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CBA Country
Programme Strategy
Maldives
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List of Acronyms
AusAID
BD
CBO
CCA
CC
CPMT
CPS
EPA
GEF
GHGs
IW
KM
LD
MDGs
NAPA
NBSAP
NCs
NGOs
NSAP
NSC
POPs
SGP
SoE
UNCBD
UNDAF
UNDP
UNEP
UNFCCC
Australian International Aid Agency
Biodiversity
Community-based Organization
Community Conservation Area
Climate Change
Central Programme Management Team
Country Programme Strategy
Environmental Protection Agency
Global Environment Facility
Greenhouse Gases
International Waters
Knowledge Management
Land Degradation
Millennium Development Goals
National Action Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change
National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan
National Coordinators
Non-governmental Organizations
National Strategic Action Plan
National Steering Committees
Persistent Organic Pollutants
Small Grants Programme
State of the Environment
UN Convention on Biodiversity
UN Development Assistance Framework
United Nations Development Programme
United Nations Environment Programme
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
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List of Tables and Figures
Table 1: Relationship between CBA global Programme objectives/outcomes and CBA Maldives Programme
Table 2: Existing pressures on the sectors and anticipated pressures and risks from climate change
Table 3: Community project typologies
Figure 1: Map of Maldives
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1. Overall CBA Country Programme Strategy (CCPS)
Summary:
The CBA Country Programme Strategy for Maldives aims to provide information and guidance for
potential beneficiaries and all relevant stakeholders for participating in the programme.
The Maldives, situated in the Indian Ocean comprises a double chain of some 1190 islands distributed
into 26 geographical atolls. Of these islands 193 are inhabited, 93 are tourist resorts and 55 are used for
industrial, agricultural or other activity. The islands in general are very small with only 33 having a land
area bigger than 1km2 with an average elevation of less than 1m above sea level. The total land area is
estimated at approximately 235 km2.
The climate of the Maldives is governed by the Indian Ocean monsoon regime –with the drier north east
monsoon dominating from January to March and the wetter and stormier south-west monsoon from May
to December. Average air temperature is about 28oC and sea surface temperatures are between 28-29oC.
The Maldivian population is estimated at 319, 740 (2010) growing at an annual rate of 1.76% per annum.
56% is comprised of children and youth. With less than 1% of the total area land being suitable for human
habitation, population growth has far more serious consequences here than many other countries in the
world.
The Maldives relies totally on coastal and marine resources for subsistence and its economic development.
Tourism and fishing are the major economic activities, contributing 27 % and 6.6 % (2009 estimates) to
the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) respectively. The fisheries sector is particularly important in outer
atolls and accounts for 20% of employment. Fishery is focused on tuna and reef fish such as grouper,
snapper and aquarium fish. Agriculture is carried out mainly at subsistence level, as land is scarce and the
soil is poor. Rural populations normally grow crops (mainly leaf vegetables, chilies, fruits (watermelon,
papaya, coconut) and a variety of root crops) in their home gardens or in leased uninhabited islands. The
agricultural sector forms a significant part of rural communities’ livelihoods and income.
Until recently the lifestyles of the Maldivians had little direct impact on the environment. The main
environmental impacts included the mining of coral and coral sand in the absence of other building
materials and deforestation induced by the need for fuel wood. These activities were then generally
sustainable since human populations were relatively small and stable.
Environmental vulnerability and fragility was further highlighted by the Indian Ocean tsunami which hit
Maldives on 26 December, 2004. It was a nation-wide disaster which caused severe damage to the physical
infrastructure of many islands, especially to those in the tourism and fisheries sector. Total damages are
estimated to be US$470 million, 62% of GDP, not reflecting the indirect cost of environmental damage
including substantial soil erosion and salinization of aquifers on many affected islands (World Bank, ADB
& UN system 2005).
For a low lying island state such as the Maldives climate change and its implications are an urgent concern,
which, in the worst case scenario threatens even the very existence of the country through sea level rise.
