Pulau Bohey Dulang is one of the islands under Tun Sakaran Marine Park, managed by Sabah Parks. Unique Inworld Sdn Bhd has entered into a lease agreement with Sabah State Government through Sabah Parks to develop and operate a resort within the marine park at Pulau Bohey Dulang. The island resort will be constructed entirely on stilts, above the water consisting of 61 units of detached chalets, restaurant, gym, clinic, dive centre, helipad, staff quarters and jetty with concept focusing on high-end, green and eco-friendly. An integrated sewage treatment plant utilising Moving Bed Bio-Film Reactor (MBBR) and hydrophonics technology will be used for sewage treatment while hybrid generators will be utilised for power generation supply with integrated solar power. Protection of the marine environment and conservation of the coral communities is a high priority for the Project considering it is the key tourist attraction to the island.

An EIA report for the proposed Project was requested by the Environment Protection Department (EPD) Sabah under Section 13 of the Environment Protection Enactment 2002 considering the delicate marine environment of the proposed site within Tun Sakaran Marine Park. The objective of the EIA is to ensure that all impacts, direct and indirect, associated with the proposed Project is assessed and practical mitigation measures and monitoring programmes are recommended to minimise the impact to the environment. The EIA report was submitted to EPD Sabah in December 2014 and subsequently approved in April 2015.

Description of Actual Services Provided:

A multi-disciplined team of sector-specific specialists gathered data and conducted field studies on all aspects of the physical, biological and social environment, documenting the current situation and highlighting the core environmental issues related to the proposed Project. Key environmental issues that were identified and assessed are as listed below:

• Ecological Impact
• Waste Generation and Management
• Seawater Quality Deterioration
• Marine Traffic and Transportation Impact
• Impact on Coastal Processes
• Noise Pollution
• Potential Abandonment

The collation of these information and assessment then formed the basis for the formulation of the mitigation measures and monitoring programme proposed in the EIA report.

Key Project Elements:

The key project elements included the following:

• Marine ecological survey of coral reefs using line transect survey method to determine coral coverage, abundance and its health character as well as assessment of marine reptile (turtle) presence in the area.
• Assessment of wastes anticipated from the resort development including its proposed management method.
• Marine traffic transportation impact assessment from the transportation of machinery/ equipment, construction materials and waste to/ from the island during construction stage as well as visitors/ supplies to the resort upon operation stage including suitability of marine transportation route proposed.
• Assessment on potential changes to the local coastal processes in terms of sediment transport due to changes in wave patterns and currents from the permanent structures established.