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The Environment of Maldives

Maldives is also known as a tropical paradise. The country of white sandy beaches is a popular tourist destination and has been an attraction amongst the travelers from all over the world. The crystal clear lagoons and the beautiful beaches of the country make it a delight for people from across the globe. But this beautiful place has a fragile environment. The fragility factor of Maldives has been a cause of concern at global and national levels. Discussions have been on all over the world to preserve the natural beauty and resources of Maldives.

It is worth mentioning here that Maldives is considered to be one of the most beautiful island countries of the world. This part of South-east Asia has tourism as a major source of revenue as people from all over the world flock to the country to experience the closeness to nature. Honeymoon couples find Maldives romantic, older people find the country peaceful and families find it a perfect place to spend quality time together.

The deteriorating environment of Maldives has been a cause of worry for environmentalists all over the world. For example the diminishing number of sea turtles is a cause of concern for the national government. These turtles are facing a threat of getting extinct. The government has been requesting the travelers not to purchase goods made of turtle shells to discourage their killing. Several other measures of creating awareness have been taken in this direction.

The government of Maldives has so far launched several plans that have been implemented to preserve the environment of this beautiful country.

The first National Environmental Action Plan was enforced in the year 1989. This plan is credited to have created a base for many future plans that were directed towards preventing environmental hazards in the country.

The main problem that the environment of Maldives has faced is over exploitation of natural resources. The government of the country has taken steps to stop it. For example coral mining was extensively done in the country till government restricted it to certain areas.

Similar is the case with reefs. Government of the country has made adequate arrangements for protecting reefs. Several measures have been taken to create awareness amongst the people of the country to protect reefs like dumping garbage, especially plastic bags into the sea has been controlled. These awareness drives have helped generating contribution from the local people of the country. The fishermen have made suggested changes in their methods to contribute their bit for preserving the environment of the country. Sport fishing, which was a regular feature in Maldives has now been restricted to tag and release method.

The President of Maldives His Excellency Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom launched the prestigious million tree program in 1996. This program was initiated to add greenery to the environment of the country. Thousands of trees were planted in nurseries nationwide. A similar program called Clean Maldives was launched the next year. This program was initiated to make the country clean on a national level. It can be said that there are environmental hazards that the country is facing but the government and the people of Maldives are making adequate arrangements to contribute for betterment of their country.

Maldives Environment