More immediate impacts would be felt through climate variability and extreme weather events on fragile
coral reefs and coastal zone, fisheries, tourism, coastal areas, freshwater, agriculture, infrastructure and
livelihoods. Maldives contributes very little to the global green house gas emissions (GHGs) but stands to
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be greatly impacted by the consequences of climate change. Hence, adaptation to climate change is an
essential and immediate need, and may be achieved through integrating climate risk and resilience building
into development and disaster risk management. Mitigation is high on the national agenda in line with the
government’s vision to achieve carbon neutrality by 2020. The largest contribution to GHGs comes from
generation of electricity for industrial and domestic uses, with energy for desalination representing the
highest increase, followed by transport and waste sectors. Mitigation could focus on improving energy
efficiency, switching to renewable energy, cleaner transport and carbon sequestration.
Overall, the main objective of CBA Maldives is to contribute to reducing vulnerability, increasing
resilience and the adaptive capacity of communities to the negative impacts of climate change. Building
the capacity of relevant stakeholders, in particular, vulnerable communities, NGOs and CBOs, policy
makers and local authorities to understand and integrate climate risks and implement CBA projects is
another objective. While Maldives is vulnerable to multiple impacts of climate change, CBA Maldives will
focus on adaptation to climate change impacts within two priority sectors: freshwater resources and
coastal zone, with emphasis on beaches. These two sectors are analyzed in detail and noted to be of
direct importance to communities. Adaptive measures at community level contributing to their resilience
will be piloted and adopted. In addition, the sectors of freshwater and coastal zone also highlight crosscutting issues of importance such as human health, food security, gender issues and sustainable
livelihoods. Together with capacity building of stakeholders to understand climate change risk and
integrate adaptation, a plethora of potential adaptive activities that can be implemented as projects are
presented will be generated. Furthermore, a strategy for feeding lessons learnt to climate proof policy
making and translating existing policies to action on the ground will be explored in CBA Maldives.
a. Objectives and Impact Indicators:
The Maldives is a Small Island Developing State (SIDS), with a population about 310 000 (2010), scattered
over some 198 islands in central Indian Ocean. It is vulnerable to environmental and climate change
factors, which is further compounded by social and economic factors. Considering that nearly 80 percent
of the nation is 1.5 meters below mean sea level, with a total land area of only 235 km2, climate change is
an existential threat to the nation.
Beyond the risk of rising sea level, the Maldives is already experiencing the impact of climate change on
many other fronts. In recent years, it has been experiencing high frequency, low impact hydrometeorological disasters due to changes in weather patterns, causing storm surges and flooding, both
coastal and rain induced flooding. More than 97% of inhabited islands reported beach erosion in 2004, of
which 64% reported severe beach erosion. Longer dry periods have resulted in shortages of traditional
water supplies from rainwater harvesting. Change in temperature could affect the patterns of disease
transmission as seen by recent increase of dengue incidences.
The Maldives’ economy relies heavily on tourism and fisheries, both of which are vulnerable to climate
change. Rising sea temperatures changes migratory patterns of tuna which is the main catch of Maldivian
fishery. Rising sea temperatures and levels could also threaten the tourism industry as coral reefs, which is
one of the main attractions, are adversely affected and infrastructure investments are damaged.
Another area where the Maldives is vulnerable to climate change is food security. The Maldivians rely
heavily on imports for its diet. In the face of long term climate change impacts on global agricultural
systems, it is important for domestic agricultural production in Maldives to reach its full potential in order
to directly increase food security. Maldives has yet to achieve Millennium Development Goal 7, which
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relates to environmental sustainability. Climate change impacts have the potential to reverse achievements
gained in the past decades and progress towards achieving all the MDGs.
The NAPA of Maldives (2007) identified that one of the key barrier to implementation of adaptation
strategies are weak institutions. Although the adaptation strategies are clear, most of the organizations lack
strategic direction and human, financial and technical resources to implement them. Furthermore, lack of
knowledge, education and awareness among the public on the science and impacts of climate change
tends to reduce the demand the public place on the government and private sector to supply adaptation
and mitigation to climate change activities with resources (NAPA 2007).
