Tag: minivan news

Maldives resorts, local communities participating in whale shark festival

This story was first published on the Maldives resort review site, Dhonisaurus.com.

South Ari Atoll is hosting a whale shark festival aiming to bring together local resorts and communities with a view to expanding cooperation on conservation – as well as providing tourists with insight into one of the country’s most elusive creatures.

Based on the island of Dhigurah, the festival is focused not only on trying to better understand the movement and behaviours of whale sharks in their natural habitat, but also to give visitors a chance to better understand South Ari Atoll’s ecology and culture.

Organisers have expressed hope that the festival will establish itself as an annual event in the country, having already secured sponsorship from a number of resorts including LUX* Maldives, Mirihi Island, Vilamendhoo, Holiday Island and the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island.

The event also represents a collaboration between local NGOs such as the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme (MWSRP), the South Ari Marine Protected Area, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Beyond the country’s traditional appeal as a destination for sun, sand and sea, sightings of creatures like the whale shark have increasingly proven a major draw for visitors in recent years.

In attempts to balance the potential environmental impacts of increased numbers of visitors wishing to experience the country’s delicate ecosystems, several island resort properties have announced collaborations with conservation groups and marine reserves across the country.

The Conrad Maldives Rangali Island resort told Dhonisaurus that beyond playing a role in today’s festival, the property over the last six years has been involved with efforts to promote better conservation and understanding of whale sharks in the country.

Resort spokesperson Katherine Anthony said the resort had been a main sponsor of the MWSRP NGO since 2007, as part of a strategy she said reflected the seriousness with which the property treated the conservation and study of the local environment.

Conrad has said that the nature of the resort’s sponsorship of the MWSRP is partly financial, but  also provided accommodation, fuel and food to the group’s researchers for nine months of the year.

Besides research, the MWSRP also allows guests at the property to participate in three weekly excursions to go out and see the creatures.

“They can talk about whale sharks in depth and give a much more detailed and focused excursion than you’d find elsewhere due to the MWSRP’s in depth knowledge of whale sharks,” she said.

“What we have found is that already one guest has joined the MWSRP as a research volunteer, so it’s definitely a program that’s of interest to our guests.”

Anthony added that resort guests accepting an invite to the festival would be given a unique and rarely seen insight into the local environment.

“It’s also an excellent opportunity to see life on an inhabited Maldivian island, eat Maldivian food, meet Maldivians and talk to them about their lives,” she said.

Biosphere ambitions

On a national level, the Maldives government is moving ahead with plans to transform the Maldives into what it claims will be the world’s largest  biosphere reserve by designating zones across the country that would earmark land use for specific purposes such as tourism development or conservation.

In approving the plan to transform the country into a “world renowned” marine reserve, members of the cabinet claim there has been a growing number of visitors to areas such as Baa Atoll after it became a protected area.

While some tourism industry figures have welcomed existing efforts to transformation areas such as Baa Atoll into bio-reserves, concerns have been raised about the efforts taken to manage such zones in balancing tourism interests with preserving local habitats.

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Turbulent post-February 7 politics trigger ‘artistic renaissance’

A visual art event that would have seen graffiti and street artists gathering to host a live demonstration to encourage young people to vote for change in the upcoming elections, has been postponed.

Organised by the artist known as Feshun, the visual art event was to take place from 4:00pm on Saturday at Raalhugandhu, and continue up until 11:00pm in the evening.

The event was to feature live graffiti painting by numerous artists across various locations around the capital city island along to live music performed by a DJ, intended to inspire the disaffected younger generation to vote.

In recent years, artists have enjoyed greater autonomy and freedom of expression – particularly when covering political subjects.

Following the controversial toppling of former President Mohamed Nasheed on February 7 2012, many artists have turned their talents to highlighting the ‘coup’, and all of the other issues affecting social and political landscape of the island nation.

Many artists who plan to take part in this live event can remember the oppression under the previous dictatorship, and say that five years of creative freedom has helped to inspire artistic creativity. Since the February 7, there has been an upsurge of political statements through art in what one artist calls an “artistic renaissance”.

