Behind the Story: Land Reclamation in the Maldives – the Pulitzer Center
![Aerial image of a neighbourhood in Hulhumalé, Maldives (by Ashwa Faheem/UNDP Maldives via UNDP.org)](https://coastalcare.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/hml_aerial_12-798x449.jpeg)
Most visitors come to the Maldives for its resorts and pristine beaches. For Pulitzer Center grantee Jesse Chase-Lubitz, there’s a story behind that sand…The Maldives face an existential threat from sea level rise, and rebuilding the coastline with dredged sand has become a popular solution. But a series of activists on the 1,200-island archipelago are questioning the tradeoffs…Through interviews with taxi drivers, hotel owners, politicians, and scientists, Chase-Lubitz found that land reclamation is not a one-size-fits-all policy…