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UNIT 2: TOURISM, HOSPITALITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT – IMPACTS AND SOLUTIONS
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On cost, he may be right. But people like their homes. Particularly Maldives
homes. There was a time when the Maldivians were more nomadic. Life was not
always so idyllic. In the past, when storms destroyed one island habitat, they
would move to another. Nowadays, they would rather stay if they can. Even so, one
government idea is to gather the people of the smaller islands on to three bigger
ones, and defend these behind sea walls.
This is not without regret. The country’s environment minister talks fondly of
small-island life, particularly its sense of community, which he feels is missing in
the bustle of Male. Yet the outliers may not have a choice: “We simply cannot have
200 inhabited islands, one with 60,000 people and others with 200, vying for the
same expensive defences and services! In consequence, the government wants to
consolidate services into three regional hubs”, he explains.
Mural defences have drawbacks of their own. The coral that forms the islands is
porous, making them in effect giant sponges. If the ocean continues to rise, before
long the salt water will begin to seep through from under the walls. Quite apart
from that, the cost can be astonishing. Someone has calculated that the Great Wall
of Male cost $13,000 per linear metre to build.
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It is interesting to know how the Maldives could afford this. As an official explains,
the Japanese government was generous enough to pay for it. He hesitates. Yes?
He goes on: the aid was linked to a contract award for a Japanese firm, which
used patented technology. To extend or repair the wall, the official complains, they
must buy from the firm at outrageous prices. “These rich countries pollute the
atmosphere,” he says as a flash of anger displaces his jovial smile, “and then they
profit from it.”
Making and Unmaking Paradise
It sounds wrenching: peaceful denizens of a simple land in harmony with their
environment, paying for the wastefulness of others. Is it so simple? Oil-guzzlers in
rich countries do have something to answer for. But not all Maldives’ troubles can
be laid at their door. Like most paradises, Maldives is to a large extent artificial.
Development made the harsh coral habitable. Development brought the hotels
(over 80 at last count). And development is bringing problems, familiar and less
familiar.
Jetties and harbour breakwalls have weakened natural sea defences. They
channel sand to deep water while landfills extend the coastline to the vulnerable
deepwater verge. The Great Wall of Male was probably needed only because the
island’s natural wave buffer, its wide, flat reef, was filled in to house a booming
population.
People take their toll in other ways. Male’s residents have made such a call on
the underlying aquifer that the ground water is now laced with salt. They get fresh
water (and soft drinks) to reach them by way of desalinisation plants. Even fresh
air is getting scarce. The city of Male has terrible traffic jams and people idle their
engines even when standing still just to run the air conditioning. How do you keep
paradise afloat? How do you keep paradise paradise?