Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Technology Aminath Shauna has said the government is working to protect above 20% of the Maldivian ocean resources by 2030, under the NooRaajje Programme. The environment minister made the statement at the opening ceremony of the five-day workshop on Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas, hosted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
In her statement, Minister Shauna said protected areas are ecologically rich and have special features that Maldivians want to conserve and pass onto the next generations. Shauna said the government is establishing eco-tourism facilities and guidelines in these areas to ensure that its protection provides economic benefit to these communities. She said the Maldives has about 73 protected areas at present, and that the government has demonstrated in Baa atoll, Fuvahmulah City and Addu City that it is possible to protect the country's biodiversity and manage them effectively while also deriving economic benefits for people to understand that these resources can bring them livelihood programmes and ways of income. The strategic action plan of the government sets out to protect and manage at least 10% of the coral reef area, 20% of wetlands and mangroves, and at least one sandbank and uninhabited island from each atoll by 2025, she said.
Furthermore, she expressed hope that the Maldives can build the capacity of participants in developing management measures that would enhance the visitor experience in protected areas as well as effective management of protected areas. In her statement, she expressed gratitude to United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for remaining an important partner in the initiatives to address environmental challenges in the Maldives.
She also thanked IUCN for its generous assistance in strengthening the protected area management and biodiversity conservation.