The Maldives’ answer to Banksy, who goes by the nickname of “Sob Sob”, told Minivan News: “The aim is to involve more people in the movement that Feshun has started. It will continue non-stop until the voting. I am sure it will make a difference.”

Tagging is a way of life for Sob Sob. Now aged 30, he has been painting over the drab walls of Male’s concrete jungle with his 3D graffiti art for more than 12 years.

As the government has cracked down on these graffiti artists and painted over their “works of art” with grey paint, Sob Sob, who once painted a 3D trompe l’oeil of a toilet door to highlight the need for outdoor lavatories being installed near the surf point area, says he will just spray paint another statement.

Asked why he and his peers are using the streets as his art canvas, rather than exhibiting in a museum, he said: “It’s the only way to express to the public. If I exhibited my art work in a museum, only a few would actually see it.”

“The streets are our neighbourhoods and the only place here where we get out to. We live on islands and we have nowhere to go. We are limited by our boundaries. All the islands have been sold as resorts and locals cannot afford to live in luxury. That’s our dream too, the Robinson Crusoe feeling, but the reality for us is working hard and living in a concrete jungle.”

As an artist he is known for making political statements, he says that the main aim of his graffiti is to express what he feels and to tell things like they really are. “Thoughts are meant to be spoken, not just thought,” he said.

“The biggest hand played here was the protest back in 2012 on February 8. Look around Male’ and you will see many of my works they include: ‘Looting the youth and Shooting the Truth’.

“When I felt rage back in Gayoom’s regime, then there was ‘bridge my ass…vote for change’ [in reference to a promised Hulhumale-Male bridge] and ‘Enough is Enough’, which led to our movement in 2008 under the studio called “Freedom Factory”.

Other artists have been campaigning for political change. These include the talented sand artist Afu Shaafiu Hasn who first started making a political statement about the coup in his sand art debut during the SAARC Summit.

His works have been demonstrated in front of live audiences of thousands. He said: “Right now some artists are gearing up for campaigns to encourage the new batch to vote in these upcoming elections.

“We’re setting up events the age group can engage in, like graffiti events, music, 3D street art and other stuff.

Most of the mainstream artists are pro-democratic, and particularly antagonistic towards former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

“We just want people to go and vote, for whoever they wish. It is up to them. GO VOTE,” Hasn says.

“The politics going on here are of no interest to the young people who live here, because most have already lost hope of things getting better,” he adds.

Afu has made some bold statements about the coup in his sand art. ‘Baton Day’ is about the events of February 7 and 8 and the police brutality that ensued, and ‘Feelings’ which deals with the psychological trauma of those events.

“The journey after the coup is very bad. I don’t want to hear the news nowadays. I even gave away my TV when the coup happened and I haven’t a TV since that day,” says Afu.

But is all this art just preaching to the choir? Asked whether the country will see a fair election, he said: “I don’t know, seriously. I can’t think of a way the people in power will simply give it up and go to jail. But yes I have hope. Where there is art, there is hope.”

Baton Day

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTQk06wFPlM

Feelings

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6P59jb49yg8

Visit the artists on Facebook for more information

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Motor racing event first to offer prize money

The Maldives National Motor Racing President’s Challenge will award event winners with prize money for the first time, although for some racers the trophy and their “pride” are more important.

The National Motor Racing President’s Challenge was launched on June 27 in Male’, a week ahead of the competition to be held on Hulhumale’.

The Maldives Motor Racing Association (MMRA) is receiving support to hold the racing event from the President’s Office and Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), MMRA Chairman Yoosuf ‘Maaji’ Mazin told Minivan News yesterday.

“This is the first event in the Maldives that the president is giving and it will be continued yearly,” said Mazin. “This is the first time winners will receive prize money, presidential shields, and trophies.”

“MMRA has been doing events on our own, but now we have to do something big because every year there is a football event also, something like a president’s cup, so that means we must also have something like that,” he continued.

International racers from Sri Lanka will be coming for this event, “so we want to make it huge”, added Mazin.

There will be over 100 race car drivers and motorcycle riders competing in the two day event, which will take place on Hulhumale’ July 5-6. Seventeen separate race events are scheduled for the final.

Most of the competitors are “youth and youngsters”, so having sanctioned racing events is important for road safety, according to Mazin.

