Navigating Climate Change in the Maldives: Government Insights - SAR-CLIMATE

Navigating Climate Change in the Maldives: Government Insights

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Climate change in the Maldives with Mr. Umar Fikry. — Mr. Umar Fikry (Photo by ADPC)

Mr. Umar Fikry is Deputy Chief Executive at the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Maldives.

What is the current environmental position of the Maldives and the climate risks involved?

The Maldives is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to climate change. It’s a low-lying flat island nation with around half a million population.

In the global arena, you may hear a lot about sea-level rise and climate change impacts. But for me, a person from a disaster management background, climate change is already here.

Climate change is being felt through disasters. We know from the statistics and incidents over the past five years that the intensity and severity of all hazards are increasing.

When it rains, the downpour is much more severe and falls in a much shorter period. This exceeds the threshold of capacities of our small island state and island communities.

Flooding has increased at household levels, and so has damage. We also know that tidal activity has increased both on the shorelines and at the reefs. There is also increased erosion at the island level.

Climate change is already here! When we talk about 15 years of sea-level rise by the end of the century, we know for the Maldives, it’s an existential issue regarding climate change and disasters.

The Maldives is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to climate change.

How severe are the dangers, and how aware is the Maldives population of what’s happening around them?

If you look at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report “Global Warming of 1.5°C,” it gives the world a 15-year window to change its business-as-usual approach.

We know that once we cross 2°C of Global Warming, almost 80% of the world’s coral reefs will disappear, and the Maldives are islands built on top of coral reef ecosystems.

Losing coral reefs would mean losing our country, population, culture, and original language, which has sustained itself for over 2,000 years.

Right now, the severity is increasing due to rainfall and tidal wave activities. We know local fishermen incur more losses yearly due to this.

We know that household crops are getting damaged yearly during the rainfall season, and the aggregate impact of those damages over 10 years would be equal to a one-time big event such as a tsunami.

What adaptation policies are being implemented, and what proactive measures are being taken by the government?

The government is taking proactive measures to reduce the impacts of climate change and disaster risks. Our five-year Strategic Action Plan is risk-informed and covers climate and disaster risks across all policy areas.

The Maldives is also working towards leaving no one behind by building better transport networks, sewage systems, and sustainable wastewater management.

We are working with local communities to build their preparedness capacities, ensuring every island has a disaster mitigation plan and that their capacities at the island level (in terms of trained people and equipment) are sufficient to mitigate and manage local-level disasters.

We are trying to empower communities, so they have the right people and the right tools at hand. Right now, we see island communities working on their own to revive ecosystems, mangroves, and beaches to address erosion.

Training people and equipping people will make them more resilient and less dependent on national systems. If we have more resilient communities that are self-sufficient, we know that the most hazard risks will be reduced. This gives them more opportunities to focus on productive economic activities.

Mr. Umar Fikry spoke with ADPC at the Seventh session of the Global Platform (GP2022) in Bali, Indonesia.

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homolata

homolata.borah@adpc.net

http://www.adpc.net

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