From Paper to Practice: Turning the Maldives’ Protected Areas Into Real Conservation Models

Renowned for its vibrant coral reefs and lush mangroves, the Maldives spans 26 natural atolls and 1,200 coral islands, each boasting striking natural features. Among them, protected areas such as Sh. Farukolhu Island stand out as critical habitats and breeding grounds for threatened species. IUCN is supporting its State Member, the Government of Maldives, to turn this and 14 other “paper parks” within Boduthiladhunmathi atoll into effectively and equitably managed protected areas. The initiative is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), which has already supported marine protected areas worldwide exceeding the size of Alaska.

Dotted with deep-blue lagoons bordered by verdant coastal scrub and framed by the cerulean sea, Shaviyani Farukolhu Island lies in the northern Maldives within the Boduthiladhunmathi atoll, the largest naturally formed coral atoll in the world. Its complex reef ecosystems are not only visually stunning but also serve as nurseries for a range of marine life, including foraging baby stingrays, eagle rays, Endangered hawksbill turtles, Vulnerable sicklefin lemon sharks and commercially important fish species. Likewise, the island’s mangroves and wetlands provide vital nesting grounds for numerous bird species.

This rich biodiversity earned Sh. Farukolhu official designation as a protected area under the Environment Act (4/93) in 2018 —a major victory for conservation, as the island was previously considered for the development of an airport, intended to boost tourism infrastructure in the atoll. Progress, however, has since stalled. Efforts to establish a management plan, enforce regulations and carry out monitoring activities have been constrained by limited resources and technical capacity, leaving Sh. Farukolhu protected more in name than in practice.

CATENATE: Breathing life into paper parks

Sh. Farukolhu’s situation is emblematic of many other protected areas in the Maldives, where 93 sites have been designated in recent years, but management efforts have not kept pace. A new GEF-funded initiative now aims to change that, ensuring that Sh. Farukolhu and 14 other protected areas of the same atoll are effectively managed to benefit both nature and local communities. The project, titled CATENATE, was officially launched in April with US$2 million in funding from the GEF and an additional US$7.5 million mobilised through co-funding from the Ministry of Tourism and Environment of the Maldives, Sh. Funadhoo Council and the previous project REGENERATE, funded by USAID.

“Paper parks are not always a bad thing, because declaring them as protected areas helps earmark and preserve them for future generations, rather than allocating them for other uses like industrial or tourism development. For me, Sh. Farukolhu is already a success story with the halt of airport development in the island”, said Muhusina Abdul Rahman, Director of Protected Areas at the Maldives Ministry of Tourism and Environment. “With that being said, we want to move from protection to active management as soon as possible. That will allow us to test new forms of governance with local participation, hire rangers to deter poaching and unsustainable sand mining and show local councils that conservation can bring socio-economic benefits, such as new job opportunities and non-destructive recreational activities”.

The plan for Sh. Farukolhu, intended as a model for other sites across Boduthiladhunmathi and the Maldives’ national protected area network, is to deepen understanding of the island’s ecological value while assessing the needs and aspirations of surrounding communities, many of whom depend on the atoll’s biodiversity for their livelihoods. It is estimated that at least 71% of national employment, 89% of GDP and 89% of exports in the Maldives are underpinned by biodiversity-rich ecosystems such as those found in the region.

“One option in Sh. Farukolhu is to integrate community-based and nature-based recreational opportunities to generate revenue, showcasing sustainable, local-led alternatives to large infrastructure projects such as building private resorts. We want to identify the threshold for introducing activities like canoeing, snorkelling, diving and stargazing without compromising the objective of a protected area”, said Rahman.

While the Ministry of Environment is in charge of executing the project with the involvement of national and local stakeholders, IUCN supports as an official GEF Project Agency, providing guidance and oversight to ensure smooth implementation.

Local voices, lasting impact

Expected results from the project include the development of diverse governance models for protected areas and the establishment of a sustainable financing mechanism for Sh. Farukolhu protected area. Once tested on the ground, CATENATE’s governance, financial and management models will be integrated into national protected area management, help build human resource capacity and provide proven methods to replicate successful practices across the country’s protected area network.

The project will also assess tourism, fisheries and agriculture practices near Sh. Farukolhu to propose sustainable alternatives, promoting livelihood diversification through start-up grants to support the development of eco-friendly products and services, such as those offered by farmers, tour operators and fisherfolk. By encouraging responsible economic activities, CATENATE aims to reduce pressure on protected areas while engaging the private sector in the long-term management of these sites. This decentralised approach will support an effectively managed protected area network at the atoll level, helping to reduce overfishing and land-based pollution and avoid exacerbating the impacts of climate change on already-vulnerable coral reefs.

A broader vision for island and ocean conservation

CATENATE is part of a broader suite of GEF-funded initiatives implemented by IUCN to ensure resilient marine ecosystems and representative protected areas across the world’s oceans. These also include the EREPA project, which is creating a network of 50,000 hectares of protected terrestrial and coastal land in the Solomon Islands, as well as the ECARE project, dedicated to expanding and strengthening conservation areas in Vanuatu while promoting collective management practices, among other projects.

To learn more about how IUCN and GEF are catalysing innovation and investments in ocean ecosystem conservation, explore the project pages below or visit the IUCN-GEF Project Agency page on our website.

• Conservation of atoll ecosystems through an effectively managed national protected area estate (CATENATE)
• Securing Kiribati’s natural heritage: Protected areas for community, atoll, and island climate resilience
• Natural capital values of coastal and marine ecosystems in Sri Lanka integrated into sustainable development planning
• Ensuring resilient ecosystems and representative protected areas in the Solomon Islands (EREPA)
• Expanding conservation areas reach and effectiveness in Vanuatu (ECARE)
• GEF blue and green islands integrated program– upcoming projects in the Federal States of Micronesia and Palau

This article was first published here. This article has been republished with attribution to IUCN to support marine conservation awareness and protected area management education. 

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