Category: Environment

New mobile towers cut power consumption in half, claims telco

The Maldives “need not return to the stone age” and neglect creature comforts for the sake of the environment, Maldives’ Environment Minister Mohamed Aslam has said, and should instead find alternative ways to continue enjoying technological developments.

Certain environmental groups remain skeptical of the true effectiveness of green business developments, even in the tourism sector where restrictions on developers are more comprehensive, however Aslam said he believed the Maldives had nonetheless taken a “bold step” in its own commitment to sustainable practices over the remaning decade.

Aslam made the claims while speaking at the launch of a new ‘green’ mobile tower by Wataniya, one of the country’s two telecos, at the Adaraan Hudhuranfushi resort on Saturday afternoon.

Wataniya claims the new Single Radio Access Network (RAN) tower provides more sustainable and operationally-efficient mobile phone and data coverage, albeit at a significantly higher cost of acquisition.

According to the company, the first tower installed will cover a 60 kilometre radius around Hudhuranfushi at a 54 percent reduction in total power consumption and 80 percent reduction in carbon footprint compared to existing installed technology, and could be easily upgraded to handle upcoming 4G developments with the addition of a single card. It also claims the smaller size of the tower – essentially a single metal pole anchored to a concrete footprint the size of an office chair, makes it more attractive for roll-out on resort islands concerned about the visual impact of a conventional lattice structure mobile tower.

Aslam, speaking at the resort during the launch, told media that the support of foreign corporations such as Wataniya that had invested in the Maldives was a key part of the Maldives’ meeting its carbon neutral commitment by by 2020. Although details of how the country can efficiently meet its 2020 target remain elusive beyond broad political support for investment in green technology and renewable energy, President Mohamed Nasheed said last year that failure to meet the goals would be a “disaster” for the country in ensuring long-term stability both economically and geologically.

Despite the adoption of the new technology at Adaaran’s Hudhuranfushi resort, Ali Rilwan, Executive Director of local environmental NGO Bluepeace told Minivan News that he believed that the Maldives’ tourist resorts’ general commitment to effective sustainable practices was not limited to green technology and day-to-day issues like waste management.

Rilwan claimed that although tourist regulations did tend to be stricter in regards to the amount of natural land being developed and not allowing buildings to tower over an island’s tallest trees, other viable development areas included solar and renewable energy technologies.

“I think very few resorts are taking responsibility. Waste management is another vital area and only a few resorts have sewage treatment plants rather than pumping it into the ocean,” he said. “Some [resorts] are also not disposing of their garbage correctly either so they hire local boats to transport garbage to the island of Thilafushi.  In some cases management may be unaware that some boats travel just a few hours off shore and then dump trash in the sea without travelling all the way to Thilafushi.”

Despite his concerns Rilwan said that he saw developments such as those taken by Wataniya to introduce more energy efficient equipment like the RAN towers as a “good move” to cut environmental impact, although he believed the company’s spending on sustainable developments could be widened to a number of areas.

He pointed to telecommunications companies fully replacing plastic cards used by customers to recharge their mobile phone credit or looking at alternatives to spending on billboard advertising and promotions and simpler activities like planting more trees.

“Each resort is required to be working on projects like planting trees,” he said. “These companies could instead use their funding to do very visible commitments like plant coconut trees around islands.”

Perhaps more unlikely, Rilwan stated that Wataniya and its competitors such as Dhiraagu could also consider sharing and maintaining telecommunication commitment together to try and cut down on the space and energy requirements in supplying separate services to Maldivian customers.

With local councils elected into office in February, Rilwan said that he expected more visible measures and local projects to be managed to help local islands in boosting their sustainability.

Speaking to Minivan News in October, environmental organisation Greenpeace said it believed the Maldives acted more as a symbol than a practical demonstration of how national development and fighting climate change can be mutually exclusive.

Wendel Trio, the organisation’s Climate Policy and Global Deal Coordinator, said he believed that the Maldives could nonetheless play an iconic role in promoting the potential benefits of adopting alternate energy programmes.

“By coupling both strong words and the need for the big emitting countries in the developed and the developing world to reduce their emissions sharply, with a strong commitment at home, the Maldives has also gained respect,” Trio explained to Minivan News. “However, obviously none of the big emitting countries are looking at the Maldives as an example, as they all claim that their social and economic development cannot be compared to that of a small island state.”

He accepted that the country was somewhat limited by its size but said it could have play a role in advocating for more sustainable business and lifestyle practices.

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Addu students learning hydroponics

The UK-based Little Growers foundation has launched a project with Maradhoofeydhoo school in Addu City in an effort to teach school children how to grow food using modern hydroponics.

