New study: Maldives reclaimed more land than Africa and Europe combined

The study ‘Land Reclamation in the Maldives: Trends and Impacts from 2000 to 2024’ said that the Maldives has reclaimed more land in the past 24 years than the combined total reclaimed across Europe and Africa.

The paper, created by Hussain Ziyath, Eden Rigo and Fathimath Shanna, is the first national‑scale assessment of reclamation carried out across inhabited islands.

According to the findings, more than 4,000 hectares of new land were created between 2000 and 2024.

The study further identifies a misalignment between reclamation allocation, demographic trends, and long-standing national decentralization policies. These findings raise critical questions regarding the adequacy of regulatory frameworks, the absence of coherent national planning, and the long-term environmental and social consequences of standardized reclamation practices.

The paper concludes by calling for a recalibration of land reclamation policy to better align development objectives with demographic realities, environmental resilience and community benefit.