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ADB Loan To Help Improve Environmental Infrastructure In Maldives' Outer Islands

MANILA, PHILIPPINES (29 April 2005) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a US$6 million loan to help boost the standard of living in the outer islands of Maldives by delivering basic environmental infrastructure and services more efficiently.

More than 20,000 people are expected to directly benefit from solid waste management improvements, and about 100,000 people in the central regional growth centers are expected to benefit from improved planning and environmental management, and improved institutional capacity to implement the regional development program.

The project combines the three key thrusts of policy improvement, capacity building and provision of investment facilities.

It will help improve environmental and land management through a community-centered approach in the islands of Naifaru in Lhaviyani atoll, Mahibadhoo in Alif Dhaal atoll, and Fonadhoo in Laamu atoll. Among the work to be undertaken, it will

• Construct settled sewerage systems, provide reed bed facilities to treat liquid waste, and develop an operation and maintenance strategy to help improve sanitation and sewerage;
• Support programs to provide individual and communal storage rainwater tanks, including improving roofs and gutters, to increase deficient drinking water availability; and
• Help formulate a national solid waste management framework and provide solid waste management centers in the three islands, to help halt and reverse environmental degradation caused by inadequate solid waste management practices.

"Environmental degradation can render an island uninhabitable, increase its vulnerability to natural disasters, and affect key economic sectors, particularly tourism and fisheries," says Tatiana Gallego-Lizon, an ADB Urban Development Specialist.

"Regional development is key to easing the development pressure on Male as well as solving equity problems."

Poverty in the Maldives stems primarily from regional disparities in living conditions related to remoteness of the islands and lack of infrastructure and social services in the atolls.

Due to inadequate sewage and solid waste disposal, the island ecosystems - among the most vulnerable - suffer rapid depletion and pollution of groundwater, pollution of the coastal environment, and declining marine resources.

The project will strengthen planning and environmental management by boosting the capacity of Government agencies concerned with land-use planning and management, formulating an economic development framework for regional growth centers, developing and implementing an environmental awareness program, and establish an environmental monitoring program.

It will likewise promote community-based environmental management, initially on the three selected islands, and later on other islands where opportunities exist.

"The environmental improvements to be made under this project will significantly reduce pollution, and ensure a higher quality of life in the Central Regions of the Maldives," says Ms. Gallego-Lizon.

ADB's loan, which covers 80% of the total project cost of $7.5 million equivalent, comes from its concessional Asian Development Fund. It carries a 32-year term, including a grace period of 8 years. Interest is charged at 1.0% per annum during the grace period and 1.5% per annum thereafter.

The Government and beneficiaries will finance the balance of $1.5 million. The Ministry of Finance and Treasury is the executing agency for the project, which is due for completion in September 2010. The Ministry of Atoll Development will be responsible for its implementation.

More at adb.org/media

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