TABLE OF CONTENTS

S. No CONTENT PAGE NO.

1 INTRODUCTION

MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN

2
MALDVIES

REASONS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL

3
ISSUES IN MALDIVES

SOLUTIONS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL

4
ISSUES IN MALDIVES

5 CONCLUSION

6 BIBLIOGRAPHY -
 INTRODUCTION

Environmental justice is a social movement that seeks to reduce the inequitable exposure of poor
and vulnerable people to the dangers of resource exploitation, hazardous waste, and other land-
use practices. Hundreds of studies confirming this pattern of unequal exposure to environmental
harms have resulted from the movement and a
large interdisciplinary body of social science
literature encompassing theories of the envi-
ronment and justice, environmental laws and
policy, sustainability, and political ecology.
Human-caused environmental damage is a
continuing global issue. Most experts believe
that if human society strived to live sustainably
within planetary boundaries, the project's peak
global world population of 9–10 billion people
could live sustainably within the earth's
ecosystems.

The country that I have chosen for

my assignment is the country in the
southeastern region of Asia that is
the Maldives. The Maldives are a
group of 1,190 coral islands in the
Indian Ocean that are connected by
a double chain of twenty-seven
atolls. A vast, ring-shaped coral
reef supports multiple small islands
in most atolls. The country is
roughly 90,000 square kilometers in
size, with only 298 square kilome-
ters of dry ground.

The islands range in size from one

to two square kilometers in area, with none exceeding eight kilometers in length. The Maldives
is located between 1 and 1.5 meters above sea level, with the highest island at 3 meters. The
Maldives is mostly flat, with no hills or rivers, however, some islands contain dunes, such as
those found on Addu Atoll's Hithadhoo island, and wetlands and marshes, such as those found on
Gnaviyani Atoll's Fuvahmulah island. The Maldives is known for its white-sand beaches, clear
blue waters, and diverse marine life. The Maldives has a tropical climate that is warm and humid
all year and is affected by two dominant monsoons.
 MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN
MALDIVES
The Maldives is a well-known tourist spot which has been breeding issues that are harmful to the
environment for quite a long time. The place that has been known for its beautiful beaches will
soon be known for rising sea levels which could be a cause of damage that can be long lasting.
Due to the geographical location, Maldives is extremely vulnerable to climate change and ac-
cording to reports from NASA and U.S Geological Survey, almost 80% of the Maldives could
become uninhabitable by 2050. The rising sea levels are not the only cause for concern as there
are other pressing environmental issues which add to the climate change being so catastrophic.
The local communities are in fear of these issues which are now becoming a threat to their exis-
tence. The five major environmental issues that have been affecting the Maldives are as follows:

 BEACH EROSION
Maldives is made up of numerous small islands where half of the population stays in their
capital and the other half is dispersed into the small islands. Beach Erosion is categorized
as one of the most severe issues which is contributing to the loss of land. Beach Erosion
causes flooding, property damage, degradation of flora and fauna and the loss of land.
The islands are at risk of being submerged due to the erection of resorts and other small
places of getaway which disturbs the geographical setting of the country. Beach erosion
can expose less resistant soils and rocks to wind and wave action, causing coastal head-
lands to crumble and massive amounts of overburden to tumble into the shallows. This
material may be dispersed along the shoreline, creating environmental disruption by
burying or denying light and nutrients to sea grasses and corals in the shallows.

 PLASTIC WASTE
Approximately 860 tonnes of solid waste are discarded on a daily basis out of which
around 21% is contributed by the tourism sector. Every day, 280,000 plastic bottles are
used and discarded in Malé, the capital city, alone. And last year, 104 million plastic bags
were imported to the Maldives. Plastic wastes like bags, bottles and food sachets are
found in large quantities washed up on beaches. It also includes wastes like fishing nets
which have come from the Sri Lankan and Indian Coasts. The most visible effects of
plastic waste are the ingestion, suffocation, and entanglement of hundreds of marine
species. Plastic rubbish is mistaken for food by seabirds, whales, fish, and turtles, and the
majority of them starve to death as their tummies fill with plastic. Lacerations, infections,
reduced swimming ability, and internal traumas are also present.
  BUILDINGS
Several islands in the Maldives are highly populated, with hundreds of people crammed
into a few square kilometers. As a result, housing, and social services such as schools and
health centers are in short supply. In the year of 2009, a new law was passed which al-
lowed international tourists to stay in the houses built which were later converted into re-
sorts and getaways. Despite the fact that many construction projects are labeled as
"green," the environmental consequences of construction should be considered at all
times during the project's life cycle. Every stage of a construction project has an environ-
mental impact, including the use of raw materials, resource transportation from the source
to the construction site, the environmental imprint of the construction site, water use, and
rubbish removal and disposal.

