PROJECT INFORMATION DOCUMENT (PID)

CONCEPT STAGE

Report No.: AB3337

Project Name / Maldives Environmental Management Project
Region / SOUTH ASIA
Sector / Solid waste management (50%); Central government administration (50%)
Project ID / P108078
Borrower(s) / REPUBLIC OF MALDIVES
Implementing Agency / Ministry of Energy, Environment and Water
Environment Category / [X] A [ ] B [ ] C [ ] FI [ ] TBD (to be determined)
Date PID Prepared / September 25, 2007
Estimated Date of Appraisal Authorization / February 24, 2008
Estimated Date of Board Approval / June 10, 2008
  1. Key development issues and rationale for Bank involvement

The Republic of Maldives is a small island nation located in the Indian Ocean Southwest of Sri Lanka. It consists of some 26 major atolls and hundreds of smaller islands. The total land area is less than 300 square kilometers.[1] The population of Maldives is about 319,000 and is highly concentrated on relatively few islands. The atolls are ringed by coral reefs that are among the richest in terms of species diversity and aesthetic appeal. Tourists are attracted to the Maldives for the pristine beaches and dive locations, the latter considered among the finest in the world.

Economic performance has been robust over the past two decades with growth averaging 7 percent per year. Much of this success has been fueled by the country’s substantial and unique marine endowments. An estimated 500,000 tourists per year visit the Maldives─nearly twice the country’s population. Nature-based tourism is the primary industry, accounting for about 70 percent of GDP (in terms of direct and indirect contributions), followed by fishing and fish processing (10 percent of GDP).

Like other small island states, the Maldives faces daunting environmental risks. The population is concentrated on relatively few islands where high density has exacerbated problems of solid waste management, waste from fish processing, and sewage. With rising prosperity and buoyant tourism, the quantities of waste generated exceed the disposal and treatment capacity of existing waste management facilities where they are present at all. These problems not only threaten the quality of life for Maldivians, but also pose a risk to the tourist industry. The coral reefs, a major attraction for tourists, face numerous additional pressures including physical damage caused by construction and hyper-nutrition from sewage discharges, fish processing and other effluents.

Global climate change constitutes another major risk to the Maldives because of the low elevation of the islands. Climate change models predict sea-level rises from 10 centimeters to one meter by the year 2100, as the polar ice caps melt. The coral reefs stand as the first line of defense for the islands against storm surges which are projected to increase in velocity and depth with climate change. Vulnerability to climate change hazards has been magnified by pressures and damage to coral reefs that have impaired their protective functions. Planning on ways to confront the problems of climate change is at a nascent stage. Adapting to these risks will call for a multiplicity of approaches that could include the construction of physical barriers (such as sea walls), planning for the design and location of climate resilient infrastructure and more aggressive environmental stewardship.

The coral reefs and marine resources of the Maldives are key environmental assets that perform two vital services: (i) they are the mainstay of the economy and sustain a flourishing tourism sector and (ii) they help protect the islands against storms and ocean currents. Prudent economic management therefore calls for robust environmental protection. It is in this context that this proposed project seeks to enhance the medium term sustainability and resilience of growth and development in the Maldives through targeted interventions that strengthen environmental outcomes and assist in addressing the impending climate risks. The project also responds to a concern of the Government of Maldives which identifies environmental sustainability as a key priority in the Seventh National Development Plan (7NDP).

The focus of the project is on strengthening environmental management capacity and mitigating the highly visible threats to tourism that come from inadequate solid waste management (SWM) systems. Institutional capacity to manage growing environmental pressures does not match the needs of an economy so heavily dependent on its natural environmental assets. There are presently few staff with tertiary level educational qualifications and exposure to evidence-based environmental management is limited. Hence the urgent need to strengthen local environmental management capacity to deal with the pressing environmental issues that Maldives faces.

