Tag: climate change impacts

World Bank urges climate change adaptation support for the Maldives

The World Bank has expressed the urgent need for concerted efforts to support the Maldives in adapting to climate change, due to a projected 115 centimetres of sea level rise by 2090.

This, in addition to other climate impacts posing “disastrous consequences” for livelihoods and health, were noted in a recently released scientific report that “demands bold action now”.

The World Bank’s 2012 Turn Down the Heat report concluded a 4 degree Celsius (7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) global temperature increase is expected by the end of the 21st century unless concerted action is taken immediately.

This year’s Turn Down The Heat: Climate Extremes, Regional Impacts, and the Case for Resilience World Bank report, builds upon those findings to illustrate the range of climate change impacts the developing world is currently experiencing and outlines “an alarming scenario for the days and years ahead – what we could face in our lifetime.”

“This second scientific analysis gives us a more detailed look at how the negative impacts of climate change already in motion could create devastating conditions especially for those least able to adapt. The poorest could increasingly be hit the hardest,” stated World Bank Group President Dr Jim Yong Kim, in the report’s foreword.

“We are determined to work with countries to find solutions,” Kim continued. “But, the science is clear. There can be no substitute for aggressive national mitigation targets, and the burden of emissions reductions lies with a few large economies.”

Based on the report’s findings, the World Bank has highlighted the urgent need for concerted efforts to support the Maldives in adapting to climate change.

As one of the lowest-lying countries in the world, with an average elevation of 1.5 meters above sea level, the Maldives is extremely vulnerable to the effects of climate change, such as sea level rise.

“The Maldives is one of the most vulnerable nations to climate change impacts and has set best practice examples in adapting to climate change consequences,” stated Ivan Rossignol, World Bank Acting Country Director for Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

“The World Bank is committed to supporting the government of Maldives. The current situation is beyond intellectual debates on climate change. A concerted effort is needed to act now while we still can make a difference,” said Rossignol.

With the average global temperature increase of 2 degrees Celsius expected “in the next decades”, island economies like the Maldives, will be impacted by extreme weather patterns and rising sea levels, the report determined.

“With South Asia close to the equator, the sub-continent would see much higher rises in sea levels than higher latitudes, with the Maldives confronting the biggest increases of between 100-115 centimetres,” the report warned.

The South Asian region is projected to experience a 115 centimetre sea level rise increase by the 2090s in a 4 degree Celsius world, while a 60-80 centimetre increase is expected to occur with two degrees Celsius of warming.

“[However,] the highest values (up to 10 centimeters more) [are] expected for the Maldives. This is generally around 5–10 percent higher than the global mean.” There is a 66 percent change sea level rise will exceed 50 centimeters by the 2060s, noted the report.

In addition to sea level rise, the compounded impacts of increased temperatures and extremes of heat, increased intensity of extreme weather events (including flooding and tropical cyclones), and changes in the monsoon pattern are already occurring and are anticipated to worsen, according to the study.

This will strain already vulnerable water resources, crop yields, and energy security in the Maldives, as well as the South Asian region, the report highlighted.

“Disturbances to the monsoon system and rising peak temperatures put water and food resources at severe risk. An extreme wet monsoon, which currently has a chance of occurring only once in 100 years, is projected to occur every 10 years by the end of the century,” stated the study.

“The consequences on livelihoods and health [in the Maldives] could be disastrous… Even at present warming of 0.8°C above pre-industrial levels, the observed climate change impacts are serious and indicate how dramatically human activity can alter the natural environment upon which human life depends,” it continues.

“The risks to health associated with inadequate nutrition or unsafe drinking water are significant: childhood stunting, transmission of waterborne diseases, and hypertension and other disorders associated with excess salinity [due to saltwater intrusion from sea level rise],” the report noted. “Other health threats are also associated with flooding, heat waves, tropical cyclones, and other extreme events.”

“[Meanwhile,] dense urban populations [such as the Maldives’ capital Male’] would be especially vulnerable to heat extremes, flooding, and disease,” according to the study’s findings.

The report also warns of the potential “domino effect” climate impacts can create that ultimately affect human development, such as the decimation of coral reefs creating cascading impacts on local livelihoods, and tourism.

Climate change impacts may also increase the likelihood of conflicts occurring, according to the study.

Ultimately, climate change impacts – particularly sea level rise – may force Maldivians to migrate, which “can be seen as a form of adaptation and an appropriate response to a variety of local environmental pressures”.

“The potential for migration, including permanent relocation, is expected to be heightened by climate change, and particularly by sea-level rise and erosion,” the report stated. However, it cautioned that population relocation poses “a whole set of other risks”.

New technological solutions and international cooperation are a must to adapt to and change the current trajectory of climate change impacts on growth and poverty reduction efforts, the study concluded.

“I hope this report will help convince everyone that the benefits of strong, early action on climate change far outweigh the costs,” said World Bank Group President Dr Jim Yong Kim.

“This report demands action. It reinforces the fact that climate change is a fundamental threat to economic development and the fight against poverty,” declared Kim.

