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PROJECT INFORMATION DOCUMENT (PID)
APPRAISAL STAGE
Report No.: AB3619
Maldives Environmental Management Project
Project Name
SOUTH ASIA
Region
Solid waste management (50%); Central government
Sector
administration (50%)
P108078
Project ID
REPUBLIC OF MALDIVES
Borrower(s)
Ministry of Environment, Energy and Water (MEEW)
Implementing Agency
[X] A [ ] B [ ] C [ ] FI [ ] TBD (to be determined)
Environment Category
February 13, 2008
Date PID Prepared
March 6, 2008
Date of Appraisal
Authorization
June 10, 2008
Date of Board Approval
1. Country and Sector Background
1. 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. Of these islands,
only 33 have an area greater than one square kilometer (km2). The total land area is less than 300
km2. Maldives is a country with more territorial sea than land. The population is about 319,000
and is highly concentrated on relatively few islands. The atolls are ringed by coral reefs that are
the seventh largest in the world and among the richest in terms of species diversity and aesthetic
appeal. The reefs host over 1,900 species of fish, 187 coral species, 350 crustaceans. Tourists are
attracted to the Maldives for the pristine beaches and dive locations, the latter considered among
the finest in the world. An estimated 500,000 tourists per year visit sites in the Maldives ─ nearly
twice the country’s population.
2. The Maldives is largely a service-oriented economy. Due to its small population and limited
endowments of land, the scope for agriculture and manufacturing is limited. 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). Revenues
from these activities have been channeled largely into public investments in education, health and
infrastructure, creating an economy that is graduating to middle-income status. Economic
performance has been robust over the past two decades with growth averaging about 7 percent
per year.
3. Nature-based tourism has recently served as the engine of growth and prosperity for the
economy. The country has a tourism capacity of about 16,000 beds with an 82 percent occupancy
rate. The sector is poised for rapid expansion, with plans for 10 new domestic airports to be
managed by the private sector, improvements to existing transport facilities and leases to 51
additional resorts by 2009, which would amount to a 50 percent increase in bed capacity. While
the time frame for this expansion is short, it signals a clear intention to strengthen the role of
tourism as the key growth pole of the economy.
4. Like other small island states, the Maldives faces daunting environmental risks that threaten
to undermine its economic achievements. In recent years, growing environmental pressures have
emerged as a consequence of rising population densities, increased tourism and changing
consumption patterns. Some islands with high population density confront growing problems of
solid waste management, pollution from sewage and other effluents emanating from urban
settlements, hotels, fish-processing plants, ships and other sources. In particular, with growing
prosperity and buoyant tourism, the quantities of solid waste generated exceed disposal and
treatment capacity. This poses a substantial and visible risk to the country’s reputation as an
unspoiled tropical “paradise”. An estimated 248,000 tons of solid waste was generated in the
Maldives in 2007 and this figure is predicted to rise over the next five years to 324,000 tons, a 30
percent increase. Current arrangements for solid waste management on inhabited islands are
inadequate. Most wastes are dumped onto the island foreshore and burned at low combustion
temperatures. In addition, approximately 510 tonnes per year of medical waste is estimated to be
produced in the Maldives. Uncontrolled disposal of solid wastes, including medical waste, as it
occurs today, is a threat to the coastal, marine and coral reef ecosystems and a blemish on the
pristine marine landscape expected by tourists.
5. Sewage disposal is a further, though less visible, problem that can degrade seawater quality,
and damage coral reefs—the keystone resource for revenues in the Maldives economy. Of
particular concern are the continuing threats to marine assets from habitat degradation. Coral
mining for construction and dredging of lagoons for reclamation have been identified as the most
widespread causes of reef destruction. Other pressures include: damage caused by divers, the
illegal collection of corals and the unsustainable exploitation of high value reef resources such as
sea-cucumber, grouper and giant clams. On the islands, timber harvesting and the destruction of
mangroves threaten terrestrial biodiversity, while pollutants from numerous sources have caused
eutrophication of coral reefs.
6. In addition to anthropogenic pressures, climate change poses a still more far-reaching source
of environmental risk. Geography has rendered the Maldives especially vulnerable to the
consequences of climate change. Being land-scarce (96 percent of islands occupy less than 1 km2
in area) and low lying (over 80 percent of the country is less than 1 meter above sea level), the
country is exposed to the risks of intensifying weather events such as damage caused by
inundation, extreme winds and flooding from storms.
