## No Higher Ground ## Source details **Canonical URL:** [No Higher Ground](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2021/09/maldives-climate-change-aminath-shauna-trenches) ## Other formats - [Markdown version](/en/publications/fandd/issues/2021/09/maldives-climate-change-aminath-shauna-trenches/index.md) - [Structured JSON version](/en/publications/fandd/issues/2021/09/maldives-climate-change-aminath-shauna-trenches/index.json) - [Bundle manifest](/en/publications/fandd/issues/2021/09/maldives-climate-change-aminath-shauna-trenches/bundle-manifest.json) ## Bibliographic details - Authors: ADAM BEHSUDI - Published: September 2, 2021 --- ### Threat assessment - Maldives is surrounded by and dependent on the ocean that surrounds its "1,200 islands." - Physical vulnerability statistics: - "Eighty percent of our islands are less than a meter above sea level." - "Over 90 percent of the islands report flooding annually." - "Ninety-seven percent are reporting shoreline erosion." - "64 percent of the islands experience severe erosion." - "Fifty percent of all our housing structures are within just 100 meters of the coastline." - Consequence: limited or no internal relocation options ("There’s no higher ground we can run to"). ### Adaptation measures and policies - Nationwide physical protection: - All "187 inhabited islands" have infrastructure protecting them from tidal swells and beach erosion (harbors, shoreline protection, erosion prevention measures), developed over "20–25 years." - Coral reef health and resilience prioritized as "the first barrier of protection." - Holistic policy mix beyond hard engineering: - Net zero policy to shift energy from diesel to solar ("running on sunshine"). - Single-use-plastic phaseout by "2023." - Targets and conservation commitments: protect "20 percent of our ocean resources by 2030" to safeguard reefs, mangroves, and biologically important areas. - Waste management initiatives: two major projects with the Asian Development Bank and other development partners, and another with the World Bank to build "world-class waste management centers." - Actions to stop open burning of garbage and improve island-wide waste management. ### Role in global mitigation and leadership - Example-setting accomplishments: - Maldives phased out chlorofluorocarbons "10 years before the deadline in the Montreal Protocol." - Stance: although greenhouse gas emissions are "negligible," Maldives seeks to "lead by example" and demonstrate feasibility for larger emitters. ### Financing challenges and pandemic impacts - Economic exposure: - Tourism accounts for "28 percent of our GDP" and "60 percent of our foreign exchange receipts." - Pandemic effects: loss of income for "over 30,000 people" directly employed in tourism; fishing exports disrupted. - Fiscal reallocation during COVID-19: - Funds intended for adaptation (water supply, erosion response, adaptation projects) were redirected to health care and emergency economic relief. - Movement restrictions and lockdowns increased waste generation, worsening waste-management burdens. - Multilateral and development-partner funds earmarked for climate/environment were "immediately redirected for the provision of urgent medical care supplies." - Access-to-finance barriers: - Difficulty accessing global climate funds due to project-development bureaucracy and stringent qualification requirements. - Example: challenges in justifying harbor projects as economic infrastructure and in proving that erosion is caused by climate change given limited long-term local research data. - Urgency constraint: "We don’t have time to wait until a project goes through different phases and different board approvals. If we did, there would be no island left!" — calls for "more direct access to global climate funds." ### Motivation and outlook - Political and social drivers: - Scale and closeness of community make change feasible: "Because the Maldives is such a small country, change is really possible." - Cultural and economic dependence on healthy natural assets (beaches, coral reefs, fisheries, tourism) motivates conservation. - Inspiration drawn from international models of conservation (comparison to U.S. national parks) as a template for tourism-linked preservation. - Governance emphasis: pursue holistic resilience-building across infrastructure, waste and energy systems, and marine conservation while seeking streamlined finance mechanisms. *Source: F&D Magazine interview with Aminath Shauna, September 2021.* --- ## Content in this bundle - **في خندق العمل** - [في خندق العمل (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/september/ar/trenches.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [في خندق العمل (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/september/ar/trenches.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **En las trincheras: Sitiadas por las aguas ● Finanzas y Desarrollo ● Septiembre de 2021** - [En las trincheras: Sitiadas por las aguas ● Finanzas y Desarrollo ● Septiembre de 2021 (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/september/es/maldives-climate-change-aminath-shauna-trenches-es.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [En las trincheras: Sitiadas por las aguas ● Finanzas y Desarrollo ● Septiembre de 2021 (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/september/es/maldives-climate-change-aminath-shauna-trenches-es.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **Impossible de se réfugier sur des terres plus élevées** - [Impossible de se réfugier sur des terres plus élevées (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/september/fr/maldives-climate-change-aminath-shauna-trenches-fr.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [Impossible de se réfugier sur des terres plus élevées (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/september/fr/maldives-climate-change-aminath-shauna-trenches-fr.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **Fighting Climate Change: Maldives Environment Minister Aminath Shauna - IMF F&D** - [Fighting Climate Change: Maldives Environment Minister Aminath Shauna - IMF F&D (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/september/maldives-climate-change-aminath-shauna-trenches.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [Fighting Climate Change: Maldives Environment Minister Aminath Shauna - IMF F&D (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/september/maldives-climate-change-aminath-shauna-trenches.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **На передовой. Лицом к лицу с океаном – Финансы и развитие – Нельзя терять время– сентябрь 2021 года** - [На передовой. Лицом к лицу с океаном – Финансы и развитие – Нельзя терять время– сентябрь 2021 года (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/september/ru/trenches-ru.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [На передовой. Лицом к лицу с океаном – Финансы и развитие – Нельзя терять время– сентябрь 2021 года (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/september/ru/trenches-ru.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **前沿 - 无路可退 - 金融与发展 - 国际货币基金组织季刊 2021年9月号·第58卷·第3期** - [前沿 - 无路可退 - 金融与发展 - 国际货币基金组织季刊 2021年9月号·第58卷·第3期 (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/september/zh/trenches.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [前沿 - 无路可退 - 金融与发展 - 国际货币基金组织季刊 2021年9月号·第58卷·第3期 (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2021/september/zh/trenches.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} --- _Source: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2021/09/maldives-climate-change-aminath-shauna-trenches_