“This [event] is important because in Male’ the youth have been using the road for illegal racing and there will be a lot of accidents. After we started this there have been very few accidents in Male’,” said Mazin.

“It will be good to control all the guys like that by giving them a safe racing outlet,” he added.

Mazin explained that he approached Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim and “asked him for a budget to help with the event this time”.

“He has given us a committee from MNDF to make this event successful,” said Mazin. “They will be with us during all the events.”

“Nazim actually likes bikes and cars, so because of his interest he’s doing this for us, for the youth,” he added.

Nazim spoke at the National Motor Racing President’s Challenge launch ceremony yesterday evening, which was followed by riders displaying the motorcycles and cars that will be driven in the race and a music show.

Following the July 5 qualifying events on Hulhumale’, a music show and fireworks are scheduled to take place at 8:00pm.

Competition pride

“This is the most popular event for youth – after football – everyone likes to do racing and stunts,” said a local racer nicknamed Xaim.

“It’s every young guy’s fantasy to become a racer because they want to compete internationally.”

He explained that previously races were only about “fun and entertainment”, but have now become more competitive because sponsors are providing financial support.

Each team will make “big investments” spending approximately 100,000 MVR (US$6548.79) total, with upgrades for one motorcycle costing approximately 30,000 MVR (US$1964.64), according to Xaim.

Despite the costly investments, racers are still only interested in winning the trophy, not the prize money, because it’s about “pride”, he added.

Earlier this year, amateur and professional racers took to the streets of Hulhumale’ to compete in the Piston Cup 2013 racing challenge, the Maldives’ first official motorsport competition.

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Bank of Maldives reportedly resolves US$58 million debt chase out of court

The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal filed by two companies linked to Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Leader and President Mohamed Waheed’s vice presidential candidate Ahmed Thasmeen Ali concerning unpaid debts to the Bank of Maldives (BML), after an out-of-court settlement was reportedly reached by both parties.

Lawyers representing Mahandhoo Investments and Kabalifaru Investments – companies with ties to Thasmeen – told presiding Supreme Justice Ali Hameed that they had negotiated a settlement with BML over US$58 million owed to the bank, according to local media.

Mahandhoo and Kabalifaru had appealed a High Court verdict upholding a Civil Court ruling – issued three years and eight months ago – ordering the companies to settle the debt.

BML lawyers confirmed to the court that such an agreement had been reached and that they had no objection to the Supreme Court dismissing the case, private broadcaster VTV reported.

Thasmeen and the Department of Judicial Administration were not responding to calls at time of press.

Minivan News is also awaiting a response from BML, with the bank’s public relations manager Hussain Rasheed claiming he had not received official confirmation that a settlement had been reached in the case at time of press.

Today’s case was heard a day after Ahmed Faiz, a council member of President Waheed’s Gaumee Ihthihaad Party (GIP), was arrested after reportedly trying to sell a sex tape of a Supreme Court Justice.

Media reports have not identified the judge involved in the case. However, potentially compromising photos alleged to depict Supreme Justice Ali Hameed, who oversaw today’s trial of the BML case, began circulating on social media in March this year. The images appear to show the judge in a hotel room with a woman.

Debt claims

In October 2011, the High Court upheld Civil Court verdicts issued in late 2009 ordering Mahandhoo Investments and Kabalifaru Investments to repay millions of dollars worth of loans to BML.

In the first case involving Mahandhoo Investments, BML issued a US$23.5 million demand loan, a US$103,200 bank guarantee and US$30,090 letter of credit on July 10, 2008.

The second case involved a US$3.3 million loan issued to Kabaalifaru Investment. A Civil Court verdict on September 30, 2009 ordered the company to settle the debt within 12 months.

Meanwhile, a third case involving a Civil Court verdict in December 2009 ordered luxury yachting company Sultans of the Seas – with close ties to the DRP leader – to pay over US$50 million in unpaid loans, including incurred interest and fines, was also appealed at the High Court.

In September 2009, Maldives Customs filed a case at Civil Court to recover US$8.5 million from Sultans of the Seas in unpaid duties and fines for allegedly defrauding customs to import two luxury yachts, and in February 2010 the court ordered the company to pay MVR 110 million (US$7 million) as fines and unpaid import duties.

