Parliament Speaker, President Nasheed played a friendly game of cricket yesterday afternoon alongside former Indian international cricketer Harbhajan Singh, and a clutch of cabinet ministers and officials, to showcase a new recreational area created in Baa Maalhos on the site of the islands former garbage dump.
Harbhajan Singh is a specialist spin
bowler, he has the second-highest number of Test wickets by an off spinner on
record. Singh made his Test and One Day International debuts for the Indian
national team in 1998.
The cricket match was played in a part of
the island that, until recently, was used to burn island waste in large
bonfires. It has been transformed into a recreational area under the Namoona
Baa initiative, a partnership between local islands in Baa atoll, neighbouring
Soneva Fushi resort, and UK-based NGO Common Seas. The initiative aims to
reduce waste, particularly single-use plastic, and foster a love for the island
and ocean environments.
Common Seas is a not-for-profit enterprise
on a mission to quickly and significantly reduce the amount of plastic produced
and stop it polluting our rivers and seas. Common Seas tackles the plastic
pollution crisis by diving new policy, investing in the circular economy and
catalysing a cultural shift in how they use and dispose of plastic.
Prior to playing cricket, President
Nasheed, Maalhos island council president Abdulla Shujau, and Soneva co-founder
Sonu Shivdasani officially inaugurated the Maalhos eco-centro waste-to-wealth
centre — an innovative, waste processing complex modelled on Soneva Fushis
eco-centro. At the complex, the islands waste is sorted into different types
such as plastic, glass, tin and wood; compacted, crushed, and chipped where
possible, and sent for recycling.
The new eco-centro has enabled Maalhos to
completely stop the open burning of garbage - the first inhabited island in the
Maldives to do so.
President Nasheed also examined a photo
exhibition highlighting the different components of Namoona Baa, including the
local schools zero-waste recycling challenge, surf lessons and tournaments
involving local women and girls, and the islands drinking water plant, Soneva
Water, which provides 80% of households with drinking water in reusable
bottles, eliminating the need for single-use plastic bottles.
Speaking
at the new Maalhos recreational area, President Nasheed said: "What we have brought to our islands in the
course of building a life, has taken us over waste has taken over our reefs,
beaches and islands. This waste is now a curse."
Maalhos
island council president, Abdulla Shujau said: "The eco-centro is a revolution
for Maalhos. After 20 years, we have turned our dump yard into a proper waste
centre."
Sonu
Shivdasani said: "Maalhos can now produce wealth from its waste. This is just
the beginning… and we will roll out the eco-centros to Dharavandhoo and
Kihaadhoo this year, and working with the government hopefully extend the
project to the whole of Baa atoll making it truly Namoona Baa."
Dealing with waste, particularly plastic,
is a major headache for every island community in the Maldives. Plastic bottles
and bags tend to litter streets, jungle and beaches, while garbage is routinely
burned in toxic, open bonfires. Human health and guesthouse tourism suffer as a
result.
Under the Namoona Baa Initiative, the
Maalhos model will be expanded to neighbouring Dharavandhoo and Kihaadhoo, with
eco-centro waste-to-wealth centres established on both islands later this year.
With government support, it is hoped the model can be rolled out across Baa
atoll, and eventually the whole of the Maldives.
In August, Common Seas, an NGO that advises
governments and companies on how to reduce plastic pollution, produced a
preliminary report for the Government showing how the Maldives could radically
reduce the amount of single-use plastic it consumes, and reduce plastic
pollution.
In September, at his maiden address to the
United Nations General Assembly, President Solih announced a nationwide
phase-out of single use plastics to be implemented by 2023, including
phase-outs of single-use plastic bottles and bags. It is one of the most
comprehensive phase-outs of single use plastics in the world.
Speaking at a dinner held on Soneva Fushi
after the cricket match, Jo Royle, Managing Director of Common Seas, said:
"What we saw in Maalhos today shows how
local initiatives can make a significant reduction in the amount of waste an
island community produces. Common Seas research identifies a handful of
policies, that the government could implement quickly, that would go a long way
towards meeting President Solihs commitment to phase out single-use
plastics."
Soneva is a pioneering family of
hospitality properties and products, offering holistic encounters in luxurious
and inspiring environments from world class hotels to outstanding natural
locations. Combining luxury with a conscientious approach to sustainability and
the environment, and proactively changing the nature of hospitality, it
delivers intuitive service and meaningful experiences to the guests. Soneva
currently owns and operates Soneva Fushi, Soneva Jani and Soneva in Aqua in the
Maldives and Soneva Kiri in Thailand.
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