BLUEPEACE blog

Local divers have raised concerns about a whale shark research programme being conducted in the Maldives by a UK charity. The divers say tagging of whale sharks in a Marine Protected Area near Maamigili island in South Ari Atoll – and an aggregation site for whale sharks – is causing whale sharks to abandon the area.

A local diver with 10 years experience of diving in the area told Bluepeace that whale sharks were spotted throughout the year at the site, but are hardly seen anymore because of the tagging.

The charity named ‘Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme’ (MWSRP) has been conducting research in the Maldives since 2006. According to the programme’s website the tagging project was launched in 2008.

MWSRP, on the other hand, has raised concerns about unregulated diving boats visiting the Marine Protected Area. In the programme’s website MWSRP wrote on 3 January 2010 that whale sharks are back in the South Ari Atoll but were facing threats from unregulated tourism.

“Unfortunately the reef is also busier than ever with the unregulated tourism that flocks to the whale shark ‘Hotspot’. Since the recent designation of the area as the largest MPA in the Maldives, nothing has changed, in fact it has inevitably become more busy, increasing habitat disturbance as a major threat to the animals. The tour industry have not been made aware of the rules or regulations within the MPA and boats (sometimes 10 at a time) consistently converge on any shark that is spotted. So the madness is set to continue until such times as the government makes the necessary communications with the stakeholders.”

The research team, which is receiving assistance from the tourist resort Conrad Maldives Rangali Island, also takes tourists staying at the resort to the whale shark aggregation site, according to Easier Travel.

“The Conrad Maldives Rangali Island will once again provide support by giving the team accommodation on a local island, supplies, as well as diving equipment and the use of their boats. Guests at the resort will also be able to take part in the research by accompanying the team on their excursions to study the whale sharks, taking samples and measurements and assisting the team with their conservation work.”

MWSRP’s website says it has been in touch with the government of the Maldives and the local community to develop the Marine Protected Area.

“The year 2009 has seen the successful development of South Ari Atoll’s MPA, which is on its way to becoming the first collaboratively managed and regulated, revenue generating MPA in the Maldives, ensuring the local community benefits from their natural resources whilst making tourism more sustainable. Resorts are already committing to sponsoring the initiative following consultations with the MWSRP.”

Local divers are having a different opinion. They believe the tagging of whale sharks is driving the sharks away. They also raise questions about the methodology used in tagging and claim the use of spear guns by the research team is harming the whale sharks. In addition, local divers raise their concern that the authorities are not regulating the research.

A number of divers working on liveaboards, which take foreign tourists to the whale shark aggregation site, are disappointed with the research team conducting the research at the site during the peak tourist season. They claim that it is detrimental to their business as most of their clients come to the Maldives with the hope of spotting whale sharks. The peak tourist season also coincides with the arrival of North-east monsoon which brings more plankton to the area and attracts whale sharks. However, divers claim the number of whale sharks spotted in the area is significantly less this season. One prominent diver told Bluepeace that divers were not opposed to research in general, but were not happy with the research being carried out inside the Marine Protected Area.

Divers Association of Maldives is planning to raise the concerns of Maldivian divers with the relevant government authorities. Zoona Naseem, the President of DAM, told Bluepeace that the organisation was not opposed to whale shark research but their main concerns were the methodology used in tagging; lack of government regulation and monitoring of the research; and the concerns being raised by the divers that the number of whale sharks frequenting the Marine Protected Area is decreasing.

Maldivian divers also question whether the communities in South Ari Atoll have received any benefits from the research programme. They say MWSRP has not consulted the divers in the area and does not involve Maldivians in the research.

The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15), which was held in Copenhagen from December 7 to 18, was a huge disappointment for millions of people who hoped a fair and binding treaty aiming to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions would be reached to succeed the flawed Kyoto Protocol. Instead, world leaders produced a non-binding accord, and failed to agree to contain global temperatures at 1.5 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

This means world leaders did not agree to limit the global CO2 emissions to 350 parts per million. The Maldives, which hosted a number of events coinciding with the International Day of Climate Action on October 24, including a headline-grabbing underwater cabinet meeting, has gained nothing to celebrate from COP15.

350.org, which has been pivotal in building a global movement around the number 350 and the science behind it, reflects on the failure of COP15:

You’ll likely hear the Copenhagen drama spun in a thousand different ways, but here’s our honest take on the outcome: our leaders have been a disappointment, and the talks have ended without any kind of fair, ambitious, or legally binding global agreement. It’s unclear whether the weak “accord” which emerged early this morning will provide a platform strong enough to deliver the kind of action we’ll need in 2010 and beyond.

TckTckTck, the campaign initiated by several international organisations and which has mobilised unprecedented numbers of people behind a new global climate movement, writes on the failure of COP15:

Despite overwhelming scientific evidence, and massive popular support from citizens in countries North and South, world leaders chose national political self-interest over the fate of future generations and failed to resolve the issues blocking the road towards a just outcome.

Kumi Naidoo, executive director of Greenpeace International, expresses disappointment over how COP15 ended in an anti-climax:

Not fair, not ambitious and not legally binding. The job of world leaders is not done. Today they failed to avert catastrophic climate change.

The city of Copenhagen is a climate crime scene tonight, with the guilty men and women fleeing to the airport in shame. World leaders had a once in a generation chance to change the world for good, to avert catastrophic climate change. In the end they produced a poor deal full of loopholes big enough to fly Air Force One through.

We have seen a year of crises, but today it is clear that the biggest one facing humanity is a leadership crisis.

The only refreshing thing to emerge is a new global movement of citizens, spread across the globe. Avaaz.org, which is a partner organisation of TckTckTck campaign and has mobilised thousands of people through Internet, stresses the significance of this new movement and the hope it symbolises:

In Copenhagen, leaders didn’t make history—but the world’s people did. A year of unprecedented action on climate change reached unimagined heights in the last two weeks: thousands upon thousands of vigils, rallies, and protests; floods of phone calls and messages sent; millions of petition signatures—all calling for the fair, ambitious, and binding climate treaty we still need and still will win.

President Mohamed Nasheed visited VULNERABLE, the exhibition on climate change organised by Bluepeace, at the alternate climate summit Klimaforum09 in Copenhagen on Tuesday. The exhibition showcases the vulnerability of the Maldives to climate change, using images from talented photographers from the Maldives.

A day earlier President Nasheed visited Klimaforum09 for a Talk along with Bill McKibben, the founder of 350.org. McKibben explained the science behind the number 350 and its significance in the climate change debate and stressed the significance of building a global movement to combat climate change.

“My message to you is to continue the protests. Continue after Copenhagen. Continue despite the odds. And eventually, together, we will reached that crucial number: Three-five-oh,” Nasheed said addressing environmental justice activists and members of civil society organisations representing various countries, gathered at Klimaforum09.