7. With the melting of polar ice caps, the Maldives is exposed to the risks of sea-level rise.
With future sea level projected to rise within the range of 10 to 100 centimeters by the year 2100,
the entire country could be submerged in the worst-case scenario. Rising sea temperatures also
threaten the coral reefs and cause bleaching and death, with the most severe damage in areas that
are stressed by pollutants, or damaged by physical disturbance.1 Coral bleaching events have
been observed in the Maldives seven times since 1997 and are associated with elevated sea
surface temperatures in the Indian Ocean. Recovery of corals from bleaching events has been
slow especially on degraded and damaged reefs.
8. 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 the damage to coral reefs that has impaired their protective
functions.2 Adapting to climate change would call for multiple approaches that require integrating
climate risks in the planning, design and location of new infrastructure, and may call for costly
1
Global Climate Change and Coral Reefs. IUCN 2003 Report to UNEP-IOC-ASPEI Global Task Team.
This is because the orbital diameter of a wave decreases (increases) exponentially with depth (height).
The implication is that a small rise in sea level has a disproportionately large impact on wave energy.
2
investments in protective barriers such as sea-walls 3 , and more proactive stewardship of the
natural protective barriers formed by coral reefs.
9. With the Maldives’ high dependence on a few key environmental assets and as pressure on
these assets rises, prudent economic management calls for strengthened environmental
stewardship. The substantial environmental challenges facing the Maldives could become a
formidable brake on economic growth, especially if these undermine tourism. High-end tourism
is an inherently fragile activity that depends on consumer perceptions, adequate transport and a
continuous effort by the private sector to maintain and improve the quality of the tourism product
in a highly competitive global market. To retain its comparative advantage, the Maldives needs
to maintain a clean and attractive environment for tourists who, in the main, are well-to-do
foreigners. This calls for a considerable improvement in environmental management with policy
principles being translated into measurable outcomes and an environmental infrastructure that
matches the needs of a country on the threshold of middle income status.
10. Recognizing the economic significance of its environmental assets, successive national
development plans have emphasized the need for adopting sound environmental practices. There
is an overarching policy framework for environmental protection in the country. Tourist resorts
are governed by comprehensive environmental regulations and have a strong economic incentive
to protect the environment on the islands on which they hold concessions. To address the risks
posed by climate change, the Government of Maldives has initiated a population consolidation
policy with the creation of “safe islands.” The need for such a policy is widely promoted and
accepted within government. There is a consensus that, in the long term, as sea levels rise, it
would be impossible to protect and provide services to widely dispersed populations. However,
there is little scientific information on climate risks at the atoll and island level, to guide the
selection of these safe islands.
11. Despite government commitment and past efforts, mounting environmental pressures far
outpace the country’s ability to manage its key environmental assets. The greatest constraint to
implementation of environmental policies is the lack of technical and managerial capacity. There
are insufficient staff and a shortage of skilled and qualified personnel in most environmental
agencies. Information for sound policymaking is fragmented and sparse, with little systematic
data on reef health and marine habitats. There are insufficient skills and institutional incentives to
incorporate these concerns in policy development, and no organized constituency favoring
environmental protection. These constraints prevent informed evaluation and evidence-based
decision-making.
12. 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. This will be achieved through targeted
interventions that strengthen environmental outcomes addressing the risks posed by climate
change, and creating enabling conditions to match the environmental needs of a resourcedependent economy graduating to middle income status. This would involve support for capacity
building, filling critical knowledge gaps, strengthening incentives for improved environmental
outcomes and improving solid waste management.
2. Objectives
3
Several sea-walls have already been built around Malé and other islands at a very high cost.
13. The first Project Development Objective is that a solid waste management system is
established and that inhabitants on selected islands use solid waste management facilities,
reducing the risks of contamination associated with accumulated wastes and sea dumping.
14. The second Project Development Objective is to build human and technical capacity for
environmental management so that the environmental dimension is integrated in the planning
process using information and expertise developed in the Project.
3. Rationale for Bank Involvement
15. The proposed Project is strongly aligned with the Government of Maldives’ priorities and the
Bank’s recent Country Assistance Strategy (CAS). The Bank’s CAS acknowledges the
significant threats to economic prosperity posed by environmental degradation and the risks of
climate change. A strategic priority of the CAS is to selectively target limited resources where
assistance is most needed and effective. Accordingly, strengthening environmental management
and building greater resilience to climate variability and change have been identified as a major
pillar of the CAS.
