RESEARCH STARTER

Maldives ecosystems

The Maldives is a unique nation consisting of 1,192 islands spread across 26 atolls in the Indian Ocean, making it one of the smallest countries in the world. Notably, it is among the lowest-lying countries, with an average elevation of just 5 feet above sea level, making it highly vulnerable to climate change and rising sea levels. The islands feature diverse ecosystems, including coral reefs that are home to about 250 species of corals, over 2,000 species of fish, and various marine life such as turtles and rays. The terrestrial environment supports a limited number of plant species, primarily coconut palms and mangroves, with only 12% of the islands hosting mangrove vegetation.

Despite their ecological richness, the Maldives faces significant environmental challenges, particularly from human activities and climate change, which lead to coral degradation and habitat destruction. The country's economy is heavily reliant on tourism and fisheries, sectors that have been threatened by natural disasters, including the devastating tsunami in 2004. Efforts are underway to mitigate these environmental issues, including international appeals for climate action and discussions about potential relocation due to rising sea levels. The Maldives' rich biodiversity and cultural heritage are intertwined with its ecological health, making the preservation of its ecosystems a critical concern for both its people and the global community.

Full Article

  • Category: Marine and Oceanic Biomes
  • Geographic Location: Indian Ocean
  • Summary: One of the world’s smallest nations, consisting of 1,192 islands, the Maldives is known for its rich coral ecosystem but is threatened by rising sea levels because of global warming.

The Maldives is one of the smallest nations in the world. The name is often linked to Sanskrit māla-dvīpa, meaning “garland of islands,” while Dhivehi is the Maldivian language. The Dutch called it the Maldivische Eilanden, and the British gave it the name Maldive Islands, which has become Maldives. As a nation, it consists of 1,192 islands spread over 332,000 square miles (859,000 square kilometers) in the Indian Ocean. The islands are spread across twenty atolls approximately 440 miles (708 kilometers) southwest of Sri Lanka and 250 miles (402 kilometers) southwest of India. Less than 200 islands are inhabited, of which fewer than thirty are greater than 247 acres (100 hectares) in area.

The Maldives is among the lowest-lying countries in the world, with an average ground altitude of only 5 feet (1.5 meters) above sea level. Because of this vulnerability, some of the islands often experience coastal erosion and flooding during high tides and storms. The 2022 census counted 515,132 people in the Maldives, including 382,639 resident Maldivians and 132,493 resident foreigners; about 70 percent of the inhabited islands each have a population of less than 1,000. The capital and largest urban area, Greater Malé, contains about 41 percent of the country’s resident population. For administrative purposes, the islands are governed through city, atoll, and island councils under the Decentralization Act.

Climate and Biota

The Maldive Islands have a tropical climate regulated by the easterly and westerly monsoons. The average daily temperature is about 82 degrees Fahrenheit (28 degrees Celsius) with a consistently high humidity of around 80 percent. The Maldives has very little land or land-based natural resources, and less than 10 percent of the land is arable. The inland soils are saline and in a very thin layer; only 150 islands, or 12 percent of the total, support mangrove vegetation.

The terrestrial environment includes about 500 species of higher plants, two species of amphibians, sixty-seven species of butterflies, six species of reptiles, five species of mammals, and a diverse insect fauna. Altogether, over 200 species of birds have been reported in the Maldives, including resident seabirds and many migratory species. The most common trees are coconut, palms, dhigga, kaani, kandoo, midhili, and banyan. Along the shorelines, over twenty different species of grass grow. The common crops in the Maldives are papaya, banana, tomato, watermelon, breadfruit, and chili.

The environment of the Maldives is aquatic. The atolls are alive with coral reefs and sandbars that act as natural barriers against the sea. The coral biodiversity includes more than 250 species of coral, five species of marine turtles, fifty-one species of echinoderms, mollusks, and crustaceans. The Maldives also contains about 4,500 square kilometers of coral reefs, with more than 1,100 fish species and at least twenty marine mammal species. There are also five species of seagrasses and 285 species of algae and sponges. The Maldives launched a national Red List process in 2022, using IUCN methods to assess groups such as marine reptiles, corals, and mangroves.

