World Mushroom Day today (who knew?).
As part of its intense focus on sustainability, Soneva Fushi has its own mushroom hut for cultivating a wide varieties of Basidiomycotae and Agaricomycetes. Oyster and other varieties grown from tubes of mulch made by their resort’s recycling plant. The hut interior is kept cool and moist with a light spray of water on constantly.
Putting the “fun” into “fungi” and the “eco” into the “enoki”.
When I first started coming to the Maldives, a few marine biologists kicked around the atolls usually on their own initiative maybe working on some research project. Now, every self-respecting top-fight resort has its own staff “MB” to provide presentations to guests, offer expert tours of the marine life on outings and also to support the resort’s eco-friendly initiatives to keep the reef and island healthy and vibrant.
I’ve meet dozens at this point, but one really stands out – Verena Wiesbauer. We first met her when he gave one of the best presentations on Maldives marine life at Kurumba a number of years ago. . She works as part of the “Eco-Islanders Maldives” organisation that helps resorts with a number of environmentally friendly initiatives especially around reef preservation. She’s the only Maldives MB I know of who is a published author on the Maldives. I’ve already featured her book, “Trees and Flowers of a Tropical Paradise” in one of the “QI – Maldives edition” series posts. In fact, she is a veritable “Maldives QI Elf” being by far the most prominent contributor to the quirky facts of that Maldives Complete series of posts.
In fact, in general, she is the most active MB contributor to Maldives Complete. She is always promptly responsive to questions I have and regularly offers up fun and useful information. Of course, she came into her own when I launched the “Dive Site Complete” feature. I have received material and information from many MBs across the country, but Verena has provided more support and material than everyone else combined (including the comprehensive list of the MPAs).
QI Question of the Day: “In what type of landscape is the Huraa Marine Protected Area found?”
A: The ocean?
QI: <BUZZ> No, the Huraa MPA is a mangrove swamp found o the Huraa island in the North Male atoll.
Think all “Marine Protected Areas” (MPAs) are under water?
Well, one of the MPAs are actually only semi-aquatic. The “Huraa” MPA is actually a mangrove island…
“Huraa Mangrove Nature Reserve (HMNR) has been designated a Protected Area, in recognition of the fact that it is an important natural mangrove habitat which contains species of particular conservation significance to the Maldives and the rest of the world. A human community also live on Huraa Island who is itself affected by the existence of the Nature Reserve, and whose day-to-day life and activities in turn impact on the mangrove ecosystem.”
Four Seasons Kuda Huraa is its namesake neighbour and plays an active role in supporting is preservation.
Another very important place to add to the “view” category is Soneva Fushi’s tree house toilet. But its elevated vista is not even its most impressive feature. The ‘facilities’ at Soneva’s “Fresh in the Garden” restaurant is a self-composting green latrine.
A self-composting toilet processes the material before dumping it into a sewage outlet. First of all, 90% of toilet output is water and that is evaporated off. The small amount of remaining solid matter is then processed so it is safe for adding to a garden without risk of bacteria or other pathogens.
Loo with a view!
Kurumba is the unsung hero of Maldives house reefs. It has always been one of my favourite house reefs. We have snorkelled it many times and *every* time see so many critters especially of the infamous “Snorkel Safari Big 5”. We also spot many distinctive smaller creatures (like the baby Zebra Eel my wife watched for ages).
One of the primary reasons why it is underrated is its relatively weaker coral growth. But this past month, the resort embarked on a *big* Reefscaping project to help rejuvenate the coral to be as vibrant as the marine animals. In fact, they laid down the biggest coral frame in the country to date…
“A team of volunteers joined forces with Kurumba staff on Wednesday (December 17) to rescue corals from a land reclamation project and help create the largest coral frames in the Maldives. Thanks to the efforts of the team two massive 20ft coral frames packed with transplanted coral have been created on the house reef at Kurumba. The two adjacent frames are the largest of their kind in the Maldives and together form a new 40ft-long coral garden.”
Kurumba puts the “Big” into “Big 5”.
Environment Day today is a time for everyone to reflect on what they can do to help the environment. The good news is that help might be as simple as many folks’ favourite activity – posting pix on social media.
According to an NBC piece “Social Media Could Help Save Species on the Verge of Extinction”…
“While an untold number of butt selfies and pictures of food are posted on social networks daily, people are also snapping images of birds, flowers, and other creatures that can help researchers who keep a close eye on flora and fauna at the tipping point.”
The stream of data helps scientists map where the world’s endangered species are and where they need to be conserved, said Stuart Pimm, a conservation ecologist at Duke University in Durham, N.C., and the lead author of a new paper on the decline of global biodiversity.
