The government of Maldives and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) on Wednesday signed a Rf93.8 million (US$7.3 million) five-year project supporting biodiversity conservation in Maldives.
The project will assist in the conservation and sustainable use of the atoll ecosystems of Maldives at two levels; at the national level, it will help mainstream biodiversity conservation into policies and programs of key government agencies, and at the local level, the project will pilot model atoll conservation and resource management activities in Baa atoll, UNDP said in a press release.
The project was signed by Deputy Foreign Minister Hussain Shihab on behalf of Maldives government and by UNDP Resident Representative Minh Pham at a ceremony held at the Foreign Ministry. Partner ministries in the initiative also attended the ceremony.
UNDP in its capacity as one of the principal implementing agencies of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) has helped secure co-financing to the tune of US$2.7 million from this global fund for the Maldives.
Other co-financing patterns are the Maldives fisheries Ministry, Environment Ministry, Planning Ministry, Tourism Ministry, Information Ministry, College of Higher Education, Baa atoll's Sonevafushi resort and Royal Island resort, and UNDP. Together, all these partners committed resources worth US$4.6 million for project-related activities.
The lead agency responsible for project coordination and implementation with all these partners is the Environment Ministry.
The main threats to Maldives biodiversity have been identified as habitat degradation and overexploitation of resources. The project will address causes of these threats by improving decision-making on biodiversity conservation at the national level in key productive sectors such as fisheries, tourism and infrastructure development through better knowledge and improved sharing of information between sectors as well as capacity building.
It will assist in developing and sustaining conservation measures by creation of a long-term financing mechanism and maintaining partnerships among the government, local communities, and the private sector in Baa atoll. At the grassroots level, residents of Baa atoll will be supported to follow livelihoods that will reduce pressure on the atoll ecosystem.