The foundation is the initiative of a company called AutoPot, which provides self-watering hydroponics technology to schools across the UK. The system, invented by British inventor Jason Ralph-Smith, is gravity-fed and works without electricity, and can be left unattended for weeks at a time.

Little Growers UK and the local distributor of AutoPot hydroponic systems, Mahaadheebu, have already launched the project at Maradhoofeydhoo school and Hithadhoo school, and will soon be expanding the project to Feydhoo school and schools in Male’.

Mahaadheebu’s Managing Director Mohamed Zahid explained to Minivan News that the set up consisted of a 10 AutoPot hydroponics setups and a 10 foot by 6 foot polytunnel greenhouse, “ready made in the UK and assembled at the schools. It has a zip cover that can be unziped on sunny days and zipped up on rainy days,” he said.

The foundation had enlisted students at the environment clubs of the various schools, and actively engaged them in growing fruit and vegetables with a view to making an income – potentially by supplying local resorts. Students are growing tomatoes and long beans.

Transport remains a problem for large-scale commercial growers, with the high cost of cargo transport in the Maldives eating into margins. However hydroponically-grown produce, Zahid expained, fetched up to three times the price of that cultivated on land.

Addu students are learning hydroponic agriculture

“When the fruit is healthy and nourishing it has better flavour and smell,” he said. “In Addu there are two tourist resorts that do not get enough local supply and import produce like tomatoes that can be grown locally. The school children will be able to grow a good-quality harvest and sell it to the resorts.”

Agriculture in the Maldives faces a large number of practical challenges, not the least of which is lack of both expertise and arable land – factors which compel most of the country’s resorts to import large quantities of easily-grown staple vegetables such as tomato and lettuce from overseas at great financial and environmental cost.

“In the Maldives there is little land available, and the land that is available is not fertile,” Zahid explained. “One solution is something like AutoPot, which allows schools and communities togrow fruit and vegetables in a very small area at little expense, and profit from the harvest.”

Since launching at the beginning of 2010, six customers had inquired about established large-scale greenhouses for growing high-quality fruit and vegetables, he said. Several resorts had also contacted the company looking to expand small garden setups into hydroponic stations that could grow herbs and other fresh produce.

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WHO preparing advisory statement on Japanese nuclear crisis

The Health Ministry is considering possible action in the event of a reactor explosion in a Japanese nuclear power plant damaged by the recent earthquake and resultant tsunami.

Permanent Secretary at the Maldivian Health Ministry Geela Ali told Haveeru that the World Health Organisation (WHO) was preparing to issue an advisory statement on the potential risks and preventative measures in the event of radioactive fallout. Radioactive particles released in an explosion can potentially travel hundreds of miles.

Japanese authorities have evaculated residents within 20 kilometres of the Fukushima power plant, and ordered those within 30 kilometres to remain indoors and seal doors and windows. Authorities have also implemented a no-fly zone in a 30 kilometre radius.

The US Seventh Fleet has meanwhile moved its ships away from Japan despite already being 100 miles offshore, after the USS Ronald Reagan detected that its crew had been exposed to radiation equivalent to one month of normal background radiation.

Radiation levels around the plant are rising and authorities have ordered all but 50 staff to leave the plant. Three hydrogen explosions over the last four days have increased the risk of nuclear fuel becoming exposed to air, however the Tokyo Electric Company has been using seawater to cool the four damaged reactors.

“This is not a serious public health issue at the moment,” Secretary of the UN Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, Malcolm Crick, told news agency Reuters.

“It won’t be anything like Chernobyl. There the reactor was operating at full power when it exploded and it had no containment.”

That such a leak could happen in Japan, with the country’s high construction standards and rigourous attention to protocol for its nuclear industry, has prompted a number of countries to review their use of nuclear power, which has been touted as a proven alternative to fossil fuels for large-scale power generation.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced a review of the country’s 20 reactors, most of which are located along the coastline, while the Swiss government suspended all plans to replace and build nuclear reactors. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said ambitious plans to build dozens of nuclear power stations would continue.

So far Japan has confirmed 2,414 people dead in the tsunami disaster and 3,118 missing, while the final toll is expected to reach 10,000.

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Government rejects NGO’s ecocriticism amidst Banyan tree protest

The government has rejected criticisms by local NGO Ecocare Maldives that it may be failing to meet its well publicised carbon neutral commitments by not maintaining and replanting trees and plant life across Male’ that is removed or cut back to make way for building developments.

Maldives Environment Minister Mohamed Aslam told Minivan News that criticisms claiming the government was removing entire trees from the capital without replacing them were completely “baseless” and that any significant plant life making way for construction would be “replanted” elsewhere in Male’.

