Maldives

The future of the Maldives and its people are entirely reliant on the protection of their marine and coastal environment. Yet, overfishing, excessive tourism, pollution and coastal development are degrading the country’s reefs, seagrass and mangroves and these habitats are losing their capacity to support the people who depend on them.

BLUE’s aim is to restore coral reefs as climate resilient ecosystems for the benefit of nature and people that depend on them. We aim to do this by expanding marine protection, improving fisheries management, building capacity for Maldivian marine conservationists and promoting sustainable tourism.

In 1972, there were two resorts in the Maldives and 100 visitors made their way to these remote islands. The new airport expansion project, to be completed by the end of this year, will allow 7.5 million people to visit. While tourism remains the backbone of the country’s economy, unmanaged and unregulated operations can devastate marine life. Ensuring resorts put sustainable business at the core of their operations is a priority for BLUE’s work in the Maldives.

In 2019, BLUE launched the #ProtectMaldivesSeagrass social media campaign, together with our partner resort Six Senses Laamu, to call on resorts to stop removing the seagrasses around their resort island to make clear lagoons for their guests. Within the space of three months, BLUE managed to convince more than a quarter of all resorts in the country to commit to protecting more than 830,000m2 of seagrass. Blue carbon habitats such as seagrass, account for ten per cent of the ocean’s capacity to store carbon, making it an important natural solution for mitigating climate change.