Country Report on Income Generation and Poverty Reduction for Development Course.

Aishath AbdullaRepublic of Maldives

Maldives

The Maldives is a nation of

coral islands scattered across the Indian Ocean. The Maldivian archipelago consists of about 1190 small low-lying coral islands of which few of them are, just a meter above sea level. These islands stretch more than 800 km from North to South covering a total area of about 300 sq km of which about 99% is water. 198 islands are inhabited while more than 87 islands are developed as resorts.

General Information

Official language – Dhivehi Presidential Republic President – Mohamed Nasheed Independence from the United Kingdom – 26 July 1965 Area – 300 sq km

Population – 298,842 ( 2006 Census ) now over 300,000. GDP - $1.588 billion Per capital - $4,602 National tree – Coconut palm National flower – Pink rose

CLIMATE

The summer never ends in the Maldives. Although it is warm throughout the year there are slight variations in the temperature during certain periods determined by the monsoon, from November to April is mostly dry with very little wind, while the southwest monsoon from May to October brings some rain and the temperature varies very little.

National Flag / Symbol

Red - symbolizes the blood of the national heroes who sacrificed their lives for the independence of the nation.

Green - denotes life, progress and prosperity.

White Crescent represents the Islamic faith of the nation.

Capital city – Male’

HULHUMALE’

Main occupations TOURISM The Maldives is largely a service-

oriented economy. Due to small population and the absence of large land masses, the scope for agricultural and industrial development is limited. Tourism is the largest sector of the economy, accounting for nearly one-third of the GDP and around 90% of service exports.

Fishing The fisheries sector is the countries second

largest industry. It is around 90% of our domestic export earnings and continues to remain the key source of income and livelihood for the people living in the outer atoll.

Agriculture

The agriculture sector accounts for 2-3% of GDP. the country is self-sufficient in fish, but most of the other food items are imported. The agriculture sector was also affected by the tsunami waves, which swamped the soil and destroyed a range of food crops as well as the natural vegetation.

What we don’t have

Mountains SnakesRivers Crocodiles.. etcLakesWild animals

Poverty in the Maldives

Poverty in the Maldives context differs from that of many other countries. In the Maldives, poverty alleviation primarily means the reduction of regional disparities in living conditions, since poverty problems in the country are primarily related to remoteness of the islands and lack of services in the atolls. The concepts poverty includes other socioeconomic aspects such as,

Access to electricity Transport Education Health Portable drinking water Infrastructures Quality of housings Malnutrition Incidence of food security

Government and non-government interventions

Micro, small and medium-scale income-generating activities play a vital role in improving and sustaining incomes for about 70% of the Maldivian population. Since the early 1990s, there have been 3 major donor-funded initiatives undertaken by the government for

promoting income-generating activities in the atolls. All have embraced poverty reduction as the overarching goal and job creation as the central strategy for achieving it. These 3 specific Initiatives, the first two supported by the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the third, by the UNDP which has been extended to 2007 comprise the following

(i )The Atolls Credit and Development Banking Project,1990–1996.

(ii )The Southern Atolls Development Project, 1996–2002

(iii )The Atoll Development Project for Sustainable Livelihoods, 1996

to present.

Vulnerability and Poverty Assessment study (VPA2)

The purpose of the second VPA which was conducted by the government is to assess the progress in poverty reduction over the period 1997-2004. The findings of VPA-2 show that considerable progress has been made in this regard over the past seven years. During this period average household income in Maldives as a whole, increased at an average annual growth rate of over 6% per capita, with 7.7 per cent in Male’, and 4.6% in the atolls. Overall, both income and non-income poverty has declined significantly throughout the country. The Survey shows that the Maldives has made huge progress in reducing both income and none-income poverty.

Millennium Development Goals

One of the eighth target of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. The targets to achieve this goal includes,

Target 1

Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of

population whose income is less than one dollar a day. Target 2 Halve between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people

who suffer from hunger.

Governments approach

Promotion of regionally balanced economic growth, where benefits are spread more widely and equitably.

A number of atoll development projects have been undertaken to reduce the level of poverty and

continues at regional and island level. Service centers in the atoll provide efficient means

of delivery of a wide range of services. Regional growth centers have been constructed to

cater for employment needs.

The UNDP poverty reduction program regarding MDG.

Support to Integrated Farming. Main activities

identified for assistance include: agriculture training and awareness building. agriculture processing. introduction to poultry. extension of auto-pot growing systems. capacity building of the focal ministry. Building partnerships with private sector.

Con.. -Gender and Economic Empowerment Support to women’s entrepreneurship initiatives. Skills trainings. Capacity building of women’s organizations. Policy level support on gender and economic

empowerment.- Affordable housing for all - Pearl Culture Demonstration Extension and

Marketing Project.

- Integrated Framework for Trade Related

Assistance Phase two.

Local NGOs NGOs play an increasingly important role in

Maldivian society in order to improve the community which the ngo belongs. There are more then one nog in each island .Some of the main activities are..

workshops on income-generations activities in the islands. Specially for the women to increase their own incomes.

Assist adolescents in adjusting to society in a healthy way.

A number of Youth concerned programs to help them in building their careers and also to be a better citizen in the society.

Tackle most important social issues by making people more aware of it.

Assist in education specially building pre-schools. Introducing and developing agriculture.

Problems

Smallness, remoteness and wide dispersal of island communities.

Over-reliance of tourism. Extreme dependency on imported fuel and imported goods. Disparity in income and access to infrastructure and services. Vulnerability of low lying islands and fragility of reef

ecosystem. High levels of female youth unemployed. Drug abuse. Poorly developed financial market. Eroding moral values and social norms. Lack of health facilities among the atolls. Continuing migration from the islands to the capital. Students not getting a chance to get exposed to skilled

labor.

Solutions

outer island development through the provision of basic social and economic infrastructure and credit to spur household income generation and creation of economic and employment opportunities to promote an equal

distribution to the atolls. Human resource development, especially through

improved education and training to meet the skills demand of a modern economy and a reduced reliance on foreign labor through improved labor regulations, together with the creation of new employment opportunities.

Further development of fisheries sector. Decentralized decision-making system and capacity

building to meet the development needs of outer island population and facilitate their development planning and management

Conclusion

Poverty in Maldives is multi dimensional and to tackle this complex problem no single solution or strategy will be enough. Economic growth alone will not eradicate poverty in Maldives, nor isolated social sector development will be enough to eradicate poverty. What is therefore needed in Maldives is well-prioritized but balanced and comprehensive approach addressing multi challenges of growth and development.