The claims were made as a small protest was held today outside of Aminiya school on Chandhanee Magu regarding the removal of entire trees and plans to remove some branches from a prominent Banyan tree situated on a new construction site opposite the building.

Ahmed Shiham, a volunteer staff member for Ecocare representing the NGO at the protest, said the group had only been made aware in the morning by the President’s Office that a number of branches from the Banyan tree were set to be removed along with other plant life at the site.

According to Shiham, although the construction will mean that Banyan tree would remain in place after the removal of two or three of its branches, Ecocare was concerned that another green patch in the densely populated urban environs of Male’ was being removed.

Officials from the NGO claim that the removal and cutting of the trees through the construction, which was being undertaken by subcontractors said to be working for the country’s Ministry of Education, was a contradiction to the commitments of President Mohamed Nasheed in promoting carbon neutral development.

With the Banyan Tree in question under 50 years of age, it does not come under the protection of environmental development regulations – although the government has stressed that it is committed to keeping the tree where it stands.

However, Shiham claimed that Ecocare was concerned that the country’s Environment Ministry has cancelled planting programmes that would bring in additional plant life from other countries in the region to be housed in Male’.

“What we want is for these trees to be replaced; green for green as we would call it. This would be good for the president’s carbon neutral commitments after all,” he said. “But we believe the government is not giving a budget for this.”

Ecocare officials said that in other nations, carbon certification schemes such as offsetting were being used whereby trees were replanted in other locations to reduce the impact on the atmosphere that their removal would have on the environment and the air we breathe.

Along with environmental concerns, Shiham also raised questioned the impact that the removal of some of the Banyan tree’s branches may have on balancing and supporting the plant itself – leading to possible safety hazards for people and buildings in the vicinity.

“Tomorrow building work is expected to begin on the site and the tree could be imbalanced,” he added.

Ecocare’s claims were nonetheless derided by Environment Minister Aslam, who questioned the criticisms that he believed showed a “lack of knowledge” or understanding about maintaining trees and ensuring they remain stable.

“If we have to cut off branches, I’m sure that [cutting] will happen” the minister said. “But we will treat the tree and clean it. We will protect it. This is living in harmony with nature without forgetting human factors.”

Aslam claimed that the government would also be meeting its commitments to replant any trees moved to make way for the development, though he said this would not apply in the case of the Banyan tree, which was just going to have some branches removed to accommodate construction.

Although Ecocare and the ministry were unsure of just how old the Banyan tree outside of the school was, both believed it was under fifty years of age, an age that would require it to be protected under the country’s environmental laws.

“I know it was definitely not fifty years old as I remember the tree being 30 centimetres or so high when I was in kindergarten [in the area],” he said. “I am now 40, so it is of similar age.”

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Speaker calls on Majlis to speed up legislative duties as president opens parliament

As the People’s Majlis today reconvened for the first time in 2011, the Parliamentary Speaker Abdulla Shahid called on MPs to speed up the rate in which they worked to pass legislation with a very “busy” session ahead.

Shahid’s comments were made after President Mohamed Nasheed opened the year’s first parliamentary session with an address to MPs on the current state of national finances and developments.

Nasheed used his annual address in order to play up what he saw as “marked improvements“ in various national sectors, as well as warning of the need for further national budget cuts and unity amongst MPs in relation to recently formed local councils over the year ahead.

“The most important accomplishment is the establishment of local councils. Obviously, there are obstacles in the management of some of these councils,” Nasheed said during his opening remarks. “The government’s aim is to solve these complications in introducing decentralisation in a manner that does not compromise the features of a unitary state stipulated in the Constitution.”

The Presidential Address is required under the constitution to be given during the first meeting of the Majlis each year.

Nasheed claimed in the speech that he hoped that competitive parties would “not deliberately participate” in trying to sabotage the role of local councils, in reference to disputes over the location of some Atoll Council offices this week.

Speaking to Minivan News after the address, Abdulla Shahid, the Parliamentary Speaker and MP for the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) said that today’s meeting of the Majlis was solely for delivery of the Presidential address. He added that no administrative duties were therefore carried out at the sitting.

Shahid claimed that DRP leader Ahmed Ali Thasmeen – as the head of the country’s largest political opposition – would be providing the response of his party to the president’s speech within 14 days as allowed under law.

However, in reflecting on the work ahead for Parliament when it meets next on 8 March, Shahid claimed that vital bills related to the country’s Penal Code and judiciary were among key early acts that he hoped to see passed within the Majlis.

Yet, the agenda for the next Majlis sitting expected to be unveiled within the next 24 hours, Shahid claimed that parliament had a full schedule ahead on the back of what he called a busy session last year.

