Minister Shauna Attends the UN Ocean Conference as the Representative of President Solih

Ms Aminath Shauna, the Minister for the Environment, Climate change, and Technology, attended the interactive dialogue 1 at the 2022 United Nations Ocean Conference on Monday with the topic "Addressing Marine Pollution." She is President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's special representative and is in Lisbon, Portugal where she will speak at the conference on his behalf.
 
Minister Shauna stated during yesterday’s interactive dialogue that the wellbeing of the marine and coral reef systems is essential to the lives and means of subsistence of the Maldivian people.
 
She further emphasized that President Solih's administration committed to protecting at least 10% of the Maldives' coral reefs, 20% of its wetlands and mangroves, and other representative reef habitats from each atoll by 2023 in the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan and the Strategic Action Plan 2019–2023. She continued by saying that the Maldives had already designated 79 areas as being legally protected, which accounted for nearly 14% of the coral reefs there.
 
According to Minister Shauna, the amount of plastic pollution has increased exponentially over the past few decades and now stands at about 400 million tonnes annually. She expressed her concerns by pointing out that only 9% of plastic waste is recycled, with the remainder being dumped in landfills and the environment, including the oceans.
 
"Micro-plastics have been detected in marine species and even in our blood. Vulnerable natural systems such as ours are affected by plastic pollution leading to loss of species and habitats," Stated Minister Shauna.
 
Moreover, the Maldives' role in reducing marine plastic pollution was also covered by Minister Shauna, who emphasized the country's ban on the import, manufacture, and sale of 13 different single-use plastics as well as a renewed focus on alternatives, waste segregation, and promotion of recycling and waste reduction.
 
The Minister also reaffirmed the Maldives' support for strengthened multilateral action and welcomed the UN Environment Assembly's call to form an intergovernmental negotiating committee to create a legally binding global standard on plastic pollution during its fifth session.