The Constitution mandates the protection of the environment as a key human right, while the government
recognizes environment and climate change as a crosscutting development theme, particularly given its
pivotal role in the economy. Achieving carbon neutrality by 2020 is another goal of the government. With
this background, the main objectives of the Maldives CBA programme, which is tied closely with the
overall SIDS CBA programme document, are:
i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
To improve the adaptive capacity and resilience of communities, thereby to reduce
vulnerability to the adverse effects of climate change risks
To build capacity and strengthen NGOs and CBOs to design and implement
community based adaptation measures
To include lessons and practices from SIDS CBA initiatives in relevant national
and sub-national policies and development programmes;
To upscale and replicate good CBA practices and document these in print and
audio-visual media for knowledge sharing
CBA Maldives will aim to achieve the above objectives by supporting the formulation of pilot projects in
the priority sectors in direct consultation and participation with communities; based on priorities identified
at national level assessments, and in particular as a contribution of the CBA programme in Maldives to the
operationalization of the NAPA Maldives. The expected impact indicators are:
i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
v)
Number of stakeholders at community level (e.g. businesses, community
representatives, CBOs, NGOs) with improved resilience and capacity to adapt to
selected impacts of climate change
Number of communities that have mainstreamed CBA into their livelihoods and
development strategies
Number of stakeholders provided with training in climate risk management and
increased capacity to formulate and implement CBA projects
Number of cases of effective inclusion of measures to respond to climate risks in
policies and programmes supporting development and environmental conservation
and management.
Percentage of population covered by awareness building programmes to increase
understanding of risks associated with climate change among general public and
key stakeholder groups.
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TABLE 1:
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CBA GLOBAL PROGRAMME OBJECTIVES/ OUTCOMES
AND CBA MALDIVES PROGRAMME
CBA Programme Outcomes
of
at
Objectives of the CCPS
Maldives
To improve the adaptive
capacity and resilience of
communities, thereby to reduce
vulnerability to the adverse
effects of climate change risks
1
Realization and mainstreaming
adaptation to climate change
community levels
2
Capacity strengthening among NGOs
and
CBOs
for
designing
and
implementing
community
based
adaptation measures undertaken and
climate change adaptation mainstreamed
at the community level
To
build
capacity
and
strengthen NGOs and CBOs to
design
and
implement
community based adaptation
measures
3
Lessons and practices from SIDS CBA
initiatives included in relevant national
and
sub
national
policies
and
development programmes
4
Up scaling practices and sharing
knowledge for increased up take of
community based adaptation experiences
from SIDS CBA documented for
replication purposes
To include lessons and
practices from SIDS CBA
initiatives in relevant national
and sub-national policies and
development programmes
To upscale and replicate good
CBA practices and document
these in print and audio-visual
form for knowledge sharing
Impact indicators
Number of stakeholders at community
level (e.g. businesses, community
representatives, CBOs, NGOs) with
improved resilience and capacity to
adapt to selected impacts of climate
change
Number of stakeholders provided with
training in climate risk management and
increased capacity to formulate and
implement CBA projects
Number of communities that have
mainstreamed
CBA
into
their
livelihoods and development strategies
Number of cases of effective inclusion
of measures to respond to climate risks
in policies and programmes supporting
development
and
environmental
conservation and management.
Number of projects up-scaled and
replicated based on knowledge shared
b. Sectoral Focus:
Climate change will exacerbate many of the existing environmental and natural resource problems. Based
on national assessments (UNFCCC national communications, NAPA, etc.) and recent experiences
reported from across the country, CBA Maldives will focus on the two main sectors of fresh water
resources and coastal zone, with emphasis on beaches.
1. Freshwater resources
With no surface fresh water bodies as rivers and lakes, people of the Maldives relies heavily on the ground
water from aquifers. These are very limited – confined to an underground ‘freshwater lens’ or aquifer in
each island comprised of a freshwater zone separated by a transition zone over the underlying seawater.
This lens is found 1.0 – 1.5 metres below the land surface and changes continuously with the tide. Water
availability depends upon the rate of abstraction and recharge by rain, and in most islands the aquifers
have been depleted due to over extraction. During the dry season, up to 25 % of household in all atolls
report a shortage of water (MHAHE, 2002). Additionally, due to the porous nature of the soil and poor
sewerage and waste disposal methods, the water is susceptible to pollution and contamination. In total, in
162 of the inhabited islands, the groundwater is not suitable for drinking (MHAHE, 2004). Traditionally,
people depended on shallow wells to get access to the groundwater lens for drinking water. However,
90% of the atoll households now use rainwater as the principal source of drinking water.
Currently, the main source of freshwater in Malé, and most of the tourist resorts is from desalination. This
is a costly option that produces highly saline waste and energy consumed in the production contributes to
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increased greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In view of the declining quality and supply of fresh water in
the country, high priority is now given to increasing rainwater harvesting by construction of storage tanks
at both the community and individual household levels (MHAHE, 2002). Bottled water production by
private companies is also on the rise as demand for freshwater continues to increase, adding to the
problem of plastic waste.
