President Waheed announces Maldives as the first country to be a Marine Reserve

President Dr Mohamed Waheed has announced that the Maldives is set to become the first country to be a marine reserve, and also the single largest marine reserve in the world.

The President made this announcement yesterday at the 1st Plenary Meeting of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20.

“I would like to announce today that Maldives will become the first country to be a marine reserve. We can do it in a short time. I hope we can do it in 5 years. It will become the single largest marine reserve in the world,” he said.

In his statement, the President highlighted the establishment of the first UNESCO Biosphere reserve in Baa Atoll of the Maldives.

Referring to the notable success the country has achieved by relying on sustainable practices, the President noted that the Maldives was one of the only three countries to have ever graduated from the United Nations’ Least Developed Country category.

“Our commitment, as a country, to sustainable development is evident across our economy and across our society. By relying on sustainable practices, the Maldives has achieved remarkable success. Maldives is one of only three countries to have ever graduated from the United Nations’ Least Developed Country category. And we are also on course to meet most of the Millennium Development Goals,” he said.

Highlighting the Maldives’ carbon neutrality targets, President Waheed called for a third global sustainable development conference for Small Island Developing States in 2014. He said that being a global community committed to a greener economy, developing countries like the Maldives are constantly in need of considerable financial and technical support.

“Progress towards achieving these goals is slow because of the huge financial and technological investments involved. If we are, as a global community, committed to the concept of transitioning to a green economy, then developing countries will need significant financial and technical support. It is critically important that we forge partnerships in this conference and beyond that will deliver real solutions. We reiterate our call for a third global sustainable development conference for small island developing states in 2014,” the President said.

President Waheed also conveyed to all world leaders, a message from the children of the Maldives, regarding their environmental concerns for the future. The children presented the President with their concerns at a children’s conference organized as part of the Maldives’ preparations for Rio+20.