Maldives

I. Introduction

1. Human-induced climate change, caused by the burning of fossil fuels, has caused widespread adverse impacts on the full enjoyment of human rights. These rights include rights to life, food, health, housing, self-determination, water, sanitation, and a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. The losses and damages from climate change will continue to disproportionately impact the most vulnerable, including Small Island Developing States (SIDs) like the Maldives.[1]

2. The Maldives is an archipelagic state in the Indian Ocean, which has mere 298 km2 of land across 1,192 coral islands scatted over 26 atolls.[2] Given its unique geography, the country is highly suspectable to the impacts of climate change. Under the Climate Vulnerability Rankings, Maldives ranks 168 out of 187 countries for Vulnerability (the lower the rank, the more vulnerable). While its Readiness score is also relatively high, being the 77th most ready country to combat climate change, the urgency and danger is greater.[3]

3. Despite its limited contribution to global emissions, the Maldives has maintained a strong commitment to combating climate change. In 2016, the country ratified the Paris Agreement, and fulfilling its commitment under the Agreement, submitted the first report of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) in 2020. In the NDC, the Maldives laid out a very ambitious plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26% and achieve net zero by 2030 depending on international support. The country accurately identified building resilience as its national priority.[4]

4. Other initiatives were taken by the Maldives legislature to combat the impact of climate change on human rights, such as but not limited to: Green Tax (2015) that is charged to tourists, Climate Smart Resilient Islands Initiative launched in 2019 to promote collaboration amongst SIDs, and the Climate Emergency Act (2021) that lays out framework to achieve net-zero.[5] We commend the Maldives for these forward thinking efforts.

5. Despite these efforts, climate change continues to threaten a variety of human rights. Due to its unique geography, the islands are especially prone to the issue of sea-level rise (SLR) and ocean heating. The following sections describe how SLR, ocean heating, and natural disasters undermine the Maldives’ right to self-determination, the right to clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, the right to food and water, and the right to work and the right to a decent income and livelihood.[6]

6. To address problems associated with SLR, the Maldives has been implementing creative solutions such as land reclamation projects. Beginning in 1997, Hulhumalé was constructed as the nation’s first major artificial island; currently, the island has more than 50,000 residents.[7] However, these reclamation projects have largely ignored concerns of local communities.[8]

7. This submission further recommends that the Maldives to take actions in preserving and monitoring coral reefs as natural barriers to coastal flooding, investing in strengthening food and water security, and climate resilient housing and infrastructure, and reevaluating its land reclamation projects.

II. Right to Self-Determination

8. Human Rights Council Resolution 53/6 expresses “extreme concern that climate change poses an existential threat to some countries.”[9] The right of self-determination has been increasingly recognized as being particularly under threat from climate change impacts which could threaten the existence and survival of peoples and States.[10]

9. The 2023 Declaration on the Continuity of Statehood and the Protection of Persons in the Face of Climate Change-Related Sea-Level Rise expressly notes that the continuity of statehood is consistent with the right of self-determination and that statehood will continue notwithstanding sea-level rise.[11] If significant portions of its territory become uninhabitable or submerged, SLR has a strong potential to abrogate one of the most fundamental rights, namely the right to self-determination. We urge the Maldives to adopt a similar approach to ensure that its self-determination, statehood, and sovereignty is legally ironclad as climate change impacts accelerate.

10. We further encourage the Maldives to align with similarly situated States to ensure a robust response to climate change and to place pressure on high-emitter governments to stop burning fossil fuels, implement a just transition, and work in solidarity with vulnerable States.