MP Thasmeen, this month appointed as the running mate of President Dr Mohamed Waheed ahead of September’s election, is himself expected to face a Supreme Court case over whether his parliamentary seat should be vacated over the issue of unpaid debts.

Former opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Mohamed Musthafa announced his intention this week to file a case at the country’s apex court requesting a decision on whether Thasmeen should lose his seat for not paying back loans taken from Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ahmed Nazim.

Musthafa also raised issues concerning funding taken from the Bank of Maldives by companies including Mahandhoo Investments and Kabalifaru Investments, in which the DRP Leader is said to be a shareholder.

Musthafa was disqualified from the parliament in 2012 over an unpaid decreed debt, which the court concluded had rendered him constitutionally ineligible to remain in the seat.

As a consequence, he argued there was precedent for the court to declare MP Thasmeen’s Kendhoo Constituency seat vacant.

On June 17, the Civil Court ordered all Thasmeen’s bank accounts of frozen, and ordered immigration to withhold his passport following a case filed by Deputy Speaker Nazim to recover a debt of MVR 1.92 million (US$124,513).

Nazim filed the case requesting enforcement of a Civil Court verdict in April 2011 – upheld by the High Court in April 2013 – ordering the vice presidential candidate to pay back the money.

Nazim, an MP with the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM), initially sued Thasmeen in March 2011 to recover the remainder of a loan worth MVR 2.55 million (US$200,000).

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Thousands rally in Male’ for MDP’s eighth anniversary and carnival parade

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) celebrated their eighth anniversary with thousands of people participating in last night’s march and spectators lining the streets of the capital.

The excitement was palpable as thousands came out of their neighborhoods, crammed the sidewalks and climbed on top of any available structures to watch the parade spectacle and take photos. Countless people were seen waving and shouting from their windows and balconies as the anniversary parade circled around Male’.

MDP has claimed upwards of 15,000 parade participants – some social media estimates were upwards of 20,000 – took part in the event. Minivan News observed the protest parade stretching the entire length and width of the nearly two kilometre long thoroughfare of Majeedhee Magu.

Protesters represented a variety of demographics including children, youth, the elderly, disabled, women and men, organised into groups, some carrying giant MDP flags, while others waved yellow ribbons, fans or pom poms.

Groups of women were twirling yellow umbrellas adorned with frangipani flowers (the party’s symbol) or carrying signs with the slogan ‘ehburun’ (meaning a one round victory). Some young men played volleyball while others in the parade drummed a festive beat.

Women and men alike were shaking yellow pom-poms and dancing in the streets to music remixing dance beats with phrases from former President Mohamed Nasheed’s speeches.

The Dhivehi lyrics translated to “MDP is a ship for all seas, This party is not going to sink, We will not fade away, You can arrest us, jail us and kill us but MDP’s ‘fikuru’ (ideology) can no longer be eradicated/wiped out from the Maldives”.

Countless parade participants, including port workers, were also adorned with yellow construction hats, while two young men wore milk and banana costumes in recognition of a previous Nasheed speech in which he discussed the importance of child nutrition, and pledged to ensure every school child had a suitable breakfast.

There were constant chants of ‘ehburun’ by the parade participants and crowds lining the main thoroughfares of Male’ that comprised the parade route. The parade ended at ‘Usfasgandu’, MDP’s protest area located near the Tsunami Monument, where applause and shouts from thousands of supporters could be heard echoing through the streets as members cut the party’s birthday cake.

Introducing multi-party democracy

“The MDP was the first political party to be registered eight years ago – we are the largest and oldest party – and we are built on people’s hopes,” MDP’s Youth Wing President Aminath Shauna told Minivan News.

“We wanted to celebrate that and show the people’s strength, which we definitely saw last night. The parade was a way to show that while we are a political party committed to political reform and social change, we can still have fun,” said Shauna.

“We wanted to make it very colorful and an opportunity for all kinds of people to participate, and they did, children, youths, mothers and fathers, as well as elderly MDP supporters, the parade had activities for everyone,” she continued.

“There hasn’t been an event like this – not at night with all the lights and music – since MDP’s February 17, 2012 rally, and that was more of a spontaneous protest,” she explained.

