Tag: mrc

Maldives raises US$162,000 for earthquake relief in Nepal

The Maldivian Red Crescent and the Maldivian Medical Association have raised a total of MVR2.5million (US$162,127) for the earthquake relief effort in Nepal.

The donations will support the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies’ humanitarian assistance effort. The IFRC has appealed for US$93million in assistance.

The MRC says it wants to donate the funds to build shelters.

Nearly 9,000 people died in Nepal after an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter Scale struck on April 25. Another tremor of magnitude 7.3 struck on May 15, leading to more deaths.

Fundraising activities conducted across the country include a telethon, children’s evenings, and a football match between the Veteran’s club and MPs.

The public sector contributed MVR500,000 (US$32,425) while companies and civil society groups donated MVR700,000 (US$45,000), the MRC said.

The Maldives raised US$1.9million to help Palestinians who lost their homes in the Israeli offensive in Gaza last year.

The International Federation of Red Crescent (IFRC) has completed 100 housing units in Gaza with the US$1.9 million raised by the Maldivian media.

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President Yameen to return to Maldives as water crisis enters third day

President Abdulla Yameen will cut short his personal trip to Malaysia and return to the Maldives as the Malé water crisis continues into its third day.

Speaking to the press, President’s Office spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz said Yameen is expected to return tonight (December 6), cutting short his visit to Malaysia, where his son is said to be receiving medical treatment.

In Malé, Minister of Defence Colonel (retired) Mohamed Nazim has said that damage to the capital’s desalination plant is extensive, and could take between three days and a week to fully repair.

Water services to the capital Malé have been shut off after a crippling fire damaged crucial components of the island’s sole desalination facility – the Malé Water and Sewerages Company (MWSC) – leaving over 130,000 people without water for bathing, cleaning, and cooking.

“We hope to achieve 100 percent in about a week. God willing, we will be able to get a good result in about three days,” said Nazim, speaking on behalf of a presidential task force.

While 60 percent of the repairs have been completed, he continued, the fire had caused considerable damage to the water treatment plants, requiring extensive repairs.

“The damage to the water treatment plants’ panel board was a lot more than we had expected. Since the spare parts are not available in the Maldives, we must wait until we can acquire it,” said Nazim.

International aid

Fresh supplies of water continue to arrive from abroad – most notably from India – with distribution being carried out by the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) with the assistance of local NGOs alongside numerous private businesses.

The government has set up water distribution centers at schools and other public spaces, with each person allowed two 1.5 litre bottles, leading to the formation of large queues stretching around the capital. Local IT enthusiasts have developed a mobile app to enable residents to locate nearby distribution centres.

In addition, water is being pumped every six hours by MWSC for one hour periods although low water pressure means that many of the capital’s residents living in high rise apartments have received no supplies.

The MNDF has started distributing water through mobile tanks set up on military vehicles at various locations of the city, temporarily easing the queues at the water distribution centers.

President Yameen has declared today that all government offices will be closed on Sunday and Monday (December 7 and 8 ) as a result of the crisis, while calling on the public to remain calm and cooperative.

Meanwhile, the government of India continues to send supplies, having delivered over 150 tonnes of water via military aircraft in the past 24 hours. A second Indian vessel, with reverse osmosis facilities capable of delivering 200 tonnes of water daily, is expected to arrive today with 800 tonnes of water.

The Chinese government has sent 12 tonnes of water aboard a Mega Maldives flight from Beijing, with the foreign ministry also reporting Chinese naval vessels being en route to the capital.

Yesterday, Sri Lanka started sending water to the Maldives via Sri Lankan Airlines flights, while the UN in Maldives has said it will distribute 180 tonnes of rainwater stored under its premises on Buruzu Magu.

Local efforts

The Maldives Red Crescent (MRC) and teams of volunteers from telecoms provider Ooredoo have been been assisting security services, with Head of Planning Shabeen Ali telling Minivan News that people waiting for water have been “very calm and disciplined”.

Detailing efforts, MRC spokesperson Safa Musthafa explained that the MRC has mobilised more than 450 volunteers, requesting more people to join the distribution teams by reporting to Majeedhihyaa school which is operating as the organisation’s headquarters.

Safa also revealed that 5 tonnes of bottled water would be shipped tomorrow under the disaster and emergency relief fund set up by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) has commended the state’s quick response to the water crisis, though it noted concern over reports of discrimination against migrant workers.

Human rights and pro-democracy NGO Maldivian Democracy Network (MDN) also voiced concern over reported discrimination, though volunteers at distribution centres have said the government has reversed the initial requirement of an official ID to collect water.

Rumours of discrimination against migrant workers have circulated on social media with some members of the public telling Minivan News of a fight breaking out at Galolhu stadium last night after locals demanded priority over migrant workers in the queue.

MDN also raised concerns over the absence of a backup plan, urging authorities “to take lessons from this incident and come up with a backup plan for Malé and other islands”.

Former President Nasheed has called for an immediate inquiry into the causes of the crisis, questioning the government’s preparedness levels as well as President Yameen’s absence from the country.

Malé City Council – originally mandated with the provision of water services under the 2010 Decentralisation Act – has also raised the issue of responsibility for the crisis. A council statement noted that its offer of assistance had been rejected by the government’s task force.

International coverage

The BBC reports ‘Maldives in Water Crisis’, while a number of outlets, including the  Daily Mail and Al Jazeera, have chosen to focus on the small number of isolated incidents involving violence.

