Malé, Maldives – Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Technology Aminath Shauna on Thursday, signed an agreement with the local councils of 32 islands in zone 3, to further improve their waste management system under the Greater Malé Environmental Improvement and Waste Management Project (GMEIWMP).
All 20 atolls of the island nation are currently distributed to seven zones, with a specific waste management project for each.
Zone 3 consists of Kaafu Atoll, Alif Atoll, Alif Dhaalu, Atoll and Vaavu Atoll, which comprises of 32 inhabited islands. The zone also includes the three areas of the Greater Malé Region as as well as more than 70 resorts and over 60 guesthouses.
This zone has the Greater Malé Environmental Improvement And Waste Management Project (GMEIWMP) allocated for it, which consists of two phases. Phase one of GMEIWMP consists of improvement to waste management in the area such as improved outer island waste management. Phase two includes of dumpsite remediation and institutional capacity and spreading awareness in the community.
Detailing the changes to be brought by the agreement, the Environment Ministry said that landfills will be established in islands without them and developing safe methods for waste disposal in Islands without such a system.
The project also includes the development of Island level waste management centres in 15 islands as well as upgrading current waste management centres in 11 more Islands.
Addressing the ceremony to sign the agreement, Minister Shauna said that the aim of the government is to establish a lasting up to date waste disposal system in Malé, develop a clean safe environment in the islands and to remove the contaminated landfill sites.
