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TheMaldives:ajewelintheblueunderthreatTheMaldivesaresufferingthecatastrophicresultsofclimatechangeincludingthedevastatingimpactofcoralbleaching.Usingimagesfromherconservationwork,SmruticaJithendranathprovidesaglimpseofmarinelifeandthewaysinwhichmarineconservationistsareresurrectingcoralreefs.
“Thesea,onceitcastsitsspell,holdsoneinitsnetofwonderforever”–JacquesCousteau
TheMaldivesaretheultimatetouristdestinationforanyoneseekingoutturquoisebluewatersthatshimmeralongwhitesandybeacheswithaplethoraofmarinecreaturestoexploreunderwater.Foryears,peoplefromallovertheworldhavetravelledtothislittletreasureintheIndianOceantorelax,havearomanticgetaway,familyholiday,todiveandmuchmore.TheMaldivesarecomprisedof26atollsand1192coralislands.Theseislandsarelargelycategorisedintolocalandresortislands.
Viewfromtheshore,whitesandandbluewaters.Photocredit:SmruticaJithendranath.
Eachislandiscoveredinlushgreenvegetationandsurroundedbytheturquoisebluewaters.Thetypicalviewfromanypartoftheislandpredominantlyismadeupofthecolourblue.Theblueskyandthebluewater.Thisissometimesalsoaccompaniedbysomeofthecreaturesthatliveinthebig,wideblue.Sittingonthebeach,oneislikelytoseeaturtlecomingupforair,thelittlefintipsofeaglerays,orthewelldistinguishabledorsalfinofashark.
South Asia @ LSE: The Maldives: a jewel in the blue under threat Page 1 of 8
Date originally posted: 2018-02-07
Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/2018/02/07/the-maldives-a-jewel-in-the-blue-under-threat/
Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/
Ahawksbillturtlesurfacingforair.Photocredit:SmruticaJithendranath.
Divingintothesewaterswithasnorkelmaskon,theworldthatisvisiblebelowthesurfacewilltakesone’sbreathaway.Sensesareheightenedbythevisualfeastofcolours.Ifyoupaycloseattention,youcanlistentothenoisesofthefisheatingandcommunicatingwithoneanother.Onceyouputyourheaddown,timeisaconceptthatisveryquicklylost.
Anursesharksleepsunderapieceofbouldercoral.Photocredit:SmruticaJithendranath.
South Asia @ LSE: The Maldives: a jewel in the blue under threat Page 2 of 8
Date originally posted: 2018-02-07
Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/2018/02/07/the-maldives-a-jewel-in-the-blue-under-threat/
Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/
Coralreefconservation
ThecoralreefisthedominantecosysteminthewatersoftheMaldives.Shelteringthousandsofdifferentspeciesofmarineanimals,coralsareanimportantpartoftheheritageandcultureofthecountry.Scubadivingisabigpartofthetourismindustryandpeopletraveltotheseparadiseislandstoseethemyriadofcolourscoralreefshavetooffer.
Amassiveschoolofbluestripedsnappercoloursthewateryellow.Photocredit:SmruticaJithendranath.
However,climatechangehasinfactaffectedthereefsglobally,andTheMaldivesisnoexception.Therisingtemperatureintheatmosphereisinturnraisingthetemperaturesofthewater.Thisiscausingthereefsfromallovertheworldtolosetheircolourbylosingsymbioticalgae.
South Asia @ LSE: The Maldives: a jewel in the blue under threat Page 3 of 8
Date originally posted: 2018-02-07
Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/2018/02/07/the-maldives-a-jewel-in-the-blue-under-threat/
Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/
Anthiasgatheraroundtheblackcoralforshelter.Photocredit:SmruticaJithendranath.
ThecoralreefsaroundtheMaldivesarebeginningtolooklikethebelowpictureasaresultoftheincreaseinthefrequencyofhotsummersoverthelastfewyears.
South Asia @ LSE: The Maldives: a jewel in the blue under threat Page 4 of 8
Date originally posted: 2018-02-07
Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/2018/02/07/the-maldives-a-jewel-in-the-blue-under-threat/
Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/
Coralsufferingfromtheimpactofbleaching.Photocredit:SmruticaJithendranath.
