Islands
Of the 1192 coral islands in the Maldives, around 220 are inhabited. Of these islands, we focus our work on a the Fares-Maathoda island, Thinadhoo island which is the capital of the Gaafu Dhaalu Administrative Atoll, and the national capital islands of Male and immediate surroundings. Each island and community are dealing with a climate, environmental and social reality which is differentiated.Students and communities need to understand and deal with these realities in mitigating risks and adapting to variability and change. Of course, there are commonalities and similarities across Atolls and the Atoll Chains as well so that is possible to learn from a few islands, technologies and lessons that can be adapted elsewhere.
In our work, we have so far been able to undertake work in
- Greater Male Islands
- Maathoda
- Thinadhoo
Below we shall provide identify the Atolls where these islands are situated before diving into details of the islands
Male Capital Area
Male is part of the Kaafu Atoll.The capital metropolis of Greater Male Islands comprises Male, Hulhule, Kulufushi, Villingilli, Hulumale and a few small islands. In collaboration with the Maldives National University and other partners, we have obtained instrumentation for Weather and Air Quality measurements.
Gaafu Dhaalu / Huvadhoo Atoll
Gaafu Dhaalu corresponds to the Southwestern section of this large natural atoll, south of the line extending between the channels of Footukandu and Vaarulu Kandu. There are 153 islands in this district, 10 of which are inhabited. This district is located about 340 kilometres south of the capital Malé.
Maathoda and Thinadhoo are located in the Gaafu Dhaalu Adminstrative Atoll which is just North of the equator. Addu Atoll is to the South and in between is the equatorial oceanic passage with rapid currents seasonally. G.Dh is half of the Huvadhoo Atoll – divided as it is quite large. There is an Airport to the Northern end at Kaadedhoo with historical weather measurements.
Maathoda
Fares-Maathoda island is located at the south-facing atoll rim of Huvadhu Atoll in the Maldives which is 441.15 km south of the country’s capital, Male. The Island was originally two separate islands until they were joined by the reclamation of the shallow passage between them during the 1990s. The Island has a population of 1,028 according to the census in 2014. The Island has a council, an elected body that is affiliated with political parties. There is also a permanent administrative staff for the island comprising the school, Hospital and the Waste management center on the Island.
Fares Maathoda is said to be one of the most fishing-intensive in the atoll. The low-lying nature of the island had meant that storms and tidal swells were major problems for residents on the Fares side of the island. Before the blocking of the passage there had been years during which the surging water through the passage had caused flooding of the islands, but these floods have been very much limited to a few tens of meters along the shore.
Small Island Research Centre
The Small Island Research Group (SIRG) was established in 2016 to broaden the scope of environmental research. SIRG is made up of a group of experts including marine scientists, environmental planners, fisheries management experts, financial experts, coastal engineers, experienced surveyors, citizen scientists etc. who are contributing themselves to focus on environmental matters that concern the small island nations, specifically the Maldives.
Links: Small Island Research Centre
Huvadhoo School
We have conducted a workshop for the middle school students of Huvadhoo School. We handed over water test pens plus soft version of teacher aid resource tool kit, which includes presentations, videos and other resource materials they can use to develop project ideas.
Thinadhoo
Thinadhoo is the capital of Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll and the proposed capital for the Upper South Province of the Maldives. The Island is 407.06 km south of the country’s capital, Malé with a population of 6,376 (Census Population 2019). Thinadhoo is served by 4 pre-schools, 2 primary schools, 1 secondary/high-school, and 1 university campus.
Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll Education Centre
Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll Education Centre is a partner for this project. Two workshops and a science fair were conducted for the students of Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll Education Centre.
An automatic weather station was installed at Thinadhoo in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll Education Centre on 23rd April 2019. This weather station is in the school premises at 0.531° N, 72.998° W. Observations are available since 23rd April 2019. The publicly accessible data shall help the students better understand environment and IT.
Links: G.Dh. Atoll Education Centre
