Maldives to become world's largest marine reserve

Map of Maldives
President Waheed has announced that the whole of the Maldives will become a marine reserve by 2017.

The announcement was made during the Rio de Janeiro meeting on Wednesday (June 21st). The commitment would see the Maldives become the first country in the world to become a marine reserve.

Marine reserve status for all 1,192 islands is likely to attract international investment in pilot schemes to explore new approaches to conservation and sustainability.

A number of islands in the Maldives are Biosphere Reserves. In July 2011 Baa Atoll which consists of 75 islands, was declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and the Government is working to ensure it maintains this status.  It is a model that can be replicated throughout the rest of the Maldives.

President Waheed, who made the commitment while addressing the Rio +20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development, said, "I take this opportunity to announce my Government's commitment to make the entire Maldives, by 2017, the first country in the world to become, as a nation as a whole, a marine reserve."

The President went on to say, "This commitment reflects our respect for our unique natural environment. We have taken these measures to protect our coral reefs, lagoons, coral islands and coral sand beaches. The Maldives will take any action necessary to ensure our future."    (PRNewswire/AsiaNet)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

K-12: Will it solve the dilemma of Filipino professionals?

Image
School children in class. The question as to whether quality education still persists in the Philippines? With the advent of globalization, it seems developing countries were forced to adapt to new strategies and public policies that are attuned to the needs of a globalized economy. Under the leadership of a U.S.-educated President Benigno Aquino III, the Philippines has geared up to introduce a new educational system that may have been in the shelves for long while. And it is only now that education officials have thought about of polishing it in order to be attuned to the present economic demands. The Philippines is left without any choice but to succumb to the calls of a globalized economy. Perhaps, government officials have thought it wise that it is about time that the present educational system be upgraded so that it could respond to the requirements of the international markets. They might have thought that Filipino professionals were left behind in so far as the standards o...
Read more

Breaking the presidential curse in the Philippines

Image
President-elect Atty. Rodrigo Duterte. Courtesy: Ryan Lim, Malacanang Photo Bureau On June 30, 2016, incoming President Rodrigo "Duterte Harry" Duterte will be sworn in as the  16 th president of the Republic of the Philippines, replacing former President Benigno Aquino III, who will step down after serving for six years of his term; leaving a legacy of reviving the country's anemic economic growth into what's considered by economic pundits as one of the fastest growing economies in Asia, if not the world. Latest data showed the Philippines have notched a 6.9% in GDP, against China's only 6.7% last year. And many foreign investors have set their eyes on pouring in their investments into the country, even as the newly-elected President Duterte's  announcement recently that he wouldn't allow factories to be set up in the National Capital Region, otherwise known as Metro Manila, anymore. Understandably, the newly-elected leader has expressed c...
Read more

PH police uncover new modus operandi of illegal drug peddlers

Image
Ecstacy pills in the markets. Credit: bar.wikipedia.org Combined police operations have seized more illegal drugs in Metro Manila and the suburbs of Batangas province, where international couriers in cahoots with local Filipinos were apprehended and are now facing criminal charges for illegal drug peddling. This developed after the law enforcers received reliable tips from concerned individuals that led them to their posh condominium hideouts  in Makati City and a ranch in Lipa City, Batangas, owned by the Leviste family, recently. The anti-drug operations were conducted by the PNP, Philippine Drug Enforcement Authority (PDEA) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). According to Atty. Roque Merdegia, chief of the PNP's Anti-Illegal Drug Special Operations Task Force, they had been conducting surveillance operations concerning the movements of a drug dealer in Lipa City, believed to have tie ups with the Mexican-Sinaloa drug cartel, for a long time until they final...
Read more