III. Right to clean, healthy and sustainable environment

11. With 36% of all buildings located within 100 meters of the shoreline, and 71% located within 200 meters, dramatic SLR will cause coastal flooding and destruction of more than half the populations’ homes and workplaces.[12] This will directly impede people’s right to clean, healthy and sustainable environment. Furthermore, loss of habitable environment will cause internal displacement and forced migration. As the number of internally displaced persons rise, both migrants and host populations will face heightened risks of overcrowding, unsanitary living conditions, and the spread of infectious diseases during their transit and resettlement.[13]

12. Coastal flood and rising sea level will not only destroy people’s homes but also damage critical infrastructures people rely on. Already, the Maldives’ health care system has exposed limitations due to the geographically dispersed nature of the population, and unreliable transportation.[14] Peripheral atolls have limited access to health care resources and facilities.[15] While it is commendable, it is critical that the Maldives invests in more climate resilient public health infrastructures that will still function in the event of coastal floods, or other natural disasters, to protect the right to health.

13. Another key climate change that impact people’s right to clean and healthy environment is the rise in sea surface temperature, or ocean heating. Sea surface temperature has warmed throughout the archipelago in the past few years.[16] While the Maldives has not faced any major disasters since the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, it has seen an increase in flood, heavy rainfall, and monsoons partly due to warmer temperatures.[17] Warmer temperature also increases prevalence of vector borne diseases, heat exhaustion, and other heat related deaths that seriously threaten people’s rights to healthy environment.[18] These risks disproportionately impact marginalized communities, including the over 90% of people living below the poverty line who reside outside of the capital island, they are particularly vulnerable to these natural hazards and vector-borne diseases.[19]

14. The infrastructure of various cities in the Maldives are prone to natural hazards. Poor road systems and congested drainage systems have already flooded the streets of Malé in events of heavy rainfall. As the water became quickly contaminated with litter, citizens have also reported such water seeping into their households.[20] Critical infrastructure such as roads and electricity generators are also at high risk of damage from flooding. In 1987, the Malé power plant was completely inundated during a coastal flood leaving the capital without electricity for several days.[21] As climate change accelerates, the frequency and severity of such events will increase, making it imperative for the government to prioritize climate-resilient urban planning, infrastructure upgrades, and improved waste management systems to safeguard the well-being of its citizens.

IV. Right to food and water

15. SLR has a critical impact on Maldivians’ right to food and water. In the Maldives, the need for freshwater is usually met by harvesting groundwater, rainwater, and desalination. However, groundwater in atoll islands is particularly vulnerable to saltwater intrusion (which occurs due to coastal flood and heavy rainfall, see section above), as saltwater can immediately pollute and contaminate clean water sources.[22] While the Maldives has implemented a new water management system in 2017, constructing desalination facilities and rainwater harvesting infrastructures, water security remains a critical issue.[23] As recognized by both the United Nations General Assembly and the Human Rights Council, the right to safe drinking water is a distinct human right that is under threat in the Maldives.[24]

16. Although the GDP contributions from agriculture and fisheries in the Maldives are marginal, they remain one of the most important sources of food security especially in remote islands.[25] However, ocean heating and pollution can become detrimental to fish stocks. In a high emissions scenario, where global temperatures exceed 2°C, one study predicts that fisheries in Maldives will see nearly 100% decline in fish catch.[26] This diminution in food source will hugely threaten people’s right to adequate food, especially in the extreme remote areas where access to imported foods are limited.

17. The loss of fish and marine food supplies represents a threat to the permanent sovereignty over natural resources of the Maldives as well as a threat to its means of subsistence—both essential elements of the self-determination of the Maldives. Such breaches have been caused by high-emitter States. The Maldives may therefore be entitled to reparation under principles of State responsibility for breaches of international law, particularly breach of its self-determination.