Adequate sanitation systems are installed in greater Male’ area and a few islands only. The prevailing
systems of sewerage disposal in most islands are onsite sanitation systems using septic tanks and soakpits).These systems are badly maintained leading to contamination of groundwater and pollution of the
marine environment through discharge of raw sewage directly into the sea.
It has been observed that the country is experiencing longer dry periods, leading to more frequent and
intense water shortages.
2. Coastal zone and beaches
Land is the scarcest resource in the Maldives, comprising only 1% of the total reef area 21,436 km2 and
fragmented over the 1200 small islands with an average elevation of 1-1.5m above sea level. Furthermore,
given the small size of the islands – 96% of the islands are less than 1km2 in area, the whole land area can
be considered coastal zone. Coastal zone and beaches are naturally dynamic with accretion and erosion
patterns depending on complex interplay of oceanographic, climatic, geological, biological and terrestrial
processes compounded by human activities.
Land use in the Maldives revolves around 6 main types of utilization: human settlements, infrastructure
islands (e.g. airport, waste disposal, oil storage), economic (tourism, agriculture, fisheries), stewardship or
varuvaa, recreation and administrative (e.g. defense). Population increase remains the main pressure on
land, despite consistently falling population growth rates, for instance: 3.4 in the 1990s to 1.6 in 2006. The
impacts of population increases are more pronounced due to the small land area of the islands, leading to
increased competition for the utilization of the little available land and encroachment of beaches for
human settlements and other needs. The capital Male’ presents an extreme example with a density of
approximately 48,000 people per km2. Apart from Male’, a number of islands in the outer atolls also
experience overcrowding. In 2006, 21 islands were found to have a density higher than 50 persons per
hectare (Shaig 2006). To accommodate the growing population and cater for housing and other needs,
land reclamation has been practiced since history and population consolidation to bigger or less
vulnerable islands has been implemented in recent years, notably in the wake of the 2004 Indian Ocean
tsunami.
Population pressures, changing consumption patterns, limited technical and human capacity and the
uneven distribution of population over widely dispersed islands also create another major hazard to
beaches: pollution by increased generation of waste and improper waste management. Solid waste
generated in the greater Male’, area including all the resorts in Male’ atoll as well as few resorts in other
atolls are transported to the designated waste management island located near the centre- Thilafushi.
Inhabited islands either dump or burn their waste somewhere, usually at the periphery whether at a
designated waste management centre, the beach or own backyard. Municipal waste dumps are located
within 100m of the coastline, on the ocean-ward side of the island. There is no systematic sorting,
segregation or recycling, nor is there any established mechanism or system to deal with hazardous waste
including POPs. It is extremely important that adaptation measures focused on coastal zone management
include this issue, a priority area identified by all communities in the Maldives.
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As can be seen from the above discussions, the low-lying, small land area of islands makes it extremely
vulnerable to impacts of climate change and sea level rise. The protection of these low-lying small islands
(highest point recorded is a 4.0m beach ridge in Fuvahmulah) from high waves and severe erosion is
important for sustaining these precious land resources and their vital uses. The natural house reefs
surrounding the islands provide this protection function. The local name given for the house reef, thoshi ,
shows that the local communities consider the house reef as part of the island system. A thoshi also means
an outer shell and is used for an egg shell, the bark of a tree or the skin of fruits and vegetables. In
accordance with the local classification of the island system, adaptation measures for land resources
should be extended to include the natural house reef and its functions. Other coastal measures that could
also be implemented are increasing the green belt surrounding the islands. The experiences from the
tsunami of 2004 have shown the importance of maintaining beach and shoreline vegetation.
Vulnerability Assessment:
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC 2007) projects that the global atmospheric
temperature will rise by 0.2oC per decade for the next two decades and global sea level will rise by 18-38
cm (low estimate scenario) and 26-59 cm (high scenario). For Maldives, a long term trend of sea level rise
of 1.7mm/year has been observed and is predicted continue (SoE 2011). Detailed risk assessment for has
been carried out only for a few selected islands to date.