16. The Bank has extensive experience in supporting solid waste management in South Asia and
in other regions. In the Maldives, the Bank is engaged in managing a European Union-funded
solid waste management project under the Post-Tsunami Emergency Recovery Project. The
Government of Maldives has also requested assistance to implement its newly enunciated
National Solid Waste Management Policy. The Bank is well positioned to assist in this endeavor
with its expertise in institutional development, public private partnerships and financial
sustainability.
17. The Bank has also accumulated significant experience and expertise in general and specific
areas of the environment over the past 25 years. National Environmental Action Plans have been
developed in practically all IDA countries and the Bank has supported national environmental
projects in countries as varied as India, Brazil and Poland. Some of these projects are aimed
primarily at capacity building, while others involve interventions in fragile ecosystems, including
specialized projects dealing with climate change in islands of the Caribbean and projects focusing
on marine, coastal and coral reef conservation4.
18. Finally, climate change has emerged as an important priority in the Bank’s deepening
engagement in promoting responsible stewardship of global public goods. The Maldives
represents the iconic case of a small island economy facing unprecedented threats from climate
change and sea level rise. How the country approaches these challenges could have important
lessons for other Small Island Developing States (SIDS) that depend on coastal resources for
economic development and environmental security. This Project would therefore have important
demonstration effects for other vulnerable island economies. Success in this project would
provide valuable lessons for other states in learning how to build climate resilience by conserving
the integrity of coastal ecosystems.
4
Among them, Mexico: Adaptation to Climate Change in the Coastal Wetlands in the Gulf of Mexico
(P100438), Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project, the completed GEF- Mesoamerican Barrier Reef
System (P053349) and its follow up project under preparation, the Conservation and Sustainable Use of the
Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System II (P103923), Tanzania: Marine and Coastal Environment Management
(P082492), Seychelles: Biodiversity Conservation and Marine Pollution Abatement Project (P002383),
among others.
4. Description
19. The proposed Project would have four components:
(1) A regional solid waste management program for the North Central region;
(2) Capacity building for environmental management;
(3) Technical assistance to strengthen environmental management and a pilot regional strategic
environmental assessment, and
(4) Project management and communications.
20. Component 1: Regional Solid Waste Management Program. Solid waste management is
especially challenging in the Maldives. With a population spread across numerous islands, there
is little scope for harnessing economies of scale. Thus, the costs of service delivery are high.
With restricted land endowments, the space available for waste disposal is limited, calling for the
waste stream to be minimized through such means as recycling and composting. The country’s
fragile marine ecosystem requires that special attention be given to the choice of technology and
system design to mitigate adverse impacts, particularly those that could damage the Maldives’
primary asset: its relatively unspoiled marine environment. This combination of risks and
challenges is unique to the Maldives and demands specifically tailored solutions.
21. In accounting for the Maldives’ uniquely dispersed geography and its fragile ecology, the
program will would operate at multiple levels. First, the construction of Island Waste
Management Centers (IWMCs) would provide facilities for island communities to reduce the
volume of waste requiring final disposal by sorting, recycling, and composting. Communities
would be consulted and determine the level of sorting that would occur on each island. The
residual waste would be temporarily stored in a safe and environmentally responsible manner in
the IWMC. Second, a Regional Waste Management Facility (RWMF) built on an uninhabited
island or an island with compatible land uses (e.g. an industrial island), would serve as the
destination for residual waste from the IWMCs and participating resorts.5 Third, these would be
supported by allied services such as community programs, waste transfer and transportation
facilities, technical assistance and financial systems, all of which would be subject to government
regulation and guided by stringent environmental criteria. The facilities would be designed and
built to the highest appropriate standards that are economically viable to reduce the risk of
contamination from solid wastes. Special attention would be paid to medical wastes and toxic
wastes that would require special handling and management.
