Communities
Resort Community
Mention the Maldives and an expensive holiday paradise with tropical beaches, the aquamarine ocean, and beautiful sunsets spring to mind. Resort Islands do a great job of increasing the perception of paradise by offering beach villas and over-water villas, making the perfect honeymoon destination. But consider for a moment...how does the island generate the electricity required to power hundreds of villas, a few restaurants, bars and the staff accommodation.
And...where does all the refuse go? The vast majority of the Maldives is water so how is the rubbish disposed of?
The answers - diesel generators, burning an incomprehendable amount of fuel per year. Couple this with the fuel required to transport food and beverages, and tourists to and from the resorts and to the dive sites.
How does this effect the environment and the most important part of the Maldives - the underwater habitat?
And...rubbish disposal? - Unfortunately most of the refuse is burned on a near-by uninhabited island or, again, transported to an island close to Male to be burned. Some resort islands actually dump their waste in the sea creating instantly visible habitat disturbance.
Some resorts are fulfilling their corporate responsibility by sponsoring different programmes (ie. the MWSRP is sponsored by Conrad Maldives, the FenMaaDhiguRan MPA is sponsered by Diva Maldives) others utilise more of the world's natural resources to power their islands (ie. thermal water heaters and/or rain water harvesting techniques).
Local Community
High on the MWSRP's priority list is ensuring the local community benefit, it is their country after all. Tourism is the number one industry in the Maldives, and the only way the local community benefits from the tourist industry is through the creation of employment opportunities. The Maldivian government is encouraging resorts and dive centres to employ more locals by stipulating that all dive masters must be Maldivians.
Recent History
Maldivians do not have a connection or a spiritual belief linked with the whale shark as, for example, Polynesians have with sharks or turtles. The only link between Maldivian people and the sharks - they were fish fit to be hunted. Since 1996, it is just a fish that they are no longer allowed to catch. It is important to establish a connection between these magnificent animals and the local communities, educating the islanders about the whale shark's ecological value as well as its economic value. The MWSRP sees community mobilisation as a key to the conservation of the whale shark.
Before 1996 whale sharks were caught in large numbers. Their liver oils were utilised to varnish the local fishing dhonies (boats) and the rest of the carcass was discarded because it was not seen as good meat for eating.
The team regularly hear stories about fishermen jumping on whale shark's backs trying to remove the first dorsal fins of these beautiful animals. To this day there is evidence of these stories being true. 'Joey' and 'Momo' are survivors of this illegal fishing - neither of the sharks are one hundred percent complete anymore but fortunatetly both are still alive.
The MWSRP team have been busy educating the local community about why these fish are more valuable alive. Intiatives have included meetings with local stakeholders, presentations to the Government, the fishing industry and schools - including class visits and school trips out on to the reef for educational days with the whale sharks. Education is an imperative ingredient in protecting and conserving marine life and their habitat. Without this education the environment will inevitably suffer.
An example of the change from hunting the whale shark to now non-consumptively exploiting the sharks are the many Maldivian owned 'Liveaboard' and watersports companies offering whale shark excursions.
Education
Education is hugely important in the Maldives! There is not the plentiful supply of higher education opportunites one sees in the UK or USA. Out of 1192 Islands in the Maldives there are only 19 schools which offer years 12 and 13. Most student's careers will see them working in a resort or following their father's footsteps into the fishing industry.
The only other education options - Japan hosts school exchange programmes once a year and an Italian University is planning a base in the Maldives in 2010.
MWSRP has already layed the ground work to facilitate its own school exchange and hopes to realise this goal in April 2010. If you would like to help us realise this dream please contact us or donate by clicking the red make a donation button to the left or visiting our Just Giving page.
MWSRP sees the sky as the limit for the future - Fishermen being employed as tour guides and Park Rangers, foreign student exchange programmes being initiated, natural resources being utilised - reducing the carbon footprint produced by each Island, waste management programmes being introduced, and visiting scientists and teachers helping to educate future generations.
Waste Management
The Local Community Islands also have very little means to dispose of their Island waste. If it can not be burned the rubbish regularly gets taken to sea and dumped. MWSRP are encouraging resorts to increase their corporate responsibility efforts by aiding local islands in the disposing of their waste.
Even the new airport at Maamigili has no waste management plan in place. Originally built for domestic purposes the plans to become an International airport have been approved. This will mean more visitation to the Island, increasing refuse which will ultimately end up on the reef because there is no refuse management in place.
A Step in the Right Direction
Through various meetings, over the past four years, with local stakeholders - the local community, the fishing industry, resorts, liveaboards and dive centres - the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme has gained the support needed to develop a whale shark orientated Marine Protected Area (MPA). Parliament passed the proposal and announced the MPA (the largest in the Maldives) on 5th June 2009, World Environment Day. The team also initiated a whale shark Committee to facilitate effective communication between stakeholders.
Through the success of the MPA these goals and many more (including this programme becoming completely managed by the Maldivian community) will be realised.