As recognized in the CBA project document, in most SIDS, there is a lack of baseline information for
understanding the complex interplay between and within natural and human systems. Maldives is no
exception. Therefore, there is a considerable gap in information on likely changes in climate and human
systems at the small-island scale.
i) Freshwater resources
The primary problem to be addressed in this sector is that of a significant, climate change-induced decline
of freshwater security that is affecting vulnerable communities in Maldives. As surface freshwater is
generally lacking throughout the country, the key problems pertaining to long-term freshwater security
relate to the management of increasingly variable rainwater resources and increasingly saline and polluted
groundwater.
As the islands have a precarious hydrological system, with the predicted sea level rise and during periods
of wave-induced flooding, there is a very high risk of saltwater intrusion into the freshwater lens.
Salinization of groundwater would affect the quality of life in the islands as people depend on
groundwater for washing, bathing and other non-potable uses. Saltwater intrusion would also affect soil
and vegetation causing impacts on agriculture and terrestrial ecosystems.
Rainwater is the main source of drinking water in the atolls. The annual average rainfall for Maldives is
2,124mm. Southern atolls on average receive 2,277mm of rainfall annually while northern atolls receive
1,786mm. Lowest annual rainfall recorded in the last 30 years is 1,346 mm in 2002 at Hanimaadhoo
Weather Station in Haa Dhaalu Atoll (north) and the highest is 3,185mm in 1978 at Gan in Seenu Atoll.
Considerable inter- annual variation in rainfall from1407 to 2711has been observed over the last 14 years
(SoE 2011). Highest rainfall is during the months of May and October and the lowest rainfall is during
February and March. Although the global average precipitation is projected to increase during the 21st
century, a marginal decline in precipitation is projected for the Indian Ocean region (Nurse and Sem
2001). The predicted changes in precipitation have the potential to impact on rainwater harvesting across
all the atolls and in particular the northern atolls, as well as recharge of groundwater aquifers.
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Drinking water shortages during dry periods is a significant challenge for the atoll population even at
present. Between 2004-2010, each year on average 81 islands reported water shortages. Even this year
(2012), 67 islands reported water shortages. The harvested rainwater is collected and stored in communal
or household storage tanks. An estimated 75% of the population use water from these rainwater storage
tanks (UNEP 2005). The rainwater storage facilities presently used are very vulnerable to flooding and
high wave incidences. This has been demonstrated during the Indian Ocean Tsunami of December 2004
when a high percentage of rainwater storage tanks and/or catchment areas were damaged on the worst
impacted islands.
ii) Coastal zone and beaches
The coral islands that make up the Maldives are morphologically unstable and change in their size, shape,
elevation and position on reef platforms over time. The beaches of these islands are particularly dynamic
with substantial seasonal changes. At present, the total beach area is estimated at 13km or 5% of the total
land area and the coastline of the Maldives is estimated to be 2,300 km long (Shaig, 2006). Climate change
and increased variability are also likely to aggravate underlying problems of coastal erosion. Prolonged
drought coupled with increased instances of storm induced flooding will exacerbate the problem of
salinization of aquifers, which in turn will impact agriculture for subsistence and livelihoods, affecting
food security and quality of life. While Maldives lies out of the tropical cyclone belt due to its close
proximity to the equator, there is a clear pattern of northern Maldives being exposed to more frequent
freak storms than the south (NAPA, 2007). On average, storm surges of about 2.3m are experience in the
north east of the archipelago and these incidents will occur at higher frequency with climate change.
Coastal erosion is already damaging economic assets, exacerbating pressure on scarce land and beach
resources, and increasing the vulnerability of island populations and settlements to strong winds, high
waves, and flooding. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, 2009) estimates show that 85% of 194
inhabited islands and 45% of tourist resort islands are reporting severe erosion. The implications of
accelerated coastal erosion due to climate change is of particular concern given the limited beach and land
area of the Maldives and the economic importance of beaches in an island nation with an economy driven
by tourism and fishing.
If the predicted climate change becomes a reality with the maximum changes while sea level continues to
rise as predicted and the geological forces fail to adapt to sea level rise, Maldives most likely would cease
to exist as a nation within the next 150-200 years. Frequent inundations of land and damage to island
hydrology could make the islands virtually uninhabitable.
b. Baseline-additionality reasoning:
The table below summarizes the current pressures on the two indentified sectors and anticipated pressures
and risks from climate change.