As such, the parliamentary speaker added that parliament needed to speed up its work rate in the year ahead and could not afford to relax while a number of important bills had yet to be passed.

Shahid accepted however that there were challenges in passing laws, particularly in translating bills from their original English form, made in consultation with “overseas experts”, into Dhivehi to gain approval through the Majlis.

“When we look at the original English documents [of bills] they make a lot of sense,” he said. “Sometimes it is when these documents are translated into Dhivehi that they don’t always make much sense. There is a lot of work that needs to be done.”

Speaker encouragement

However, the speaker claimed that he was encouraged by the work of the parliament during 2010, despite partisan infighting that led to the resignation of the country’s cabinet at protest at so-called scorched earth politics adopted by some MPs.

“The amount of work concluded by parliament last year is quite remarkable,” Shahid claimed. “The passing of 42 bills out of a total of 52 that were submitted was quite good I think.”

The sentiments appeared to be shared by President Nasheed who believed the Majlis has helped bring about a number of improvements for infrastructure and development in the country despite overall differences.

“2010 was a year of achievement in many areas,” he said, during the speech.

Economy

Taking the economy as an example of the developments, the president claimed that after the previous budget was delivered back in December 2009, the country’s financial deficit was about Rf3.8 billion – amounting to 18.7 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Nasheed said that despite expenditure being higher than revenue on the back of recent budget cuts, the deficit as of the latest budget delivered in December 2010 was down 2.3 percent to 16.4 percent of total nationa GDP, amounting to Rf3.1 billion.

“By the end of 2010, the income revenue of the government amounted to Rf6 billion.” he said. “By 2010, the government had estimated recurrent revenue of Rf9.1 billion.”

While continuing to address financial developments, Nasheed said that the government would also aim to try and increase the value of Maldivian currency by strengthening existing monetary regulations.

“Additionally, we need long and mid-term measures for effective solutions to the economic infrastructure. According to the Strategic Action Plan, recurrent expenses and income are required to be kept in line with national income,” he said. “The government had made several efforts to achieve this target, including corporatising and privatising government services.”

In addressing the passing last year of taxation structures such as a Business Profit Tax and a Maldives Tourism Goods and Services Tax (GST), the president thanked parliament for supporting these bills.

Nasheed claimed in addition that small and medium enterprises would also continue to receive financial assistance from the government under a programme of soft loans and other financial packages designed to try and compliment schemes like business development centres.

These development centres – set up in Kulhudhuhfushi and Hithadhoo – were designed to offer training in fishing, guest houses, handicraft and agricultural training amongst other disciplines.

“Important steps taken to eliminate obstacles facing those wishing to start a business, include enabling vital information, trade licenses and permissions to be submitted and received via the Internet,” Nasheed claimed in the speech. “These will be facilitated this year.”

Agriculture

In areas such as agriculture the president said that the government was focusing on a number of regulations outlining new guidelines for catch and exporting products aimed at improving the income within the fisheries sector.

“Last year, much work was also done to develop agriculture in the Maldives. In this regard, agricultural products of 3 islands were brought out to the market, by contracting tourist resorts and food supply companies,” he said. “Moreover, efforts were made to raise the prices of poultry farming and agricultural yield through the production and marketing of locally produced goods. In addition, Rf1.7m worth of goods were made available to farmers at reasonable rates and 1,932 farmers were trained in various aspects of agriculture.“

The president claimed that this focus had also allowed for the establishment of subsidies totaling about Rf50m in order to allow 25 islands to be sufficiently capable of regularly marketing produce grown there. The focus was also expected to be backed by an Agricultural School in Laamu Atoll Gan, according to Nasheed.

Tourism

In addressing plans for the country’s tourism sector, Laamu Atoll was also highlighted as a zone that would be developed to additionally host three to four star resort properties as part of stated aims to cater for more middle-market tourism.

The president also focused on national developments in the form of land reclamation and the construction of a number of airports that were started during the previous year.

“This would introduce even greater opportunities to all the islands in the region, and multiply economic activities,” he said. “The construction of an airport in Fuvahmulah is underway and the airport in Baa Atoll Dharavandhoo is likely to reach the stage of completion by the end of 2012.”

Developments at Gan International Airport were also touched upon in the speech in relation to a local joint venture between the existing site’s management, the State Trading Organization (STO) and the Maldives Airports Company. The president expressed hope that the partnership would lead to a boost in services in and out of Addu Atoll.

Transport

The issue of transport networks was also raised during the speech, with Nasheed stating that modernisation of transport systems between the country’s numerous islands and atolls was still being planned as a vital development challenge for Maldivians.

Infrastructure

Among planned infrastructure developments, the president claimed that the government remained committed to pledges to try and provide sewerage and drinking water, along with affordable housing wider to wider numbers of the population.

