Maldives 2011
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State of the Environment Maldives 2011 Ministry of Environment and Energy Republic of Maldives State of the Environment 2011 STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT 2011 Ministry of Environment and Energy 1 |Page State of the Environment 2011 Written By Aminath Latheefa Dr Aminath Shafia Fathimath Shafeega Chapter 1: Maldivian setting updated from SOE 2004 Contributors Abdulla Shibau Mareer Mohamed Husny Amjad Abdulla Hassan Azhar Ajwad Mustafa Miruza Mohamed Ibrahim Mohamed Zammath khaleel Akram Waheed Mohamed Shumais Aishath Aileen Niyaaz Photos Ahmed Anwar Abdul Azeez Gk’s Photography Ministry of Environment and Energy Layout Jeehan Hassan Didi Mohamed Aflah Proof Reading Ahmed Shareef Nafees The Ministry of Environment and Energy would like to thank the following organizations who have provided the information for the preparation of the State of the Environment 2011 Ministry of Health Environment Protection Agency Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture Ministry of Transport and Department of Meteorology 2 |Page State of the Environment 2011 Foreword Dr Mariyam Shakeela Minister of Environment and Energy The first SOE report of the Maldives was produced for the UN Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island States held in Barbados in 1994. Today it is with great pleasure I am presenting the SOE 2011, the fifth report of SOE series. The report addresses the objective of providing an analytical overview of state of the environment focusing on 10 key environmental challenges confronting today. New issues including energy, chemical and toxicology, and environmental governance have been included in this issue widening the information and data, and addressing emerging issues. Maldives has changed socially, economically and environmentally since SOE 2004, the last publication. With the first democratic election held in November 2008 the country is going through a political transition. With the passing of the Decentralization Act in October 2010 island councils and atolls councils have been formed paving way for growth to be distributed equally between the atolls and the capital. With this change the importance of integrating environment protection and conservation into development decision making has become more important today. The report highlights changing drivers, such as population growth, economic activities and consumption patterns have placed increasing pressure on the environment. Serious and persistent barriers to sustainable development continue to persist. SOE 2011 highlights landmark developments. In March 2009 Maldives unveiled plans of becoming carbon neutral by 2020. Today use of renewable energy is encouraged with a number of programs being implemented at the country level. The most recent decisions to encourage use of renewable energy includes waiving import duties on electric and renewable energy powered vehicles. Significant efforts towards biodiversity conservation have also been made of which declaration of Baa Atoll as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 29 June 2011 being a major milestone. The Baa Atoll Conservation Project initiated in 2003 is formulated to design, test and demonstrate a management system that will secure and sustain the rich biodiversity and ecological processes of the Atoll for the benefit of the future generation. 3 |Page State of the Environment 2011 SOE 2011 is the fifth of the series of reports. The objective is to create and broaden awareness and environmental issues and to provide decision makers and planners with meaningful data and information to make necessary decisions. The process of publication of SOE also highlights and identifies several issues in relation to availability, accessibility and management of environmental information in the Maldives. Although considerable efforts had been made to improve issues related to collection, management and access to environmental information, lack of a centralized environmental information system makes access to environmental information difficult. The complete absence of some environmental information pertaining to issues such as chemical and toxicology presents a major challenge, not only in evaluating issues and their state but also in assessing risks. A coordinated effort is required among the different sectors to strengthen the information base. It is my sincere hope that this analytical overview will stimulate innovative thinking and increase knowledge of the stakeholders of the environment. And it is also my hope that a coordinated effort would take place to establish a centralized environmental information system where scientific and technical literature on environmental topics such as global warming, climate change, biodiversity and coastal zone management would be available. Establishment of an environment information system that provides access to such material, among others, is a pressing issue for the Maldives at present. 4 |Page State of the Environment 2011 Table of Contents Abbreviations .................................................................................................................................................................. 10 Overview ........................................................................................................................................................................... 13 Maps .................................................................................................................................................................................... 20 1. The Maldivian Setting ........................................................................................................................................ 22 1.1 Geography and Land ................................................................................................................................. 22 1.2 Climate ............................................................................................................................................................ 24 1.3 Marine and Coastal Areas ....................................................................................................................... 26 1.4 Population ..................................................................................................................................................... 27 1.5 Administration ............................................................................................................................................ 28 1.6 Natural and Cultural Heritage ............................................................................................................... 32 2. Socio‐Economic Development ........................................................................................................................ 34 2.1 Introduction.................................................................................................................................................. 34 2.2 Social Development ................................................................................................................................... 35 2.2.1 Demographic scenario .................................................................................................................... 35 2.2.2 Infrastructure development ......................................................................................................... 39 2.2.3 Poverty .................................................................................................................................................. 41 2.3 Economic Development ........................................................................................................................... 44 2.3.1 Growth .................................................................................................................................................. 44 2.3.2 Construction ....................................................................................................................................... 46 2.3.3 Tourism ................................................................................................................................................ 47 2.3.4 Fisheries ............................................................................................................................................... 49 2.3.5 Agriculture........................................................................................................................................... 52 Appendices ....................................................................................................................................................................... 55 3. Climate Change ..................................................................................................................................................... 57 3.1 Introduction.................................................................................................................................................. 57 3.2 Climate Change Impacts .......................................................................................................................... 58 3.2.1 Sea level rise ...................................................................................................................................... 58 3.2.2 Precipitation ....................................................................................................................................... 58 3.2.3 Temperature ......................................................................................................................................