Government minister Mohamed Shareef was quoted by Reuters as saying that a state of emergency has been declared – soon picked up by the AFP – though this has subsequently been denied by the foreign ministry.

The Diplomat noted that the crisis represented an opportunity for India to demonstrate its capacity as “first responder” in time of crisis, as well as suggesting that a prolonged period without water might lead to “grave economic consequences and a broader political crisis”.

In Indian media, the New Indian Express ran the headline ‘IAF Airlifts Water Bottles to Quench Maldives’ Thirst’, while the Hindu has led with ‘How India staved off Maldives’ water crisis’.


Related to this story

Indian aircraft arrives to ease Malé water crisis

Malé water supply cut after fire at MWSC

Nasheed calls for inquiry into MWSC fire

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Maldives suffering worst coral bleaching since 1998

The Maldives is currently suffering the most serious incidence of coral bleaching since the major 1998 El Niño–event that destroyed most of the country’s shallow reef coral.

Coral bleaching is caused when rising water temperatures stress the coral, leading it to expel the algae it uses to obtain nutrients. When water temperatures rise even slightly, algae leaves the coral polyp and enters the water column, causing the coral to lose its colour and eventually die.

Reports of bleaching have been trickling in from marine biologists and researchers across the country.

Hussein Zahir from the Marine Research Centre (MRC) has been collecting reports of the bleaching, and said that based on his estimates, “10-15 percent of shallow reef coral is now completely white, while 50-70 percent has begun to pale.”

Senior Marine Biologist Guy Stevens, based at the Four Seasons Resort in Landaa Giraavaru, said that he had noticed that bleaching was beginning to occur last year “after a change in the weather linked to El Niño. The last one in 1998 was pretty catastrophic, and reefs in the Maldives have been recovering ever since.”

“It had a huge impact across the Indian Ocean, and the Maldives was most affected – pristine reefs suffered coral mortality rates of 95 percent,” Stevens explained. “At the time people were mortified and scientists were predicting the end of the reefs – coral is the foundation of the whole reef ecosystem.”

Picture1
Coral in North Male Atoll at different stages of bleaching

Since the devastating El Niño in 1998, marine biologists in the Maldives “have been holding their breath for the next one. In the meantime the coral has been slowly recovering. It was pretty depressing in 2003, but roll forward to 2010 and it’s starting to look good again. It recovers exponentially.”

Meanwhile, colleagues of Stevens based in Thailand, which escaped largely unscathed in 1998, have reported coral mortality rates “of up to 100 percent.”

“The hot spots move around, but they cover a big area and the coral here could easily take another hit,” Stevens commented.

Zahir noted that temperatures this year were following similar patterns to those of 1998, with a surface temperature in April of one degree above the long term average.

However the recent drop in temperature, brought on by rain and the onset of the southwest monsoon, has lowered the surface sea temperature and brought some relief, “and may give the coral time to recover.”

“Now the temperature has dropped from 32 degrees to 29-30 degrees, so hopefully things will improve. The conditions are right for the coral to become healthy again,” Zahir noted, however he emphasised the need for the tourism industry to assist with monitoring the bleaching.

“Here in the Maldives we have a vast reef area, and the MRC has very little capacity to do surveys. From the very beginning we’ve been running a bleach-watch reporting programme with the dive industry, but for some reason the feedback has been very disappointing. There’s a hundred resorts, but I can count on my fingers the ones who are working to raise awareness. I know it might impact on their marketing, but this needs to be documented.”

All the MRC required was GPS coordinates and an indication of how much bleaching was occurring, he explained.

In the meantime, both Stevens and Zahir noted that there was little that could be done to prevent further bleaching.

Picture2
Cooler temperatures may have averted disaster

“There is very little we can do, especially in a resort environment, other than reducing human impact on the reef while it recovers – that means ceasing things like sand-pumping and beach renewal on a daily basis, while the reef is especially vulnerable to sedimentation,” Zahir explained.

Verena Wiesbauer, a marine biologist at Male-based consultancy Water Solutions, said she had just returned from visiting two islands in North Male’ Atoll and had documented heavy coral bleaching.

“The reefs had only just recovered, and now it’s struck again. It’s a big setback,” she observed.

“Fortunately it’s not as bad as 1998, and now the temperature is dropping. But I hope someone will keep track of the paling coral, to see if it gets its colour back.”

Wiesbauer added that the bleaching did not appear to have affected fish numbers yet, and suggested that “many fish don’t need live coral as long as the structure is there for them to hide in, and many algae feeders don’t mind [bleaching] at all. But there are some specialist coral feeders we need to watch for changes.”

Meanwhile, like Zahir, Stevens observed that the tourism industry appeared to have been in no hurry to report that bleaching was occurring.

“That’s something the resorts obviously don’t want to publicise,” Stevens commented. “But I don’t think it’s any good burying our heads in the sand, when there’s going to be no sand left to bury our heads in.”

The artificial coral breeding programs run at many resorts were well-intentioned, “but rather like putting a band-aid on a gushing wound.”

“It doesn’t address the issue. Rather [breeding programmes] are a tool to raise awareness and alleviate pressure on the local reef. But there are things like sand-pumping that resorts should halt during periods of bleaching because it makes the problem worse,” he said, concurring with Zahir.

“Otherwise there’s very little we can do – it’s really a global issue. We haven’t seen a reduction in fish life, turtles and mantas, and it seems those parts of the ecosystem can survive while the reef structure is at least in place, but overall I think we’re going to see a gradual decline. Coral reefs may be the first ecosystem we’ll lose on our planet.”

Images courtesy of the Marine Research Centre (MRC).

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