“We have commenced the project of building a total of 10,000 housing units, of which 4,150 have been contracted and 1,750 of which are currently under construction,” he said. “In order to resolve the issues of congestion and lack of housing in Male’, under the first phase of Veshifahi Male’ programme, application forms are being issued for those wishing for housing. The second phase of the Gulhifalhu Project is underway and the reclamation of the 50-hectare land is scheduled to begin next month.”

A further 298 housing units were also said to be in the course of being supplied to people in areas such as Gaaf alif Atoll who still required shelter following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

Environment

Alongside these infrastructure developments, the president also used his speech to touch upon the environmental programmes that he had been a vocal campaigner of internationally – such as the Maldives becoming a carbon neutral nation by 2020.

“Various efforts were exerted by the government last year to transform the Maldives into a carbon-neutral nation. In this regard, auditing of carbon present in the Maldives and the measure of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere were identified,” he claimed. “It is highly essential that we embrace renewable energy and diversify sources and techniques used to generate renewable energy. The environmental changes instigated by the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere are directly linked to the life of every Maldivian.”

The tourism industry was not deemed immune to the need for greater attempts at providing sustainable initiatives, with the president claiming that sub divisionary offices of the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) would be also be established to expand their presence and influence around the country.

Health

Looking at areas such as health, the president said that over 56,000 Maldivians had been signed up to the state run health insurance scheme known as Madhana, a figure that was expected to grow during the coming year.

“The government expended over Rf144m on social protection last year in an effort to assuage the public plight of having to depend on handouts for healthcare,” he said. “Work will continue this year on increasing the number of people registered under Madhana. The government’s aim is to raise the number of Madhana clients to nearly 100,000 by the end of this year.”

Nasheed also played up the developments such as Telelmedicine in his speech, a service he claimed was currently introduced in five islands to alleviate potential strain on medical services, with a further 34 islands expected to adopt the system in 2011.

“This system would instead allow patients to benefit from the expertise and facilities of hospitals and doctors all across the world,” he said. “This service would be introduced in another 34 islands of the Maldives in the future.”

Two additional bills were also expected to be put in front of the Majlis during the coming year. According to the president, both the Health Service Bill and the Medical Negligence Bill were devised to bring important overhauls to the country’s medical services that he hoped would see them put in place as soon as possible.

Nasheed claimed that important breakthroughs had also been brought in by the Majlis in areas such as protecting rights for disabled people along with providing financial aid.

“In order to maintain social security costs at a sustainable level, a social security fund has been established and is being developed further to protect people from economic instability and insecurity,” he said. “A special budget has been allocated for this purpose.”

Education

The president claimed that “significant steps” had also been made by parliament during 2010 to finalise and roll out an amended national education programme including technical training and standards.

The measures, outlined under a new Education Bill had now been submitted to the Majlis. Despite the government’s intentions, Nasheed accepted that not all aims were as yet being made.

“Last year, I stated that our main goal for 2010 was to increase the percentage of graduates holding 5 [O-level] passes from 32 per cent to 41 per cent,” he said during the speech. “Even though this goal was not reached, the figure has now been increased to 35 percent. Performance improvements were achieved by 100 schools in 2010 over 2009. To sum up, the percentage of students who passed in 5 subjects has increased in those schools.”

The President also claimed that his government had also obtained the grandest achievement within the country’s academic history so far with the establishment of theMaldives National University.

“The university will serve the purpose of creating, preserving and disseminating knowledge and skills required for national development in cultural, social, economic and public spheres to safeguard the Maldives as a sovereign Islamic nation,” he said. “I take this moment to sincerely thank the honourable members of this Majlis for granting passage to the National University Act”

Religion

The president also used his speech to claim that 2010 had seen “notable achievements” within the Maldives in regards to strengthening religious awareness and rejuvenating Islam among the public.

To this end, Nasheed said that religious scholars had been used to provide sermons across the country, while additional mosques were constructed in 12 islands across the nation.

“Alms collection was also increased compared to last year, and the funds were used for major projects. 39 islands were selected for construction of new mosques this year, 21 of which would be funded by the state budget,” he said. “Construction of these mosques is set to begin this year, and work is being done to procure foreign assistance for the construction of another 18 mosques. In addition to those, I would like to highlight that the first Islamic bank to be established in the Maldives will be opened during this month.”

Crime

In relation to criminal activity in the Maldives, the president claimed that the number of crimes, at least reported, to the Maldives Police Service had fallen by eleven percent in 2011. Nasheed added that a new police strategy to run from this year until 2013 had also been put in place in order to try and focus additionally on emerging areas such as cyber crimes.  Drugs were said to remain a key focus for law enforcement officials.

