide range of issues relating to sustainable fisheries development in the country 29 – 30 December. 2003 Male’ Maldives. Organized by Marine Research Center,

Nov. 2003 Strategic Approach to International Chemical Management Preparatory Committee 1 9 – 13 November 2003 in Bangkok, Thailand

Nov. 2003 Fourth session of Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety Chemical management with regard to environmental and health safety. 1 – 7 November 2003 Bangkok, Thailand

Nov. 2003 Project Proposal Writing Skills Training Workshop Focused on project design, project management tools and project proposal development. February 2003 Male’, Maldives Organized with the assistance of DFID United Kingdom and the British Council – Ministry of Planning and National Development

Feb. 2003 Dive Seminar 2003 Introduction and discussion of diving regulation in the Maldives, 25 February 2003 Male’, Maldives Organised by Ministry of Tourism

Jun. 2002 GCRMN (South Asia) Maldives Coral Reef Workshop Inauguration of Coral Reef Forum IOC-UNESCO / UNEP / IUCN June 2002 Hulhule Island Hotel, Maldives

Nov. 2001 Workshop on Concepts and Application of IUCN Categories to Protected Areas November 2001 Male’, Maldives

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Jul. 2001 GCRMN South Asia Coral Reef Database, Data entry and management Workshop July 2001Male’, Maldives (UNDP)

May 2001 Seminar on Population and Development for Policy Makers May 2001 Male’, Maldives Ministry of Planning and National Development

May 2000 GCRMN South Asia Training Workshop in Coral Reef Survey Design and Data Analysis May 2000 Chennai, India

Oct. 1992 Workshop on Coral Reef Ecology, Monitoring and Training October 1992 Male’ Maldives Organized by Dr. Gudrun Gaudian/Hunting Aquatic Resource, York, England and John Willamere/Hatfield Consultants, Vancouver, Canada

REPORTS AND DOCUMENTS WRITTEN

Apr. 2005 Business Proposal for Water-sports Center at island hideaway at Dhonakulhi Maldives Spa Resort and Marina

Oct. 2004 Country paper to South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Meeting of Experts to Strengthen Environmental Management Infrastructure

Jun. 2004 Environmental Aspects of Resort Development Proposal at Olhuveli, Laamu Atoll

Jun. 2004 Environmental Aspects of Resort Development Proposal at Kalhufahalafushi, Thaa Atoll

Jun. 2004 Environmental Aspects of Resort Development Proposal at Dholhiyadhoo, Shaviyani Atoll

Jun. 2004 Environmental Aspects of Resort Development Proposal at Hondaafushi, Haa Dhaalu Atoll

Jun. 2004 Environmental Aspects of Resort Development Proposal at Konotta, Gaafu Alifu Atoll

Jun. 2004 Environmental Aspects of Resort Development Proposal at Hadaha, Gaafu Alifu Atoll

Jun. 2004 Environmental Aspects of Resort Development Proposal at Funamauddoo, Gaafu Alifu Atoll

Mar. 2004 Environmental Aspects of Anbaraa Picnic Island Development Proposal, Vaavu Atoll

Sep. 2003 Velidhoo Inspection Survey Beach replenishment Consultation and Report N. Ari Atoll

Sep. 2003 Earthquake Damage Assessment Report 2003 Report submitted to the Presidents Office

Aug. 2003 Coastal Zone Management Course Syllabus and Hand Book

Aug. 2002 Contributed a project to National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan of the Maldives Published by Ministry of Home Affairs, Housing and Environment

Aug. 2002 Sun Island Resort Environmental Monitoring Report Submitted to International Finance Cooperation

May 2002 Royal Island Resort & Spa Environmental Monitoring Report Submitted to International Finance Cooperation

Jan. 2002 Marine Environmental Survey and Monitoring Programme (A Compilation of relevant Protocols for Coral Reef Ecosystem Monitoring) – A document written for Maldives Protected Areas System Project funded by AusAid

Oct. 2001 Proposed Protected Area (Addu Atoll, Hithadhoo) Habited Exploration Report prepared for Maldives Protected Areas System Project

Jul. 2001 Survey Report on Olhuveli Resort Re-Development Site Visit

Jun. 2001 Report on Vaavu Atoll Field Trip (for Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity Associated with Coral Reefs of the Maldives Project – GEF Project) (June 2001)

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May 2001 Report on Baa Atoll Field Trip (for Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity Associated with Coral Reefs of the Maldives Project – GEF Project) (May 2001)

May 1999 Environmental Issues in Huvadu Atoll Produced by Hussain Naeem & Williams

Feb. 1999 The Status of Coral Reef Communities in North Male’ Atoll: Recovery Following a Severe Bleaching Event in 1998 Produced by Dr. Susan Clark, Stephen Akester and Hussain Naeem

