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MENAFN- Live Mint) "Are“artificial islands” and“human-made desserts” new tourist destinations amid blue lagoons and white-sandy beaches in the Maldives? An article published in the journal Nature cited scientists as predicting that the islands in the Maldives could be completely submerged by 2100.“The Maldives is also one of the countries most vulnerable to sea-level rise,” the article read. It added that 80 percent of its islands are less than one metre above sea level, and less than one percent of the area in the island nation is actually land READ: Maldives snubs India over hydrographic survey deal after signing military pact with ChinaMeanwhile, an explanatory video posted by Nature on X (formerly Twitter) on April 27 stated that the“low-lying islands could become uninhabitable by 2050” because of the global sea level rising three to four millimetres per year capital, Malé, is one of the most densely populated parts of the planet.“The alleviation of the housing crisis in the Malé region is one of the key pledges of Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu's administration,” a government press release had said in December last year's possible to walk across the entire island in 20 minutes. All the 1,200 islands in the Maldives are atolls – ring-shaped coral reefs, islands, or series of islets READ: Indian tourists ditch Maldives amid row as numbers drop 40%; China arrivals up 200%How does the Maldives govt plan to keep the country thriving?The government is adopting a strategy called 'land reclamation'. It is the process of creating new land from the sea, either by removing water from muddy areas or raising the level of the land the Maldives' case, the concept is simple. The island is expanding its territory by dredging up sediment from the ocean floor. As Nature explains it,“Huge suction pipes on boats move across the ocean floor, collecting sand like a giant vacuum [from lagoons]. The boats then deposit this dredged material in a new spot to form so-called reclaimed land.” The sand is piled along the coast to make more space December 2023, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu had officially inaugurated 'Ras Malé', marking the commencement of the nation's most extensive land reclamation project ever undertaken recently announced a reclamation project encompassing 30 hectares of land on L Maavah Islan. On April 11, he reassured the residents that the island's development and road construction would be carried out per their wishes and that resort development in the lagoon near Maavah would commence promptly in March, he had announced the Felidhoo Island's land reclamation project. He had then said that hospital upgrades and a sports complex would be developed in line with the aspirations of Felidhoo residents.'Maldives racing to create new land'The Nature report dubbed the Maldives“a veteran of large-scale land reclamation,” with projects dating back to 1997. The Maldives has created a lot of reclaimed land in the past five decades, it added Addu, there's reclaimed land everywhere. The report cited Addu City's mayor, Ali Nizar, as saying that more than 5,000 requests for housing have been received since he entered office in 2021.“We need land,” he said, adding,“There's no other way.”ALSO READ: Maldives thanks India for sending essential commodities amid tensions, Jaishankar responds...Land reclamation comes at a costTo explain this, Nature recalled a controversial project aimed at“the transformational development of Addu City.” Former Maldives president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih had led the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process for land reclamation projects had sought a review of the Addu project, an environmental consulting group. An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report published in February 2022 found that there was“high interest to implement the project based on the potential economic benefits”.ALSO READ: Indians 'cancel' trips, bookings as Maldives minister gets slammed for insulting PM Modi, posting 'Hinduphobic' tweetsHowever, the report had also concluded that“long-term irreversible negative impacts will be generated from the project” for both the environment and the community, Nature reported process of land reclamation could destroy coral reefs, seagrass meadows, and natural barriers, such as sand bars, mangroves and estuaries, and destroy marine habitats. They can even harm the fishing and tourism industries the report came out, the EPA pushed for changes, such as a smaller area from which the project would source sand. Once the changes were made to the proposed project, a second report was presented at the end of September 2022 READ: Indians confuse Mauritius with Maldives after tourism tweet: 'Not interested, please invite China'It had found that“the altered project, with increased mitigation and monitoring in place, would still have irreversible negative impacts - ranging from moderate to major - on marine plants and animals, protected and sensitive areas, tourism, fisheries and recreational activities.”“The assessment calculated that the cost of the damage to coral reefs alone would be between US$340 million and $851 million,” Nature reported.“Underwater, the effects of the projects are even more noticeable...,” Nature said, explaining that sediments,“churned up by the dredging,” are suspended in what used to be clear water. This is harmful to the life underwater as it can choke the corals, hindering the adequate supply of oxygen READ: Maldives welcomes China's military delegation amid retreat of Indian troopsTo deal with this, many reclamation projects involved relocating corals away from the dredging areas. The video explained,“It is not clear if they all thrive in their new locations.”'Huge swaths of reclaimed land remain undeveloped'“The easy part is building the land,” the Maldives leader had said.“Only after that does the hard part begin,\" he added Nature report noted that while the Maldives need more land, many have complained that huge swaths of the reclaimed land remain undeveloped as locals lack money to build anything on it has reportedly hit business in the Maldives as well. Several tourists have been demanding their money back from hotels that have extended the area between the beaches and the hotels –
offering their customers an interrupted or no beach view READ: Roadshow, influencer, media trips: How Maldives aims to deal with 'current decline in Indian tourists''Land reclamation can be beneficial'The Maldives government support this strategy as it believes that this land reclamation process can help build space for housing, attract investment, and develop local economies.“This will be a doorstep, a job destination and an income-generating destination,\" Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu said at the inauguration of a new land-reclamation project last December.“In many parts of the world, including the Maldives, land reclamation can be beneficial,” said scientists.“In my opinion, it can be a positive thing around Malé [because of population pressures there],” geographer Duvat was quoted as saying. But she doesn't see as much justification in more rural, distant atolls.“In this case, I cannot see the benefits.”
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