CREATING CHANGE. ISLAND BY ISLAND.

THE REMOTE ISLANDS YOU’RE HELPING TO PROTECT BY SUPPORTING THE CLEAN WAVES PROJECT

A necklace of 1,921 coral islands and sandbars sitting atop a submarine ridge halfway between Africa and South-East Asia, the Maldives is the jewel of the Indian Ocean. Home to some of the most abundant waters anywhere on the planet, the sheer variety of species they host is dazzling: over 1,200 species of fish, 400 molluscs, 250 corals, 145 crabs, 83 echinoderms – starfish, sea urchins and sea cucumbers – 48 shrimps, 21 whales, and five sea turtles, all living in waters so rich with bioluminescent plankton that the Maldives are one of the few places in the world where beaches can glow in the dark all year round.

Clean Waves focuses on some of the remotest uninhabited islands of the Maldives – some more than 400km from the capital, Malé – as while the resorts may clean their islands’ beaches daily, with plastic there is no ‘away’. Here we zoom into the islands the proceeds from Clean Waves purchases go into protecting from plastic pollution, creating change, island by island.

ARAIGATHAA
0.540665 73.347422

Located in the southern Maldives, Araigathaa means “the place that rose up” in the local Huvadhoo dialect. A tiny, round island about the size of a football field, ocean currents pull white, powder-soft sand around its circumference in a dynamic, sweeping motion. The island is popular amongst locals from nearby Gemanafushi as a picnic spot, but is otherwise uninhabited.

DHIGURAH
6.030052 73.067926

Dhigurah is part of the Shaviyani Atoll – a sparkling ring of white sand islands in the north of the Maldives. Meaning “Long Island” in Dhivehi, the language spoken in the Maldives, Dhigurah is a long, thin strip of powder-soft white sand with a cluster of bright green vegetation at its center.

With Dhigurah’s highest point only a few feet above the ocean, the island’s shape makes the sand particularly susceptible to erosion. In fact, Dhigurah was once part of a much larger island until the 2004 tsunami stripped away more than one third of its landmass, leaving three thin sandbanks, connected twice daily at low tide.

DHAANDHOO
5.236557 73.168272

Dhaandhoo is part of the Baa Atoll, located at the northern edge of the Maldives. An uninhabited stretch of brilliant green jungle and white sand, this small speck of land covers 2.4 hectares and rises just a few feet above the ocean – yet even here we find drifting plastic.

HIMITHII
3.254649 72.819986

Meaning “boundary” in Dhivehi, the language spoken across the Maldives, people lived on Himithi until 1973. The islanders were skilled seafarers and hosted an ocean-navigation teaching facility, yet had to relocate after sand erosion rendered the island uninhabitable.

Himithi is also home to the well-known monument of Boa Uni Alibe, a learned holy man believed to cure children of sickness and the ‘evil eye’. Divehin (Maldivians) would visit Himithi from across the archipelago carrying offerings of Boa huni – scraped coconut caramelized in sugar – equal to the weight of their child.

OLHUGIRI
5.002546 72.907728

Thanks to its tracts of mature Grand Devil’s-Claw trees swaying up to 20 meters into the sky, Olhugiri is one of only two islands in the country where great frigatebirds come to roost daily. As part of the UNESCO-protected Baa Atoll Biosphere Reserve, Olhugiri’s reefs are home to threatened and endangered species such as green and hawksbill turtles, Napoleon wrasses, tawny nurse sharks, and some of the largest gatherings of manta rays found anywhere in the world.

BUDUMOHORA
3.342777 73.518322

Meaning “snake stone” in Dhivehi, the language spoken across the Maldives, Budumohora is home to 55 kilometers of coral reef – the country’s longest stretch of unbroken reef. Budumohora’s lagoon is a breeding ground for dozens of speci es of shark, rays and seabirds, and the uninhabited island is visited by children from across the Vaavu Atoll on school field trips. 

As our work progresses, we’ll bring you the latest updates from the islands. If you have a pair of Clean Waves sunglasses, be sure to activate your coordinates for personalized updates from the place you support.

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