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Climate Change, Tourism and Adaptation in the Maldives

By Anitha Sharma

Climate Change affects the world's small islands the most, with potentially devastating consequences for health, land, infrastructure and the economy. More than 80 percent of the 1,120 islands in the Maldives are less than 1 m above sea level, making it one of the world's lowest countries. With an economy in which tourism accounts for 27 percent of the GDP, Maldives is now coupling initiatives in tourism with its National Adaptation Program of Action (NAPA). "We can do nothing to stop climate change on our own and so we have to buy land elsewhere. It is an insurance policy for the worst possible outcome. We do not want to leave the Maldives, but we also do not want to be climate refugees living in tents for decades", said President Mohammed Nasheed, announcing a bold plan to buy land elsewhere where the country's population of 386,000 can rebuild lives as sea level threatens to inundate this tiny Indian Ocean island nation.

A small rise in sea level manifests itself as significant erosion and submersion of land, increase in floods, loss of reefs, and beaches. It has serious implications for tourism such as higher costs to protect and maintain waterfronts. The most critical attraction for tourists in islands and coasts is the pristine beaches and coast line which, when gone, can lower the visit rates.

Tourism-induced climate change vulnerability

The contribution of tourism to human-induced climate change has never been comprehensively assessed. The major areas in which emission calculations have been done have been transportation, accommodation and activities. Maldives has to take stock of what has been happening in the past that has made this small country one of the first nations to sink.

Transportation causes 75 percent of CO2 emissions generated by tourism, with aviation forming the bulk (40 percent). "The number of aircraft that land on the island has increased. I have been reading about climate change and feel anxious about emissions over Maldives", says a driver working in the Male airport for 14 years. The air navigation in Maldives is through five airports, two of which are international. The Maldivian Air Taxi Pvt. Ltd. flies on a conservative average of 150 flights a day to 40 resorts. Government data show 683,012 tourist arrivals in 2008, with more than 94 percent from Europe and Asia. A total of 13,501 international charters have arrived in Maldives in 2008. In addition to tourism-related carbon emissions from air transport, cars, accommodation, and various tourist activities, emissions from dive holidays create unsustainable levels of CO2.

The coral reef and lagoon ecosystem has been abused in the name of tourism. The often quoted example of Royal Island in Baa Atoll, where coral reefs were dredged for building a harbour for mooring the vessels used by the resort, is to be reviewed. The artificial breakwaters created at high cost did not protect the island during Tsunami.

The 236 tourist establishments in Maldives belonging to various categories like resorts, hotels, guest houses and safari vessels have been made with no standardised regulatory framework on architecture, energy and water use. A small country like Maldives has 90 manmade harbours besides 14 natural harbours. This has been made at the cost of common property resources like reefs and lagoons. The recent coral bleaching events that occurred have also had their impact on the diversity and integrity of the coral ecosystem.

The plans by the Maldivian Government (May 2008) to develop ten artificial islands by reclaiming natural lagoons of inhabited islands especially to create resorts will damage coastal protective elements and lead to more damage and vulnerability in the crisis situation that the country is moving towards. Laamu Gaadhoo beach, a protected area for turtle nesting will also be disrupted.

Going green

Maldives Government prepared the National Environment Action Plan which stated the need for reducing emissions from automobiles. Only three percent of the land area in Maldives is covered by trees. The Government of Maldives has been planting trees along with NGOs and resort owners. The soft coastal protection measures like reforestation and conservation of mangroves and other shore-stabilising vegetation that can act as a natural buffer is yet to be adopted systematically on the islands.

"We want to invest in green technology. If we perish, we want to show that we were trying to do the right thing. We will continue with tourism. But we now want to reach out to the tourists who visit Maldives and ask them to help us go carbon neutral", said Mohammed Aslam, Minister of Environment, Housing and Transport. President Mohammed Nasheed said an environment tax of $3 per tourist per day was soon to be levied on all tourists.

The isolated attempts that are being made by some corporate investors in the tourism scene to introduce carbon neutral programs, though a good attempt, are overshadowed by the hard reality that they are majorly contributing to this tiny nation's carbon footprint by operating sky taxis and chartered flights every day. This cannot be compensated for by conducting outreach programs for school children or planting trees and protecting turtles. The adoption of eco-practises and the now trendy carbon offsetting programs if to graduate beyond a marketing strategy have to have a solid base with emphasis on community participation and sustainable eco-restoration.

(893 words, 73 lines, September 2009)

Anitha Sharma is an environmental educator and researcher, based in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.