Among the pressures on reef ecosystems, solid waste remains the most immediate and highly visible threat with examples of floating debris along tourist dive sites and beaches that could have a direct impact on tourism and, thereby, the economy, particularly given the emphasis placed by high-end tourists on a pristine environment.[2] The amount of waste generated (estimated at about 400 tons a day) exceeds the processing capacity of the regional landfills in the country.

The Bank has accumulated considerable experience in environmental projects and particularly in the management of solid wastes and sewage. While other donors have dealt with parts of the challenges outlined above, the Bank has the experience and depth of expertise to help strengthen the Maldives capacity to manage the environment more effectively and to plan for the future.

  1. Proposed objective(s)

The primary objective of the project is to build capacity for environmental protection and enhance the mainstreaming of environmental management with development activities in the Maldives by (i) strengthening environmental management skills of government staff and other stakeholders, (ii) building a sound knowledge base to better address the environmental risks facing the country and (iii) mitigating the immediate and visible threats to nature-based tourism arising from the growing quantity of solid waste that has accompanied economic prosperity and tourism. Together these will contribute to improving the long-term sustainability and resilience of the tourism-dependent growth profile of the economy.

Specifically, the project would achieve the following objectives:

a)  Build and strengthen the capacity of relevant institutions to formulate and carry out effective environmental protection and regulatory programs suited to the needs of the Maldives;

b)  Design and implement a sustainable, community-based solid waste recycling and resource recovery program in selected islands which will entail the establishment of one or more Regional Waste Disposal Facilities (RWDFs) and Island Waste Management Centers (IWMCs) (the number and location of which will be likely determined during preparation) to reduce the risk of contamination from solid wastes over a 20-year horizon[3];

c)  Based on a strategic analysis of the status and protective role of the coral reefs, build the capacity of the Maldives to diagnose and improve conditions of the coral reefs surrounding the key atolls of the archipelago and initiate pilot activities to protect these from multiple hazards;

d)  Conduct a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for the Maldives with special focus on tourism (its impacts and vulnerabilities), climate change and adaptation strategies.

  1. Preliminary description

The proposed project would have three components: (1) a Strategic Environmental Assessment of the key risks with the objective of providing baseline information for strengthened environmental management; (2) capacity building for environmental management; and (3) a regional solid waste management program.

Component 1: Strategic Environmental Assessment of Key Environmental Risks and Strengthening Environmental Management Systems: (US$ 3.5 million)

The project would support a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) as an approach to environmental impact risk assessment that looks beyond specific projects and examines the environmental consequences of programs and policies. It would consider the cumulative effect of multiple projects such as hotels, landfills or other facilities that may have limited impact individually, but significant impacts in the aggregate. It would also examine the effectiveness of current management systems and identify strengths and gaps and it would involve bringing together stakeholders in the development process to forge a common vision of the future. SEA seeks to take a medium- and long-term approach to decision making. The SEA would also help to select the most appropriate regulatory model within the given context.

The assessment would focus on the following aspects:

a)  An analysis of the current and future impacts of climate change and an assessment of alternatives for adapting to these changes. A broad level climate risk assessment commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has recently been undertaken at a wide geographic scale[4]. However, management of climate risks calls for more fine-grained assessments based on site-specific downscaling. Accordingly, the SEA would support more detailed island or atoll-level risk assessments with a focus on the inhabited islands.

b)  A coral reef protection program is important for sustaining growth because of the strategic importance of reefs as both an economic and an environmental asset. In addition the reefs provide a highly cost-effective natural defense against some of the damaging consequences of climate change. The assessment would aim to provide essential baseline information that is needed for improved marine management. This would include benthic habitat mapping of priority coral reefs, assessments of reef health and the causes (if any) of degradation such as physical damage, ocean temperature rise, hyper nutrition, or others. This should be completed within two years, and as data become available, the information would be integrated in the prevailing Coastal and Reef Management System.

c)  An environmental education program/communication campaign aimed at catalyzing support for environmental good-practices and raising awareness. This would include decision makers, tourists and local inhabitants and would aim to explain the benefits of sound environmental practices and to discourage inappropriate activities.

