Maldives island denuded of trees for airport
The Environment Protection Agency said the clearance of vegetation was necessary.
08 Nov 2018, 9:00 AM
The deforestration of Madivaru in Lhaviyani atoll was necessary to build a domestic airport on the uninhabited island, the environment watchdog said Thursday.
Contrary to speculation on social media amid outrage over widely shared photos of the denuded island, an environment impact assessment (EIA) was conducted for the airport project, Ibrahim Naeem, director general of Environment Protection Agency, told the Maldives Independent.
“We found that the removal of trees was compulsory to build an airport on an island as narrow as Madivaru. The same goes for the airport in Raa atoll Fainu island,” he said.
The EIA for the controversial Fainu project was released for comment Thursday, warning of environmental damage from the proposed removal of more than 5,000 trees.
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