“The MDP has consistently had large numbers of people’s support and participation, but this event was by far the most comprehensive.”

“There was not a single spot empty on the sidewalks and people were cheering and waving from their windows and balconies. At least 15,000 people were out in support of the parade in Male’ alone,” she claimed.

“I have not seen that many people come out and even watch Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) parades on Majeedhee Magu. There is a huge strong base of support in the islands as well, even in the UK Maldivians living abroad celebrated, social media is showing the quite broad spectrum of MDP supporters,” said Shauna.

“This event was significant because MDP is so young. I don’t think any country would see a ‘people’s party’ come out of nowhere – based on sheer public support – and be able to maintain a peaceful stance after so much brutality and injustice,” MDP MP and Spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor told Minivan News.

“It’s also significant that MDP’s eighth birthday coincides with the [upcoming] elections.”

“On MDP’s eighth birthday what we are seeing is unprecedented. After eight years we are still completely the ‘people’s party’, which we’ve seen from the amount of public support,” Ghafoor continued.

“People came out all over the country to celebrate, even on small islands in the most unlikely places they had [MDP birthday] cakes and meetings, it’s incredible,” he said.

Former President Nasheed meanwhile tweeted on the occasion,

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President Waheed meets with New Zealand High Commissioner accredited to the Maldives

Bernadette Cavanagh, the recently appointed High Commissioner of New Zealand accredited to the Maldives, presented her credentials to President Dr Mohamed Waheed in Male’ yesterday.

During their meeting, Dr Waheed discussed a number of issues with the commissioner, including recent political developments in the Maldives and the upcoming election scheduled for September, according to the President’s Office website.

The president also thanked the New Zealand government for assistance in strengthening the Maldives’ education sector.

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Two-thirds of Maldivians back moratorium on flogging: survey

Nearly two-thirds of Maldivians support a moratorium on flogging, according to the results of a survey conducted by Asia Research Partners and social activism website Avaaz.org.

The survey, the first of its kind to be conducted in the Maldives, found an “overwhelming” 92 percent of Maldivians believe that laws and systems to protect women from sexual assault should be reformed.

Of those polled, 62 percent supported an outright moratorium on the practice of flogging, while 73 percent declared existing punishments for sexual crimes were unfair to women.

Moreover, only one in five of those surveyed said current systems and laws were “adequate or fair”, according to a statement issued by Avaaz.

“While honeymooners relax in paradise, a war against women is being waged in the Maldives which the government is refusing to stop. Over two million people from around the world want them to act and now 92 percent of Maldivians want laws against rape and sexual abuse. President Waheed can easily pass a law banning flogging but refuses to act to end this medieval practice,” said Avaaz Campaign Director, Alice Jay.

“The poll flies in the face of the country’s parliamentarians who have claimed it would be “political suicide” to outlaw flogging and have done nothing to stop the practice, but instead given in to hard-line Islamist calls for harsher Sharia punishments.”

The survey was conducted across Male’ and Hithadhoo in Seenu Atoll in May 2013 by Asia Research Partners, both over the phone and through face-to-face interviews. All respondents were aged over 18 years.

‘Horror in paradise’ petition

The survey comes months after a case in which a 15 year-old rape victim was sentenced to 100 lashes and eight months’ house arrest for a separate offence of fornication garnered substantial international attention and condemnation.

The 15 year-old’s case attracted worldwide media attention and was widely condemned by international organisations and other nation states. Media condemnation was particularly strong in the UK and Germany, two of the Maldives’ most significant tourism markets.

In March, an Avaaz petition calling for the repeal of the sentence and a moratorium on flogging in the Maldives collected more than two million signatures – a figure more than double the number of tourists who visit the country annually.

“Since the campaign launched four months ago, Avaaz has been in discussions with the Maldivian government officials who have so far refused to take action on this issue,” the organisation said in a statement.

“Despite promises from the Gender Ministry, the President’s Office, the Attorney General’s office and the Foreign Ministry, this 15-year old child still faces the flogging sentence and far from ending this practice, some Maldivian political parties are calling for even harsher punishments.

“As a result of their failure to act, Avaaz is now planning to run hard hitting targeted adverts urging President Waheed and several parliamentarians who own some of the major Maldivian resorts, to act,” the organisation declared.

