ETHICAL TRAVELLER:CHECK OUT ANY website selling holidays to the Maldives, and the words "idyllic", "pristine", and "paradise" usually pop up. And "exclusive", of course, writes Catherine Mack
It is not hard to find resorts charging a minimum of $1,000 (about €630) a day, either. That certainly is exclusive when you consider that, according to Tourism Concern, nearly half of the local population is living on just over $1 a day.
Tourism is the leading industry in the Maldives, accounting for 28 per cent of its GDP. One of the many goals of its ministry of tourism, which promotes its honeymoon haven as a sustainable destination, is to "ensure equitable distribution of the economic benefits of tourism to the society". Maybe they are having problems defining the word "society" but it would appear that this isn't happening.
With a growing tourism industry, yet no apparent changes in the poverty rates, it is not surprising that the Maldivian minister of tourism, Mahmood Shaugee, resigned earlier this month, stating that he was at odds with the government's sudden plans to release 31 more uninhabited "pristine" islands, to be leased for tourism purposes. Shaugee claims that these plans were not part of the ministry's 2007-2011 Tourism Masterplan.
Shaugee also stated that he believed these new projects were being carried out "without any planning". The Masterplan includes an all-important proposition to increase tourism revenues for local communities. But the Maldivian coffers are running low this year, with a budgetary shortfall of $180 million (about €114 million).
It is perhaps not a coincidence that on the same day as Shaugee's resignation, more than 5,000 resort workers submitted a petition in opposition to the latest employment act, due to come into effect later this month.
It sets out new rights for Maldivian workers. Good news for most people - except that it doesn't apply to people working in the tourism sector. Consequently, about 25,000 people have no basic entitlements such as contracts, protection from unfair dismissal, minimum wage, holiday entitlement or overtime payment. The government admits that this was a "serious oversight", and that an amendment would be made.
If, however, such "oversights" are carried over into the latest development plans for these paradise islands, these may be less easy to amend. Particularly worrying is the Tourism Masterplan's statement that "developers should be discouraged from larger reclamation works, dredging, reef clearance or removal of natural features". Discouraging isn't exactly the same as prohibiting.
So the honeymoon period may be over for the Maldives, unless truly sustainable steps to protect its environment and feed its local population are taken soon. You can help by choosing an island that is not too remote, so that your spending money feeds into the local economy just a little.
Or support the work of Tourism Concern. The UN recently found that more than 30 per cent of Maldivian children under five suffer from malnutrition. But there is no shortage of fresh food being shipped to the island resorts. The Tourism Masterplan was, ironically, drawn up with the assistance of the UN. So let's hope it steps in soon, before any more "oversights" take place.
For more information on the work of Tourism Concern, see www.tourismconcern.org.uk
Catherine Mack is the author of ecoescape: Ireland, available at most bookshops. See www.ecoescape.org .