Coastal and Marine Resources
In 2010, the Maldives Ministry of Housing and Environment presented its Fourth National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity (NBSAP) to the Commission on Biological Diversity.
At present, the total beach area is estimated at 13 km, or 5% of the total land area of the Maldives, and the coastline is estimated to be 2,300km long. Coastal ecosystems include mangroves, swamps, sea grass, coral and open ocean ecosystems. The small size of the islands forces people to live next to the sea, with more than 50% of housing structures on 121 islands being within 100m of coastline and 42% of the population living within 100 meters of the coastline. Beach erosion is a major issue and was evident on 97% of the Maldives' 1,190 islands in 2004. Although coastal erosion is a natural process due to the dynamic and unstable nature of Maldives beaches, it is exacerbated by human activities. Due to the high level of tourist development in coastal areas, it is likely that further erosion will have a significant economic effect on the operation of the tourism industry. Coral reefs have a critical coastal protection function, yet there have been a number of anthropogenic stresses on the reef system such as coral mining, reef entrance blasting, dredging, solid waste disposal and sewage disposal that has affected the health, integrity and productivity of reefs. The economy of the Maldives is also heavily reliant on coastal resources through tourism as well as fisheries, which are the largest contributor to exports and contribute about 7% to GDP, with more than 20% of the population dependent on fisheries as the major income-earning activity. 70% of all fisheries infrastructure is within 100m of the coastline, and proximity to the beach is considered an advantage despite the likely negative economic impact on future sea level rise. The preservation of coral reefs is also a priority due to their role in buffering beaches against wave action and other oceanic forces.
