Day: June 4, 2011

Champa Moosa “an environmental criminal”, claims EPA, while police interrogate authority’s former Director General

The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has labelled local business tycoon Mohamed ‘Champa’ Moosa an “environmental criminal” for irreversibly damaging the island of Thun’bafushi and the marine ecosystem of Thun’bafalhu.

The EPA on Thursday fined Moosa the maximum penalty of Rf100 million (US$6.5 million) for conducting dredging and reclamation works in the area without an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

Director-General of the EPA Mohamed Zuhair has reportedly resigned over the matter. Furthermore, Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam confirmed to Minivan News that Zuhair had been taken in for questioning regarding an undisclosed investigation. Zuhair was not responding at time of press.

Director of the EPA Ibrahim Naeem told Minivan News the area had been irreversibly damaged and a large reef habitat destroyed.

Sharks left in a foot of tepid water

“This was originally a reef ecosystem with a small sand bank in the middle, but he has been dredging the island without any clearance and the changes are now irreversible,” Naeem said.

After three surveys of the area, the EPA had assessed the damage as amounting to Rf2,230,293,566 (US$144.6 million), not including the impact of sedimentation from the dredging which can smother coral kilometres from the site.

A foreign consultant who was involved in surveying the island told Minivan News that the area “seems to have been used as a dumping ground.”

“There were what looked like hundreds of used car batteries, waste metals and oil drums leeching into the marine environment,” the consultant said.

“We were looking at the effect of the dredging on sedimentation, and there were no water quality tests done. But you can just imagine what it would have been like with all the batteries and waste metals.”

Images of the island obtained by Minivan News showed discarded piles of rubbish and batteries, old earthmoving machinery rusting in the sun, and half a dozen reef sharks in a tank containing a foot of tepid water.

While the unauthorised reclamation works are several years old and have been a subject of EPA concern for some time, Naeem explained that the procedure and mechanism for calculating and issuing fines was only established in February this year.

The Environmental Protection Act already states the requirement for an EIA assessment and the illegality of conducting works without acquiring one, but does not outline how this should be penalised. Naeem noted that the EPA had lost court battles on the specifics prior to the introduction of the new framework in February.

“We now calculate environmental damage caused by [unauthorised] dredging at Rf65,000 (US$4200) per square metre,” Naeem said, “but Rf100,000 million is the maximum fine.”

Fines were open to appeal and negotiation, Naeem said, suggesting that “this is likely to happen in this case.”

Piles of rubble and old machinery

Moosa could also request the EPA resurvey the damaged area, Naeem  said, although he noted that the EPA had already surveyed the area three times, most recently in March.

Ali Rilwan of Environmental NGO Bluepeace expressed concern that the EPA’s previous issuing of fines for environmental damage was sporadic, and those that were issued were often unpaid “or the day afterwards, pardon is given.”

The EPA’s lack of independence from the executive also “raised doubts” as to whether fines were politically motivated – Moosa’s business interests include private broadcaster DhiTV, which the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has previously criticised for being heavily aligned to the opposition.

“The Environmental Act does not conflict with the Constitution, but the EPA should be an independent body like the Human Rights Commission,” Rilwan said.

“It should be an independent agency autonomous from the government staffed by academic professionals, rather than civil servants and ministers. Because of the current setup, we do have doubts [over its independence].”

A building on the island used for storage

Naeem responded that while he did not know if there was a political element to the decision to fine Moosa a week before the government was seeking to push through major economic reforms in parliament, “what we do know is that Champa has definitely done this without a license or any form of clearance.”

“I don’t know if there is a political element – but he has committed a crime, and we have to take our responsibility towards the environment seriously,” he said.

Minivan News contacted Champa Moosa for comment but he had not responded at time of press.

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Puducherry Blue: around South Asia in 32 artworks

A collection of works by artists from across SAARC’s nine member countries has gone on display at Male’s National Art Gallery, ahead of the 17th SAARC summit to be held in Addu City later this year.

The Puducherry Blue exhibition, which will run at the gallery until June 12 2011, aims to bring together various works from South Asian artists that were produced at an arts camp held in Puducherry, India, in 2010.

