The Maldives is blessed with beautiful tropical scenery and abundant tourism resources. However, in recent years, due to factors such as climate change, especially due to the ongoing global heat wave this year, the coral reefs here are facing a serious threat of "bleaching".
Coral reefs not only provide a living environment for many flora and fauna, but also a growing ground for many marine juvenile fish. In recent years, large areas of bleaching have occurred in coral reefs due to climate change, especially global warming, and rising sea temperatures. In 1998, there was a brief "El Niño" phenomenon in the Indian Ocean, which led to an average increase in sea temperatures of 4 to 6 degrees Celsius in the waters surrounding the Maldives, and a large number of coral reefs bleached and even died. In 2016, this phenomenon recurred. Some researchers fear that if heat waves become more frequent and severe, there will be a new round of bleaching and death on coral reefs in the Maldives, and fishing and tourism will be hit hard.
Maldivian marine biologist Hana Amir: What do we do if the worst happens to us? Fisheries, tourism, almost all of the country's foreign exchange earnings depend entirely on these reefs.
It is understood that tourism is the largest industry in the Maldives, and fishing is its second largest industry. Tourism accounts for about 30% of the country's GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT, generates more than 60% of foreign exchange earnings, and attracts many tourists at the same time. According to data released by the World Bank in April, the total number of tourists visiting the country reached 1.3 million in 2021.
Column Editor-in-Chief: Qin Hong Text Editor: Cheng Pei Title Image Source: Figureworm Creative Image Editor: Yong Kai
Source: Author: CCTV Finance