The rich diversity in the reefs attracts thousands of tourists to the islands. The Maldives is widely known as a major coral-reef tourism destination. However, the coral reefs and the islands have faced several severe environmental challenges, including repeated marine heat stress and coral bleaching. The main environmental damage to the islands comes from climate change and human activities. Climate change has resulted in rising sea levels and ocean temperatures, increasing coastal-flooding risk and adding stress to coral reefs and fisheries. Sea-level rise and ocean warming already affect coral reefs and fisheries, and these impacts are projected to grow under moderate and high-emissions scenarios. Impacts from human activities include coral degradation, water pollution, coastal habitat destruction, and overfishing. Threatened by pervasive climate change, the government of the Maldives has appealed to international institutions and governments to decrease greenhouse gases. The Maldives signed the Kyoto Protocol on March 16, 1998, and ratified it on December 30, 1998. The protocol was an international agreement adopted in 1997 and set into force in 2005 that set legally binding targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The Kyoto Protocol was the first international treaty to set legally binding targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It was based on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The Kyoto Protocol was superseded by the Paris Agreement, which entered into force in 2016.

Culture, Politics, and Economy

The culture of Maldivians is very similar to that of South Indian and Sri Lankan cultures. The official language, Dhivehi, is closely related to Sinhalese language used in Sri Lanka. Historically, Maldivians have shared religious beliefs similar to those of neighboring cultures. According to tradition, the Maldives adopted Islam in 1153. The Arabs also established a monarchy, under which the sultanate ruled the country from 1153 to 1968. During the latter period of the sultanate, from 1887 to 1965, the British colonized the island state under a contract to protect its sovereignty. In 1968, Maldives became a republic, replacing the monarchy; Ibrahim Nasir became the new republic’s first president. From its beginning, the new republic was mired in political instability. This resulted in Maumoon Abdul Gayoom ousting Nasir as president in 1978.  Moumoon then ruled the country for thirty years (1978–2008); Mohammed Nasheed (2008–2012) replaced him and was, in turn, ousted, with Vice President Mohammed Waheed Hassan Manik stepping in as president.

The literacy rate in the Maldives is nearly 98 percent, and the average life expectancy is over seventy-seven years. In 2023, the real per capita gross domestic product (GDP) was $22,400. According to the Maldives government, the nation’s economy depends on four sectors: tourism, fisheries, agriculture, and the garment industry. Of them, tourism and fisheries are the main drivers. The government opened the first tourist resort in 1972 in an effort to diversify its economy away from its dependence on fisheries. Tourism provides about 30 percent of the total GDP of the Maldives. To attract more tourists, around 165 islands have been developed as tourist resorts—Maldivians are not allowed to settle in these tourist islands.

The fishery sector contributes between 11 and 15 percent of the GDP. The bulk of the revenue from fisheries (80 percent) comes from the export of tuna and tuna products. This dependence on just two sectors has made Maldives vulnerable socially and economically. Fluctuations in international trade and natural disasters have revealed this vulnerability. The 2004 tsunami and 9.1-magnitude earthquake devastated the country, all but destroying its tourism and fishing industries. The total damage was estimated to be more than $400 million. Climate change has also impacted the fishing industry in the Maldives, with warming waters and changes in currents altering the migration habits and natural habitats of marine life.

Resettlement on the Horizon

Beginning in the early 2000s, former president Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives discussed the possibility of buying land in neighboring nations and relocating the entire population. The government identified three nations as the potential destinations: India, Sri Lanka, and Australia. How this transition would occur was not defined. Sea-level rise, flooding, erosion, saltwater intrusion, and freshwater stress could make some islands difficult to inhabit without major adaptation.

Government adaptation efforts include reforestation of coastal areas and cleaning and preventing litter in the sea. The Maldives and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) also began developing a National Adaptation Plan in 2024 to guide long-term climate-resilience planning. Environmental education is one of the government’s top priorities; various studies have investigated the impact of climate change on the environment. In 2022, a Dutch contractor announced plans for a controversial project to combat the effects of rising sea levels. To reclaim lost land, the company plans to use sand from a lagoon to create new land, on which three new island resorts will be built. The project is controversial because dredging and land reclamation can damage lagoons, reefs, and protected habitats if poorly planned.

The Maldives was the first country in Asia and the first Small Island Developing State to join the Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative launched by the United Nations in 2022. In early 2024, the country released its EW4All Roadmap, compiled by the United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office, the Maldivian Red Crescent, the Maldives Meteorological Service, the National Disaster Management Authority, and the National Centre for Information Technology. According to the World Bank, adapting to sea-level rise and flooding alone would require about $2 billion to $4 billion.


