In my reporting for Green Lodging News, I often come across impressive environmental protection activity by our industry in The Maldives. For those of you not geographically savvy, The Maldives is an archipelagic country in South Asia, located in the eastern Arabian Sea, within the northern Indian Ocean. The country is comprised of 1,192 islands that stretch along a length of 871 kilometers.
The Maldives has an average ground-level elevation of around 1.5 meters (4 ft 11 in) above sea level, and a highest natural point of only 2.4 meters (7 ft 10 in), making it the world’s lowest-lying country. The Maldives is very vulnerable to sea level rise and could lose 77 percent of its land by 2100.
The country already spends $10 million annually on coastal adaptation initiatives to combat sea level rise, which will need to increase to a whopping $8.8 billion to protect its existing islands from rising seas. Without support from the developed world, it will be nearly impossible for the country to adapt and there will be no white sand beaches.
Named as the world’s leading green destination in 2024 and 2025, The Maldives welcomed a new monthly high for tourist arrivals in December with 224,455 visitors, surpassing the previous record of 217,392 arrivals in February 2024.
Focus on Reef Restoration
Recent Newsworthy developments, most of which involve reef restoration efforts:
Six Senses Laamu, a leading resort in the pristine Laamu Atoll, announced a series of significant sustainability achievements throughout 2025. Last year marked the second anniversary of The SHELL, now recognized as one of the Maldives’ most active marine science and conservation centers. Throughout the year, The SHELL advanced its coral restoration program, introducing 1791 baby corals across multiple species that continue to thrive under active care, and releasing a total of 9.2 million coral larvae onto the resort’s house reef since the program began.
Six Senses Kanuhura announced a pioneering new initiative that positions the resort at the forefront of marine conservation in the Maldives: the Kanuhura Coral Census, the first long-term, 3D reef-monitoring program ever implemented by a resort worldwide. Developed in collaboration with leading scientists from Newcastle University and University College London, this cutting-edge methodology delivers an unprecedented level of accuracy, data integrity, and ecological insight. The launch comes at a critical time, as global studies warn that up to 90 percent of the world’s coral reefs may be lost by 2050.
In November, I reported on the InterContinental Maldives Maamunagau Resort and posted a Q&A with the Assistant Chief Engineer at the resort. The resort’s ambitious plastics-elimination program has had impressive results. Drinking water, for example, is produced and bottled on the island in reusable glass bottles. All guest bathroom amenities are presented in refillable pump dispensers, which not only provide a more luxurious experience but also significantly reduce plastic waste. In addition, plastic straws, cling film, takeaway containers, and amenity wrappers have been completely eliminated and replaced with sustainable alternatives made from paper, bamboo, or other biodegradable materials.
To conserve its fragile environment, the resort has installed 1,577 heavy-duty solar panels covering 2,594 sqm. This system produces 952,620 kWh, which is 15 percent of the resort’s total energy requirement resulting in a vast reduction of 900 tons of CO2, annually.
JW Marriott Kaafu Atoll Island Resort
Last February, JW Marriott, part of Marriott Bonvoy’s portfolio of over 30 hotel brands, announced the opening of JW Marriott Kaafu Atoll Island Resort, the second JW Marriott resort in the Maldives. Embodying its commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship, the resort is part of a groundbreaking collaboration with INVENA. Motivated by shifting tides and global warming challenges faced by island nations, this initiative introduces a pioneering 30-meter-long underwater coastal structure, designed in collaboration with the Self-Assembly Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to attenuate wave action and combat beach erosion. The installation will also foster vibrant marine ecosystems by creating a reef habitat that attracts diverse fish and coral. Guests will have the unique opportunity to interact with this innovative project, contributing to scientific efforts addressing climate challenges.
Two summers ago, Soneva officially launched the new AquaTerra center at Soneva Fushi in the Maldives’ Baa Atoll. Following a grand opening ceremony, the state-of-the-art conservation, education, and science facility will further strengthen the resort’s focus on sustainability, supporting its ongoing efforts to understand, conserve and regenerate the surrounding natural environment, both at sea and on land.
AquaTerra is the nerve center for the Soneva Foundation Coral Restoration Program, which launched in 2021 and aims to restore the coral reef systems around Soneva Fushi and create a coral hub for the Maldives. Working in partnership with Swiss environmental organization Coralive, the project uses Mineral Accretion Technology (MAT) to channel low voltage electricity through submerged coral tables, which speeds up the corals’ growth rate.
The vast majority of people on this planet will never have to worry about sea level rise taking away 77 percent of their land. It is encouraging to see The Maldives tourism industry doing what it can to bolster the natural reef infrastructure that it has. It remains the mission of developed nations around the world to take major steps to reduce climate change and its resulting sea level rise.
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