Most
visitors to the Maldives only get to see idyllic white sand
beaches on beautiful resort islands surrounded by sparkling
azure seas.
However the scattered atoll nation faces a major challenge to
process waste, exacerbated by the 26 December tsunami –
a challenge the International Federation is helping the local
population to meet.
According to the UN Environment Programme, the tsunami created
an estimated 290,000 cubic meters of waste. While the authorities
and communities have cleared away debris, much of it has so
far only been pushed to one side. It still has to be properly
disposed of.
Even before the tsunami, the Maldives faced serious difficulties
in disposing of its waste in a sustainable, environmentally
friendly way.
The Maldives is made up of hundreds of mostly tiny islands in
atoll groups. Land is scarce and the sea has been used as a
dumping ground for the ever-increasing supply of rubbish and
waste.
Garbage ‘mountains’
Federation water and sanitation delegate Selina Chan is on her
way to Thilafushi, one of the country’s garbage islands.
In addition to other programmes, a positive spin-off from the
tsunami is the Federations’ plans to improve the Maldives
rubbish management systems.
Chan says the challenges faced are significant: “This
includes oil barrels, asbestos and rusting building materials
which leaches into the ground water,” she says.
The Federation waste management programme aims not only clean
up the tsunami debris, but establish long term solid waste disposal
in the country.
Thilafushi has been one of the Maldives’ three regional
garbage islands since 1991, taking refuse from the capital Male
and surrounding islands. Every year, 31,000 truckloads of garbage
are transported to Thilafushi, where it is dumped in large piles
and eventually used to reclaim land and increase the size of
the island for industrial purposes. Although some rudimentary
separation of waste is conducted, there is no recycling.
Tsunami debris adds to household garbage challenges
While garbage islands such as Thilafushi deal with industrial
waste, albeit in a rudimentary manner, most domestic waste has
to be dealt with on the islands where it is produced. Household
rubbish is simply dumped at designated sites, often along a
beach, and then left to wash out with the tide.
“This has detrimental effects on coral reefs which are
important for the fishing and tourism industry - the two biggest
sources of income for the Maldives,” says Chan.
The island of Maafushi wasn’t particularly hard hit by
the tsunami. None of its 1,800 inhabitants died and only 18
houses were damaged. However it faces the dual problem of domestic
and tsunami-generated rubbish. Waste litters the island and
there is a rotten smell in the air.
“Tsunami waste is a big problem here. In addition, no
houses have septic tanks, so all the sewage goes straight on
to the beach,” says Maafushi island chief Ali Nasheed
Katheeb.
While some of the debris is the direct result of the tsunami
hitting the island, the shallow waters and beaches around Maafushi
are littered with large tree trunks, oil drums, and the remains
of boats which have drifted from other islands and in some cases,
other affected countries.
Canadian Red Cross recovery assessment delegate Peter Robinson
says the tsunami and the pre-existing waste management issues
have combined to create new problems. Now the tsunami waste
and domestic waste all mixed together, presenting a real health
hazard. Debris is also blocking access to beaches, delaying
construction.
“Much of the debris can be turned into useful material
on the same island. After it is crushed it can be used as fill
for building sites, mounds to protect against the sea, or it
can be put back onto the beach on places affected by erosion,”
says Robinson.
Enhancing water supplies
Waste management activities will be an integral part of the
Federation’s reconstruction activities. It has committed
to building 2,159 houses, or 85 per cent of the housing construction
needs as estimated by the Maldives government national disaster
management centre.
An important product of the waste management programme will
be the protection and maintenance of water supplies. In association
with the housing project, the Federation will help put in place
low maintenance but effective sanitation systems which will
protect the precious fresh ground water and contribute to improving
the general sanitation infrastructure.
The Federation programme will also provide rain harvesting equipment
– over 15,000 tanks and guttering systems to 80 of the
tsunami-affected islands – in order to ensure access to
clean water. In the short term, parallel to the cleaning up
of tsunami debris, septic tanks that have been filled with sea
water are being cleaned.
Selina Chan says the tsunami has made already fragile drinking
water supplies more vulnerable. “Rain harvesting systems
were ripped off and storage tanks were washed out to sea. All
ground water supplies were contaminated by the sea water. Even
during normal times, the fresh water supply is a problem for
the small islands. The tsunami made it even worse by taking
out whatever mechanisms they had,” she says.
Maafushi island chief Ali Nasheed Katheeb welcomes the fact
that the Red Cross/Red Crescent is not just addressing the direct
impact of the tsunami, but aiming to leave people in a better
position than they had been before the disaster hit.
Whilst the tsunami wreaked a heavy toll on the Maldives, the
nation of scattered atolls is looking forward to an enhanced
waste management system to address problems which pre-dated
the disaster.
“We are very happy that the Red Cross plans to come back
and address these problems,” says Maafushi’s island
chief.
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| Mountains
of waste pile up on the garbage island of Thilafushi.
(p12827) |
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| Federation
water and sanitation delegate Selina Chan and Peter Robinson
of the Canadian Red Cross inspect waste dumps on Thilafushi.
(p12828) |
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| Tsunami
debris from as far away as Indonesia litter the waters
of Maafushi. (p12829) |
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