location: Maldives

location: Maldives

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Seeking solutions in Indigenous knowledge: Interview with the Maldives’ Mohamed Nasheed
- In the next 50 years, 80% of the Maldives may become uninhabitable, creating human security and livelihood issues of epic proportions for its nearly 400,000 population.
- The rise in ocean temperatures and acidification are leaving severe impacts on coral reefs, affecting both tourism and fisheries in the Maldives and also damaging the country’s critical first line of natural defense.
- Before a 1998 El Niño bleaching event, the archipelago’s coral reefs remained in good condition, but it killed a significant portion of the fragile ecosystem, which continues to be impacted by climate change.
- Among the solutions proposed are the prosperity plans under the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) to help countries overcome debt traps and attract investments through debt for environmental swaps.

Top 15 species discoveries from 2022 (Photos)
- A resplendent rainbow fish, a frog that looks like chocolate, a Thai tarantula, an anemone that rides on a back of a hermit crab, and the world’s largest waterlily are among the new species named by science in 2022.
- Scientists estimate that only 10% of all the species on the planet have been described. Even among the most well-known group of animals, mammals, scientists think we have only found 80% of species.
- Unfortunately, many new species of plants, fungi, and animals are assessed as Vulnerable or Critically Endangered with extinction.
- Although a species may be new to science, it may already be well known to locals and have a common name. For instance, Indigenous people often know about species long before they are “discovered” by Western Science.

Deep dive uncovers previously unknown underwater ecosystem in Maldives
- Scientists recently identified a previously undiscovered marine ecosystem in the waters around the Maldives, known as the “trapping zone,” about 500 meters (about 1,600 feet) below the surface.
- The researchers say the trapping zone refers to a region of subsea vertical cliffs and shelving terraces that “trap” small, migrating mesopelagic organisms, which attract pelagic predators like sharks, tuna and large fish.
- Prior to this mission, very little was known about the Maldivian sea below 30 m (about 100 ft), despite the country’s total area consisting 99% of water.
- The researchers say trapping zones likely exist in the waters around other oceanic islands with similar topography, and that they’re already gathering evidence of such an ecosystem in the waters of the Chagos archipelago, south of the Maldives.

Maldives shark-fishing ban tested by ebbing support from small-scale fishers
- A 2010 blanket ban on shark fishing in the Maldives doesn’t enjoy support from artisanal reef fishers, a new study suggests.
- Many fishers blamed sharks for stealing their catches, eating into their earnings, and damaging their fishing equipment — problems they perceive have worsened since the creation of a shark sanctuary.
- These negative perceptions could result in lower compliance with fishing restrictions and undermine efforts to revive shark populations in Maldivian waters.
- Pole-and-line skipjack tuna fishers reported the greatest support for the shark fishing ban because sharks corral tuna to the ocean surface, making them easier to catch.

Spectacular new fish species is first to be named by Maldivian scientist
- A colorful reef fish from the Maldives is the first new-to-science species to be described by a Maldivian scientist.
- Cirrhilabrus finifenmaa has been named by Ahmed Najeeb, a biologist from the Maldives Marine Research Institute (MMRI), after the local word for “rose.”
- Subtle physical differences and DNA analyses confirmed the rose-veiled fairy wrasse is a separate species from the already known rosy-scales fairy wrasse (Cirrhilabrus rubrisquamis).
- Researchers say the newly described fish is already being sold for the aquarium trade, calling it “unsettling when a fish is already being commercialized before it even has a scientific name.”

Insects and other invertebrates on tropical islands face challenges as development and tourism expand
- Oceanic islands host 50 percent of the world’s endangered species, but human activities can greatly disturb these isolated ecosystems.
- The number and diversity of insects and other invertebrate species decrease on islands dedicated to urban development or tourism, according to a new study in the Maldives.
- Fragmented habitats take a toll on these species on urban islands, while pesticides are the suspected culprits on tourist islands.

For manta rays, parasitic hitchhikers can be a pain in the rear, study finds
- A new study has found that 13 species closely associate with reef manta rays and oceanic manta rays in the Maldives.
- The associations between the manta rays and these other species are not always mutually beneficial, with the “hitchhiking” species usually gaining more benefits than they give to the manta rays.
- The study is based on more than 76,5000 sightings of the two manta ray species over a 30-year period.

Sharks on a knife’s edge as Maldives mulls lifting 10-year fishing ban
- Eleven years ago, the Maldives created a 90,000-square-kilometer (34,750-square-mile) sanctuary that banned shark fishing, but fisheries minister Zaha Waheed said recently that the government may be planning to lift the ban.
- Conservationists say reopening shark fisheries in the Maldives would have devastating effects on shark populations and adversely affect tourism, which brings millions of dollars into the country each year.
- There are unofficial reports the Maldivian government will not be lifting the shark fishing ban, possibly in response to the local and international outcry.
- But a local expert says there are still grounds for concern if long-line fisheries are allowed to operate in the shark sanctuary, or if a legislative loophole is introduced that would allow shark fishing to recommence in some capacity.

