Young activists in the Maldives confront climate threats to their island nation

ADDU CITY, Maldives (AP) — A group of young people in the Maldives recently paddled kayaks to protest land reclamation work that was cutting through protected mangrove wetlands in a UNESCO biosphere reserve, even spray-painting “ECOCIDE" on a reclaimed patch.

The nonprofit Project ThimaaVeshi, which means “self and surroundings,” is part of a new generation of activists in the Indian Ocean island nation tackling issues that are part of their daily lives: coastal erosion, plastic pollution and development-damaged ecosystems.

In Addu City in the south, the activists have focused on overdevelopment, documenting the impact on wetlands and reefs. In the capital, Male, others are tackling the plastic waste suffocating streets, hangout spots and swimming areas.

As they team up with surfers and others for cleanups, picking fishing lines out of coral reefs and piling up discarded water bottles, the groups educate youth on their right to a clean and healthy environment.

They are united in knowing that, unlike with previous generations, climate change and environmental damage are no longer a distant threat.

The Maldives has championed itself as a country fighting its vulnerability to climate change and sea level rise, but the government has said sacrifices must be made at times in favor of development, and the activists say protective measures are not happening fast enough.

Experts have said the country south of India and Sri Lanka is expected to be around 80% uninhabitable within the next 50 years due to rising sea levels.

“It was just us and a bunch of hopes and dreams,” said a 21-year-old co-founder of Project ThimaaVeshi, Yameen Maumoon.

Maumoon along with Mishal Mushahid started their activism as student leaders working with the Addu City council. What started as a group of friends became a movement and a registered nonprofit after they graduated from high school.

In Male and neighboring Hulhumale, another youth group seeking formal registration, Ripple, started when friends noticed the trash building up in areas where they hung out.

“One day when we were playing Minecraft, we were joking around, saying we should start making TikToks and we should start cleaning up," said a co-founder, Mariyam Maasha Waheed. What began as an informal cleanup grew after their TikTok videos gained traction.

The group now organizes weekly cleanups and campaigns against plastic pollution, collaborating with others to recycle the plastic they collect.

Founders said they want environmental action to feel less intimidating and more communal.

A co-founder of the newest group seeking registration, Barnacles, Yania Hussain Ishan, became interested in environmental issues while preparing a presentation for school on protecting nature. The group focuses on climate education and youth leadership.

The constant talk on social media and elsewhere about a climate emergency has led to their generation's feeling of a lack of agency over it, Ishan said.

The age of the activists has drawn comments, even from government officials, that youth equates to naivety and ignorance. All three groups have been told their work is pointless, and that something as simple as a beach cleanup will not fix the overall challenges.

Young people have too many emotions and can’t be trusted with decision-making, the country's minister of climate change, Ali Shareef, last year told a public forum.

The activists said they know they cannot solve Maldives's problems alone. But they believe waiting for the bigger problems to be solved isn’t an option. They want to shape a generation who understand their rights and pass the responsibility to future ones.

“We are deciding what kind of ancestors we will be," Ishan said. “We are defending our home, our heritage and the right of every Maldivian child yet to be born to stand on these shores, look out at the sea and feel the same wonder and security that defines who we are.”

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