President Solih approves plan to phase-out single-use plastic

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, on Thursday, approved a proposed plan by the Ministry of Environment to phase out single-use plastics in Maldives by the year 2023.

Prior to his approval, the plan was endorsed by all the ministers of the cabinet.

President Solih initially announced the government's intention to phase out single-use-plastics from the island nation during his maiden trip to the United Nations General Assembly in 2019.

The pledge is reiterated in the government's 2019-2023 Strategic Action Plan (SAP), which provides a framework for the state to implement measures in reaching the goals set by the incumbent administration.

Single-use plastics or disposable plastics are items intended for one-time purposes only, regardless of whether they are recyclable, labelled as bioplastics, biodegradable or compostable.

Plastic pollution continues to be a pressing concern for the low-lying archipelago. Australia's Flinders University, on August 1, declared Maldives to be one of the countries most polluted by microplastics, on the planet.

The issue of microplastics is one that has been raised by numerous local NGOs, on various platforms, though it has failed to incur any policy action.

Save The Beach Maldives, in particular, is continually vocal on the negative effects of microplastics both in terms of suffocating the reef bed, as well as with regards to dangers posed to marine life.

Once these microplastics enter the food chain, the greatest risk is faced by the very humans that pollute the ocean. Considering the vast amount of reef and deep-sea fish consumed by a majority of Maldivians, whose diet is culturally fairly seafood-dependant and often involves consumption of internal organs, the NGO argues that the matter is one of grave concern.

Given that the archipelago's healthy and vibrant oceanscapes are the main selling point of Maldives' tourism industry and its largest source of foreign receipts by far, advocates like the Save Maldives campaign have also raised relevant economic concerns and continue to urge decision-makers to match their many conservation and sustainability pledges with visible and urgent action.