Infrastructure development pushing islands to ‘tipping point’
Islands cannot naturally adapt to climate risks after harbour and land reclamation projects.
28 Dec 2019, 9:00 AM
Human-driven pressures on island-reef systems is pushing a majority of Maldives islands to a threshold beyond which it cannot naturally adapt to climate risks such as sea-level rise, scientists have found.
According to findings published on Nature, researchers Virginie K. E . Duvat and Alexandre K. Magnan concluded that “20.1% of inhabited and exploited islands (eg: resorts, airport islands) have already reached a tipping point and that 46.2% may reach it over the coming decade(s).”
The pair conducted fieldwork and studied a sample of 608 Maldivian islands from 23 natural atolls, comparing high-resolution satellite images between 2006 and 2016. They studied disturbances caused to coral reefs – which form the bedrock of Maldivian islands – and shorelines due to expansion by reclamation as well as harbour construction and reef dredging.
“This study constitutes the first detailed, nationwide assessment of human-driven undermining of the coastal protection services provided by the reef ecosystem to island communities,” the paper noted. “It confirms that over the last decade, human activities have been a major driver of reef-island morphological change.”
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