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Table 2: Existing pressures on the sectors and anticipated pressures and risks from climate
change
Sector
Baseline Pressures
Coastal zone and
beaches
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Fresh water
resources
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Low lying and limited land
Natural morphology and
dynamics of beaches
Seasonal
beach
erosion/accretion
Sand mining
Increasing
population
density,
beach
encroachment by human
settlements
damage to protective coral
reefs, in particular the
house reef,
through
dredging,
harbor
development or access
channels and coral mining
Coastal
modification
(jetties, break waters,
harbours)
Non-compliance
with
building
regulations
(current
regulation
requires 100 ft between
the nearest building and
beach)
Deforestation/removal of
coastal vegetation for
habitation, economic and
social uses
Improper
waste
management,
pollution
and contamination of
coastal zone
Impacts of tourism
Limited
freshwater
resources
Inequitable access to water
resources
Seasonal drought
Pollution
and
contamination of ground
water aquifer
Varying rain fall
Shortage of water storage
capacity
Expensive and energy
intensive desalination
Anticipated Climate Change
Pressures
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Increasing temperature
Destabilize natural beach
dynamics
More severe erosion
More frequent storms storm surges
Sea level rise submerging land
Coral bleaching, weakened
reefs
Further
degradation
of
damaged reefs
Increased wave damage to
reefs by more violent and
frequent storms
Increased sedimentation of
reefs by more severe erosion
Increased damage to human
settlements and economic
assets
Impact on coastal vegetation
through higher temperatures,
salinization and erosion
Reduced
water
quality
(drought/flood)
Changing seasonal water
distribution
Salinization of aquifer
Prolonged drought
Changing patterns, amount
and intensity of rainfall
Water
storage
facilities
inundated by storm surges
Flooding
induced
contamination of ground
water
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•
Unhygienic storage and •
handling of freshwater
•
•
Increase in water and vector
borne diseases
Higher temperatures, more
demand for water
Indirect impact on vegetation
and agriculture
c. Local Priorities:
Environmental, economic and social vulnerability of the country as a whole is now widely recognized both
nationally and internationally. Within these domains, sub-areas, sectors or specific issues have been
identified and these can be seen as additional local priorities to take into consideration in orienting
activities of the CBA Maldives programme. References have been made to many of these in preceding
sections, and are highlighted in national assessments and strategies.
For instance, when looking at the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), while Maldives has achieved
5 of the MDGs, progress has been relatively slower toward achieving gender equality and women’s
empowerment (MDG3), ensuring environmental sustainability (MDG7) and developing a global
partnership for development (MDG8). These are echoed in the National Strategic Action Plan (NSAP)
and in the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF).
Some of the additional priorities in the socio-economic domain include: promoting gender equity and
empowering women, addressing youth unemployment and engaging youth in sustainable development,
eliminating inequities that exist between Male’ and the outer atolls as well as within atolls in access to
livelihoods, essential services and infrastructure, promote balanced nutrition and consumption of locally
available foods and improve support mechanisms for the more vulnerable segments of population such as
children, youth, women, elderly and the disabled. From an environmental perspective, highlights include
reducing loss of and protection of threatened and valuable biodiversity, strengthen resilient islands,
strengthen the regulatory framework and knowledge in the energy sector, increase public education on
environment and supporting formulation and implementation of environmental legislation.
d. Geographic Focus:
As described above, the freshwater aquifer is threatened in most inhabited islands of the Maldives, with it
being completely non-potable in the capital island Male’ and a number of densely populated islands. Male’
has adequate desalination facilities and capacity to address its water supply needs so far, albeit costly.
However, given the continuous in-migration and increasing number of visitors, supplement sources will
be required in the near future. A number of atolls, particularly those in the north of the country have been
identified as experiencing regular and at times severe water shortages. CBA projects targeting the water
sector will therefore focus on these islands.
Coastal erosion is also pervasive throughout the archipelago with no particular pattern in severity. Erosion
becomes a bigger problem in more densely populated inhabited islands as there is added demographic and
anthropogenic pressure. This may be either for basic housing needs or economic activities. As described
above, climate change and variability will further exacerbate these problems for the vulnerable islands.
CBA projects will focus on reducing vulnerability and building resilience of selected island as identified in
national level assessments and in consultation with stakeholders. Figure 1 below shows the map of
Maldives and indicates the geographical considerations for projects implementation.
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Figure 1: Map of Maldives
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e.
