The Maldives is reclaiming land at an extraordinary pace – new islands raised from lagoons, coastlines armoured against rising seas. It’s engineering that works.
But after four years studying three of those islands, Dr Aishath Azfa found something the master plans didn’t account for. The households best equipped to cope with climate shocks weren’t the wealthiest ones in the beachfront plots. They were the ones with extended family nearby, multiple income streams, neighbours who show up.
Two islands with identical engineering produced opposite social outcomes — because one rehoused a community that had survived the tsunami together, and the other gathered strangers around a shared address.
“Building those communities is harder than pouring sand. But it’s the only adaptation that truly matters.”
Read the essay: https://maldivesindependent.com/essay/one-island-preserved-a-community-the-other-assembled-a-population-d288