 BIODIVERSITY
The marine and terrestrial biodiversity of the Maldives has received very little attention.
The coral reefs of the Maldives are home to the world's greatest diversity of species. On
the reefs, there is a lot of variety, but there isn't a lot of it. Biodiversity is the bedrock of
most economic activity in the Maldives, and it directly or indirectly supports the bulk of
the country's inhabitants. The islands, which are prone to natural disasters, need strong
coral reefs to help safeguard and preserve them from the detrimental consequences of cli-
mate change. Biodiversity loss can have significant direct human health repercussions if
ecosystem services are no longer adequate to meet social needs. Ecosystem service
changes have an indirect impact on livelihoods, income, local migration, and, in rare
cases, political unrest. Biodiversity loss should be considered an existential concern to the
Maldives.

 CORAL MINING
Coral is primarily used in the Maldives to create houses and buildings. The most often
harvested corals are massive corals like Porites. Massive corals are hand-crushed into ir-
regular, smaller pieces that are then used to build walls. To form walls and other building
structures, the coral fragments are glued together with lime, cement, or concrete. Lime is
made with the help of corals as well. Producing lime on the island is less expensive for
many islanders than buying imported cement. Coral and reef debris are collected and
burned in a ground pit with locally available firewood. When it comes to maintaining the
reef's balance, coral mining is a problematic practice. Despite the fact that the mining
process predominantly affects large corals, it also affects many other coral species in the
region, owing to trampling and sedimentation. The reef's mined portions were completely
depleted. However, it should be noted that the effects on the reef are localized. Because
mining occurs only on the reef flats, the reef's slopes are mostly unaffected.

The Maldives is one of the world's most climate-vulnerable countries, with several of its islands
at risk of inundation because of expected global sea-level rise. While the Maldives and other
small island nations are not to blame for global warming, they will bear the brunt of its effects.
As flooding, erosion, and other natural calamities become increasingly prevalent, the Maldives
are running out of time to save their island settlements.
 REASONS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
IN MALDIVES
Everything in the Maldives is intricately related to its natural environment, from the economy to
social well-being and, indeed, the entire way of life. Thousands of reefs protect the islands,
which must stay alive for this unique archipelago to continue to exist. The Maldives' environ-
ment has a direct impact on all elements of life.

 BEACH EROSION
Beach erosion is frequently cited as the country's most serious environmental problem.
Most populated islands now have "severe" beach erosion, in which land is rapidly lost to
the sea. Coastal development, particularly the construction of new harbors, is widely rec-
ognized as the primary driver of rapid beach erosion. While harbors help to connect is-
land settlements and provide residents with economic possibilities, they can also drasti-
cally alter how sand travels down the shoreline. These changes have the potential to wipe
out entire beaches. As a result, coastal flooding is more common, and people's homes are
more likely to be washed into the sea. As a result, populations on many islands strive to
construct marine defenses such as seawalls. These, on the other hand, are expensive and
ineffective.

 PLASTIC WASTE
The plastic you throw away ends up in a landfill. Because plastic is so light, it is fre-
quently blown away when garbage is brought to landfill. It can then clog sewers and fi-
nally infiltrate rivers and the sea in this manner. A large amount of this garbage is made
up of plastic. Plastic trash, such as bags, bottles, and food sachets, is washed up on
beaches around the islands in significant amounts every day. Fishing with poles and lines
is the norm in the Maldives, therefore nets are rarely utilized. Large numbers of discarded
nets, on the other hand, become entangled in rocks and plants near the shoreline. These
plastics are unsightly, can be eaten by marine creatures, and when broken down, emit
harmful compounds.

 BUILDINGS
According to NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2020 is
tied with 2016 as the warmest year since records began in the late 19th century. Human
activity is a driver of global warming, according to world scientists. According to the In-
tergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Fifth Assessment Report, there's a greater
than 95% chance that human activities have warmed our planet over the last 50 years.
According to Architecture 2030, buildings are responsible for roughly 40% of all green-
house gas emissions. When you factor in additional infrastructure and activities related
with buildings, such as transportation, the number rises significantly. Land reclamation,
which entails pouring massive amounts of sand from the bottom onto the seashore, is a
 typical method of expanding land. However, this might upset the fragile ecosystem of the
seafloor.