“The efforts exerted by the government to prevent the illegal trafficking of narcotic drugs into the country have been rewarding,” said Nasheed. “This is evidenced by the reduction in the number of people reported for drug offences by 46 percent in 2010, compared with that of in 2009, according to recent Police records. Moreover, these records indicate a 40 percent reduction in the percentage of youth exposed and therefore, are highly susceptible to adopting the habit of drug abuse.”

Culture and sport

According to the president, another important area of focus for the country was deemed to be in the development of cultural and literary talent.

The inaugural Hay Festival Maldives, a sister event to the annual Hay Festival in Wales, UK, was seen as an important step in highlighting the works of local artists and writers alongside their international counterparts.

The president claimed that on the back of the event, the government was looking to try and develop local skills and talent with the aid of an Arts Council and Heritage Council during 2011.

Similarly, Nasheed praised developments made in the fields of national sports such as the success of the Maldives cricket team after its triumph in the ACC Trophy Challenge held in Thailand this year.

Gender

Raising the issue of equality, Nasheed said that significant steps had been taking to try and reduce gender discrimination.

“In this regard, a resort forum was held to promote products crafted by women and financial aid was rendered to organizations striving to encourage and emancipate women in our society to gain their rights and opportunities, and to extend and employ their potential in managing trade and businesses,” he said.

Security

Under plans outlined for the year ahead and beyond, the president said that the work of the country’s National Security Council was in the process of trying to be expanded. An office of a National Security Advisor had also been set up to extend this work including laying out marine security, identifying internal threats and improving bilateral relations.

“This action plan will be devised within 90 days forward,” the president added. “For the first time in the Maldivian history, Maldivian soldiers will participate in the UN Peace Keepers’ regiment under a contract to be signed this year.”

Political privileges

In discussing the controversial Privileges Bill that the Majlis had attempted to pass at the end of last year within the budget, the president said that he felt that revisions needed to be urgently considered in line with recommendations he had provided.

“I regard it as being highly important that the members of the Majlis receive their necessary privileges and protection,” Nasheed said. “During the history of 77 years of the Majlis, there have been several circumstances under which some respected members of the Majlis, either incumbent or resigned then, had to face various contemptible consequences concerning politics, justice and other controversies.”

In considering these potential difficulties, the president asked parliament to consider a Privilege Bill that was provided under an established and legitimate law.

Judiciary

Nasheed added that with democracy being a key aim of his government, ensuring efficient division of the different branches of the state were a key part of these goals. Amidst recent concerns addressed by some bodies like the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) that the nation’s judiciary may not be working independently, Nasheed said he believed the role of the Majlis in trying to ensure this was increasingly important.

“A noteworthy example is the establishment of important offices that come under the judicial system in the Maldives last year,” he claimed.

“Today, my main appeal is for you endeavor to instill trust and faith in the judicial system of the Maldives and in the work of parliament. I appeal for unity in the national interests and prioritize constructive judgment and wisdom to allow for peace, progress and order in our country, without being associated with those seeking abrupt opportunities to disrupt and topple the government.”

The full address can be read here.

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Male’ will not survive without resolving housing, congestion and fuel challenges: President Nasheed

President Mohamed Nasheed has said that Male’ “will not survive without some solution to its housing, some solution to its congestion, some solution to the amount of oil that we are importing everyday.”

Nasheed was speaking at a press conference yesterday to launch the second phase of the Gulhi Falhu development project, attended by the Danish Ambassador Freddy Svane.

The first street of the US$600 million Gulhi Falhu development project, intended to reduce the congestion of Male’, will be called Copenhagen Avenue.

The project involves the reclamation of 40 hectares of land on which will be constructed 2500 housing units. The new landmass will be connected by bridge to Villingili on completion of the second stage of the project and eventually, Nasheed said, joined to Male’ via a bridge from the tsunami monument to Vilingili.

“We have one long stretch of road that starts from the tsunami monument in Male’, and ends at Thilafalhu, which is right next to Giraavaru, which is very far away,” he said. This road would be called Copenhagen Avenue, in recognition of the support of the Danish government.

The houses built by the project’s Global Projects Development Company will be constructed in an environmentally-friendly manner, in partnership with US company Red Dot. Red Dot will construct a solar park which will provide electricity to the new residential and industrial districts.

Nasheed also said that a campus for the recently inaugrated Maldives National University would also be constructed on Gulhi Falhu.

“[Gulhi Falhu] is our showpiece development, our showpiece community and we are quite confident that we will be able to use the land by, hopefully end of next year or early 2013,” President Nasheed said.

Development, the President added, was not measured in concrete.