Stalling

After the sentencing initially made international headlines, President Mohamed Waheed issued a statement expressing “deep concern” over the verdict and pledging an appeal.

At the same time his coalition partner, the Adhaalath Party, warned that “Allah has decreed that expressing disapproval of issues such as this contradicts with faith in Islam”, and cautioned that “If such sinful activities are to become this common, the society will break down and we may become deserving of divine wrath.”

Then-Attorney General Azima Shukoor – now Minister for Human Rights, Gender and Family – subsequently lodged an appeal of the decision in the High Court arguing that the girl’s confession to the fornication offence had been taken in violation of established procedure.

The first hearing was held on April 29 behind closed doors, with no apparent movement in the case since.

Avaaz meanwhile moved to pressure the government into entertaining a moratorium on the practice of flogging.

The most recent Avaaz statement cited UK-based religious scholar Sheikh Dr Usama Hasan, who said “Sharia is not a fixed set of laws that can never be changed. Modern penal codes are thus fully Islamic if they share the values of justice and compassion, even if they do not include amputations, floggings or stonings to death. The latter punishments should be seen as ancient cultural practices, not essentially Islamic.”

The government’s position has meanwhile wavered between broad support for a moratorium and legal reforms to suspicion over the motivations of the Avaaz campaign and allegations of politicisation.

President’s Office Spokesperson Masood Imad was not responding to calls at time of press, but has previously noted that the Maldives had for over 50 years turned away from practicing Sharia punishments such as stoning, amputation and the death penalty, and suggested similar space for a debate on flogging.

However he cautioned that all authorities involved in proposed legal reforms would have to tread “a very fine line” in order to tackle long standing “traditions” and beliefs in the country.

At the same time, recently dismissed Deputy Tourism Minister Dr Maleeh Jamal has called for “negative news to be minimised”, emphasising that “People should not be doing anything to damage the industry. In Switzerland, you would not see a campaign designed to damage Swiss chocolate.”

A parliament committee currently reviewing the new penal code has meanwhile come under pressure from conservative religious elements, including the Adhaalath Party, to ensure Hadd punishments were included in the code – including flogging and amputation.

Speaking recently to Minivan News, one member of the committee said he feared not including such punishments would lead to backlash from conservative groups and amount to “political suicide”.

“We want to remove it as well. But, our hands are tied. Only public pressure can stop it,” he said.

Flogging stats

Almost 90 percent of the people found guilty of “Zina” – fornication – and sentenced to flogging in 2011 were female, according to statistics from the Department of Judicial Administration.

A total of 129 fornication cases were filed in 2011 and 104 people sentenced, out of which 93 were female.

These included 10 underage girls (below 18), 79 women aged 18-40, and four women aged above 40 years.

Gender Ministry statistics meanwhile show 1 in 3 Maldivian women between the ages of 15 and 49 have suffered either physical or sexual abuse over the past five years. At the same time, there has not been a single conviction for rape in the last three years.

Read about the practice of flogging in the Maldives

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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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Former President Nasheed calls on MDP to vacate ‘Usfasgandu’ in favour of meeting halls

Former President Mohamed Nasheed has called on Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) supporters to vacate the ‘Usfasgandu’ protest area in favour of the various ‘jagaha’ (meeting halls) established across the capital ahead of September’s election.

Nasheed was quoted in local media as requesting that the opposition party’s supporters make use of the official meeting areas being set up by the MDP across Male’, rather than the protest site that has been the basis for many of the party’s activities since the controversial transfer of power last year.

“I will ask members of the MDP’s executive committee very sincerely to clear Usfasgandu. We are a party that wisely takes whatever steps are needed at the time,” he was quoted as saying by Haveeru.

Usfasgandu, which is presently being leased to the party, has been at the centre of an ongoing legal dispute over the last 12 months between the MDP-dominated Male City Council (MCC) and the government’s Housing Ministry, which is seeking to claim ownership of the site.

Minister of Housing and Infrastructure Dr Mohamed Muiz told Sun Online last week that a notice had been sent to the MCC requesting they clear and vacate the area by June 27 – or else police would be requested to assist in clearing the site.

