Marine Environment

Being an archipelago of islands Maldives has a range of coastal ecosystems including:

• Coral reefs
• Sea grass beds
• Lagoons
• Beaches
• Areas of mangroves

In addition to their global significance, the coastal and marine ecosystems and their resources form the bedrock of the country’s economy. Our two major industries, tourism and fisheries heavily depend on a healthy and diverse marine and coastal ecosystem. These ecosystems also play key roles in providing employment, income, food security and recreation. Furthermore, coral reefs, wetlands and mangrove systems protect the shorelines from wave action and maintain the balance of the environment. The coastline of Maldives is 644 km. Due to the small size of the islands, the whole land area is considered as a coastal zone.

However, over-extraction of coral and sand, habitat destruction and modification, pollution and unsustainable development have led to degradation of these ecosystems.

Beach Erosion

Beach erosion is among the most serious environmental issues facing the islands of Maldives. Climate change and sea level rise aggravate the erosion process. In addition, bleaching due to El-Nino is a significant threat to the reefs, which provide important protection function for beaches.

Over 80% of the islands are facing erosion issues. It is a dynamic, natural process brought by changes in wind direction and ocean currents due to monsoon shifts. However, human interventions such as sand mining and removal of vegetation, and coastal developments such as harbour construction and land reclamation interfere with sediment movement around the islands, which alter the balance of natural processes along the coastline. In 2014, a total of 116 inhabited islands reported erosion to Ministry of Environment and Energy and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Figure 3-12 shows the erosion status of reported islands based on surveys conducted by the EPA in 2014.

The small size of the islands forces the people to live next to the sea. Given the close proximity of the settlements to the sea and low elevation of islands, homes of people are at significant risk due to high sea levels.

The coastal systems are identified as a key vulnerable area to the area to the impacts of climate change. The low lying nature of the Maldives, with an elevation lower than one meter above the mean sea level, makes it vulnerable to climate change and its associated impacts, particularly sea level rise.

The observed erosion in the Maldives has been attributed to impacts of climate change, human modification of coastal environment. These human activities include construction of coastal structures, developmental actions on the coastline and sand mining from shallow lagoons.

Reference

MEE. (2017). State of the Environment 2016, Ministry of Environment and Energy

MEE, (2016). Second National Communication of Maldives to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change: Ministry of Environment and Energy