 BIODIVERISTY
Increased strain on natural resources as a result of population growth and rapid economic
development is the primary driver of biological variety loss in the Maldives. To meet the
demands of an ever-increasing population, natural resources are limited. Due to a scarcity
of biological resources, a small number of resources are heavily consumed by many user
groups. Conflicts between user groups over these restricted resources are becoming a big-
ger problem. Furthermore, aside from the capital Male' and tourist resorts, there are lim-
ited alternatives to exploitation of biological resources and marine resources, notably on
the islands. Coastal development operations such as harbor construction and land recla-
mation have a negative impact on the reefs in these locations. The use of coral in building
construction and coastal protection is a major source of concern. Many islands' limited
terrestrial biological variety, particularly those with dense populations, is threatened by
land clearing for construction. In recent years, overexploitation of high-value reef re-
sources such as sea cucumber, groupers, and giant clams has become a serious problem.
On both deserted and populated islands, timber harvesting poses a threat to old growth
and hardwood tree survival. Furthermore, the impact of rising sea temperatures because
of global warming on coral reef health is a big worry.

 CORAL MINING
sand erosion, land retreat, and sedimentation, to name a few. Because coral preserves
coasts and produces beaches, all of these factors may have a significant impact on coastal
cities, villages, and the tourism sector. It took hundreds to thousands of years for the trees
to grow back, and it will take the same amount of time for them to grow again. Fish habi-
tat destruction. Substrate is removed from the reef by removing bits of coral and rock. As
a result, any new coral polyps that arrive in the region will be unable to adhere to perma-
nent structures, reducing recruitment. The operation of removing and breaking up coral
disturbs the seafloor and leaves behind remains. Due to the lack of sunshine and lower
temperatures, any remaining coral may not survive. The beach becomes more exposed to
storms and other natural calamities when a reef is destroyed partially or fully. This might
force the land to withdraw, jeopardizing the reef's safety. Surprisingly, when done in an
environmentally responsible manner, harvesting live corals for the aquarium business has
little impact on the reef. This is because only little fragments of coral are removed, leav-
ing the majority of the bigger structure intact. Harvesting is partially sustainable since the
leftover sections of the coral may recover, but only if enough time is allowed for the coral
to rebuild between harvests.

Climate change has both direct and indirect environmental effects, and it is frequently seen as
one of the most serious barriers to social and economic growth, particularly for SIDS like the
Maldives. Climate change is posing many threats to the Maldives. The archipelagic small island
republics of the Maldives share a number of characteristics that make them particularly vulnera-
ble to the effects of climate change. The dispersed coral islands are small, low-lying, and mor-
phologically weak, making them extremely vulnerable to changing climatic circumstances on ev-
ery aspect of Maldivian life.
 SOLUTION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN
MALDIVES

The solution to environmental issues sounds like a lifesaver, and there are numerous ways to
address each and every problem that could pose a threat in the future. The Maldives have already
begun enacting laws to protect their environment and ensure that resources are used wisely. They
are still in the process of resolving this issue, which will take several years.

 BEACH EROSION
A variety of measures have been used in various regions to prevent beach erosion. Al-
though some of these tactics have shown to be efficient, each has its own set of draw-
backs and advantages. Groins are long, wall-like structures built on beaches that extend
into the ocean perpendicular to the shoreline. Longshore currents are deflected by
groynes, which are designed to act as a barrier. This allows them to manipulate and con-
trol the movement of the sand. Another alternative is breakwaters, which are impedi-
ments placed offshore parallel to or at an angle to the shoreline. Breakwaters protect the
beach by acting as a wave barrier, allowing it to spread while preventing erosion. Beach
Nourishment is a mild approach that comprises sanding the beach to artificially increase
it. Even though this approach has the potential to be therapeutic, it is both costly and tem-
porary. Another alternative is to use plants that may be strategically planted to help with
erosion control. Coastal plant roots help to anchor sand and prevent erosion from washing
it away. Several sites around coastlines have planted seagrass and created marshes to
avoid erosion.

