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Tucked away in the Indian Ocean, the Maldives is an Islamic Republic of almost 1,200 islands which attract thousands upon thousands of tourists each year with their sandy beaches, breath-taking scenery, luxurious accommodation and extraordinary entertainment for all ages. Having been to the Maldives, I can confidently state that it is almost paradise on Earth. I felt the need to add ‘almost’ due to the sustainable water problems the Maldives are faced with.

For days now there has been no clean drinking water in the capital of the Maldives, Male, after the water treatment plant was severely damaged by a fire on December 4, 2014. It has been estimated that around 100,000 residents in the capital have lost access to drinking water and the Maldives is at a standstill. It called upon the immediate humanitarian response of nations worldwide, including China, the US, Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh. India was the first to react, sending planes of bottled water along with volunteers ready to freely distribute them, as well as tools to fix the plant. Last Saturday bottles of water were given to around 120,00 individuals free of charge after accusations stating that certain distribution centres were actually denying some citizens access to bottles of water. Supposing the damage is superficial it should not take long to repair the plant yet on Monday the plant was still not fixed and, according to some reporters, when questioned on December 8 authorities refused to state when drinkable water will be restored. Needless to say, regardless, the effects of such a crisis are intensely straining.

In an effort to help, the Male Water and Sewage Company (MWSC) announced it would provide a 30% discount on all water transactions this month. According to reports from the United Nations, the Maldives have no permanent streams or rivers and the mass supply of drinkable water is provided from the water treatment plants in Male. Approximately 30% of the Maldives’ GDP derives from tourism but the threat of a water crisis will undoubtedly affect the amount of tourists travelling to the Maldives. Luckily, hotels and resorts have their own water facilities so have not been gravely effected. Having said this, it is not the first time the Maldives has been faced with a water crisis. The country has witnessed severe water issues for over a decade, with this Boxing Day marking the 10th anniversary of the 2004 Tsunami. Since then, the sea levels around the Maldives have risen due to climate change which has caused another emergency threat to the islands, none of which are more than 1.8m above sea level.

Water usage is one of the major issues currently on the global political agenda. With only 2.5% of the Earth’s water being fresh and drinkable without manmade machinery to purify and desalt it, which is highly expensive, and a percentage of this 2.5% being water in the solid form of ice, each step we take to reduce our own wastage of water is indispensable. According to research undertaken by the WHO an individual can use 50-100ltrs of water daily which could include drinking, bathing, cooking, sanitation and other essentials, yet the amount of water we actually use daily is staggering! In the field of sustainability every little helps, so next time you leave the tap on whilst brushing your teeth remember the citizens in Male queuing for bottled water, not being able to even wash themselves or cook, and remember that the Earth is full of water but it isn’t all for us. Hopefully the Male plant will be repaired soon and drinking water will be circulating amongst citizens and tourists once again; this way we can say goodbye to waterless islands.

Image 1: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01404/maldives460a_1404263c.jpg

Image 2: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/12/05/article-c78321dc-2ef6-400f-a5f5-141dd3ca967f-6Ub2Xr1dtHSK2-149_634x441.jpg