The collection presents a combination of various techniques; from more impressionist captures of national life such as Shwa in Tein Pagoda by Myanmar’s Kyaw Shein, to more contemporary takes on regional art – such as in the output of India’s R Balu, whose Timeproof exhibit does away with the conventional paint on canvas approach entirely.

The sole Maldivian work in the exhibition is provided by artist Mariyam Omar, whose work ‘Epiphany’ teases at traditional images of Maldivian dancing seemingly obscured by somewhat more contemporary artistic techniques – or liberal splashings of paint depending on one’s own viewpoint.

Speaking during the event’s Male’ opening, the Maldives’ Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dr Mariyam Zulfa said that it was an honour for the country to host the exhibition, which has already toured a number of other SAARC nations.

“I am very delighted to have some of the artists here today who have travelled all this way to take part in this exhibition,” she said. “I’m sure if we can get ourselves organised we can take some of your works that we see here tonight for the SAARC summit that is being held in Addu City later this year. It will be our pride and joy to display these works at the [summit].”

Beyond the aesthetic value of the exhibition itself, Zulfa said she hoped the regional collaboration behind the exhibition would lead to wider number of events taking place at the gallery in a bid to inspire and develop local artists in the country.

“Hopefully, we can get the art community here a little more organised and learn a lot from your own experiences in the field of art,” she told those in attendance.

The exhibition has been arranged in collaboration with the High Commission of India in Male’, which has backed a number of arts projects in the country, including an arts camp earlier this year that saw a number of local and Indian artists gathering in Gan, Addu Atoll.

Indian High Commissioner Dnyaneshwar Mulay said at the exhibition launch that he believed that bringing together artists from across the region served to highlight the importance of connectivity between the  SAARC nations as well as the role that art plays in it.

“[Art] makes you think about what is the true meaning of life. Why do we have this urge to connect with people? Why do we paint for example? That is its beauty,” he said.

The Puducherry Blue exhibition will remain on display at Male’ National Art Gallery until June 12. More information is available through the National Gallery on 331 0729.

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Tiny Hearts to hold fundraising campaign

Tiny Hearts, a local NGO helping children with Congenital Heart Disease (CHD), will launch the ‘11708’ campaign on Wednesday to raise money for surgery and other activities, reports Haveeru.

A charity football match organised by the charity last year raised Rf265,000 (US$20,500) for patients.

66 out of the the 200 patients registered with the NGO have to be sent abroad for surgery, organisers have said.

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Political scenario was unprecedented: former Bangladeshi High Commissioner

The political scenario was an unprecedented one, writes former Bangladeshi High Commissioner to the Maldives, Dr Selina Mohsin, for the country’s Daily Star newspaper, of her experience in the Maldives.

“The first multi-party presidential election was to be held within a few months. Events unfolded like acts in a dramatic play as we waited for the impending election. Thousands of Bangladeshi migrant workers, including illegal, unemployed and without money roamed the streets, hungry, angry and desperate. Instigated by rumours that catapulted into fears they sought help from the Bangladesh Mission. A demanding period began.

“Living in an isolated state in the Indian Ocean, the people of Maldives were unaware of the rich cultural heritage of Bangladesh. This needed to be shared, so discussions were held with the president and the vice president. As a result, on March 26, 2009, the Independence and National Day of Bangladesh, Dr Waheed announced a Cultural Agreement between Bangladesh and Maldives.

‘”I finalised the Agreement and later prepared MOUs on manpower and education after negotiations. Bangladeshi physicians were recruited for hospitals/clinics and sports promoted to develop intercultural interactions. Initial discussions were undertaken on trade and investment with exports from Bangladesh of medicines, electrical goods, non-perishable food items and others.

“During my tenure, great changes took place, opposition parties with a majority in the Parliament turned confrontational, making it difficult for the ruling party to govern effectively. Now, with the ruling MDP having a majority in the Parliament, implementation of reforms to stabilise the economy, proactive policies and positive relations with Saarc, China, and western states, Maldives will go forward as a vibrant middle income country in the world stage.”

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