Dr Muiz was not responding to calls from Minivan News at time of press, while Deputy Housing Ministers Abdulla Muththalib and Mohamed Faiz today declined to comment on the matter.

A police media official, who declined to be named, said it had also received no communications from the ministry requesting assistance to clear Usfasgandu by tomorrow’s supposed deadline.

Despite reports of the Housing Ministry’s intent to reclaim the Usfasgandu area, Mayor Ali Manik said no order had been received by the MCC requesting the land be returned. He added that any decision on whether to clear the are could only be made by the MDP.

The MDP told Minivan News today that while it has also not received any notice of attempts by the state to clear the site, the importance of the area to the party had “waned” as its campaigning spread across the capital and country ahead September’s election.

The opposition party said it intended to focus on local campaigning through the establishment of various jagaha across the Maldives.

Nasheed today opened the latest MDP jagaha adjacent to the country’s justice building – despite authorities contesting the legality of its location. The MDP contends that the jagaha was further than a distance of 50 feet from the building as demanded by law, and was therefore legally situated.

Relevance

Addressing the future of Usfasgandu, MDP MP and Spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor said there was a “general feeling” within the party that Usfasgandu was believed to have served its purpose.

He added that the party had been considering vacating the area over the last week in order to limit the possibility of confrontations with authorities.

Ghafoor added that an official parade to commemorate eight years since the founding of the MDP would begin at Usfasgandu this evening, but its relevance as an area for campaigning was already waning with the establishment of jagaha areas.

“The general view of the party is that the area is not really useful anymore and is slightly irrelevant to our campaigning, though I understand there is nostalgia among many people for the area,” he said. “In time, I think we would have seen the site slowly die out.”

Intimidation allegations

Ghafoor alleged that reports of the Housing Ministry seeking to reclaim Usfasgandu reflected an attempt by the state to intimidate political rivals such as the MDP and its supporters ahead of an election.

He claimed that this intimidation was part of attempts by the state to destabilise the country ahead of September’s presidential election in order to cast doubt on whether the country was capable of holding a national vote.

Ghafoor said as a result the MDP was wary of any potential clashes with authorities, such as those seen during attempts to evict the party from Usfadsgandu in May last year. He said that many in the party believed that keeping the area was “not worth” the potential for unrest should police intervene.

Land dispute

Although Usfasgandu was later returned to the MDP after the clashes in May 2012, police once again moved to cordon off the area by January 2013 at the request of the High Court.

The court at the time ordered that Usfasgandu not be occupied by any party until it delivered a verdict over a dispute between the Housing Ministry and the MCC over ownership of the site.

In early February, the Civil Court ordered the MCC to clear the land plot and hand it over to the Housing Ministry, though the order was later overturned by the High Court. The High Court ruled that the Civil Court order had failed to follow legal procedures in its hearing of the case and was therefore unlawful.

Usfasgandu was handed back to the MDP by the MCC in March of this year, with the council claiming at the time that no other party had requested use of the land at the time.

A spokesperson for the High Court today said that no further rulings had been made concerning the legal ownership at present, with its previous order overturning the Civil Court still said to stand.

Despite now opting to vacate the site, Ghafoor claimed that the lack of notification from the Housing Ministry over its attempt to reclaim the Usfasgandu reflected a further breakdown in communication between state departments.

“The Housing Ministry had been completely isolated on this matter and no one seems to be taking it seriously,” he said.

President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad was not responding to calls at time of press from Minivan News.

‘Paint war’

The MDP’s political rivals have continued to criticise the MCC for providing a plot of land to the opposition party, expressing concern that their supporters had not been given similar opportunities in the capital.

Government-aligned Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Ahmed Nihan alleged last week that it was this sense of disparity among political rivals that had led to a so-called ‘paint war’ across the capital resulting in private property and even plant-life painted in political colours.

Supporters of the PPM were accused of covering state property and government buildings, such as walls outside the new Supreme Court compound in Male’, in the party’s official colour of pink.

PPM MP Nihan meanwhile accused MDP supporters of instigating the painting throughout Male’ by covering entire areas of the capital such as Usfasdgandu in yellow, leading to reprisals from rival supporters.

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