Nasheed to Maafushi: "Don't let development ruin beauty"

Former President Mohamed Rasheed stated that even though there is work to be done to improve K. Maafushi's quality of services that came with the revolutionary development of local tourism, he appealed that the beauty of the islands should not be lost in that process.

During the inauguration ceremony of the Maldives' foremost guesthouse business and Maafushi tourism brand "Heart of Maldives" at the island, Nasheed stated that a Maafushi brand needs to make the most of the surrounding natural ecosystem. 

"Maafushi's brand needs to be an island that supports its natural resources. Buildings, habits and policies that violate the principles of nature must not come easy to us," said Nasheed.

"Your resources, especially your natural resources, need to bring about more life to your island's surroundings."

Nasheed stated that work needs to be done to reinvigorate Maafushi's reef and to make it a rich environment for marine life. In order to lessen the impact of climate change, steps to "mitigate" such impacts need to be taken as soon as possible, said Nasheed.

"Maafushi needs to become an island that shows results in climate change mitigation outcomes, which is work that is done to stop the damage caused due to climate change," said Nasheed.

Nasheed stated that while the capacity to generate energy is increased, priority needs to be given in generating sustainable energy as well. Nasheed also stated that the 12 tons of waste that is being rid of daily can be recycled, with him saying that a treatment system should be established that will clean dirty water instead of releasing it into the reef.

While Maafushi's roads need repairing, Nasheed appealed for the island's roads not to have asphalt poured on them.

"Do not think of pouring asphalt onto your roads much like it is being done in other islands. Concrete is not development. Development is something that happens to you. Changes that happen to you. It is not some big rock. It is not the breakwater. It is not an asphalt road. Not glass. Not metal. Not aluminum," said Nasheed.

"This is a village. A tourist island. Nothing should be done that would result in the loss of its tropical or island nature. It should be used as an example for all the other islands in Maldives."

Nasheed expressed concern regarding the 530 students who have not been taught at the higher secondary level at their current school, even though the island is in need of a better one. As far as Nasheed sees it, sectors specific to the tourism island need to be prioritized so that its education system can be improved.

"A person that operates a speedboat is getting MVR 20,000 to MVR 22,000. Boat crew are getting MVR 16,000 to MVR 17,000. Why should someone attend a government position? There is no point in doing it. There is no table to be sat at either," said Nasheed.

"There are things that can be done in Maafushi and in Maldives as a whole. The way I see it, facilitating such work to Maldivians is something that Maafushi should do to serve as an example to the nation."

Nasheed recalled the beginning of Maafushi's local tourism business in 2010 during his administration, stating that their economy has been uplifted many times over due to local tourism. He went on to state that what is needed the most is knowing the level of productivity of the island.

"What should be done today is finding out Maafushi's statistics. Its GDP and how it is progressing," said Nasheed.

As per Nasheed, when comparing an inhabited island to a resort, all islands tend to have the same kind of coastlines, beaches, tree lines and soil. And so, there is no reason that inhabited islands should not get the same benefits that resorts get. This was the reason why the tourism business was approved during Nasheed's administration.

Nasheed said that what the government should do is to determine the regulations and policies to provide resources that can expand these businesses and for the government to not interfere with said businesses.

As per Nasheed, the biggest reason why it should be thought of as such is because only 200,000 tourists go to Maafushi, even though more that 2 million tourists come to Maldives yearly.