22. Component 2: Capacity Building for Environmental Management. The environmental
agencies and regulators in the Maldives have a broad mandate, but their capacity to manage
growing environmental pressures does not match the needs of a fragile environment on which the
economy depends. The proposed Project is designed to at least partly fill the staffing gaps and
capacity needs in the environment sector. Priority would be given to developing: (i) a core of
competent generalists and specialists in the Ministry of Environment Energy and Water (MEEW),
other relevant ministries (Planning, Fisheries, Tourism, and Construction) and in the private
sector (particularly NGOs and the tourism sector) 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; and (iii) a network of private
citizens and stakeholders (e.g. fishermen, hotel and dive operators, boat operators and others)
5
Currently there is insufficient information on basic parameters to determine the location of the RWMF
and this will be chosen through a comprehensive and thorough process designed to assure the highest
feasible levels of environmental stewardship, described below.
with the training needed to serve as the “eyes” and “ears” of the Ministry and also provide inputs
for monitoring activities in the Project. The emphasis would be on training existing government
staff and others for whom there is a reasonable expectation that their skills could be utilized in the
near or medium term.
23. Training will be delivered through five modalities, namely: (a) community training and
awareness raising; (b) specialized training leading to a certificate for roles not requiring academic
credentials; (c) specialized training for technical tasks leading to an award such as a diploma or
certificate; (d) undergraduate training of a new course in Environmental Management delivered
by the Maldives College of Higher Education; and (e) scholarships for degree programs abroad
(undergraduate and post-graduate).
24. All training modalities with the exception of modality (e) would be carried out in-country.
Limited support will be provided for study abroad under modality (e) in universities in nonOECD countries, in areas that are of strategic environmental importance.
25. Component 3: Technical Assistance for Strengthened Environmental Management and
Monitoring and a pilot Regional Strategic Environmental Assessment. Sparse information
and the absence of baseline data remain one of the key impediments to improved environmental
management in the Maldives. The primary objective of this component is to expand the
knowledge base regarding critical natural resources on which the Maldives ecosystem and
economy depend. In addition to filling major data gaps this component will also promote
activities designed to stimulate discussions and policy deliberations that would lead to greater
community awareness and better decision making. It will support activities of strategic
significance: the problem of erosion that is projected to worsen with climate change, promoting
natural adaptive capacity to climate change through improved stewardship and sustainability of
the bait fishery, which is also linked to reef health. The modalities through which this would be
achieved include monitoring and assessments of terrestrial resources (i.e., mangroves and coastal
erosion), marine resources (i.e., coral reef status and bait fisheries) by communities and
professional scientists and support for satellite imagery with the aim of integrating the
environmental dimension in planning. Community monitoring is supported since it is an effective
way of creating awareness and also of collecting basic data in a systematic fashion from a large
number of sites. The capacity to monitor and acquire data would be enhanced by the acquisition
of a research vessel appropriately outfitted with and other necessary research instruments. To
bring together these activities and generate community awareness, this component would support
a pilot Regional Strategic Environmental Assessment (RSEA) to (i) integrate and synthesize the
assessments in ways that would inform policy and (ii) demonstrate the utility of incorporating
environmental parameters in development decisions.
26. Component 4: Project Management and Communications. This pertains to the day-to-day
operations of the Project including overall project management, component management, liaising
and coordinating with other agencies and programs, financial management, procurement,
monitoring and evaluation and project communications. The effective design and management of
the latter aspect would be key to achieving the desired project outcomes, particularly in what
regards to the solid waste management and the RSEA components.
5. Financing
Source:
BORROWER/RECIPIENT
($m.)
1.24
International Development Association (IDA)
Total
12.50
13.74
6. Implementation
27. With its multi-agency focus, arrangements have been established to ensure coordination
during project implementation. The Project Management Unit (PMU) would be lodged in the
Ministry of Environment, Energy and Water (MEEW). The overall Project is guided by a multisectoral National Steering Committee, chaired by the Minister of Environment, Energy and
Water. 6 This would ensure greater visibility and policy commitment to environmental
management for the duration of the project and beyond. A Technical Committee will provide
guidance and oversight to the project. The Technical Committee will be chaired by an MEEW
official, and would include two additional representatives from MEEW appointed by the
Minister, the Project Director, representatives of the Marine Research Centre, the Ministry of
Planning and National Development, the Ministry of Atoll Development and the Ministry of
Tourism and Civil Aviation.
28. The PMU will be responsible for monitoring progress, evaluating outcomes and
implementing this component. Procurement and fund flows would be managed by the PMU and
includes agencies in MEEW that have had experience and involvement in donor-funded projects
and specifically with World Bank policies and guidelines by implementing the South Ari Solid
Waste Management Project.7
29. The PMU includes a manager assigned to oversee all project components and has hired an
HR specialist who would help guide implementation and monitoring of the capacity building
component. The relevant officer and consultant would further refine the capacity needs
assessment and develop explicit criteria for open and competitive selection of candidates for the
various certificate, diploma and degree programs offered under the project. This function calls
for close coordination with key agencies with needs for environmental specialists. The Maldives
College of Higher Education (MCHE) would help satisfy these demands by designing and
offering diploma and degree programs in Environmental Management. MCHE would also, with
project support, develop a permanent program in environmental management staffed by selected
graduates in environmental management with additional postgraduate work. Community-level
training may be carried out by a qualified NGO with experience in community mobilization in the
Maldives.
