Coastal Habitats, Community Assets
SAFER Project – Strengthening Activism for Environmental Rights
Supported by the European Union, this blog-post series by Land Sea Maldives is the beginning of our investigation into the hidden costs of environmental damage, how those costs affect livelihoods, and where potential growth opportunities may lie. This piece in the series — focusing on coastal blue-carbon habitats such as mangroves, seagrasses and reefs in the Maldives, and examining how these ecosystems underpin livelihoods and local growth.
Introduction
Coastal habitats in the Maldives — including mangroves, seagrass meadows and shallow reefs — play a silent but foundational role in protecting islands, supporting fisheries, and sustaining the tourism economy.¹ When these habitats degrade, the impact is not only environmental but economic: lost income, fewer jobs, higher costs. This post explores how “blue-carbon” ecosystems are community assets, how their loss carries hidden costs, and how protecting and restoring them can unlock new growth for island communities.
How Coastal Habitats Support Livelihoods
Mangroves, seagrasses and adjacent reef systems provide multiple services that underpin island livelihoods:
They act as natural buffers, reducing wave energy, preventing shoreline erosion and protecting guest-houses, fishing infrastructure and settlements.²
They support fish nursery and invertebrate habitats, sustaining catches for small-scale fishers, thus contributing to food security and income.¹
They serve as carbon sinks and tourism attractions (diving, snorkelling, bird life) which can contribute to new income streams through “blue-carbon” and nature-based tourism.³
For instance, a comprehensive review found mangroves in the Maldives support not only coastline protection, but also food and income for local communities.¹ That means: coastal-habitat health = jobs + income + growth potential.
Hidden Costs & Livelihood Risks
When these coastal ecosystems degrade, the costs extend into livelihoods and future growth:
Loss of mangroves or seagrass makes islands more vulnerable to storms and erosion, meaning higher repair costs or lost tourism/housing income.²
Decline in nursery habitats reduces fish stocks, affecting small fishers, fish-processing jobs and household incomes.¹
Failure to recognise blue-carbon value means islands miss out on emerging financing opportunities (e.g., carbon credits, climate-adaptation funds) that could support local enterprise or job creation.³
In other words, the hidden cost is not just environmental damage — it is missed livelihood opportunity, increased vulnerability, and slowed growth.
Protecting These Habitats & Unlocking Growth
The Maldives is beginning to value these habitats better: national frameworks now highlight seagrass, mangroves and reef systems for protection and as blue-carbon assets.⁴
Key strategies for linking environment and livelihoods include:
Supporting local restoration and monitoring programmes (e.g., island youth diving for seagrass health, community mangrove planting) which create jobs and local capacity.¹
Integrating blue-carbon finance to provide new revenue streams for island communities, linking conservation with enterprise.³
Ensuring ecosystem-based adaptation is aligned with livelihood support: when habitats are protected, small-businesses, fisheries and tourism are more resilient, and island growth is stronger.
Questions for Island Communities
Are your island’s mangrove patches, seagrass beds or shallow reefs mapped and monitored? Have you observed change in habitat coverage or health?
How many local households depend on fish from these nursery areas, or guest-houses depend on shoreline-and-habitat quality?
Are there local jobs or youth-programmes tied to habitat protection, monitoring or “blue-carbon” enterprise?
What growth opportunities could your island pursue if these habitats were recognised, restored and valued (for example carbon credits, eco-tourism, local habitat-service businesses)?
Conclusion
Coastal habitats in the Maldives are more than scenery — they are invisible assets that support jobs, protect land, enable fisheries and open pathways to growth. When these habitats are lost or undervalued, livelihoods suffer and growth is held back. Under the SAFER Project’s investigative lens we track: habitat → ecosystem service → livelihood/ income → growth potential. Protecting mangroves, seagrass and reefs is not optional — it is essential to maintaining resilient island economies, sustaining jobs and unlocking future opportunity.
References
Cerri, F., Louis, Y.D., Fallati, L., Siena, F., Mazumdar, A., Nicolai, R., Zitouni, M.S., Shehenaz Adam, S., & Mohamed, S. (2024). Mangroves of the Maldives: A review of their distribution, diversity, ecological importance and biodiversity of associated flora and fauna. Aquatic Sciences, 86, Article 44. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00027-024-01061-2 ¹
Maldives National Framework for Management of Protected & Conserved Areas 2024-2029. (2024). Government of Maldives, Ministry of Environment, Climate Change & Technology. https://www.environment.gov.mv/v2/wp-content/files/publications/20241006-pub-maldives-national-framework-for-management-of-protected-conserved-areas.pdf ⁴
“Maldives (Country Profile).” (n.d.). Mangroves for the Future. https://www.mangrovesforthefuture.org/countries/members/maldives/ ²
United Nations in the Maldives. (2025, May 11). UN and Maldives partners advance blue carbon finance to tackle climate and economic challenges. https://maldives.un.org/en/294135-un-and-maldives-partners-advance-blue-carbon-finance-tackle-climate-and-economic-challenges ³
