The government of the Maldives has merged the Ministry of Climate Change, Environment and Energy with the Ministry of Tourism, renaming it the ‘Ministry of Tourism and Environment’.
The new ministry will oversee key initiatives, including efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change in the Maldives, environmental protection, energy, water, sanitation, waste management, tourism and biodiversity conservation.
The Maldives comprises 1,192 small islands. The country’s rich marine ecosystems and biodiversity are the source of its key industries–such as tourism and tuna–as well as its protection against climate change. According to the World Bank, this low-lying country with an average elevation of only 1.5 meters (or about five feet) above sea level, has been protected from flooding by those ocean ecosystems, particularly coral reefs. However, warming ocean temperatures and sea level rise are an existential issue for this country and its half a million people.
Some 30% of the Maldives’ GDP comes from tourism, especially the 130 islands run by resorts. The country welcomed two million tourists in 2024. Serving the tourism industry increases air travel, construction, waste, and other activities that threaten the local ecosystem. For example, the World Bank reports that waste production is particularly high at resorts, though most resorts have some sort of sustainable waste management. And tourists often want to eat reef fish rather than tuna, which threatens reef stocks.
In January, Maldives’ President, Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, dismissed the former tourism minister, Ibrahim Faisal. A few days later he appointed Thoriq Ibrahim, formerly Minister of Climate Change, Environment and Energy, over the new combined ministry.
According to a directive, the Environmental Protection Agency, Utility Regulatory Authority, Maldives Meteorological Service, and the Biosphere Reserve Office of the former Ministry of Climate Change, Environment and Energy will now operate under the Ministry of Tourism and Environment.