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Governance, socio-economic and political issues threaten Maldives’ reefs: study

Governance, socio-economic and political issues within the Maldives are reducing the ability of local, atoll and national management to address threats to coral reefs nationwide, according to a recently published study.

The extent of coral reef recovery following the 1998 and 2010 bleaching incidents was collaboratively studied by Reef Check, the Marine Conservation Society and Biosphere Expeditions, with the results recently published in the expedition report entitled “Little and Large: Surveying and Safeguarding Coral Reefs and Whale Sharks in the Maldives”.

“Given the severity of the initial catastrophic bleaching [in 1998], there has been a moderate to good recovery of corals in the central Maldives atolls… [however] most coral communities in the central reefs are still recovering from the massive bleaching event,” the study found.

Furthermore, human activities causing local environmental pollution and global climate change impacts are “suppressing recovery” from coral bleaching incidents for reefs nearer to “more heavily populated centres” as well as threatening sustainable “maintenance of the very corals on which the Maldives exist,” the report noted.

“[However] the potential for a full recovery of Maldives corals in many sites is good,” it continued.

The report identified numerous government and management shortcomings that exacerbate the threats impeding reef recovery in the Maldives, despite ongoing government efforts to establish Marine Protected Areas (MPA) as well as reduce carbon emissions nationally and internationally.

Governance problems must be addressed if the Maldives is to achieve UNESCO Biosphere Reserve status for the entire island nation, the study emphasised.

Governance shortcomings harm reef resilience

Political instability and the recent economic downturn in the Maldives have shifted immediate priorities away from marine conservation, according to the report.

“Unfortunately, the monitoring budget for the [Maldives] Marine Research Centre (MRC) appears to have been drastically cut in the recent past, with little information coming out of the MRC in terms of reef conditions,” noted the study.

There is also “inadequate investment in enforcing” environmental conservation laws, particularly in MPAs.

“Enforcement has been undervalued as a net contributor to the nation’s wealth, because economic returns from such an investment are not easily apparent or quickly attainable,” the study explained.

Inadequate reporting of rapid environmental degradation was a key concern highlighted in the study, because this destruction has “degraded the natural capital of the islands and the reefs that support local and tourist islands.”

Reefs have been “heavily modified” over the past 30 years – due to the lack of “concurrent precautionary management” – as “resource exploitation has expanded to meet the demands of an increased human / tourist population,” the report added.

Education and awareness regarding sustainable reef management is lacking, as balancing environmental resource extraction with protection is not included in the national curriculum, according to the report.

Meanwhile, business and tourism remain heavily dependent on a carbon-based economy due to the Maldives’ geographic remoteness, the study noted.

Given that the “Maldives’ islands are entirely, naturally made from the fine coral sand washed up onto the very shallowest coral platforms, with the highest point reaching approximately 2.4 meters above sea level” the study emphasised the importance of correcting these governance issues for reef protection.

Reef destruction threatens Maldives’ survival

Coral reefs play an unrivalled role in the Maldivian culture, lifestyle, and for fisheries relative to most other Indian Ocean states, in addition to supporting an expanding tourism and recreation industry, noted the study.

Human activities such as “tourism, reef fishing, coral mining, dredging, reclamation and the construction of maritime structures and pollution represent most impacts on coral reefs,” the study identified.

Overfishing of keystone species that are important for keeping reef predators in check, as well as inappropriate atoll development, sedimentation, and pollution were also identified as key threats.

Climate change induced impacts including sea surface temperature increases and seawater acidification from increasing concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide are, respectively, leading to coral bleaching as well as decreased coral skeletal strength, growth rates, and reproductive outputs. Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere need to be reduced to less than 350 parts per million, the report noted.

The mutually reinforcing combination of these threats will have “detrimental consequences” for the Maldives unless national and local government, tourism, and local island groups manage the local and global impacts threatening reefs, the report emphasised.

“Only with the development of capacity-building, training and resources committed to conservation at the local atoll and island level will mitigating measures be implemented,” stated the study.

Proactive island level sustainable environmental management is essential for coral reef health and recovery from previous “catastrophic, massive bleaching”, the report recommended.

This includes establishing and promoting sustainable fisheries that protect species from overfishing, including enforcing and expanding “no-take zones” for one in every three reefs, particularly around grouper spawning locations.

“Pollution must [also] be tackled” to prevent algal growth, which harms reef health.

The study concluded that “local islands, their political administrators and resorts should adhere and enforce these environmental standards, where possible, in order to stave off the most severe detrimental effects of climate-driven change to the health of the reefs.”

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Maldives launches US$3.38 million eco-tourism wetland conservation project

With the launch of a US$ 3.83 million eco-tourism wetland conservation project, the Maldives continues to push forward with climate change mitigation and adaptation initiatives, aiming to serve as a model for small island states.

The Environment Ministry eco-tourism initiative will create wetland conservation areas and enhance drainage systems on Hithadhoo Island – an administrative district of Addu City – and on Fuvahmulah Island, in the far south of the Maldives.