Oct. 1998 Field Survey Report on Proposed SCUBA diving Wreck at Machchafushi Island Resort

Oct. 1998 Field Survey Report on Proposed SCUBA diving Wreck at Ellaidhoo Island Resort

Sep. 1998 Moofushi Island - Field Visit Report Produced by Ahamed Ali Maniku & Hussain Naeem

Sep. 1998 Environmental Survey Report on Developing Lh. Landaa Giraavaru as a Tourist Resort

Apr. 1998 Coralivor Butterflyfishes as Indicators of Health of Coral Reef Systems in the Maldives Dissertation/thesis submitted for Honours Degree in Coastal Marine Biology at University of York

Jun. 1996 Grazing, Mucus production and energetics involved in Littorinid with Dr. Mark Davis at University of Sunderland, Sunderland, UK

ENVIRONMENT IMPACT ASSESSMENT WORK

Surveys and report writing for Marine/Coastal environmental component of the following EIA reports

Mar. 2006 Vilingili existing structure demolition and seagrass removal EIA, Seenu Atoll

Feb. 2006 Hankede resort/hotel development EIA, Seenu Atoll

Jan. 2006 Hoadedhdhoo fishery cold storage plant EIA, Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll

2005 Olhuveli resort redevelopment EIA, South Male’ Atoll

Oct. 2005 Machchafushi resort redevelopment EIA, South Ari Atoll

Aug. 2005 Kudahithi Hithi resort redevelopment EIA (North Male’ Atoll)

Aug. 2005 Kalhufahalafushi resort development EIA (North Male’ Atoll

Jul. 2005 Lonudhuhutta resort development EIA (Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll)

Jul. 2005 Dholhiyadhoo resort development EIA (Shaviyani Atoll)

Jul. 2005 Konotta resort development EIA (Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll)

Jul. 2005 Olhuveli resort development EIA (Laamu Atoll)

Feb. 2005 Bodu Hithi resort redevelopment EIA, North Male’ Atoll

Dec. 2005 Baarah channel excavation and harbour development EIA, Haa Alifu Atoll

Dec. 2004 Maayaafushi resort water bungalow development EIA, North Ari Atoll

Dec. 2004 Alimatha Aquatic Resort water bungalow development EIA, Vaavu Atoll

Nov. 2004 Fesdu Sun Island redevelopment North Ari Atoll EIA

2004 Sun Island resort channel deepening EIA, South Ari Atoll

Oct. 2003 Fonadhoo fish processing complex, ice plant and cold storage EIA, Fonadoo, Thaa Atoll

Aug. 2003 Traditional Agriculture Development in Udhdhoo Island EIA, Dhaalu Atoll

Jul. 2003 Dhiggiri resort beach modification and nourishment EIA, Vaavu Atoll

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Jun. 2003 Club Kudarah resort beach nourishment EIA, S. Ari Atoll

May 2003 Club Boduhithi resort beach nourishment EIA, N. Male’ Atoll

May 2003 Alimathaa resort beach replenishment EIA, Vaavu Atoll

May 2003 Soneva Gili channel dredging EIA, Lankanfushi, N. Male’ Atoll

Apr. 2003 Landagiraavaru resort development EIA Baa Atoll

Feb. 2003 Rehiveli resort beach replenishment EIA, S. Male’ Atoll

2002 Island resort coastal modification and renovation EIA, S. Male Atoll

Jul. 2002 Maamigili airport development, EIA South Ari Atoll

May 2002 Mayafushi resort entrance channel dredging EIA, North Ari Atoll

Apr. 2002 Etheremadivaru picnic island development EIA, North Ari Atoll

Apr. 2001 Villigili resort development EIA, Addu Atoll

Dec. 2000 Hudhufushi resort development proposal and EIA, Lahviyani Atoll

Nov. 2000 Mushimasmigili picnic island development EIA, North Ari Atoll

Aug. 2000 Hudhuveli resort seagrass removal and redevelopment EIA, (Lankanfushi) N. Male’ Atoll

Jul. 2000 Kandoomaa resort redevelopment EIA, South Male’ Atoll

Apr. 2000 Maadhoo picnic island development EIA, South Male’ Atoll

REFEREEES

Graham Scott [email protected] Lecturer in Coastal Marine Biology, University College Scarborough, England, UK +44 (0) 1723 362392

Geoff Dews [email protected] Team leader, Maldives Protected Areas System Project +61 (7) 5444 6522 Environment and Natural Resource Management, Queensland, Australia

Stephen R. Lindsay [email protected] Director, Marine Consultant Services, Kolonia, Pohnpei (691) 320 7257

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