In 2022 the Maldives archipelago celebrates a very special jubilee: the Golden Jubilee of Tourism. Indeed, it was in 1972 that the Italians were the first tourists to set foot on this small state paradise spread over 26 atolls and more than 1000 coral islands, closely followed by travelers from all over the world. Today, tourism accounts for over 35% of the Maldives’ GDP and contributes significantly to the country’s economic development. However, this development is not without consequences. The more than 1.3 million visitors a year bring with them habits and behaviors that have a significant impact on one of the planet’s most delicate marine ecosystems. This is why it is now essential to intervene before the damage caused by tourism is irreparable. And it is precisely the underwater life in the waters of the Maldives that is at the center of the story of the ninth chapter of BG4SDGs – Time to Change, the project of Stefano Guindani with Banca Generali to investigate the state of the art of the process of achieving the 17 goals of the UN Agenda 2030. On this occasion, the lens of Stefano Guindani stopped to investigate the situation relating to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 14 “Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development To analyze the situation, the photographer went to explore some corners of the Maldives far from the major organized travel circuits, to discover cooperation projects aimed at preserving marine fauna and flora. In Dharavandoo, for example, the Manta Trust is an association that works for the conservation of mobulidae, a species highly threatened by the waste present in the seas. In Dhigurah, on the other hand, the whale shark research program protects whale sharks, a native species threatened with extinction due to of the modification of the Maldivian marine ecosystems.The intensive exploitation of the beaches, on the other hand, increasingly reduces the spaces for the turtles which do not know s where to lay their eggs, but help comes from the Olive Ridley Project in Dhuni Kholu which takes care of these species before they become endangered. .
“From this significant trip, I hope to bring a strong testimony, a call to preserve life under the seas, which represent 70% of the entire planet. I have seen turtles mutilated by plastic thrown into the sea, sharks whales threatened by global warming, manta rays forced to change their migratory routes: creatures that have always been masters of their habitat, soon endangered by our reckless behavior. From this trip I bring evocative images of a world to protect, to protect at all costs” said Guindani, photographer and author of the BG4SDGs project – Time to Change. Tourism, however, is not the only problem facing the Maldives. Another major challenge for the archipelago is climate change. Rapid melting of glaciers – also observed in the BG4SDGs project in Svalbard, Norway – is rapidly raising sea levels. This is a real threat of extinction for the lowest sea level state in the world. Unsurprisingly, President Ibrahim Solih said he fears the Maldives will disappear by the end of the current century. An apocalyptic scenario that the Maldivians are trying to avoid at all costs, including through international cooperation, with projects such as the Modular Artificial Reef Structure (MARS), an initiative that involves the creation of graft coral created with the 3D printing that promotes the growth of bionic corals. A smart and impact-free way to create natural barriers against rising seas. Presented on September 15, 2021 in Milan, BG4SDGs – Time to Change will now continue for another 8 months to delve deeper into all 17 SDGs of the UN 2030 Agenda. For each of them, the key adopted by the photographer will be twofold: on the one hand, he aims to highlight the negative action of man on the environment and on the community, on the other hand how the urity itself has an extraordinary capacity for recovery thanks to innovative and sustainable solutions. In his research, Guindani will go beyond Italian borders, looking for critical cases and situations of excellence also abroad: Brazil, Norway and Australia, but also the United States, Turkey and South Africa. To support him there is an exceptional companion like Alberto Salza, one of the most internationally acclaimed anthropologists, who will be in charge of the texts for the project and will suggest some of the projects to follow. SDG 14 “Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development” is the ninth goal presented in this series. All the photos of the BG4SDGs project are also available on the website https://www.bancagenerali.com/ and on the official profiles of Banca Generali on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