Underwater ultrasound scanner to support manta conservation
- Researchers used a new contactless ultrasound device to scan reef manta rays in the wild, enabling them to assess the animals’ maturity and reproductive status underwater.
- The successful scanning of a pregnant female manta produced clear images of her fetus.
- By helping researchers better understand the factors that influence the timing and location of mantas’ breeding, the researchers say, the ultrasound technology can help them determine reproductive rates and guide manta conservation strategies.

10 ways conservation tech shifted into auto in 2018
- Conservation scientists are increasingly automating their research and monitoring work, to make their analyses faster and more consistent; moreover, machine learning algorithms and neural networks constantly improve as they process additional information.
- Pattern recognition detects species by their appearance or calls; quantifies changes in vegetation from satellite images; tracks movements by fishing ships on the high seas.
- Automating even part of the analysis process, such as eliminating images with no animals, substantially reduces processing time and cost.
- Automated recognition of target objects requires a reference database: the species and objects used to create the algorithm determine the universe of species and objects the system will then be able to identify.

High sea levels thousands of years ago aided island formation
- A recent study has found that high sea levels were critical to the formation of coral reef islands in the Indian Ocean thousands of years ago.
- The findings suggest that rising sea levels driven by climate change might not destroy all coral reef islands.
- However, the authors caution that the same higher-energy waves that help build these islands could also destroy the infrastructure on them that humans depend on.
- They also say that, for coral reef island formation to occur, the reef must be healthy to begin with — something that risks being negated by rising water acidity and temperature, both the result of climate change.

A new dimension to marine restoration: 3D printing coral reefs
- Australian group Reef Design Labs submerged a 3D-printed artificial coral reef earlier this month in the Maldives, with the hope that this advanced engineering method will help coral regeneration efforts.
- Their product, called Modular Artificial Reef Structure or MARS, enables the user to build and install an adjustable structure by hand rather than barge or crane.
- 3D printing cannot fix ocean acidification, bleaching, and other dire threats reefs face, but it can facilitate desperately needed research on reef restoration and resilience.

Needed: Old-age homes for coral reef fish
- While smaller fish with short life spans tend to rebound quickly in protected reefs, larger, longer-lived fish may need more than 100 years of strong protection to fully recover, a new study concludes.
- For the new study, researchers analyzed fish survey data from 324 coral reef sites in the Indian Ocean, spanning eight countries.
- The researchers found that the recovery process in large, well protected marine reserves was faster than in smaller, poorly protected reserves, where they predicted that fish communities would never fully recover from overfishing.

“Don’t be so silly” about climate change: Mohamed Nasheed on The Daily Show

Former president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed speaking to reporters at the Copenhagen Climate Summit in 2009. Photo by: Adam Welz. Mohamed Nasheed, former president of the Maldives, told the world on The Daily Show Monday night: “Just don’t be so silly” about climate change. Nasheed, who in February was forced to resign his presidency, […]
Sober up: world running out of time to keep planet from over-heating

If governments are to keep the pledge they made in Copenhagen to limit global warming within the ‘safe range’ of two degrees Celsius, they are running out of time, according to two sobering papers from Nature. One of the studies finds that if the world is to have a 66 percent chance of staying below […]
Citizens of 188 countries challenge leaders on climate change

As world leaders continue to fumble a coherent, rapid, and comprehensive response to climate change, citizens from around the world yesterday sent a message to inert politicians by participating in over 7,300 events against climate change, according to 350.org, the head organizer of the day dubbed the ‘Global Work Party’. “The fossil fuel industry may […]
US think-tank: islands affected by global warming should wait for trickle-down money

Poor island nations threatened by rising seas should wait for money through trickle-down economics, according to the founder of the US-based Competitive Enterprise Institute. The free-market think tank believes that curbing greenhouse gas emissions to combat climate change will be too costly to the US and global economies. “If the focus in this century is […]
Nations vulnerable to global warming present demands: carbon levels below 350ppm and billions in aid

A group of nations especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change have released a declaration calling for developed countries to keep CO2 emission below 350 parts per million (ppm) and to give 1.5 percent of their gross domestic product to aid developing nations in adapting to the myriad impacts of climate change. “Anthropogenic climate […]
Political heat rising on climate change, but does the United States feel it?

Maldives president tells world: ‘please, don’t be stupid’ on climate change

Maldives announces it will be carbon neutral in ten years
Facing extinction from rising seas, Maldives establishes fund to buy homeland abroad
Facing extinction from rising seas, Maldives establishes fund to buy homeland abroad Facing extinction from rising seas, Maldives to buy homeland abroad mongabay.com November 10, 2008

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