Community Project Typologies
In adapting the target sectors of freshwater and land resources to impacts of climate variability and climate
change, CBA Maldives will focus on the following type of activities or typologies. These are indicative and
not exhaustive, and any one project may have multiple objectives and outputs. While addressing
adaptation, to the maximum extent possible, all projects will also incorporate elements of enhancing
ecosystem restoration and conservation, natural resource management and promoting sustainable
livelihoods.
TABLE 3: COMMUNITY PROJECT TYPOLOGIES
Activities/projects to be supported under CBA Maldives
Freshwater resources
- Establishing baselines through scientific and
technical assessments on target islands
- Acquire appropriate sewage treatment and
disposal technologies and promote good practices
to protect water resources.
- Increase safe rainwater harvesting and storage at
household level
- Establish and promote communal water
harvesting, storage and distribution, in particular
targeting dry periods
- Acquire and implement energy-efficient
desalination technologies appropriate for small
islands.
- Undertake low-cost protection and recharging of
aquifers to reduce salinization from saltwater
intrusion and storm surge flooding.
- Protect and preserve natural water catchment
areas.
- Raise awareness of communities on link between
climate change and water, and appropriate
adaptation measures
- Efficient water harvesting schemes specially
targeted for and involving women
- Promote community based water resources
management programmes
Coastal zone/beaches
- Establishing baselines through scientific and
technical assessments on target islands
- Promote soft measures for coastal defense such as
mangrove plantation or other coastal re-vegetation
- Rehabilitation and restoration of damaged house
reefs via coral grafting and artificial reefs
- Promote coral reef regeneration and prevention of
marine pollution from land-based sources
- Establish community conservation areas
(CCAs)(marine or terrestrial), coral gardens to
reduce climate change-driven coastal erosion and
increase resilience to coral bleaching
- Enhancing shoreline stabilization and adjustment
according to prevailing wave conditions through
beach replenishment, and other ‘soft’ measures
- Proper assessment of land reclamation and
infrastructure development projects to incorporate
natural processes that aid adaptation
- promote a population and development
consolidation policy to move people from most
vulnerable to more resilient islands
- Promote research on impacts of climate changes
and natural processes in the island of Maldives,
especially natural adaptation processes, impacts of
improper structures in inhabited islands and status
of sea level rise
- Promote community based beach monitoring and
management programmes
- strengthen land use planning to incorporate
climate risks
- develop disaster risk profiles
- Explore low cost drainage options
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f. Policy Strategy:
Over time and in recent years, great advances have been made in putting in place appropriate policies
relating to environment (including climate change) and natural resources utilization and development.
However, actual implementation of these policies remains challenging due to a systemic lack of
institutional and human capacity. Part of this is to do with limited availability of technical expertise in the
GEF focal areas, while lack of clarity of roles and overlapping of mandates between various line ministries
and local authorities, especially in the newly decentralized local governance structure also contribute to the
challenges. Lack of public awareness and education is also another hindrance to translating policies,
regulations and legislations to concrete action on the ground.
The CBA Maldives itself draws upon existing policies of the government, in particular to those relating to
climate change, environment and natural resources to orient its activities. At the same time, CBA Maldives
is expected to generate adaptation measures, good practices and lessons that can feed into and influence
further policy refinement and making. Hence, there can be a healthy feed-back loop between policy
making and translation of policies into concrete actions on the ground.
In order to establish and maintain this loop, close collaborations will be forged with CBA practitioners
and beneficiaries and policy focal points, both directly and indirectly via the NC and NSC. Regular
exchange of information verbally, through reporting and targeted dissemination will aid such a working
relationship.
With the new local governance and decentralization scheme in the Maldives, the local authorities, specially
the island and atoll councils themselves require capacity building. CBA Maldives will be able to contribute
to their capacity development through its activities – both on policy and practical measures for adaptation.
The local authorities in turn will then transfer lessons to provincial and central government.
3. Development of the CBA team
a. NCC Formulation: Description of how the NCC has been or will be constituted.
The NCC will consist of the current GEF SGP National Steering Committee and additional experts on
climate change. The current SGP NSC is made up of a wide range of stakeholders with expertise in
different sectors: civil society engagement, climate change mitigation and renewable energy, environmental
issues, impact assessment and engineering, integrated coastal management, private sector engagement and
corporate social responsibility. Additional members (maximum 2) will be sought who has expertise in
climate vulnerability and assessments and adaptation specific to the special circumstances of Small Island
Developing States, with focus on the Maldives.