V. Economic rights - rights to livelihood

18. Due to the country’s economic reliance on its unique geography, the impact of climate change on people’s economic rights, including the right to work, is particularly severe in the Maldives. SLR and ocean heating threaten all of the main industries in the Maldives, from tourism to agriculture and fisheries. Most significantly, the Country Climate and Development Report submitted by the World Bank Group estimates that nearly all coral cover in the Maldives could disappear by mid-century if global temperatures rise above 2°C.[27] Ocean heating is also causing coral bleaching, and the reduction of coral reef biodiversity.[28] Considering that the tourism sector in the Maldives mainly draws visitors for its beaches and vibrant marine life, coral reef health is significantly important for the tourist industry.[29] Therefore, the loss of attraction for tourists can jeopardize the country’s biggest sector—tourism sector accounts for over 30% of the nation’s GDP, with one-fourth of all women and one-third of all men working directly or indirectly in tourism.[30] The problem will be particularly acute for small island resorts and hotels, which are often the major source of income for the local population.[31]

19. Coral reef health is also intricately connected with fisheries. Fishing is still the second largest industry in the Maldives, consisting over 50% of merchandise exports and 20% of domestic employment. However, the decline of coral reef biodiversity directly leads to changes in fish population, forcing certain species to migrate elsewhere and reducing fish stocks.[32] As such, various members of the fishing community are at risk of losing their main source of income, or at the least, facing much more unpredictable harvest each season, making it extremely challenging to sustain their livelihood.

20. In response to climate threats, the Maldives has been actively pursuing land reclamation projects, such as constructing an artificial island that rises well above the sea level by pumping sand from the seafloor.[33] While a creative solution for Maldivians who may be eventually driven off the lower-lying islands, there are grave problems such as the lack of compliance to national environmental regulations, and neglect of local communities[34]. In particular, poorly regulated land development plans have sometimes led to a destruction of adjacent palm forests. This has disproportionately impacted women, whose income largely depend on producing indigenous coir rope from these palm trees. However, no prior consultation or post-compensation have been provided.[35] Another example in Kulhudhuffushi demonstrates that the construction of a new airport led to the burial of 70% of the island’s mangroves. Such dramatic changes in the ecological balance in the region, especially in sedimentation that can destroy coral reefs, also threatens the livelihoods of the fishing community in that region.[36]

VI. Recommendations

21. As a general matter, we encourage the Maldives to center the protection of human rights as a central component of its efforts to manage and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

22. In light of ongoing threats of coastal flooding, we urge the Maldives to increase its investment and focus on coral reef protection to the extent possible. According to World Bank Group’s environmental analysis, the Maldives could incur additional flood damages amounting to $442 million per year (8% of the nation’s GDP) without coral reefs.[37] Coral reefs are also vital to the marine ecosystem and the Maldives’ fishing industry. About 3 out of 10 fish species depend on coral reef, and protecting coral reef biodiversity will create a more sustainable fishing industry in the long term.[38] Therefore, we urge the Maldives to develop a nationwide coral management plan, including monitoring and mapping systems, and improve waste management to reduce pollution pressure on coral reefs.

23. We urge the Maldives to invest in food and water security. This could involve investing in distribution mechanisms to ensure remote atolls have access, educating farmers or fishermen to expand to other industries or increase their capacity, and maintaining a national, public food reserve. Further, considering that over-reliance on groundwater is dangerous in the event of saltwater intrusion and flooding, we urge the Maldives to develop a more climate-resilient water management system such as harvesting storm water, or investing in desalination facilities.

24. We also recommend the Maldives to continue its improvement of land-use planning and housing management. More climate-resilient housings need to be constructed, which can be done with increasing the level of monitoring and supervision for compliance to housing regulations. Elevating housing structures, constructing artificial flood barriers, and continuing to explore other creative architectural solutions to housing is necessary.

25. We urge the Maldives to re-evaluate its existing and ongoing projects for land reclamation to protect the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. We urge the Maldives to make environmental impact assessments mandatory for all proposals of land reclamation, and also actively monitor existing projects for any further mitigation measures necessary. Local residents should be consulted prior to the project, and we urge the government to consider possible means of compensation if the project causes direct harm to the local residents and their livelihood.

