Agriculture & Fisheries / Maldives
The social dimension of the Maldivian sea
The Maldives emphasises social sustainability within its sea policy.
Maldivian people are fiercely attached the preservation of the sea, a living but fragile ecosystem that accounts for 99% of their national territory. In charge of this key task, Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Dr. Mohamed Shainee says: “This naturally makes us one of the staunchest advocates of sustainability” in the global arena.
Sustainability has an economic, ecological and social impact. Yet, while people are mostly aware of ecological sustainability, social sustainability is rarely mentioned in international debates on conservation and should be emphasized, explains Minister Dr. Shainee. “We need to sustain the jobs of our fisherfolk, on top of perserving future generations’ right to tap into those same resources, and social sustainability pushes us to look at the well-being of the people,” he says, stressing that “fishing gives them nutrition, sustenance, and livelihood.”
Dr. Shainee and the FPB outsanding advocacy efforts were internationally recognized on February 1st, 2016 by the annual Seafood Champion Awards, that acclaimed the Maldive’s “efforts to promote sustainable fishery practices and policies in the Indian Ocean,” a press release from the organization announced.
