President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has highlighted the importance of preserving natural ecosystems and ensuring the sustainability of the country's resources. He made the remarks in his address to the nation on this year's World Environment Day, which focuses on ecosystem restoration under the theme: Reimagine, Recreate, and Restore.
In his address, President Solih said exercising sustainable management of Maldives' natural resources is key to safeguarding the environment for posterity. In this regard, he highlighted that 73 different areas, adding to over 13% of the natural house reefs in the Maldives, had been declared protected, and noted that 3 atolls had previously been declared UNESCO Biosphere Reserves.
President Solih said protecting islands and atolls with rich natural resources would have a positive impact on the economy as well, since the Maldives economy consists of 50,000 persons employed directly and indirectly in the tourism industry and over 17,000 in the fisheries and agricultural industries. The president further detailed several of the government projects undertaken to ensure the sustainable use of the country’s natural resources, including the plan to declare 20% of Maldivian seas protected by 2030 as part of the worldwide initiative of the Global Ocean Alliance to protect at least 30% of the global ocean as Marine Protected Areas by 2030.
Furthermore, President Solih said the Maldives must look to preserve and protect its resources without causing any distress to the ecosystems, since the slightest imbalance takes many years to heal naturally, if at all. He detailed several other important initiatives including sustainable waste management and the ambitious plan to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. He also noted several single-use plastics have already been banned from import into the Maldives and more would follow in the coming years.