Regions and Countries

	Table of Contents
p. 4 of 19 BACK | NEXT I. Country Performance Assessment A. Economic Performance Assessment B. Poverty Assessment C. Assessment of Socio-Environmental Performance D. Governance: Sound Development Management E. Implementation Assessment II. Country Operational Strategy III. Sector Strategies IV. Regional Cooperation V. Donor Activities and Aid Coordination VI. Cofinancing and Catalyzing External Resources VII. ADB’s Operational Program VIII. Economic and Sector Work Program IX. Local Cost Financing

Country Assistance Plans - Maldives : I. Country Performance Assessment

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C. Assessment of Socio-Environmental Performance

1. Gender Issues

8. In Maldives, there is no institutional discrimination along gender lines in access to education and health services and for jobs in the public sector. School enrollment rates for girls and boys are almost the same. Women are employed in the pubic sector and in manufacturing, and they account for 70 percent of active persons in agriculture. Nonetheless, women’s access to higher education, necessary to respond to the new employment opportunities, is limited especially in the outer islands. In recent years, the Government, with ADB assistance,³ has been promoting increasing access to postsecondary education services to the population in the outer islands and women are expected to benefit significantly from such assistance.

9. The Government has taken further initiatives to support women in development, and a recent example includes the establishment by the Government of a Rf1 million micro credit scheme in March 2000, specifically for employment generation for women in the outer atolls. To review the overall impact of, and further strengthen, gender support by both the Government and donors, a gender participatory assessment is being conducted in 2000 starting in August, with ADB assistance,⁴ as part of ADB’s poverty analysis and the poverty reduction strategy.

2. Human Development

10. Despite the highly dispersed nature of the country that constrains access to health, education, and other social services, the country’s social indicators have shown significant improvements. Since 1977, life expectancy at birth increased by over 20 years to 72 years, and infant mortality was reduced from 120 per thousand to 20 by 1999. In education, primary school enrollment increased from 38 percent in 1982 to over 90 percent of the age group, and adult literacy rate reached 98 percent in 1999, which is among the highest in the developing world. Child labor is nonexistent in Maldives.

11. Maldives’ population growth rate fell from about 3.4 percent per annum in the 1980s to about 2.7 percent in 1995, but is still considered to be high.⁵ The current population growth imposes a major challenge for Maldives, as it will continue to significantly impact on the future demand for social services (e.g. education, health, water supply and sanitation) and physical infrastructures especially in the outer atolls. Meanwhile, the rapid population growth rate has created a high dependency ratio and a large cohort of young Maldivians are looking for employment. The Government policy on population consolidation aims to (i) establish physical links between islands to improve access of small islands population to better economic and social services, and (ii) relocate the people from small and remote islands to larger and easily accessible ones to benefit from scale economies in terms of the provision of social and infrastructure services and increased mobility of people and goods. ADB will assist the Government in developing a national population consolidation strategy and a program for implementation.

3. Environment

12. The country has limited terrestrial resources. Rich marine life and beautiful settings are the mainstay for the development of the fishing and tourism sectors and the sustainable livelihood of the Maldives population. Like many other small island countries, Maldives faces serious environmental problems which include declining freshwater quantity and quality, coastal erosion and pollution, and degradation of coastal resources and the coral reef ecosystem. These problems are aggravated by the pressure of increasing population. The vulnerability of the small island ecosystems is compounded by the threat of the rise in the sea level due to global warming. Most islands are low-lying and about 80 percent of the land area is less than one meter above sea level. The coral growth rate is 3-5 mm per year and has the potential to mitigate some of the effects of sea level rise. However, a recent study showed that a serious coral bleaching occurred in Maldives in 1998 and caused significant damage to the reefs in the Maldives. The Government, with the assistance of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), is monitoring the coral reefs to identify the best approach to manage this fragile ecosystem. In addition, environmental problems associated with improper sanitation practices and over exploitation of the fresh water sources seriously threaten the populated islands.

13. The Government has recently finalized the Second National Environmental Action Plan following close consultations with the principal stakeholders.⁶ The implementation of the Plan remains a major challenge for the Government in view of inadequate funding and limited human resources. Key environmental concerns are being addressed with grant assistance by donor agencies. Australia, Global Environmental Facility, Japan, and UNDP are providing support in the areas of coastal resources management, environmental infrastructure, the development of an environmental protection strategy, and institutional strengthening. Accordingly, ADB will continue to assist through mainstreaming environmental concerns under its loan and technical assistance (TA) projects. The project preparatory technical assistance (PPTA) for Outer Islands Electrification,⁷ being implemented in 2000, will evaluate the feasibility of adopting environmentally sustainable renewable energy sources for electricity generation, such as photovoltaic power, solar thermal and wind power, for the outer islands. ADB has identified critical natural resources and environmental issues to be considered when undertaking development projects in Maldives.⁸

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