MALE, Maldives, Aug 2 (IPS) – The ocean is our lifeblood, covering 70 percent of the Earth’s surface, providing half of the oxygen we breathe and absorbing 26 percent of the carbon dioxide we produce. It is home to millions of marine species, contains 97 percent of all the water on our planet and provides humanity with immense resources.
Maldives – 500,000 people living in ocean-side communities across an archipelago of 26 atolls and 1,192 islands – demonstrates both the challenges of living in an ocean world and its enormous potential. That’s why we must ensure that the ocean is not just our cherished history, but also part of our healthy and prosperous future.
The UN Maldives, together with Ocean Generation (an organisation committed to restoring a healthy relationship between people and the ocean), is supporting the Maldives in tackling the growing threats of the climate crisis and conserving and protecting our endangered ocean.
At the recently concluded 4th Small Island Developing States (SIDS4) Conference in Antigua, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu spoke directly to these challenges. He called for international public and private finance to invest in the Maldives. This would provide urgently needed climate finance for new green energy sources and finance climate protection for communities and islands threatened by rising sea levels.
Recognizing the precarious state of our oceans due to human consumption patterns and global warming, the President recently ordered a halt to coastal development activities due to concerns about high water temperatures and coral bleaching in nearby waters.
The UN and Ocean Generation heed the President’s call and look forward to working with the Maldives to find solutions to the challenges facing one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries.
Here are four key areas that have the potential to make the biggest difference.
1) Green energy
A critical issue for the Maldives is reducing the use of expensive diesel fuel for energy production and transportation between its many and far-flung atolls and island communities. Reducing diesel fuel use is a win-win: lower carbon emissions and less foreign exchange spent on expensive imported fuel.
Urgent international investment is needed to scale up commercial, private sector-backed solar and other renewable energy sources for the capital Malé and other urban areas, for smaller island communities and for resorts.
Achieving the government’s target of 33 percent green energy by 2028 is a key priority. UN and World Bank initiatives can contribute to this.
2) Reducing plastic pollution
Safe disposal of waste and reduction of the amount of waste generated are critical goals for improving the lives of coastal communities. Reducing the import of single-use plastics into the Maldives, which ultimately end up in our ocean and wash up on the shores of the Maldives atolls, will be essential.
Global plastic production is currently around 420 million metric tons per year.? Half of this is for single use. We cannot rely on recycling to address our plastic waste problem.? Only 13 percent of global plastic is recycled, and of that 13 percent, only 1 percent is reused through the system, meaning that even the plastic that does get recycled eventually ends up in landfill, incinerated, or leaked into the environment.
The Maldives Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Technology’s efforts to increase plastic bag tariffs are key to the country’s goal of phasing out plastic use. Together with the government, the UN and Ocean Generation aim to raise awareness among stakeholders about the costs of inaction and the shift to eco-friendly alternatives to single-use plastics.
3) Conservation of biodiversity
The Maldives’ broad coastal and marine biodiversity is key to the resilience of the islands’ interconnected communities, through fisheries and vegetation and economic livelihoods. The Maldives can serve as a global laboratory for both ocean health and the immediate and dynamic impacts of climate change. Ongoing UN initiatives focused on the conservation and sustainable management of coral reefs in fishing communities are already laying the groundwork for local lessons to inform national policy changes.
4) Combating climate change
The ocean is our greatest ally when it comes to climate change, especially when it comes to absorbing heat. The average global temperature today is 15 degrees C (59 F) and without the ocean absorbing heat, that average is estimated to be 50 degrees C (122 F).? The Maldives already has has demonstrated its commitment to climate resilienceby becoming the first country in Asia and the first small island developing State to embrace the UN Secretary-General’s Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative.
Globally, it is the first country to endorse a national EW4All roadmap at the presidential level to ensure that all have early warning of multiple hazards by 2027. Continuing to protect and restore marine resources is a top priority as a clear nature-based solution to climate change.
The Maldives’ climate initiatives offer valuable lessons for all island nations, and their successful implementation can serve as a model for global change. By scaling up efforts to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and combat throwaway consumerism, we can protect our oceans and planet, and create a sustainable future for all.
This article is an adaptation of an opinion piece written by UN Resident Coordinator in the Maldives Bradley Busetto and Ocean Generation founder Jo Ruxton, MBE. Links follow: maldives.un.orgoceangeneration.org.
Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Development Cooperation (UNDCO).
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