Project Overview
Climate risks in the Maldives are growing in frequency and intensity. Sea level rise, coastal storm surges, and flooding pose a significant threat, where more than 80% of the land area is less than one meter above sea level. For these reasons, the country has policy frameworks in place that identify climate change risks and prioritize adaptation strategies.
The USAID Climate Change Adaptation Activity (CCAA) is a five-year project in the Maldives where its purpose is to enhance the adaptive capacities of the public and private sectors and local communities to respond to the impact of climate change. During the first year of the activity (2022), CCAA helped identify and scale up solutions to climate-related challenges, strengthen governance to address climate-related risks, and improve access to high-quality information for decision-making to reduce vulnerability to climate change. Solimar supported this work by identifying innovative solutions to adaptively manage climate-related risk through market-driven private sector and community engagement.
Major Activities
- Conducted a Comprehensive Desk Analysis: Conducted a detailed desk analysis of the current state of tourism and climate change initiatives globally and in the Maldives.
- Led a Site Assessment: Led a site assessment in the Maldives to gain a deeper understanding of the tourism sector’s use of nature-based solutions to support the management, protection, and restoration of ecosystems, incorporating input from government officials, private-sector operators, and community-based tourism enterprises.
- Developed a Private Sector Climate Change Adaptation Investment Program: Designed a private-sector investment program that provided incentives for tourism businesses to invest in nature-based solutions that contributed to climate change adaptation.
- Created Marketing and Branding Materials: Developed marketing messages, branding materials, a Nature Smart label, and supporting communications tools for participating businesses.
- Secured Private Sector Commitments: Conducted targeted outreach to tourism businesses and secured commitments to implement identified climate change adaptation activities and technologies.
- Developed a Public Information Platform and Campaign: Created a website and public awareness campaign that provided information on climate adaptation solutions in the Maldives, best practices, resources for tourism operators, a climate pledge for visitors, climate-focused tourism activities, and innovative business solutions.
- Developed Training Materials: Created training materials for community members and tourism businesses that shared best practices in community-based adaptation projects, with particular emphasis on initiatives benefiting women, youth, and marginalized groups.
- Supported Climate-Focused Destination Marketing: Assisted the Maldives Marketing & Public Relations Corporation and private-sector stakeholders in integrating tourism industry climate adaptation measures and climate-themed visitor experiences into international marketing and promotional efforts for the Maldives.
Results
- A minimum of 20 new business commitments and investments in climate change adaptation strategies in the first year, or approximately 20% of total businesses pitched, with an estimated $5 invested by the private sector for every $1 invested by USAID
- Improved capacity of the private sector to identify, build awareness, and establish dialogues with the government about shared risks in key economic sectors
- Strengthened capacity of private sector partners to adapt to and mitigate climate-related risks in their business models and investment chains
- Improved capacity of local communities to identify climate-related risks and devise solutions for adaptive management
