Faresmaathoda - From dumpsites to roads and parks

The Island’s transformation from dumping to managing waste offer optimism for the future.

Location: Bangkok, Thailand. 29th Mar 2017

AND IT BEGINS...

Kulhi, Faa Chasbin or mangroves are common to the Northern and Southern atoll islands of Maldives. Typically, you might find more than one of these mangrove wetlands if you visit any of these islands.The island of Faresmaathoda in South Huvadhu atoll has a “kulhi” lake as well, though it’s much smaller than what you may usually encounter.

 

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DUMPSITE (KUNIGONDU) IS NOW A SOCIAL PARK...

A few Kandoo (Small-leafed orange mangrove) trees surround the swamp, adding to the already heart-warming aesthetics. In the evening, children and young people gather around the pond, lounging around in joalifathi (traditional Maldivian recliner benches) playing guitar and socializing with their friends.

 

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ZUHAIRA'S THOUGHTS...

The place didn’t always look like this:“You couldn’t even see a pond when you passed by. There would be all kinds of waste surrounding the area. The pond was inaccessible due to the loads of waste surrounding it”, Mariyam Zuhaira, a 61-year-old woman who lives nearby, recalled.

 

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MANIK GOT A NEW CHILL-OUT SPACE...

The area around the Kulhi used to be the major dumpsite of the island community. This has been the case for many years, Mohamed Manik, an elderly man sitting by the lake explained:“I don’t remember a time when waste was not dumped here. I don’t think anyone in this island would either” - Manik, 54 years.Manik now spends his afternoons sitting by the lake under the cool shade of the coconut palms, sometimes feeding the fish that live in the pond.“There are many mosquitoes here. But before all this, you couldn’t tolerate staying here. It’s gotten a lot fewer now.” Manik says pointing at the fishes.

 

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WHAT CHANGED?

In November 2015, the island embarked on a journey to manage waste after a cinema studio called Red Productions won a small grant from the Mangroves for the Future Programme, a regional coastal conservation programme co-chaired by IUCN and UNDP.On a mission to replicate and advance the working model of Alif Alif Ukulhas, the island councilors re-opened an old waste management center that had been closed and abandoned for years like the many similar centers across the Maldives.Changes were made to the infrastructure and architectural set-up to make it functional. These included enclosing the machinery cell and raising the walls of the storage to prevent flooding and damages from rain which were later incorporated to the national drawings of island waste management centers.After a series of stakeholder consultations and island-wide surveys, a governance mechanism was set up to achieve this task. The island residents agreed to pay a small fee for waste collection right from their doorsteps.A committee that included the island’s school, health center and women’s development committee was established to steer and guide the implementation of the system. They formulated a waste policy and advised on aspects of community engagement such as the best collection routes for the pick-up truck to go around the island to save time.

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EIGHT MONTHS LATER…

A pick-up truck makes a stop at each house every morning to collect household waste from the previous day. Each house is allocated a number upon registration. The’ waste gets carefully separated into waste category containers which are placed next to the number given to each household.After the truck is done doing its rounds, it goes back to the waste management center where the metals, glass and plastic are kept separately.Bio-degradable waste is used to make compost. The compost is then sold off to locals as well as tourist resorts to generate revenue to run the center.
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LEARNING AND INNOVATING...

The island council together with Red Production and Mangroves for the Future team are now experimenting different ways of dealing with the waste.They found that mixing seaweed with the leaf litter halved the time of composting, reduced an immense amount of labour and saved space for additional compost piles. The seaweed compost also has a higher nutritious content which means it can attract a higher value.The council is also recycling items to reduce the waste for transportation. The storage cabinet of the waste management center is a discarded refrigerator.Many such dustbins made from old washing machines are installed in public spaces in the island.Another interesting innovation is an electronic compost sieve retrofitted with a motor salvaged from a discarded machine. This has proved to be especially helpful since it saves time as opposed to manually doing it and also has eliminated the work needed to dry it out because previously it needed to be spread out in the sun.