30. The PMU would be kept lean with a core group of career officials serving as overall
coordinator and managers for each component. Other staff would be recruited from government
ranks if available, or as consultants on renewable contracts contingent on performance. As the
training component advances, the trained persons may be recruited as members of the project
management team
7. Sustainability
31. The Project has been designed with an emphasis on sustainability and it addresses some of
the root causes of weak environmental management ― inadequate information and capacity.
6
This committee is in the process of formation and will be operational prior to appraisal.
The South Ari Waste Management Project is part of post-Tsunami relief activities sponsored by the
European Union. Since 2006, it has been managed by the World Bank.
7
Strengthening environmental outcomes in the Maldives would depend on civil society,
government agencies, and decision makers understanding the risks to the economy through the
accumulation of reliable information and proactively addressing these. The Project addresses
these risks through a vigorous communication sub-component that would help build support in
the general public and among decision makers. Through its support for in-country education in
environmental management, the Project assures a supply of relevant skills that would extend
beyond its life. Sustainability of the SWM component is one of the fundamental aspects of its
design. It incorporates community ownership, leadership and participation, training,
strengthening capacity and would be designed to assure financial viability. In the final analysis,
the project’s sustainability will depend on the public finding tangible value in protecting their
environment.
32. With regard to the sustainability of waste management services, the project design has
benefited from earlier experiences aimed at providing SWM including a recent one sponsored by
the Canadian Red Cross. There were a number of problems with this program including
problems in contracting works for IWMCs, long delays in constructing IWMCs and premature
operation of the few IWMCs that were built. A useful lesson learned from this experience is that
IWMCs cannot operate satisfactorily unless three conditions are met: (i) agreement has been
reached with each participating community regarding the modality of waste management and
islanders have agreed to collaborate; (ii) the waste volume is reduced by composting of organic
wastes on the island of origin8 and (iii) residual wastes are transported off the island to a disposal
site at regular intervals. With careful attention to lessons learned from previous experiences on
the Maldives, a viable SWM system can be implemented.
8. Lessons Learned from Past Operations in the Country/Sector
33. Component 1: Regional Solid Waste Management Program. The SWM component takes
account of lessons from past and existing solid waste management activities in the Maldives as
well as lessons and best practices in the region. The Maldivian islands are marked by
considerable variation in local conditions, with differences in: (i) the composition of waste
between resort islands and inhabited islands, (ii) customs including the extent of community
participation and (iii) economic enterprise. Consequently there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution to
solid waste management at the island level. Many past endeavors have failed because of
inadequate consultation and insufficient assessment of local conditions. Three important lessons
have emerged from these operations. First, there is a need for programs to take account of local
conditions, which vary widely across atolls and within atolls. Second, strong consultation and
community buy-in remains the key to a successful operation and sustainability of the system.
Third, it is essential that IWMCs are linked to regional waste management facilities with a regular
waste transfer system.
34. The SWM component incorporates these lessons. Considerable weight will be given to local
preferences through both the Participatory Rural Appraisal process and an effective public
awareness program combined with a communications campaign. Technical, Financial and Social
Assessments will ensure that Island Waste Management Plans reflect local conditions and
requirements. The experience from the existing IWMCs shows that community participation in
the recycling and resource recovery program is poor in most islands because of the need for an
attitudinal change in the community, the lack of a mechanism for resale of recyclables and the
8
Composting can be done at a household level or at a community level. This can be determined by each
community although, in either case, there needs to be training and outreach to show islanders how to
properly compost their organic waste to avoid its becoming a nuisance.
absence of facilities to transport residual waste to a RWMF. In some instances this has created a
serious environmental and public health problem in the inhabited islands, with waste
accumulation spilling onto beaches. In other cases island communities dump mixed solid wastes
along the shoreline, with adverse consequences for reef habitat. Financial sustainability of the
operations of the IWMCs has been identified as one of the main reasons for failure. Attempts to
achieve full cost recovery from island communities have typically failed. In this Project, island
communities will be expected to pay some portion of the cost, with the balance being subsidized
on a declining basis for the first two years of operations. The long-term goal is full cost recovery
from the community, but this will need to be achieved gradually. Financial sustainability of the
waste transfer system and operation of the regional waste management facility is assured here
through cross-subsidization from the resort islands with the shortfall financed by the Government.