Thishasacatastrophicimpactonallthemarinecreaturesupthefoodchain,ultimatelyresultinginthelossofmarinemegafaunasuchassharksandwhales.Therefore,conservationofcoralreefsisofparamountimportance;topreservethisecosystemwhichprovidesfood,shelterandprotectiontocountlessmarineorganisms.
Creatingartificialcoralreefs
IntheMaldives,mostoftheislandresortsareawareoftheimportanceofconservationofthemarineenvironmentandeffortstowardsthishavebeengoingonfordecadesnow.Oneofthemostpopularmeasuretakenbymarinebiologiststhroughoutthecountryiscreatingartificialreefs.Artificialreefsaidingrowthandregenerationofthecoralsaroundthehousereefofanisland.
South Asia @ LSE: The Maldives: a jewel in the blue under threat Page 5 of 8
Date originally posted: 2018-02-07
Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/2018/02/07/the-maldives-a-jewel-in-the-blue-under-threat/
Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/
Cabletiessecuringcoralfragmentstothescaffoldstructure.Photocredit:SmruticaJithendranath.
Artificialreefsaremadeoutofmetalrebarstructuresthatareshapedasperthedesigner’sspecificationandthesestructuresactasastablesubstrateforthecoralsthataretransplanted.Oncethestructureisready,itisplacedinthewater.Smallorlargepiecesofcoralsthatarebrokenoffordamaged,arecollectedandattachedtothesestructuresusingcableties(seeabove).
Fishswimaroundthegrowingreefstructure.Photocredit:SmruticaJithendranath.
South Asia @ LSE: The Maldives: a jewel in the blue under threat Page 6 of 8
Date originally posted: 2018-02-07
Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/2018/02/07/the-maldives-a-jewel-in-the-blue-under-threat/
Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/
Justafteracoupleofmonths,thefragmentsthatsettleonthesestructuresshowincredibleprogress.Thiscanbeseenwhenthecabletiesaroundthecoralpiecesstartdisappearing,becausethecoralstartsgrowinginsize(seebelow).
Coralbeginningtogrowoverthecableties.Photocredit:VerenaWeisbauer.
Inanothermethod(seebelow),coralpiecesareinsertedinbetweenthefibresofapolypropylenerope.Thisiscalledaropenursery/tablenursery.Theadvantageofthismethodovertheprioroneisthatitpreventscertainfishspecies(forexample,parrotfish)fromeatingthefreshlyplantedcorals.
Atable/ropenurserywithcoralfragmentsinsertedintherope.Photocredit:VerenaWeisbauer.
Everymethodandmeasuretakenhasonepurposeonly:marineconservation.Conservingwhatisnaturallyavailabletoushasneverbeenmoreimperative.Globalwarmingisseverelyaffectingouroceansandraisingawarenessaboutconservationhastakencentrestage.IntheMaldives,mostoftheresortislandsarepromotingthesameandinvolvingtheguestsinallconservationrelatedactivities,includingcoralplanting.Withcontinuedeffortstowardsconservationandpreservationofthemarineenvironment,thehopeistoresurrectlifedownunder.
South Asia @ LSE: The Maldives: a jewel in the blue under threat Page 7 of 8
Date originally posted: 2018-02-07
Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/2018/02/07/the-maldives-a-jewel-in-the-blue-under-threat/
Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/
Adiverswimspastthereefthatisfilledwithhardandsoftcorals.Photocredit:SmruticaJithendranath.
Coverimage:Ahawksbillturtleglidesthroughthereef.Photocredit:SmruticaJithendranath.
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AbouttheAuthor
SmruticaJithendranathisamarineconservationist,withamastersdegreefromVictoriauniversityofWellington,NewZealand.SheiscurrentlyworkingintheMaldivesasamarinebiologist&yogainstructor.
South Asia @ LSE: The Maldives: a jewel in the blue under threat Page 8 of 8
Date originally posted: 2018-02-07
Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/2018/02/07/the-maldives-a-jewel-in-the-blue-under-threat/
Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/
