Behind the Story: Land Reclamation in the Maldives – the Pulitzer Center
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…
How Saving The Maldives May Actually Destroy It – the Medium
Just imagine waking up one day to find the sea that was once at your doorstep replaced by a fake 130-meter beach. This is the new reality for the residents of Addu, the southernmost atoll of the Maldives. But this shocking transformation isn’t new — it’s a desperate move to keep the country above water and thriving…
Maldives to battle rising seas by building fortress islands – PHYS.ORG
Rising sea levels threaten to swamp the Maldives and the Indian Ocean archipelago is already out of drinking water, but the new president says he has scrapped plans to relocate citizens. Instead, President Mohamed Muizzu promises the low-lying nation will beat back the waves through ambitious land reclamation and building islands higher—policies, however, that environmental and rights groups warn could even exacerbate flooding risks…
Satellite Image Shows Construction of World’s First Floating City – Newsweek
A floating city, considered the world’s first, is starting to take shape in the turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean…Satellite imagery provided exclusively to Newsweek by Maxar Technologies shows the state of construction of the Maldives Floating City, a development of modular floating platforms that is scheduled to be completed in 2027….
Why Time Is Running Out Across the Maldives’ Lovely Little Islands – the New York Times
Global tourism brought a modern economy to the country’s thousand islands. For many Maldivians, the teeming capital beckons…
New islands are being built at sea – but they won’t help millions made homeless by sea-level rise – the Conversation
Dubai’s famous Palm Jumeirah is not the only man-made island to have emerged from the sea this century. Over the past 20 years, many islands have been built to accommodate both tourists and well-heeled residents – especially in the Arabian Gulf states and China..
Add sand, lose sand, repeat. The climate conundrum for beaches – E&E News
Rebuilding beaches after hurricanes is costing U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars more than expected as the Army Corps of Engineers pumps mountains of sand onto storm-obliterated shorelines…
A Massachusetts town spent $600K on shore protection. A winter storm washed it away days later – the Washington Post
A Massachusetts beach community is scrambling after a weekend storm washed away $600,000 in sand that was trucked in to protect homes, roads and other infrastructure…
Why Oak Island is looking 18 miles off its coast for sand to nourish its eroded beach – Wilmington StarNews Online
Faced with an eroding beach, Oak Island wants to pump fresh sand onto its oceanfront. But finding a viable sand source might mean going a long way offshore…