 PLASTIC WASTE
Reduce the amount of single-use plastics that you use. Reducing your use of single-use
plastics, wherever you reside, is the simplest and most obvious approach to get started.
Plastic bags, water bottles, straws, cups, cutlery, dry cleaning bags, take-out containers,
and any other single-use plastics are all examples of single-use plastics. Recycling should
be done in a responsible manner. It should go without saying, but always recycle single-
use (and other) plastics. Plastic is now recycled in only 9% of the world's population. Re-
cycling keeps plastic out of the water and lowers the quantity of "new" plastic on the
market. Microbeads should be avoided at all costs. In recent years, tiny plastic particles
known as "microbeads" have become an increasingly significant cause of ocean plastic
pollution. Microbeads may be found in certain face scrubs, toothpastes, and bodywashes,
and can easily reach our seas and streams via our sewer systems, posing a threat to hun-
dreds of marine species. Assist Plastic Pollution-Resistant Organization, Oceanic Society,
Plastic Waste Coalition, 5 Gyres, Algalita, Plastic Soup Foundation, and others are
among the non-profit groups that are striving to decrease and eliminate ocean plastic pol-
lution in a variety of methods. To keep doing their critical job, these organizations rely on
donations from individuals like you. Even tiny contributions may help a lot.


 BUILDINGS
Rainfall patterns throughout the world are being affected by climate change. Rainwater
harvesting and recharging systems on building roofs are often used to store water during
droughts and minimize flood danger during heavy rains. During times of drought, the wa-
ter collected can be kept in tanks and used within the structure. Planting trees or other
vegetation around houses is another cost-effective, nature-based strategy to combat
droughts and flooding. Flood-resistant houses in Kerala, India, are built on pillars so that
floodwater may pass beneath them. Buildings built 2 meters above the ground on
Malaysia's beaches allow water to flow freely for wetland flora to flourish beneath them,
with dwellings and public places connected by elevated passageways.

 BIODIVERSITY
Governments have the authority to regulate what happens to their country's environ-
ments. Natural habitat protection legislation that prohibits development, natural resource
extraction, or other forms of human exploitation has a significant influence on the preser-
vation of natural biodiversity. Taking steps to reduce the number of invading species In-
vasive species are introduced to a region on purpose and by accident. To reduce the num-
ber of invasive species accidentally transported, planes, ships, and cargo must be rigor-
ously inspected before being unloaded in a new nation. Restoration of habitat, We can
strive to restore a damaged region to its natural state after human effects. This entails
reintroducing the native flora and animals to the area. This has been demonstrated to be a
viable method of restoring biodiversity to a region. Reduce global warming, Climate
change, as we all know, has terrible effects for all living beings on the planet. We burn a
lot of fossil fuels, which contributes to climate change. Alternative energy sources and
natural or sustainable goods must be substituted for fossil fuels. Climate change mitiga-
tion will need a global effort.

 CORAL MINING
There are a variety of techniques to avoid this, some of which are listed below. Coral reef
blasting is a damaging method of extracting construction materials and other resources
that may be obtained in a far more ecologically friendly manner. Another option is to cre-
ate MPAs. MPAs are an excellent strategy to assist improve the health of local ecosys-
tems since they frequently attempt to conserve regions with high biodiversity or locations
that are vital to certain species' reproductive success, such as spawning or breeding
grounds. Corals in protected places can operate as a source population to augment other
populations. If harvesting is permitted, it should be carefully controlled and selected in
order to be ethical and long-term. Coral mining might sometimes appear to bring short-
term benefits to communities, but the long-term costs can be significantly higher. More
successful than just outlawing hazardous activities is encouraging the community to join
engaged in coral reef protection because of the long-term benefits to everyone. Coral
mining or harvesting, like many other conservation issues confronting developing coun-
tries, is driven by demand from richer countries that either lack biological resources, such
as coral reefs, or have much stricter and better enforced natural resource harvesting regu-
lations than the poorer countries that supply the resource. It is critical to educate cus-
 tomers about the importance of supporting only ethically and sustainably harvested corals
to better safeguard corals.

CONCLUSION

People nowadays are more preoccupied with the present state of affairs than with what may oc-
cur in the future. Focusing on present difficulties and putting climate change on the back burner
while waiting for something truly catastrophic to happen is one of the biggest environmental dis-
advantages anyplace in the world. We are all affected by the environment. Necessities include
safe drinking water, food, fresh air, and a place to live. We must first have access to those funda-
mental requirements if we are to live the life that progress offers. Development at the expense of
the environment will eventually leave us without the means to meet our fundamental necessities.
In certain places of the world, this is already happening. Therefore, sustainable development is
critical; it ensures that development plans include all factors, including the environment and hu-
man rights.