SLOW LIFE Symposia: Maldives

Posted on Thursday 27th of November, 2014

Participants of the SLOW LIFE Symposia: Maldives

Immediately following the 2014 SLOW LIFE Symposium, Soneva Fushi also played host to the first in a new event series, SLOW LIFE Symposia. While the SLOW LIFE Symposium looks at global sustainability issues and convenes global thought leaders and experts, the Symposia series takes a complimentary approach of convening local experts and shining a light on local issues – in the same barefoot environment.

SLOW LIFE Symposia: Maldives united environmentalists from across the nation under the banner of ‘Clean Maldives’. The one-day event focused on the challenges and difficulties of waste management in an island nation with few municipal waste facilities. Participants included NGO’s such as the Maldives Lifeguard Association who struggle to teach kids to swim in the polluted waters around Male’, and Secure Bag, the non-profit organisation committed to sending recyclable materials out of the country for recycling.

Swimming coach Ahmed Firass Afeef highlighted the lack of collective responsibility on waste due to a lack of awareness amongst society. Describing a highly government-dependent society, Afeef noted that the roots of problems are not being addressed as issues such as waste management are often ‘swept under the carpet’ and ignored. In a country without recycling facilities, where there is an increasing amount of plastic waste and improper waste disposal, the authorities are finding it difficult to battle the constant increase in waste on the streets and into the ocean – leading to pollution of our most precious resources, the ocean.

 

Participants discuss the problem of waste management in the Maldives

Independent environmentalist Aishath Niyaz spoke about the difficulties of finding integral bodies with integrity to work with. With over 12 years of experience as an independent environmentalist, she struggles with financial issues because of her work field, and also finding that she is not being taken seriously for being such a young advocate. However, with her commitment, passion and drive she now does a lot of environmental consultancy for government bodies and independent organizations alike.

The participants of the SLOW LIFE Symposia came together to discuss ways where they could rise above political disputes and build capacity to tackle the most pressing problems related to waste in this low-lying country. With the aim of becoming problem-solvers, participants proposed solutions that they can work on collectively without depending on the government, and as such, three initiatives were developed, with all participants committing to make it work within the next eleven months.

A dedicated team including Soneva Fushi Resort, Maldives Environment Management Project and Maldives Local Council Authority has committed to creating a Waste Management Manual for local islands, based partly on the Ukulhas island model. This will include an in-depth manual on composting and will encourage island clusters to become responsible for their waste management.

Another such commitment spearheaded by the Maldives Lifeguard Association and supported by organisations such as Save the Beach, Maldives Body Boarders Association and Baa Atoll Biosphere Reserve is to have a School Recycling Challenge in the capital city of Male’ for the next academic year, aiming to promote waste separation and to foster the responsibility for own waste in individuals from a young age. And the final commitment is to create a support network for environmentalists in the Maldives, which will be led by Project Damage Control founder and Manta Trust representative Dhaanish Nashid with support including the environmental advocate artist Funkografik (Asad Nazeer). These commitments by the delegates will hopefully lay the foundation to achieving a Clean Maldives.