BAA MAALHOS: THE PRICELESS VALUE OF WATER

The community-driven solution to address water shortage in Baa Maalhos is the first of its kind in Maldives.

The Maalhos Awareness and Recreation Society (MARS), a local NGO, partnered with the Island Council in pioneering the setup of an Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) Facility that utilizes desalinated seawater and harvested rainwater to meet growing water demands in B. Maalhos.

What makes this initiative so significant is how the people of Maalhos turned the table in converting a burden into an opportunity. The IWRM Facility is the country's first such community-led initiative that provides a bottom-up solution to the people.

With a small grant from the Tourism Adaptation Project-implemented jointly by UNDP and the Ministry of Tourism- the project now provides Maalhos with a clean source of water that is adequate to meet their daily needs. The facility now produces more than enough water for the island community, as well as for prospective new businesses such as guesthouses and restaurants that are planned to be opened soon.