Can the Maldives Survive Man?By Kamin Mohammadi The Maldives islands are renowned for their pristine beaches and spectacular diving. But global warming is a dark cloud on their horizon, says Kamin Mohammadi. The Four Seasons Resort at Kuda Huraa in the Maldives understands well the ‘Robinson Crusoe’ factor, identified by the Maldivian Ministry for Tourism as key to the Maldives appeal. All Maldivian resorts occupy their own islands which are otherwise uninhabited, so for the length of your holiday, you really are a castaway on your own desert island. The Four Seasons Resort knows all about castaway comfort, about clean towels for the beach and fresh fruit cocktails on tap. There appear to be several staff for each guest, three restaurants, an infinity pool and fantastic waterspouts and diving facilities on an island so tiny that you can walk its circumference in ten minutes. Yet among all this luxury, there are signs of other concerns creeping in. Every night in the library, guests gather for the ‘Fish Talk’, a perfectly serious 45-minute lecture given by the resort’s marine biologist and aimed at raising awareness of the underwater environment, including the creation of coral and the recent bleaching phenomenon. The Maldives may have become a luxury destination, but the resorts which pamper the international jet set also have to play a part in trying to preserve these islands if they want the country to survive. With sea levels on the rise (a study in 2000 suggested that sea levels in the Indian Ocean had risen by as much as 25cm since the start of the 1980s) and global warming showing no signs of slowing down, it may be a matter not of whether, but when the islands will finally be submerged by the ocean and the expensively landscaped resorts become merely good dive sites for future scuba enthusiasts. The Maldives is a chain of about 1192 small coral islands arranged in a series of clusters, or atolls, and lying low in the Indian Ocean, 600km south west of Sri Lanka. Stretching up from the equator in a vertical strip covering over 750km, only 202 of the islands are inhabited, while 99 per cent of the country's territory is made up by the sea. There are no rivers or mountains and the islands lie low in the ocean, averaging only about a metre above sea level (the Maldives is in the Guinness Book of Records for having the lowest highest point in the world). The islands may be idyllic, but the real action is in the sea: there are reefs and lagoons aplenty populated by the most stunning array of brilliantly-coloured fish, with each atoll surrounded by a coral reef, and a reef and a crystal clear lagoon surrounding each island. This year the Maldives celebrates 30 years of tourism. In 1972 George Corbin, an Italian entrepreneur, brought 12 guests – mostly travel writers – to what he was convinced was the perfect holiday destination. They found a nation unchanged for decades, 93,000 residents without a single policeman or phone and one car. Within a year a handful of self-contained resorts had opened. By the end of the decade, President Gayoom had passed tourism laws which have safeguarded the islands and ensured the Maldives a cut on any tourism income ever since. With visitor figure reaching 360,000 in 1998 (the local population stands at around 280,000), the 1979 law showed amazing foresight, restricting building to the height of the surrounding trees, stating that trees cannot be cut down without prior permission from the Ministry and that resorts must not take water from 'inhabited' islands. In 1982, the new department for tourism (later to become the Ministry) decreed that all the resorts occupy their own self-contained worlds, made of natural materials and free from traffic and crime, catering to modern-day Crusoes with abundant creature comforts. However, Maldivian President Gayoom was warning the world about the effects of global warming as far back as 1992's Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, pointing out that his country could well disappear some time during the 21st century. While the plight of the Maldives and other small island states has been increasingly recognised and addressed, thanks in part to the alliance of Small Island Nations (AOSIS) and their activities, actual progress is slow. It is also important to remember that the considerable time lags between the emission of greenhouse gases and their consequent effects on global temperature and sea level means that even if atmospheric greenhouse-gas concentrations are stabilised over the next decades, global temperatures are still projected to increase for another few decades, while sea levels will continue to rise for a number of centuries. This state of affairs is particularly ironic for the Maldives which has no heavy industry and owns fewer than 3000 carbon dioxide-emitting vehicles. It is now considered likely that global warming will lead to some increase in maximum tropical cyclone wind speeds and lower central pressures, leading to more damaging storm surges. The threat to coral reefs from this increase in cyclone intensities, is considered, by many scientists, to be the real danger. The coral reef in the Maldives suffered from widespread bleaching in 1998 due to the temporary rise in seas temperatures associated with El Niño. Much of the coral has recovered and while there is every indication that more will, the crucial question is whether El Niño events will be occurring more frequently because of global warming. Bleaching occurs when corals experience stress. Increased temperatures, UV-radiation, exposure to freshwater and siltation can result in expulsion of the coral’s symbiotic algae after which the corals appear white or 'bleached'. Bleached corals can survive for some time, but if conditions do not return to normal they die. Once dead, coral skeletons are covered by bacteria and fast-growing algae which can potentially prevent re-establishment of the original coral community. Unless there is a significant recovery of reef-building corals, the erosion of exposed coral skeletons by sea urchins, fish, sponges and polychaetes will accelerate, and may result in a physical break-down of the reef structure. This potential devastation hasn’t passed by the luxury resorts unnoticed. Uniquely, the Four Seasons has launched the ‘adopt-a-reefball-project’, another cuddly name belied by its serious nature. The project aims to rejuvenate the damaged reef around the resorts with the use of reef balls, structures which are designed to facilitate coral growth. The first of its kind in the Maldives, the use of reef balls has been scientifically proven to increase the growth of coral by tenfold. Quite aside from the impact on the fragile ecosystem that the loss of coral reefs represents, any environmental impact on the island nation will severely affect the tourism that is so vital to its economy. The waters of the Maldives contain three-quarters of the world's reef-fish species and are world famous for diving. It is estimated that over 60 per cent of visitors to the islands do some diving – be it scuba or snorkelling – and that even among honeymooners, 50 per cent will dive. All of which goes to show how good the diving really is. A United Nations Environment Programme report, published early in 2001 estimated that losses linked to climate change may, by 2050, exceed 10 per cent of Maldives’ national wealth, so how will the islands cope and what action do they propose to take? In March 2001, Hassan Sobir, the Tourism Minister said: ‘The time debate is unclear but global warming is real. I think the travel industry should be more campaigning. Decisions are taken by governments about emissions but we don’t see them being carried out. ’ A cry that has been heard loud and clear by the fabulous resorts themselves. In 1995 Soneva Fushi opened on Baa Atoll. So concerned were the owners with not disturbing the natural habitat that staff and guests cycle through rainforest to reach the cottages scattered along its shore, vegetables and herbs were planted for use in the resort and everything that could be, was recycled. Soneva Fushi soon became popular with those longing for privacy, particularly with those eco-concerned celebrities such as Sir Paul McCartney. Similarly, other resorts are big on recycling and waste disposal while divers are always warned not to touch anything under water either with hands or fins and shops refuse to stock endangered shells and corals. The Maldivian Foreign Minister Fathulla Jameel has talked of the need for a dialogue with major private sector companies and charitable foundations. He also pointed out that: "our very survival is at stake. Left to our own devices, we would not have the material wherewithal to deal with a problem that has almost nothing to do with anything that we have done. It is a problem of global interest and consequence, and it is at that level that effective actions can be taken. " Whether such good intentions will mobilize the world to act on an issue that will eventually effect everyone in the world, there is no doubt that for the Maldives, the call to action is an urgent one. As minister Jameel said: "Long before seas rise to the predicted level, the allied effects of the climate change phenomenon would begin to exact a terrible toll on human life and the ecosystem. "The noose would gradually get tighter. We don't want to know how tight it should become before all life is choked out."
This article is published in affiliation with Travel Intelligence. All rights reserved.
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