35. Component 2: Capacity Building. Numerous donors have supported short and intensive
workshops to help build skills and the knowledge in specific areas of environmental management
in the Maldives. A central lesson learned is that these events appear to have had little impact on
the skills base and management capacity, being limited in scope and duration. Building
institutional skills and capacity is a long-term process that requires continuing engagement and
gradual acquisition of skills. It also requires an incentive system that will help motivate and
retain qualified personnel. Accordingly, this project proposes a multi-tiered system of capacity
enhancement that targets skills deficit across a spectrum of environmental management needs.
Capacity building at the tertiary level would help create a collection of professionals with
specialized skills. In-country training would produce a larger pool of vocational expertise in
environmental management and technical skills and it would help mitigate a potential “brain
drain” since it is known that many Maldivians, after earning their degrees abroad, never return to
the Maldives. It would also help to build the capacity in the Maldives to continue the education
of aspiring environmental managers. The migration of qualified staff to the more lucrative
private sector remains a further obstacle to building capacity across all public agencies in the
country. By addressing the supply constraint, the approach supported in this Project would create
a sufficiently large number of qualified technical skills within the country that would alleviate the
drain from the public sector.
36. Component 3: Technical Assistance for Strengthened Environmental Management and
Monitoring and a pilot Regional Strategic Environmental Assessment. The current system of
environmental management in the Maldives relies heavily on piecemeal approaches such as the
EIA process, or short-term project interventions where the focus is on gaining clearance for
individual projects. Experience in the Maldives and elsewhere has shown that individual projects
may have a limited impact but the cumulative effect of multiple projects can be substantive. The
knowledge components seek to create the conditions for building the knowledge base to facilitate
informed decision-making that could identify emerging and cumulative risks.
37. The constraints posed by the information deficit have been highlighted in a 2005 Strategic
Environmental Assessment (SEA) report for the Maldives supported by the European Union. The
impact has been limited with little awareness of the exercise even in the environmental agencies.
The conclusions of the SEA were based largely on subjective assessments and the exercise was
constrained by sparse data and inadequate information. The current project seeks to avoid these
problems with its strong commitment to supporting evidence-based decision making by
establishing baseline information that would help strengthen implementation and outcomes
9. Safeguard Policies (including public consultation)
Safeguard Policies Triggered by the Project
Environmental Assessment (OP/BP 4.01)
Natural Habitats (OP/BP 4.04)
Pest Management (OP 4.09)
Physical Cultural Resources (OP/BP 4.11)
Involuntary Resettlement (OP/BP 4.12)
Indigenous Peoples (OP/BP 4.10)
Forests (OP/BP 4.36)
Safety of Dams (OP/BP 4.37)
Projects in Disputed Areas (OP/BP 7.60)*
Projects on International Waterways (OP/BP 7.50)
Yes
[X ]
[X ]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]
No
[]
[]
[X ]
[ X]
[ X]
[ X]
[ X]
[X ]
[ X]
[X ]
38. The Technical Assistance and Institutional Capacity Building components of the project are
unlikely to have any adverse environmental impacts and would generally be beneficial to
environmental management in the Maldives. While improved solid waste management would
have similarly beneficial impacts on the environment in the long term, there could be potential
adverse environmental impacts during the construction and operation of the IWMCs and the
RWMF. Though all activities supported under this project would result in improved
environmental outcomes, the project nevertheless has been assigned a Category A rating due to
the fragile ecosystems that comprise the Maldives.
39. The Regional Solid Waste Management Component would involve community-level waste
recycling and resource recovery facilities in the islands, which would most likely involve
composting of the organic fraction of the waste as well as regional solid waste treatment and/or
disposal facilities for residual municipal solid waste, as well as medical and toxic wastes disposal.
Considering the fragile ecosystems of the Maldives and that the Atolls are ringed by coral reefs
that are among the world’s richest in species diversity and aesthetic appeal, the construction and
operation of these facilities could generate further environmental impacts.