“During the last two months, I have visited more than 130 islands and very often I am given a shopping list. ‘President; we need a harbor, we need a sewerage system.’

“They [say they] need a water system and they also like a lot of concrete. I have been consistently trying to tell everyone that development is not measured in concrete. It is measure by what we know and what we understand. It’s a phenomenon that happens to a person, not to a country. If we want to develop, we will have to develop our minds. We will have to broaden our minds. We will have to be able to think outside the box, find solutions and fix problems.”

Projects such as Gulhi Falhu would not save the world, Nasheed said, “but we like to think that if we can become an example, the rest of the world can have a look at it and people can actually see and understand that it is working. So in very many senses, this whole project is a green project, and at the centre of it is a green park.”

Nasheed thanked the Danish government for its support of the undertaking.

“If all goes wrong in the Maldives, of course it is an issue for the Danes,” Nasheed said. “All of us are interconnected. If things go wrong in Denmark it’s going to have huge effects and impacts on us. We must be able to look after each other. That doesn’t mean that we should be asking for aid and grants. No, we are asking, seeking for trade. This is a very good example of trade collaborations and also a very good example of how a friendly country can actually back a flourishing or a democracy that is in the process of making.

Danish Ambassador Svane expressed gratitude for Nasheed’s “tremendous job” in Copenhagen at the COP15 summit, saying that the Maldives was setting a benchmark for global efforts to fight climate change.

However he also agreed that development was as much a state of mind as it was physical infrastructure.

“We can build up all these fancy buildings, towers and so forth, but we need to change the mindset of people,” he said, adding that President Nasheed had played an important role in changing the mindset of many people all over the world.

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Saudi oil reserves could be 40% lower than estimated: US Embassy cable

The Maldives’ economy could be crippled by rising oil prices sooner than expected, after a leaked cable from the US embassy in Riyadh sparked fears that Saudi Arabian oil reserves could be 40 percent lower than previous estimates.

In the cable dated November 2007, geologist and former head of exploration at Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil giant Aramco told US consul general John Kincannon that the world’s largest oil company may have overstated its reserves by 300 billion barrels.

Saudi Arabia is believed to sit on almost a quarter of the world’s oil reserves, the export of which directly accounts for almost 50 percent of country’s GDP and indirectly for much of the rest of its industry.

In 2007, Aramco reported that it had 716 billion barrels of total reserves, 51 percent of which was recoverable. Within 20 years the company predicted it would have 900 million barrels, and a recovery rate of 70 percent.

“Al-Husseini disagrees with this analysis, as he believes that Aramco’s reserves are overstated by as much as 300 billion [barrels] of ‘speculative resources’,” the cable reads.

“In al-Husseini’s view, once 50 percent depletion of original proven reserves has been reached and the 180 billion [barrel] threshold crossed, a slow but steady output decline will ensue and no amount of effort will be able to stop it. By al-Husseini’s calculations, approximately 116 billion barrels of oil have been produced by Saudi Arabia, meaning only 64 billion barrels remain before reaching this crucial point of inflection. At 12 million [barrels per day] production, this inflection point will arrive in 14 years.”

Al-Husseini was on Aramco’s board of directors from 1986 until 2004, and sat on the company’s Board of Directors from 1996 to 2004. He was, states the cable, “no doomsday theorist. His pedigree, experience and outlook demand that his predictions be thoughtfully considered.”

A decline in the rate of oil production at a time when demand continues to surge, particularly in the developing world, will cause the oil price to skyrocket.

The Maldivian economy is dependent on oil to such an extent that is spends a quarter of its GDP on it – US$245 million – mostly marine diesel. The 15 percent increase in oil prices over the past five months has led to the Maldives spending almost US$100,000 more on fossil fuels, per day.

Recent turmoil in Egypt – home to the Suez canal, one of the world’s major oil routes which sees 3 million barrels pass through daily – has seen oil prices jump twice past the US$100 a barrel mark in the last few weeks.

Were that price to eventually stick, due to either ongoing Middle East instability or concerns over supply such as those cited in the Riyadh leak, then the Maldives could end up spending upwards of US$230,000 a day on fuel when accounting for possible economic growth of about eight percent during 2011.

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Second crocodile discovery raises enclosure issue

A second crocodile found in as many months within Maldivian waters is currently being held by police as they look for a “safe area” to keep the animals, with one expert suggesting that investment in the creatures’ protection could have mutual benefits for local people and the tourism industry.

Maldives-based marine biologist Verena Wiesbauer Ali has suggested that although crocodiles may remain a rare presence in the Maldives’ tropical atolls, investment in providing them with a safe enclosure in the country could pay off as a popular attraction for wildlife lovers.