The project aims to address climate change impacts by mitigating flooding and erosion due to storm surge, enhance fresh water security, as well as create economic benefits from these sustainable conservation initiatives. Additional mitigation and adaptation components of this Climate Change Trust Fund (CCTF) supported project include coral reef monitoring in Kaafu Atoll, and rainwater harvesting on Ukulhas Island in Ari Atoll.

“This is the first such project in the Maldives with a conservation plan to develop eco-tourism on an inhabited island. Developing a firm and systematic plan to manage and gain economic benefits from these wetland areas could play a vital role in changing the interpretation of the people regarding them,” Environment Minister Dr Mariyam Shakeela told local media during the project’s inauguration ceremony yesterday (May 7).

“We strongly believe that the environment is the only asset that the Maldives has to market ourselves to the international community,” Vice President Mohamed Waheed Deen said while speaking at the project launch.

“Our beauty, whether it is underwater, above water, or wetlands, these are all God’s blessings, nature’s blessings. Unless we know how to look after God’s blessings they will disappear,” he added.

The Vice President also thanked the international community and project donors for recognising that the Maldives has been a minor contributor to global pollution, particularly greenhouse gas emissions, but has “quite unfortunately become a victim” of the resulting climate change impacts.

“I sincerely support the world community for lending support to the Maldives because we believe this is the only way we can make our land, our assets economically viable, and sustainable,” stated Deen.

He emphasised that once the environment has been degraded, it is not possible to restore to its original pristine state, therefore properly implemented environmental conservation can also develop the Maldives’ economy.

Deen noted that the Maldives’ environmental policies have “never changed” and the current government are also “strong environmentalists”, akin to former President Maumoon Gayoom and former President Mohamed Nasheed.

“The Government of Maldives will assure you that the environmental policy maintained by the last two presidents is still maintained,” he stated.

Community-based conservation

The Wetlands Conservation and Coral Reef Monitoring for Adaptation to Climate Change (WCCM) project will be implemented in three phases over 18 months, to be completed in September 2014.

Phase one consists of developing a conservation plan, designing an eco-tourism methodology, and improving water drainage systems. During phase two, eco-tourism facilities will be established in addition to continued water drainage “system rehabilitation”. Phase three includes commissioning a RAMSAR (convention) wetland and national park with eco-tourism.

“The idea is that these are terrestrial wetlands, in the vicinity of the community, so we are trying to manage these protected areas with the help of the community,” Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Environment and Social Safeguards Coordinator Ibrahim Mohamed told Minivan News yesterday.

Mohamed explained that the nearby communities will be the main implementing partners managing the wetland areas and local NGOs are hoped to contribute as well. A “pool of people” will be trained to manage the areas and act as tour guides.

“There will be a visitor centre and a fee and go into the area accompanied by tour guides, it’s going to be like a national park,” said Mohamed.

“These are very beautiful places, that you will immediately sense are very different from the rest of the Maldives, given the [large] size of the islands and the unique way they are connected.

“In Fuvahmulah there are huge fresh water bodies, swampy areas in the depressions of the islands. While the Hithadhoo wetlands are a huge area with mangroves. There are so many birds here, you will always see so many,” he added.

Spanish company Hidra has been hired to prepare the phase one components over the next five months, including the community-based wetland management plan, for which extensive public consultations – including students – are being conducted.

“Then we will start the civil works, such as making the nature trails, visitors center, and bird watching areas,” said Mohamed.

Public private partnerships

The coral reef monitoring component of this conservation project will involve partnering with resorts in Kaafu Atoll, explained Mohamed. They will be trained by the Environment Ministry to monitor water surface temperatures, erosion, biodiversity, bleaching, impacts on fish, as well as “fish landings” to determine where fish being brought to the resorts are caught.

The goal is long-term monitoring of reefs nationwide, however this project will begin by looking atfive. Currently coral reef monitoring is limited, because it primarily focuses on bleaching and is only conducted twice annually, in accordance with the monsoon and dry seasons, according to Mohamed.

“We have started developing the database and the [monitoring] protocols, which have been peerreviewed by international reef ecologists,” said Mohamed.

“The idea is that over 10 to 15 years we will know what is happening to the coral reefs, so that we can determine the impacts from climate change,” he added.

“Exemplary example for small island states”

Mohamed stated that the overall goal is for these wetland and coral reef areas – and the entire nation – to be protected and developed sustainably to become biosphere reserves.

He further explained that the idea behind this CCTF project is for the Maldives to become an exemplary example for other small island states.

“This project can be replicated anywhere in the world, all small island countries can utilize [what the Maldives has developed],” he added.

The holistic approach to wetland and coral reef conservation is necessary because the components are “so interrelated”.

“If you don’t properly manage waste there will be impacts on coral reefs, etc.,” noted Mohamed.

The CCTF serves as the “main umbrella” under which there are three projects in the Maldives: the WCCM, clean energy for climate mitigation, and solid waste management. The WCCM in particular is supported with donated funds from the European Union and Australian Aid, and managed by the World Bank.

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