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A digest of news and opinion from the Maldives.

Environment

The Maldives ‘Island of Orchids’ Blooms Again

The Maldives ‘Island of Orchids’ Blooms Again

3 min read

Not many hotels in the world can claim to have their own unique flower, but Kanuhura Maldives is the home of the Dendrobium Kanuhura, a rare golden yellow and orange orchid that flowers once a year.  Bred especially for Kanuhura and officially registered as a unique flower by the Royal Horticultural Society in the UK, […]

Controversial airport project inaugurated despite lack of contractor

Controversial airport project inaugurated despite lack of contractor

3 min read

Kulhudhuffushi airport will be completed by the middle of next year, authorities have said, despite the government not yet hiring a contractor to build it. Tourism Minister Moosa Zameer and other ruling party figures were on the remote island Sunday to inaugurate the project, which involves the destruction of mangroves. Building the airport was a […]

Developing the bund wall around the area to be reclaimed in HDh. Kulhudhuffushi's mangrove swamp. PHOTO/SOCIAL MEDIA

Ecocare seeks to order authorities to comply with EIA on Kulhudhuffushi swamp

2 min read

Developing the bund wall around the area to be reclaimed in HDh. Kulhudhuffushi’s mangrove swamp. PHOTO/SOCIAL MEDIA Ecocare Maldives has filed at the Civil Court, seeking to order authorities to comply with the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report on the reclamation of Haa Dhaal atoll Kulhudhuffushi island’s mangrove swamp. Under the government’s project to develop […]

MTCC's biggest dredger 'Mahaa Jaffar' entering H. Dh. Kulhudhuffushi on October 25, 2017. PHOTO : MTCC

Maldives pres kicks off land reclamation for Kulhudhuffushi airport

5 min read

Aerial view showing MTCC’s dredger “Maha Jarraf” off the coast of HDh. Kulhudhuffushi. President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom has officially launched the land reclamation project for the development of a domestic airport in Haa Dhaal atoll Kulhudhuffushi island. Yameen inaugurated the project at a colourful ceremony held in the island on Saturday evening. He was […]

Save Kulhudhuffushi  : The “Heart of the North”

Save Kulhudhuffushi : The “Heart of the North”

3 min read

Kulhudhuffushi is the capital of Haa Dhaalu Atoll administrative division on Thiladhunmathi Atoll in the north of the Maldives. Kulhudhuffushi is known as the “Heart of the North”. The island is famous for its mangroves (kulhi), after which the island itself is named. It is 7th largest mangrove in the Maldives. It is home to […]

Airport plans leave Kulhudhuffushi families in the dark over relocation

Airport plans leave Kulhudhuffushi families in the dark over relocation

4 min read

Families whose homes will be demolished to make way for an airport in Kulhudhuffushi have yet to be told about relocation plans. A list of 18 houses was circulated on social media, but the government has not contacted the residents or told them about a formal plan for relocation and compensation. Speaking to the Maldives […]

The ropemakers of Kulhudhuffushi

The ropemakers of Kulhudhuffushi

3 min read

Plans to destroy a 12-acre mangrove system in Kulhudhuffushi to make way for an airport have raised alarm among activists and islanders who fear environmental and economic damage due to the loss of the unique ecosystem. The Maldives Independent travelled to Kulhudhuffushi to meet a community of ropemakers whose way of life is under threat. […]

kulhi bundwall

Reclamation underway for Kulhudhuffushi swamp’s bund wall

2 min read

Reclaimed strip for the bund wall through the mangrove swamp of H.Dh. Kulhudhuffushi. PHOTO/SOCIAL MEDIA Reclamation has commenced for the bund wall being constructed through the mangrove swamp of Haa Dhaal atoll Kulhudhuffushi island. The government initiated project to develop a domestic airport in Kulhudhuffushi requires the reclamation of six hectares of the island’s western […]