It is time to act rather than talk to implement climate change adaptation measures such as coastal protection structures, when projects such as these are implemented. come on! when infrastructures are built 15 meters from shoreline and if erosion is happening, it would be a concern, obviously. We know our isslands are shaped by the coastal process itself and the changes we see are not uniform. Rapid rate of unfavourable change is what humans dont like to see.

I dont think there is room to argue that Kandholhudhoo or another such island is a better housing solution than Dhuvaafaaru. To build back better from tsunami damage is not only should be of nice buildings but also of long term coastal protection measure. Otherwise expensive projects such as these would always be in vain.

I do know why the native vegetation of Dhuvaarau is not thick as the rest of the islands in the same line as Dhuvaafaru in Raa Atoll.
If Dhuvaafaru is such a perfect island, why not people of Raa Ugulu and Raa Gaaudoodhoo have not been settle in Dhuvaafaru instead of Huludhuffaaru.

That said, I must mention that I personally have no issue with the selection of Dhuvaafaru as it is one of the largest island in Raa Atoll. We should give credit where due; the project has played a major role in assisting people displaced from Kandholhudhoo. Despite all the shortcomings you have pointed (both speculative and factual), Dhuvaafaru is much a much better home than Kandholhudhoo and definitely much safer than their former home.

Allow me to draw you back to your post regarding a homeland elsewhere. In that post you rightly pointed that almost 80% of the islands of the Maldives are just 1 meter or less above sea level. You went further to say that natives of these low-lying coral islands do not have much of a choice, except for the adaptation of their islands or out migration to higher grounds elsewhere.

As Ahmed has pointed out, we are in it together as a country – the whole of Maldives is vulnerable to the effects of climate change. For the people now living there, Dhuvaafaru may (according to you) be one of the lowest islands in Raa Atoll but the very fact that it was spared by the tsunami despite being at the very east of that Atoll while Kandholhudhoo, at the west-end was most affected is an indication that it is better.

It is no secret that the population consolidation plan was getting no support from people living is small islands as we all happen to develop a natural affinity to our ‘native’ islands. It is for this very reason that people of Rakeedhoo are demanding the government provides amenities for their ‘small’ community. What is the feasibility? Like the people of Rakeedhoo, many in Kandholhudhoo had previously resisted any plans to move. Tsunami was the silver lining in the cloud that was the tsunami – at last the people of Kandholhudhoo unanimously agreed to be moved. They wanted to remain in Raa Atoll, and of all uninhabited islands considered, it is Dhuvaafaru that did fit the bill.

Bluepeace should propose solutions rather than offer mere criticism – otherwise there is no need to raise the many important issues you raise. For future population, Dhuvaafaru can adequately accommodate more than twice its current population. In our very small islands we should make use of vertical space. I just hope the houses have structures strong enough to accommodate more floors on the top.

Bluepeace and others should now educate the people of Dhuvaafaru to be mindful of their environment and put measures to mitigate erosion. With support from the government, protection like that around Male should be provided in Dhuvaafaru and other vulnerable islands. BP should help reinforce the idea in communities that it is high time we stop waiting for the government to do everything for us – we should pool our effort and improve our country together.

Our islands are very richly endowed; let no one cheat us otherwise.

In the interest of a fair debate let me highlight some of the inconsistent statements here.
1. How does BP know the average elevation of the rest of the islands in Raa Atoll? As someone who has surveyed these islands, I can say that almost all islands in this stretch has a low elevation. This is mainly due to their relative protection against Indian Ocean wave activity. Can we say that the settlements in the rest of the islands in Raa Atoll was a ‘bad choice’? Do you know that the average elevation of L.Gan is 0.8m Mean Sea Level or that of GA. Viligili is 0.75 m MSL? In this sense all settlements are ‘bad choices’?
2. The claim that Dhuvaafaru is highly mobile and prone to erosion cannot be justified based merely on the literal meaning of the reef name. The claim that the island was uninhabited primarily due to erosion is false. There no historical record to substantiate that – certainly not the main authorities in geography of Maldives (Luthufy – Geography ge vanavaru and Maniku – Topography of Maldives). Yes, it’s oceanward side is prone to erosion, but so is every other island in the stretch.
3. ‘Bad choice’. Do we really believe we can get the island we are looking for simply by surveys? No. Can we relocate them to the island of our ‘technical choice’? No. I can tell you that it will be a bad choice which ever way you decide. If you move them to L.Gan, our go-to-island, it will be a bad social choice. If you keep them in Kandholhudhoo it will be a bad choice? If you reclaim a reef near kandholhudhoo it would be a disastrous choice? If you move them to the second largest uninhabited island in the atoll, it’s a bad choice? (btw. that island is Dhuvaafaru).

So, I agree that we should raise awareness of our vulnerabilities and try to establish the best development practices, but lets keep it objective. We are here and we are vulnerable. It’s not the present or previous Government’s doing.

I remember how a good friend of mine, then working at Planning Ministry, distanced himself from the Government’s decision to develop R. Dhuvaafaru, when I asked him how the Ministry had selected the island as the new abode for the residents of Kadholhudhoo. Today, after 4 years, the island has been developed for its 4,000 inhabitants, at a cost of over Rf390 million (that’s a staggering hundred thousand rufiyaa per person). Th. Vilufushi, has also been developed at whopping cost of 340million rufiyaa (over Rf 130,000 per inhabitant for the 2,500 odd people who will ultimately call the island, home). Only two islands have set us over three-quarters of a billion rufiyaa behind. And that money only solves an infinitesimally small fraction of our problem. We have another 195 islands to work on!

Tsunami was in fact the only opportunity we had to convince our Yahuya Average that he has ABOSOLUTELY NO CHOICE but to move away from his fishing village of less than 500 people if he wants his two sons and three daughters to complete Cambridge A levels and his grandmother Faathumafulhu to undergo the cataract surgery that she had required for years, without having to leave his home island. Of course we know that large scale dredging does irreversible damage to our coral islands. But if the plight of our Yahuya Average’s fifth generation children are to be anything other than buying land to settle down alongside Dalits in Indian ghettos, we have to close our eyes to everything else and get our people to settle down in one or two islands. Period. Then only can we afford to build the coastal defense systems that we would need by the turn of the century.

The Dutch say “God created the world, but the Dutch created Holland.” I’m sure even the mighty Dutch couldn’t have created what they did with their country if the Netherlands had some 195 islands around which they had to build breakwaters!