Bibliography

Asian Development Bank. Social Sector Profile, Maldives: Social Development Issues for the 21st Century. ADB, 2001.

“Assessment of Development Results: Maldives.” United Nations Development Programme, 9 May 2010, erc.undp.org/evaluation/evaluations/detail/4366. Accessed 1 May 2026.

Boztas, Senay. “Sinking Maldives Plans to Reclaim Land from the Ocean.” The Guardian, 23 May 2022, www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/may/23/maldives-plan-to-reclaim-land-for-tourism-could-choke-the-ecosystem. Accessed 1 May 2026.

“Climate Change Threatens Maldives’ Fisheries and Tourism, Urgent Adaptation Needed.” World Bank Group, 17 Sept. 2024, www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2024/09/13/climate-change-threatens-maldives-fisheries-and-tourism-urgent-adaptation-needed. Accessed 1 May 2026.

“Current Global Bleaching: Status Update and Data Submission.” NOAA Coral Reef Watch, coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/research/coral_bleaching_report.php. Accessed 1 May 2026.

International Business Publications. Maldives Ecology and Nature Protection Handbook. IBP, 2009.

“The Kyoto Protocol.” United Nations Climate Change, unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol. Accessed 1 May 2026.

“Maldives Fifth National Report to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.” Ministry of Environment and Energy, 2015, www.cbd.int/doc/world/mv/mv-nr-05-en.pdf. Accessed 1 May 2026.

“Maldives.” International Union for Conservation of Nature, iucn.org/our-work/region/asia/countries/maldives. Accessed 1 May 2026.

“Maldives Population and Housing Crisis 2022.” Maldives Bureau of Statistics, census.gov.mv/2022/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Population-Census-2022-Summary.pdf. Accessed 1 May 2026.

“Maldives Red List.” Ministry of Climate Change, Environment and Energy: Republic of Maldives, 14 Feb. 2022, www.environment.gov.mv/v2/en/maldives-red-list. Accessed 1 May 2026.

“Maldives Rests Hope on New National Adaptation Plan to Tackle Climate Change.” United Nations Environment Programme, 15 Feb. 2024, www.unep.org/gan/news/press-release/maldives-rests-hope-new-national-adaptation-plan-tackle-climate-change. Accessed 1 May 2026.

“2023 Investment Climate Statements: Maldives.” US Department of State, www.state.gov/reports/2023-investment-climate-statements/maldives. Accessed 1 May 2026.

Wilkinson, Clive, editor. Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2008. Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, 2008, gcrmn.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/GCRMN_Status_Coral_Reefs_2008.pdf. Accessed 1 May 2026.

Full Article

  • Category: Marine and Oceanic Biomes
  • Geographic Location: Indian Ocean
  • Summary: One of the world’s smallest nations, consisting of 1,192 islands, the Maldives is known for its rich coral ecosystem but is threatened by rising sea levels because of global warming.

The Maldives is one of the smallest nations in the world. The name is often linked to Sanskrit māla-dvīpa, meaning “garland of islands,” while Dhivehi is the Maldivian language. The Dutch called it the Maldivische Eilanden, and the British gave it the name Maldive Islands, which has become Maldives. As a nation, it consists of 1,192 islands spread over 332,000 square miles (859,000 square kilometers) in the Indian Ocean. The islands are spread across twenty atolls approximately 440 miles (708 kilometers) southwest of Sri Lanka and 250 miles (402 kilometers) southwest of India. Less than 200 islands are inhabited, of which fewer than thirty are greater than 247 acres (100 hectares) in area.

The Maldives is among the lowest-lying countries in the world, with an average ground altitude of only 5 feet (1.5 meters) above sea level. Because of this vulnerability, some of the islands often experience coastal erosion and flooding during high tides and storms. The 2022 census counted 515,132 people in the Maldives, including 382,639 resident Maldivians and 132,493 resident foreigners; about 70 percent of the inhabited islands each have a population of less than 1,000. The capital and largest urban area, Greater Malé, contains about 41 percent of the country’s resident population. For administrative purposes, the islands are governed through city, atoll, and island councils under the Decentralization Act.

