ERA sees uptick in complaints over lack of environmental safety measures in dredging operations

The Environmental Regulatory Authority (ERA) states that it has been receiving a high volume of complaints regarding lack of measures to safeguard the environment in dredging and land reclamation projects.

In a statement on Sunday, the ERA said that the complaints include failure to take proper measures to minimize environmental damage when conducting dredging and reclamation operations.

This includes:

• Failure to install bund walls and silt screens needed to minimize sedimentation ahead of dredging and reclamation operations
• Sand borrowing outside permitted zones, including near residential islands and resorts
• Conducting dredging and reclamation operations even when yellow alerts are in place for bad weather

The ERA urged companies to fully implement measures to mitigate the environmental impact stated in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports approved by the authority.

 As such, the authority urged companies to:

• Install bund walls and silt screens
• Keep a distance of at least 500 meters from the house reef when borrowing sand near residential islands and resorts
• Adhere to approved borrow areas
• Ensure overflow control valves (green valves) are fully closed before hopper dredgers are moved from one location to the other
• Stick to designated dredger routes away from reefs and other vulnerable areas
• Monitor turbidity and change operations if the level rises during travel
• Suspend dredging and reclamation operations during yellow alerts

The ERA noted that the NOAA Coral Reef Watch has had the Maldives under a ‘Coral Bleaching Alert Level: Watch’, since April. And that the group warned that forecasts show a significant escalation within the next 12 weeks, likely reaching ‘Alert Level 1’, where significant bleaching is likely.

ERA urged companies to “take additional measures to mitigate the possible adverse effects from this, and pay attention to shape work in accordance with set standards.”

The authority said it is closely investigating such complaints and monitoring projects given the heightened risks during this time.

The statement comes after local marine conservation group, the Maldives Resilient Reefs (MRR) issued an urgent appeal to authorities on April, asking for a temporary halt to all dredging and land reclamation works over the risk of the looming coral bleaching event.