The Maldives National University (MNU), Maldives – Monday, 4th May 2026
Monday, 4 May 2026, marks the inception workshop of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded Clean & Healthy Ocean Maldives, followed by its official launch ceremony officiated by the Honourable Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Energy of the Maldives, Mr. Ali Shareef.
The Maldives project is funded by the GEF with a grant of USD 4.5 million and supported by over USD 49 million USD in pledged in‑kind contributions. It is one of 13 country projects under the global USD 109 million GEF-8 Clean and Healthy Ocean Integrated Program (CHO IP), led by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with Asian Development Bank (ADB), Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and other partners.
The program aims to address marine hypoxia and deliver transformational change in curbing coastal nutrient pollution, including nitrogen and phosphorus, from land-based sources across agricultural, industrial, and municipal sectors, embedding a source-to-sea approach. As a Small Island Developing States (SIDS) regional catalyst project under the global CHO IP, the project convenes this workshop to bring together project partners and key national stakeholders to review, refine, and consolidate the workplan, align objectives, clarify roles and responsibilities, and establish the foundations for effective implementation and monitoring.
The project will focus on core activities, including strengthening national policies through the development of a National Nitrogen Action Plan; establishing an operational sewage recycling system to produce a nutrient enriched fertilizer for agriculture; building private sector and local community partnerships to promote “NitroFinance” for nutrient recovery; mainstreaming nutrient education and public awareness, and building capacity for quantitative assessment and monitoring of nutrient pollution in marine ecosystems.
This initiative and scale of financing, together with substantial in‑kind contributions, underscore a strong national and international commitment to safeguarding the country’s marine ecosystems, strengthening policies to reduce nutrient waste, and supporting sustainable livelihoods.
The project is expected to deliver lasting environmental, social, and economic benefits for the Maldives while contributing to regional and global efforts to address marine hypoxic zones by curbing coastal pollution from agriculture, industrial, and municipal sources.
The Project (full title Sustainable Nitrogen Management for a Clean & Healthy Ocean: Maldives as a SIDS regional catalyst) runs for five years and is implemented by the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) and executed jointly by The Maldives National University (MNU) and UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH). It is being delivered in partnership with implementing partners in the Maldives, the UK and Norway.
Stay tuned for exciting updates on this new project! Together with our project partners, we are committed to making a lasting impact on the environment.