40. Environmental Impacts of Significant Concern in the Regional SWM component: Of the
potential adverse environmental impacts the most serious would likely arise from the RWMF.
Past experience indicates that because of high population densities and “not-in-my-backyard”type community opposition it would be difficult to locate a regional solid waste management
facility on an inhabited island. Therefore, the only available alternative is to either construct the
RWMF on an uninhabited island or on an inhabited island with compatible land uses.
Preliminary information suggests that it is unlikely that there would be uninhabited islands with
adequate land to construct a regional waste disposal site to receive the total un-segregated waste
stream generated in the four selected atolls in the North Central Region, over a 20-year period.
This means that recycling and resource recovery must be undertaken to minimize the volume of
the waste being sent to the RWMF. With the high level of organic matter in the waste stream, the
easily degraded organic fraction could be composted at the island level. If this happens, it may be
possible to identify an uninhabited island with adequate area for a RWMF. However, if there is
an unbroken reef surrounding the islands, excavation of the reef for a channel to enable barges
and/or landing craft to access the island could result in adverse environmental impacts.
Preference would therefore need to be given to an uninhabited island with easy access to its
beaches. In the event there still is not adequate space for residue disposal at the regional level, the
residual waste may be incinerated at the RWMF and the ash landfilled in an engineered
*
By supporting the proposed project, the Bank does not intend to prejudice the final determination of the parties'
claims on the disputed areas
controlled landfill. If the waste stream can be managed at the island level to improve the calorific
value of the residual waste, appropriate waste-to-energy options, too, could become viable. The
alternative of reclaiming a lagoon for waste disposal is already taking place in the existing waste
disposal site in Thilafushi in the Malé Atoll. However, this will most likely create much more
significant adverse environmental impacts than incineration or waste-to-energy.
41. Alternatively, the option of having more than one island serving as a RWMF so that no
reclamation is necessary, will need to be considered. While conventional wisdom argues for
economies of scale, where one site is better than several, in this instance the ecological costs
would need to be given precedence over financial considerations. However, appropriate site and
waste treatment technological options will be selected through a process that entails a systematic
and balanced assessment of a range of different waste management options, in order to identify
the option which provides the maximum environmental, economic and social benefits, through a
process known as the BPEO, the identified risks can be addressed adequately.
42. Potential Safeguard Policies applicable to the other Project Components: The technical
assistance component may identify urgent rehabilitation works for coral reefs requiring project
support. This may trigger OP/BP 4.04, Natural Habitats, depending on the specific activities that
would be carried out. Since specific interventions to protect the coral reefs would be known only
after the strategic assessment, the Framework would also provide a template to undertake an
environmental assessment and preparation of Environmental Management Plans (EMPs) for these
interventions as well.
43. Institutional Capacity for Safeguards Management: The institutional capacity at MEEW is
weak. The main objective of this Project is to strengthen the institutional capacity of
environmental management institutions. Therefore, while their capacity is weak at present,
significant emphasis is being placed under the Project for improvement of their ability to monitor
and enforce environmental legislation and regulations. International consultants would be
recruited to supervise the construction of the regional waste management facility on behalf of the
Government. A team from MEEW (ERC) would work with the supervisory consultants which
would provide them “hands-on” training on techniques of landfill construction and other waste
management options as well as on mitigation of environmental impacts. Safeguards compliance
of the regional waste disposal facility would be independently verified by an Environmental
Review that would be conducted twice during the second year of operation of the RWMF.
Another Environmental Review would be conducted during the last year of the Project.
44. Public Disclosure of Safeguards Documents: The Environmental and Social Safeguards
Assessment and Management Framework has been publicly disclosed in the Maldives on
February 17, 2008 and in the Bank’s Infoshop.
10. List of Factual Technical Documents
a) Maldives Country Assistance Strategy
b) Project Concept Note
c) Concept Stage Project Information Document
d) Concept Stage Integrated Safeguard Datasheet
e) Draft 7th National Development Plan, Government of Maldives
f) Environmental and Social Management Framework
g) Report on the Economic Analysis of the Project with appendices and full references list
h) Project Preparation Agreement, Procurement Plan and Disbursement Letter, January 3,
2008.
Contact: Richard Damania
Title: Sr. Environmental Economist
Tel: (202) 473-3844
Email: [email protected]
11. For more information contact:
The InfoShop
The World Bank
1818 H Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20433
Telephone: (202) 458-4500
Fax: (202) 522-1500
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://www.worldbank.org/infoshop