26. We recommend that the Maldives identify and reduce inefficiencies that may exist in current state-owned enterprises related to construction projects, environmental monitoring, and other areas. Novel forms of taxation, including not only the taxation of tourism industry but aviation or maritime industries, should be considered. Further, we urge the Maldives to actively seek out external funding beyond just cash, especially in areas like transfer of science technology.

27. We urge the Maldives to consider the ways in which its self-determination has been breached by high-emitter States that have materially caused the climate crisis. We urge the Maldives to consider how such breaches of self-determination—including through loss of territory and resources, and threats to culture—may entitled to the Maldives to reparations under international law. We encourage the Maldives to work with similarly situated States to increase pressure on high-emitter States to ensure that a just transition is implemented globally and to protect the self-determination and right to develop of the Maldives.

[1] Human Rights Council resolution 53/6.

[2] https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/maldives/

[3] Climate Vulnerability Rankings developed by University of Notre Dame. https://gain.nd.edu/our-work/country-index/

[4] Maldives NDC 2020.

[5] Report from Third Cycle of UPR in 2020 (https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/upr/mv-index); see also Maldives’ Strategic Action Plan.

[6] HRC Resolution 53/6, recognizing “the right to life, the right to adequate food,….the right to adequate housing, the right to self-determination, the rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, the right to work”; Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 25 recognizing “right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care.” In 2022, the U.N. General Assembly also recognized a universal right to “clean, healthy and sustainable development.” A/RES/76/300.

[7] Dauphin, L., and A. Voiland. 2021. “Preparing for Rising Seas in the Maldives.” NASA Earth Observatory.

[8] UN Special Rapporteur, David R. Boyd (https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/04/maldives-stuck-between-rock-and-hard-place-un-expert).

[9] Human Rights Council resolution 53/6.

[10] See Natalie Jones, Prospects for invoking the law of self-determination in international climate litigation, REVIEW OF EUROPEAN, COMPARATIVE & INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW 32, 250-58 (2023). See also Autumn Skye Bordner, Climate Migration & Self-Determination, COLUMBIA HUMAN RIGHTS L. REV. 51 (2019).

[11] https://forumsec.org/sites/default/files/2024-05/2023%20Declaration%20on%20the%20Continuity%20of%20Statehood%20and%20the%20Protection%20of%20Persons.pdf

[12] World Bank Group Maldives Country Climate and Development Report (2024) https://www.ifc.org/en/pressroom/2024/climate-change-threatens-maldives-fisheries-and-tourism-urgent-adaptation-needed; Red Cross Climate Center Report at 17 https://www.climatecentre.org/wp-content/uploads/Climate-change-impacts-on-health-and-livelihoods-MALDIVES-assessment_April-2021_.pdf.

[13] Red Cross Report at 11.

[14] Third Cycle UPR (2020).

[15] Red Cross Report at 11.

[16] Id., at 7.

[17] Id.; Atoll Times (https://atolltimes.mv/post/news/10805).

[18] NDC

[19] World Bank Report at 11.

[20] Maldives Financial Review, https://mfr.mv/male/heavy-rainfalls-result-in-flooded-roads-in-male-city.

[21] Mohamed Hussain Ali and Mohamed Jaleel, Socioeconomic Ramifications of Sea Level Rise in the Maldives: A Holistic Assessment of Impacts and Adaptation Strategies, JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL STUDIES 3, 1 (2024).

[22] Id.

[23] Third Cycle UPR (2020).

[24] HRC resolution 53/6.

[25] Red Cross Report at 17.

[26] World Bank Report at viii.

[27] World Bank Report at viii.

[28] Id. 7, 17.

[29] Global Sustainable Tourism Council (https://www.gstcouncil.org/pioneering-community-owned-tourism-in-the-maldives/)

[30] World Bank Report at 2.

[31] Red Cross Report at 19.

[32] World Bank Report at 37; NDC.

[33] Dauphin & Voiland.