Component 2: Capacity Building for Environmental Management: (US$ 3.5 million)

The Ministry of Energy, Environment and Water (MEEW) has a broad mandate, but its capacity to manage growing environmental pressures is limited. Support for capacity development would need to take into account the fact that it would be difficult to build a large, permanent cadre of environmental specialists in a small country. The emphasis would be on developing (i) a core of competent specialists and generalists in MEEW and other ministries (e.g. fisheries and tourism) to guide the environmental assessment and decision-making process; (ii) a cadre of service providers to carry out monitoring and field surveillance activities making full use of modern technology to carry out their job, and (iii) a network of private citizens and stakeholders (e.g. fishermen, hotel and dive operators, boat operators and others) with the training needed to serve as the “eyes” and “ears” of the Ministry.

Training would consist of a combination of: (i) in-country formal training, (ii) informal in-service training with specialist trainers brought to help develop human resources and (iii) specialization with graduate or post-graduate courses abroad as necessary financed through a stream of funding for overseas training and education, and (iv) twinning programs focused on environmental management, coastal/marine resources management and solid waste management.

Component 3: Regional Solid Waste Management Program: (US$ 5 million)

The Solid Waste Management component would aim at developing and implementing a regional program in line with the National Solid Waste Management Policy which is to be introduced by the Government shortly. The proposed program will be a regional pilot in selected atolls, which will build upon the experience and lessons of ongoing SWM activities that have been financed by numerous donors (ADB, Red Cross and UNDP). The primary focus will be on atolls in regions that are currently underserved by waste management facilities. Alternatives to the current systems of collection, transport and disposal would be examined from the perspective of their feasibility and sustainability.

Community participation will be an integral element of solid waste management at the island level to ensure sustainability of the system. Community-based recycling and resource recovery will be promoted at Island Waste Management Centers (IWMCs) in order to reduce the volume and pollution potential of the residual waste requiring transport to regional disposal facilities. Regional Waste Disposal Facilities (RWDFs) will be located in uninhabited islands and will be designed and constructed to reduce the risk of contamination from solid wastes over a 20-year horizon. Special attention would be paid to medical wastes and toxic wastes which would require special handling and management. An appropriate cost-recovery system and the right mix of public and private management would be a key objective of this component.

4.  Safeguard policies that might apply

The proposed project activities will result in improved environmental management and environmental quality in the Maldives. However, a Safeguards Category of A is being tentatively assigned to the project at this stage since the component on the Regional Solid Waste Management Program would involve community- based waste recycling and resource recovery facilities in the islands at IWMCs. These could involve composting of the organic fraction of the waste and the establishment of RWDFs for residual municipal solid waste, medical and toxic wastes disposal. The construction and operation of these facilities could generate further environmental impacts that are not fully known at this stage because the specific nature of the activities to be undertaken at the IWMCs as well as the location of these and the disposal facilities are unknown yet.

Community consultations and their involvement in selection of recycling and resource recovery activities to be undertaken at the IWMCs have been shown to lead to more effective management of these facilities. Therefore, the specific activities to be undertaken at IWMCs will be decided by each community during project implementation. The type and design of regional disposal facilities (i.e., the level of engineering needed for containment of pollution) and specific locations can be determined only after the activities to be undertaken at the IWMCs have been selected by the respective island communities. An Environmental and Social Assessment and Management Framework will be prepared by project appraisal. The Framework will: (i) contain action plans to assure compliance and (ii) articulate the criterion and due diligence processes for the selection of target areas. Once completed, an Environmental Assessment will be conducted in accordance with OP/BP 4.01 to identify and mitigate potential adverse environmental impacts.

The strategic assessment of the Coral Reefs may identify protection or rehabilitation works eligible for project support such as the rerouting of sewage outfalls. This may trigger OP/BP 4.04, Natural Habitats, depending on the specific activities to be carried out. Since specific interventions to protect the coral reefs will be known only after the strategic assessment, the Framework will provide a template to undertake an environmental assessment and preparation of Environmental Management Plans (EMPs) for these interventions as well.