The claims were made as police confirmed that a six-foot crocodile was found yesterday near the waters of Naifaru in Lhaviyani Atoll by a fishing boat crew, following on from the apprehension of a four-foot croc by authorities last month in Thaa Atoll.

The Lhaviyani Atoll crocodile is thought to be the third such creature of its kind to have been captured in Maldivian waters and the second to be discovered this year alone, with one marine biologist calling the appearance of the animals a “surprising” and rare occurrence within the country.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said the crocodile was found in local waters at about 2pm yesterday afternoon and was now being kept in the local police station near where it was found in Lhaviyani Atoll, while the police service consulted the environment ministry on the best course of action.

“We will hold the crocodile until we can find a safe area to keep it,” he said. “We will look at ways to keep the animal without having to kill it, which would remain one possible option.”

Shiyam said that it was currently in talks with environment experts about whether there was a growing chance of crocodiles likely to be found in the country’s waters.

“At this moment we are not sure yet [how common they are expected to be],” he added.

Although not professing to be a crocodile expert, Verena Wiesbauer Ali, a marine biologist and environmental consultant for local company Water Solutions, told Minivan News that although species such as saltwater crocodiles were common in India, it was “quite surprising” to find them in the atolls of the Maldives.

Wiesbauer claimed that she believed it would probably be these saltwater crocodiles that have been most recently discovered in the Maldives and although they are rare, the public should be careful.

“It is good that the police have taken the animals. They are of course dangerous, particularly after having potentially travelled such a long way. They could be hungry,” she said. “The best thing for people who come across a crocodile in the Maldives is to get out of the water and call the police.”

According to Wiesbauer, the major issue for police holding the animals will now be to find places to keep the crocodiles while also letting them”live in dignity” – options that she claimed are currently limited in the Maldives.

The last previous reptilian stranger to be found in the Maldives, a nine foot-long crocodile called ‘Kimboo’, is currently kept in the Kudakudhinge Bageecha (children’s park) in Male’, after it was caught by Maldives National Defence Force cadets in 1998.

In July 2010, students at Billabong High School in Male’ launched a campaign to ‘Save Kimboo’, due to the small size of its enclosure and poor treatment.

Kimboo occasionally makes it into local media and even has his own Facebook page calling for his release, but so far nothing has eventuated.

Wiesbauer said that although Kimboo’s cage was kept clean, she believed it was far too small for an animal of its size to now be kept.

The marine biologist said by comparison that all three creatures may therefore benefit from potential government or private investment into a special enclosure within the country that could be of interest as an attraction for local people and tourists.

Wiesbauer claimed that she is already considering putting together proposals for the government to consider the possible development of an enclosure in an area such as Villingili in North Male’ Atoll where huge areas of government land currently remain unused.

“It may be a bit utopian, but we have to think about these creatures welfare now they are here,” she added. “The creatures should not be killed, either they should be protected in an enclosure or they should be exported to zoos in countries like Sri Lanka or India. But who would pay for this service?”

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In the black: customs documents expose Maldives’ chronic oil addiction

The 15 percent increase in oil prices over the past five months has led to the Maldives spending almost US$100,000 more on fossil fuels, per day.

Customs figures obtained by Minivan News reveal the true extent of the country’s chronic addiction to fossil fuels, and extraordinary vulnerability to even minor price rises.

In 2010, the Maldives spent over US$245 million on fuel (including marine diesel, aviation gas, propane and petrol) – disturbingly, almost a quarter of the country’s US$1 billion GDP.

The vast proportion (US$200 million) of the country’s fuel spend was on marine diesel. Petrol accounted for US$24 million, liquefied propane US$10 million, and aviation fuel US$12 million.

This represents a daily expenditure of US$670,000 to meet the country’s fuel needs, approximately US$800 per person per year in a country where the average annual income is under US$5000.

Oil is currently US$86 a barrel after trending a 15 percent increase over the past five months, which shows no sign of slowing. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), together with other analysts, have confidently tipped that oil will reach an average $90 a barrel in 2011, and potentially top US$100.

The figures also reveal that the Maldives is highly dependent on several countries for most of its fuel – Singapore (for aviation fuel), the UAE (petrol) and the Bahamas (marine diesel).

The revelation of the extent of marine fuel consumed in the country – over 2 million barrels annually – is one that President Nasheed’s Energy Advisor Mike Mason suggests is a strong argument for a return to sailing.

“I think there is a huge opportunity to take a knowledge of sail, wind and current – the thinking that has served the Maldives well for 2000 years – and apply modern technology such as solar to create a new transport paradigm. A sailing vessel with a modern hull, utilising modern technology can reach 30-40 knots, and would greatly reduce the reliance on diesel.”

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