Maldives Complete’s Snorkel Spotter was always envisioned as a sort of social app for sharing snorkel experiences. Sort of a “FourSquare for Fish”. But I always speculated if it might be a tool for marine biologists. As it happens, an increasing number of environmentalists are using similar apps for conservation initiatives.
Florida in the USA is actually facing an invasion of a fish that are one of the more colourful sightings in the Maldives – lion fish. Unfortunatey, they are not native there are have no know predators meaning they are seriously throwing the marine ecosystem out of balance. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have developed a “Report Lionfish” app (or people without smartphones or tablets can report on their website).
So if you see something really unusual (meaning it might be a relatively rare species), do try to post it up on Snorkel Spotter with the time and house reef location and maybe it will help the resort’s marine biologist in their understanding of the marine life around them.
When the world gives you lemons…make lemonade.
When the world gives you lemonade bottles…make eco-friendly walkway.
One of the more creative solutions to the earth-friendly plastic bottle disposal issue in the Maldives is Chaaya Reef Ellaidhoo’s walkways. They have coated their discarded plastic bottles with a layer of natural looking cement and used the result cylinders to make an extensive set of walkway liners.
The Maldives, with their fragile topology and sensitive eco-system have become a sort of ground zero on par with the Amazon rainforest for ecological concerns.
“The Maldives – With 80% of the 1,200 islands no more than a metre above sea level, there are real fears the country could be submerged before the end of the century. The Maldives government held an underwater cabinet meeting in 2009 to raise awareness, and they were first to sign the Kyoto Treaty on climate change. A 3m wall around capital Male, took 14 years to construct.”
Today’s Earth Day is a time for education to help get mankind and bit less stupid in how it treats this delicate planet. Many Maldives resorts are supporting with a range of special events.
“Fishermans Day” in the Maldives today celebrates the true main industry and for centuries the mainstay of the Maldives’ existence
And Jumeirah – both Vittaveli and Dhevanafushi properties celebrate and support local Maldives fishermen with their own “Low Miles Menu”…
“Azara and Samsara, restaurants at Jumeirah Dhevanafushi and Jumeirah Vittaveli in the Maldives, have unveiled a new ‘Low Miles’ menu as part of an on-going commitment to reduce the hotels’ carbon-footprints. The new ‘Low Miles’ menu makes the most of local, fresh ingredients to preserve the idyllic surroundings as well as offer a delicious taste of traditional Maldivian cuisine. By utilising ingredients sourced nearby, the chefs are able to ensure minimal air and sea miles are required to bring the food to the resort, minimising the harmful greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere. The localised set menu offers a truly sustainable, and delicious, culinary experience, with dishes such as Reef Fish Pappillote with Vegetables, Coconut and Chili or Mild Yellow Fish Curry with Chapatti, Mango Chutney and Local Herb Salad. And, for dessert, guests can indulge in a Maldivian Fruit Cocktail served with Biscuit and a Local Custard Cream or Fried Local Banana Fritters served with Island made Coconut Ice Cream. Guests at Jumeirah Vittaveli can also enjoy the menu as destination dining, choosing a private stretch of white sandy beach for a romantic meal or a celebration among friends”
Most resorts make a point of sourcing what they can locally, especially the abundant fresh reef fish, but Jumeirah has made it a design point for two of its restaurants that dovetails nicely with its general native Maldives inspired architecture and decoration throughout the resort. While the Maldives’ remoteness does mean that some (especially luxury) items do need to be brought in from far away, their reef fish is probably the lowest mile food item of any resort in the world often sourced from just feet from the dining room.
Lori and Jason Kruse, Kurumba GM, with ground glass
With my emphasis on discovery it took some big stuff to lure back to Kurumba for the third time when there were so many unseen resorts to hit. But I must say that the detour was worth it with quite possibly the most inspiring “Best of the Maldives” discovery of the entire trip.
To date, most resort eco-initiatives have fallen into the following categories…
But as anyone who has ridden by Thilafushi will attest, the sheer volume of waste and rubbish is a massive challenge for the country. Most resorts are looking at packaging and waste reduction initiatives. But Kurumba is leading the way with a strikingly comprehensive recycling programme.
And investments they are. First, Kurumba has shelled out some serious capital to get some advanced machinery to process the waste. But more so than that, Kurumba is experimenting with these gadgets and tuning them and the processes around them to get the most out of them.
Kurumba is sharing its expertise with other resorts now and hopes to pioneer a drive to zero waste in the Maldives. If successful, Thilafushi could itself be relegated to the dustbin of history.
Plastic and Styrofoam recycling
Green waste mulching
Green waste accelerated composting
Shredded coconut husks