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A SPARK FOR MANY MORE INITIATIVES...

Within the course of just a year the project has brought about an incredible transformation to the island.After piloting the project, the councilors initiated an island clean-up to clear traditional dumpsites, making way for exciting new possibilities for the island. “Before the project, the closest way out of the woods (to the beach) was a waste dumpsite for the islanders. These outer roads used to be dumpsites before we opened the center and cleaned up the island.” – Mohamed Sobah, Member of Faresmaathoda Island council. Sobah is now in charge of the waste management project on behalf of the council. The area of waste management had peaked his interest and now he attends waste management training and seminars in the capital of Male’ on behalf of Faresmaathoda.

 

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A VISION TO PUT AN END TO OPEN BURNING...

The center currently has to openly burn some of the leaf litter simply because they don’t have the space or manpower to compost all of the biodegradable waste.This is not unique to Faresmaathoda. Islands with even the best of waste management mechanisms in Maldives still practice open burning on 'trays'.The commitment and vision of councilors like Sobah can take their communities to new heights. Islands like Faresmaathoda need all the help they can get to end this open-burning practice.

 

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NEED FOR A POLICY INTERVENTION?

The case of Faresmathoda also highlights many challenges that island waste management centers face all across the country.The sheer will and commitment of a small community can take things only so far. Many of the challenges to waste management are deeply rooted and can only be solved by a policy intervention.“Our biggest worry right now is finding a way to cover the deficit of the operational costs of the center. Funds need to be allocated to islands in its initial stages. We need financial assistance to experiment, improve and procure additional machinery” Abdulla Saeed —President of Faresmathoda CouncilAs Saeed points out, the revenue generated from composting, sale of recyclables and collection fees is not enough to cover operational costs.For this reason, so far the model waste management centers are challenged with self-sustenance.“Maybe increasing the compost we make is one way to make this model self-sustaining. That could mean we will no longer have to openly burn any of the waste. We are now studying static compositing practiced at a resort in Male’ Atoll.” —Sobah, member of island Council

 

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REUSE, RECYCLE, REDUCE & AVOID

The success of the waste center also reveals other deeply-ingrained and problematic practices.The sheer number of soft and energy drinks cans collected from the island with a population of just over 1500 is alarming.Empty soft drink cans like these make up a huge part of non-biodegradable waste on islands like Faresmaathoda.Like many Maldivians, the community of Faresmaathoda have yet to fully understand that effective waste management not only requires the management of waste, but also reducing unnecessary waste such as single-use bottled water and plastic shopping bags.Environmental impacts aside, the health hazards stemming from high consumption of energy drinks like these alone is cause for concern.“On average, a young man would consume three or four energy drink cans every day” – Sobah, Island Council Member“After having seen all these cans collected, I thought to myself this cannot be good for health either.”– Abdulla Saeed, President of Faresmaathoda Island Council

 

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OPTIMISM FOR THE FUTURE

Practices like these, however, take generations to change. The principal of Huvadhoo School from Faresmaathoda realizes this.In June last year, the school teamed up with Mangroves for the Future Programme to appoint and train young waste management ambassadors to spread information about good waste management practices.They hope that steps like this would help the island reach a model of managing waste that surpasses what has so far been achieved on other islands.Meanwhile, thanks to the small grant initiative by Mangroves for the Future, Mohamed Manik and other community members, who now unwind near the kulhi area, can enjoy the fruits of what has been achieved so far.
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This story was written by MFF Maldives National Coordinator Abdulla Adam and Hassan Moosa. Photos by Abdulla Adam and Makdhooma Nazim. Edited by Aishath Rizna.
The story can also be found on the UNDP Maldives website here. (link to the original photostory)

 
Lagoon Clean-up Maldives

Lagoon Clean-up Maldives, Maldives © Abdulla Adam and Makdhooma Nazim

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