Climate and Biota

The Maldive Islands have a tropical climate regulated by the easterly and westerly monsoons. The average daily temperature is about 82 degrees Fahrenheit (28 degrees Celsius) with a consistently high humidity of around 80 percent. The Maldives has very little land or land-based natural resources, and less than 10 percent of the land is arable. The inland soils are saline and in a very thin layer; only 150 islands, or 12 percent of the total, support mangrove vegetation.

The terrestrial environment includes about 500 species of higher plants, two species of amphibians, sixty-seven species of butterflies, six species of reptiles, five species of mammals, and a diverse insect fauna. Altogether, over 200 species of birds have been reported in the Maldives, including resident seabirds and many migratory species. The most common trees are coconut, palms, dhigga, kaani, kandoo, midhili, and banyan. Along the shorelines, over twenty different species of grass grow. The common crops in the Maldives are papaya, banana, tomato, watermelon, breadfruit, and chili.

The environment of the Maldives is aquatic. The atolls are alive with coral reefs and sandbars that act as natural barriers against the sea. The coral biodiversity includes more than 250 species of coral, five species of marine turtles, fifty-one species of echinoderms, mollusks, and crustaceans. The Maldives also contains about 4,500 square kilometers of coral reefs, with more than 1,100 fish species and at least twenty marine mammal species. There are also five species of seagrasses and 285 species of algae and sponges. The Maldives launched a national Red List process in 2022, using IUCN methods to assess groups such as marine reptiles, corals, and mangroves.

The rich diversity in the reefs attracts thousands of tourists to the islands. The Maldives is widely known as a major coral-reef tourism destination. However, the coral reefs and the islands have faced several severe environmental challenges, including repeated marine heat stress and coral bleaching. The main environmental damage to the islands comes from climate change and human activities. Climate change has resulted in rising sea levels and ocean temperatures, increasing coastal-flooding risk and adding stress to coral reefs and fisheries. Sea-level rise and ocean warming already affect coral reefs and fisheries, and these impacts are projected to grow under moderate and high-emissions scenarios. Impacts from human activities include coral degradation, water pollution, coastal habitat destruction, and overfishing. Threatened by pervasive climate change, the government of the Maldives has appealed to international institutions and governments to decrease greenhouse gases. The Maldives signed the Kyoto Protocol on March 16, 1998, and ratified it on December 30, 1998. The protocol was an international agreement adopted in 1997 and set into force in 2005 that set legally binding targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The Kyoto Protocol was the first international treaty to set legally binding targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It was based on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The Kyoto Protocol was superseded by the Paris Agreement, which entered into force in 2016.

Culture, Politics, and Economy

The culture of Maldivians is very similar to that of South Indian and Sri Lankan cultures. The official language, Dhivehi, is closely related to Sinhalese language used in Sri Lanka. Historically, Maldivians have shared religious beliefs similar to those of neighboring cultures. According to tradition, the Maldives adopted Islam in 1153. The Arabs also established a monarchy, under which the sultanate ruled the country from 1153 to 1968. During the latter period of the sultanate, from 1887 to 1965, the British colonized the island state under a contract to protect its sovereignty. In 1968, Maldives became a republic, replacing the monarchy; Ibrahim Nasir became the new republic’s first president. From its beginning, the new republic was mired in political instability. This resulted in Maumoon Abdul Gayoom ousting Nasir as president in 1978.  Moumoon then ruled the country for thirty years (1978–2008); Mohammed Nasheed (2008–2012) replaced him and was, in turn, ousted, with Vice President Mohammed Waheed Hassan Manik stepping in as president.

The literacy rate in the Maldives is nearly 98 percent, and the average life expectancy is over seventy-seven years. In 2023, the real per capita gross domestic product (GDP) was $22,400. According to the Maldives government, the nation’s economy depends on four sectors: tourism, fisheries, agriculture, and the garment industry. Of them, tourism and fisheries are the main drivers. The government opened the first tourist resort in 1972 in an effort to diversify its economy away from its dependence on fisheries. Tourism provides about 30 percent of the total GDP of the Maldives. To attract more tourists, around 165 islands have been developed as tourist resorts—Maldivians are not allowed to settle in these tourist islands.

The fishery sector contributes between 11 and 15 percent of the GDP. The bulk of the revenue from fisheries (80 percent) comes from the export of tuna and tuna products. This dependence on just two sectors has made Maldives vulnerable socially and economically. Fluctuations in international trade and natural disasters have revealed this vulnerability. The 2004 tsunami and 9.1-magnitude earthquake devastated the country, all but destroying its tourism and fishing industries. The total damage was estimated to be more than $400 million. Climate change has also impacted the fishing industry in the Maldives, with warming waters and changes in currents altering the migration habits and natural habitats of marine life.