4. Identification and Capacity Building of Potential NGO/CBO grantees
a.
NGO/CBO Identification:
The status of NGOs and CBOs in the Maldives is rather peculiar. Although there are over 700 NGOs
registered with the Ministry of Home Affairs, few are regularly active. While most NGOs are passionate
about the issues central to their organization, they lack managerial, financial and project implementation
capacity. As well, there is a lack of wider supporting infrastructure for the civil society sector in general in
the country.
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A host of informal, semi-formal and formal associations, groups and community based organizations
(CBOs) are active in many islands. There is no legal framework in place for CBOs to be registered,
however existing mechanisms is used to acknowledge the participation of CBOs through their formal
recognition within island councils. Women and youth groups are the most popular of these. Almost every
inhabited island has a ‘women’s development committee’ whose objective is to work towards girls and
women’s development by promoting the rights of women, improving the general living standards,
economic empowerment and increased political participation, increasing the number of women with
higher education, improving health standards and collaborate with the government for island/ward
development. Similarly youth groups, often referred as youth ‘clubs’ work to promote youth involvement
in island development, education, employment and environmental activities.
The majorities of NGOs focus on social, developmental and rights issues with a view to creating
awareness and providing support mechanisms, in particular for youth and recreation at island level. Very
few focus specifically on environmental issues, let alone climate change. Notable NGOs based in Male
that deal with environment include: Blue peace, Live and Learn, Eco Care and recently Maldivian Youth
Climate Network (MYCN). As an attempt to consolidate and strengthen the voice of NGOs; advocate for
independent functioning of the sector and mobilizing resources, the Maldives NGO Federation was
created in 2006. However, activity has been limited up to now.
Given the situation as described above, there is little room for being overly selective on choice on
NGOs/CBOs. Aside from the major ‘environmental’ NGOs as identified above, the way forward would
be to engage with the most active or those NGOs/CBOs that demonstrate the potential to deliver CBA
projects.
b. NGO Capacity Building:
Given the limited capacity of NGOs and CBOs as described above, capacity building needs to be an
integral part of the CBA activities for the Maldives. Through training workshops, NGOs and CBOs will
be provided information, awareness and education on the basic science of climate variability and change,
its causes, impacts, mitigation and adaptation measures, as appropriate to the local context. The link
between natural resource utilization for livelihoods and climatic factors is another important topic that will
be addressed. The CBA Maldives will be thoroughly deliberated and consulted with special reference to
the sectors identified. At a broader level, various environmental conventions to which Maldives is party to
and role of NGOs/CBOs in contributing to their operationalisation will be highlighted. As far as possible
sessions would be conducted in simple, local and vernacular language with use of audiovisual media for
better comprehension. Field trips to experience firsthand and learning by doing would be other modes
employed to transfer knowledge and encourage application.
Parallel to this, many of these NGOs and CBOs also require capacity building in basic project cycle
management from proposal writing to project implementation, application of indicators, monitoring,
evaluation and reporting, financial management and administration of NGO/CBO, institutional
strengthening, knowledge management, resource mobilization and networking, community mobilization
and advocacy.
The training workshop will be used as a forum to initiate a network of CBA practitioners which will be
eventually formalized. An online platform will be created for experience sharing and mutual support,
supplemented by face-to-face meetings when and where opportunities may arise. For instance at
stakeholder meetings relating to climate change or other environmental issues, conferences or events (e.g
in preparation for COPs or other important earth summits such as the upcoming Rio + 20, etc.) and
marking of special days such as World Environment Day or Biodiversity or Oceans Day, etc. Partnerships
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will be forged with relevant government counterparts including line ministries on environment, energy,
sustainable development and planning, natural resource management (agriculture, fisheries),
Environmental Protection Agency and local governance authorities (island and atoll councils). Similarly,
opportunities will be sought to build relations with donor representatives, both national and international.
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References
Shaiq Ahmed (2006), Climate Change Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessment of the
Maldives Land and Beaches, Centre for Disaster Studies, School of Tropical Environment
Studies and Geography, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
Ministry of Environment, Energy and Water (2007), National Adaptation Programme of
Maldives, Maldives
Ministry of Environment and Energy (2012), State of the Environment Report 2011,
Maldives
National Strategic Action Plan 2009 - 2013