Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Technology Aminath Shauna has stated that raising funds for the protection and maintenance of ecosystems is an important step towards getting the most benefits from activities and services in a sustainable manner. She made these remarks while speaking at the discussion on Payment for Ecosystem Services at Lancaster House in London, United Kingdom (UK), as part of the discussions towards the recently agreed targets in Montreal, Canada.
The discussion titled The Nature Action Private Sector Mobilisation is an important initiative towards the goals recently agreed upon in Montreal to protect, conserve and sustain biodiversity under the World Wildlife Convention. The main aim of the discussions was to find ways to fund the activities required to make the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) a reality to facilitate the cooperation of the private sector as well as civil society with the government and to seek funding opportunities.
Speaking at the roundtable discussion on Payment for Ecosystem Services held during the event, Minister Shauna said raising funds to protect and sustain ecosystems is an important step to get the most benefit from activities and services in a sustainable manner. Her remarks highlighted the benefits of the Green Tax levied on tourists visiting the country as the economy depends on tourism which is based on the country’s natural resources and marine life. She also shared information on how the money from the Green Tax is spent to reduce the adverse impacts on the environment and the lagoons of the Maldives.
Additionally, Minister Shauna highlighted the efforts being made so far and what will be done in the future to protect the ecosystems and biodiversity in the Maldives. As such, she noted there are 79 areas currently protected under the law and 13% of the lagoons have been protected.
After the meeting, which was attended by ministers from many countries, Minister Shauna also attended a special dinner hosted by King Charles III at Buckingham Palace.