Resettlement on the Horizon

Beginning in the early 2000s, former president Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives discussed the possibility of buying land in neighboring nations and relocating the entire population. The government identified three nations as the potential destinations: India, Sri Lanka, and Australia. How this transition would occur was not defined. Sea-level rise, flooding, erosion, saltwater intrusion, and freshwater stress could make some islands difficult to inhabit without major adaptation.

Government adaptation efforts include reforestation of coastal areas and cleaning and preventing litter in the sea. The Maldives and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) also began developing a National Adaptation Plan in 2024 to guide long-term climate-resilience planning. Environmental education is one of the government’s top priorities; various studies have investigated the impact of climate change on the environment. In 2022, a Dutch contractor announced plans for a controversial project to combat the effects of rising sea levels. To reclaim lost land, the company plans to use sand from a lagoon to create new land, on which three new island resorts will be built. The project is controversial because dredging and land reclamation can damage lagoons, reefs, and protected habitats if poorly planned.

The Maldives was the first country in Asia and the first Small Island Developing State to join the Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative launched by the United Nations in 2022. In early 2024, the country released its EW4All Roadmap, compiled by the United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office, the Maldivian Red Crescent, the Maldives Meteorological Service, the National Disaster Management Authority, and the National Centre for Information Technology. According to the World Bank, adapting to sea-level rise and flooding alone would require about $2 billion to $4 billion.


Bibliography

Asian Development Bank. Social Sector Profile, Maldives: Social Development Issues for the 21st Century. ADB, 2001.

“Assessment of Development Results: Maldives.” United Nations Development Programme, 9 May 2010, erc.undp.org/evaluation/evaluations/detail/4366. Accessed 1 May 2026.

Boztas, Senay. “Sinking Maldives Plans to Reclaim Land from the Ocean.” The Guardian, 23 May 2022, www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/may/23/maldives-plan-to-reclaim-land-for-tourism-could-choke-the-ecosystem. Accessed 1 May 2026.

“Climate Change Threatens Maldives’ Fisheries and Tourism, Urgent Adaptation Needed.” World Bank Group, 17 Sept. 2024, www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2024/09/13/climate-change-threatens-maldives-fisheries-and-tourism-urgent-adaptation-needed. Accessed 1 May 2026.

“Current Global Bleaching: Status Update and Data Submission.” NOAA Coral Reef Watch, coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/satellite/research/coral_bleaching_report.php. Accessed 1 May 2026.

International Business Publications. Maldives Ecology and Nature Protection Handbook. IBP, 2009.

“The Kyoto Protocol.” United Nations Climate Change, unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol. Accessed 1 May 2026.

“Maldives Fifth National Report to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.” Ministry of Environment and Energy, 2015, www.cbd.int/doc/world/mv/mv-nr-05-en.pdf. Accessed 1 May 2026.

“Maldives.” International Union for Conservation of Nature, iucn.org/our-work/region/asia/countries/maldives. Accessed 1 May 2026.

“Maldives Population and Housing Crisis 2022.” Maldives Bureau of Statistics, census.gov.mv/2022/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Population-Census-2022-Summary.pdf. Accessed 1 May 2026.

“Maldives Red List.” Ministry of Climate Change, Environment and Energy: Republic of Maldives, 14 Feb. 2022, www.environment.gov.mv/v2/en/maldives-red-list. Accessed 1 May 2026.

“Maldives Rests Hope on New National Adaptation Plan to Tackle Climate Change.” United Nations Environment Programme, 15 Feb. 2024, www.unep.org/gan/news/press-release/maldives-rests-hope-new-national-adaptation-plan-tackle-climate-change. Accessed 1 May 2026.

“2023 Investment Climate Statements: Maldives.” US Department of State, www.state.gov/reports/2023-investment-climate-statements/maldives. Accessed 1 May 2026.

Wilkinson, Clive, editor. Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2008. Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, 2008, gcrmn.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/GCRMN_Status_Coral_Reefs_2008.pdf. Accessed 1 May 2026.

More Like ThisRelated Articles

Related Articles (5)

Related Articles (5)