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This Action Plan is a nation-wide sectoral document aiming at helping the Government to maintain and improve the environment, including the marine and ocean area contained within the Exclusive Economic Zone, and to manage the resources contained therein for the collective benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations. The overall goal shall be reached through interventions in the following specific areas (i) assessment: of the current state of the environment, of the impact on it of the marine and land-based activities together with the implications of demographic patterns; (ii) management: of marine and land-based development activities impacting on the environment together with sustainable management of land and marine resources; and (iii) development: of coordinating mechanisms for the AP implementation, together with training and educational programs to enable the Government to implement the AP, and environmental awareness for the population.The environmental problems shall be addressed according to a priority order divided in two main categories (i) marine environmental problems (coral mining, sewage contamination of coastal water, sea level rise, solid waste management, dredging); and (ii) terrestrial and human environmental problems (freshwater management, migration to Male', population growth, solid waste disposal, sewage contamination of groundwater, fuel-wood supplies and deforestation).To make agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and sustainable, the Action Plan proposes (i) assessment of ground water resources of selected islands; and (ii) marine ecosystem and coral reef surveys.In order of increasing the resilience of livelihoods to disasters, main actions will be directed to (i) address long term planning issue including the effects of potential climate change and sea level rise on the environment; (ii) consider the economic implications of climate change and sea level rise; and (iii) evaluate coastal geomorphology and sedimentology.
