Sustainable Travel in the Maldives: How Resorts Are Protecting Paradise

Paradise Under Pressure

The Maldives is one of the most beautiful places on Earth. It is also one of the most vulnerable. With an average elevation of just 1.5 meters above sea level, this nation of 1,200 islands faces an existential threat from rising seas. Coral bleaching events — driven by warming ocean temperatures — have damaged reefs across the archipelago in 2016, 2020, and 2024. The very ecosystems that attract millions of visitors each year are under genuine pressure.

But here is what makes the Maldives story remarkable: rather than waiting for global solutions, the resorts themselves are taking action. Some of the most innovative sustainability programs in the hospitality industry are happening on these tiny islands, driven by resort operators who understand that protecting the environment is not just a moral imperative — it is a business one. No reef means no snorkeling. No beach means no resort. The incentives are perfectly aligned.

This article examines what Maldives resorts are doing right, where the industry needs to improve, and how you as a traveler can make choices that support the preservation of this irreplaceable destination.

The Threats

Before looking at solutions, it is important to understand what the Maldives is up against.

Climate Change and Rising Seas

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projects that global sea levels could rise by 0.3 to 1.0 meters by 2100. For a country where the highest natural point is 2.4 meters, even the lower end of that projection is alarming. King tides already flood parts of inhabited islands, and beach erosion is accelerating across the archipelago.

Coral Bleaching

When ocean temperatures rise even 1-2 degrees Celsius above the seasonal maximum, corals expel their symbiotic algae and turn white — a process called bleaching. If temperatures remain elevated, the coral dies. The Maldives experienced mass bleaching events in 1998, 2016, 2020, and 2024. While reefs have shown remarkable recovery capacity, each event weakens them, and the intervals between events are shortening.

Overtourism and Waste

The Maldives welcomed over 1.9 million tourists in 2024, generating enormous amounts of waste on islands with no natural waste management infrastructure. For decades, the island of Thilafushi — now known as "Trash Island" — served as the nation's dumping ground, with waste piled meters high. While waste management has improved significantly, the challenge of managing refuse on small coral islands remains immense.

Plastic Pollution

Ocean plastic is a global crisis, and the Maldives sits in a major current system that deposits marine debris on its beaches. Plastic waste from distant countries washes ashore alongside locally generated plastic. The impact on marine life — from turtle ingestion to coral smothering — is well documented.

How Resorts Are Responding

Coral Restoration Programs

Coral restoration has become the most visible and impactful sustainability initiative across the Maldives resort industry. The concept is straightforward: fragments of healthy coral are attached to underwater frames or structures, nurtured until they grow, and then transplanted onto damaged reef areas.

Leading programs:

Six Senses Laamu — Operates one of the most comprehensive marine conservation centers in the Maldives. Their coral propagation program has planted over 5,000 coral fragments across the house reef, with a survival rate exceeding 80%. Guests can participate in coral planting sessions and return in subsequent years to see their corals growing.

Soneva Fushi — The Soneva Namoona initiative goes beyond their own island, working with neighboring local communities to implement waste management, water bottling, and coral restoration across multiple inhabited islands. It is arguably the most holistic sustainability program in the Maldives.

Anantara Kihavah — Partnered with the Maldives Underwater Initiative (MUI) to conduct ongoing reef monitoring, coral transplantation, and marine research. Their resident marine biologist leads weekly guest sessions on reef ecology and conservation.

Baros Maldives — Their coral propagation project, running since 2010, has restored significant sections of the house reef. Guests can sponsor coral frames and receive updates as their coral grows over the years.

Coral restoration is meaningful but not a complete solution. Even the most successful programs can only restore small areas compared to the scale of natural reef systems. The ultimate solution to coral bleaching is reducing global carbon emissions. What resort programs do achieve is protecting critical areas, maintaining biodiversity, and — crucially — engaging millions of guests in understanding why reefs matter.

Solar Power and Renewable Energy

Maldivian resorts have traditionally relied on diesel generators for electricity — expensive, polluting, and dependent on fuel shipments. A growing number of properties are transitioning to solar power and hybrid energy systems.

Notable examples:

Kudadoo Maldives — The first resort in the Maldives to achieve 100% solar power generation for daily operations. A rooftop solar array covering the main building produces enough energy to power the entire resort, including desalination, air conditioning, and kitchen operations. Excess energy is stored in battery systems for nighttime use.

Six Senses Laamu — Extensive solar panel installation combined with sophisticated energy management systems has reduced diesel consumption by over 40%. The resort monitors energy use at a granular level, and the data is shared transparently with guests via the Earth Lab.

Soneva Fushi — Has invested heavily in solar infrastructure and commits to carbon-neutral operations by offsetting remaining emissions through verified reforestation and renewable energy projects. Their sustainability fund adds a 2% environmental levy to guest bills, funding conservation projects across the Maldives.

Gili Lankanfushi — Following their rebuild after a fire in 2017, the resort incorporated renewable energy systems and sustainable building materials from the ground up, demonstrating how reconstruction can be an opportunity for environmental improvement.

Plastic-Free Initiatives

The movement to eliminate single-use plastic from Maldivian resorts has gained significant momentum. Many resorts have implemented comprehensive plastic-free policies:

• Water bottling: Dozens of resorts now operate on-site water bottling plants, filling reusable glass bottles with filtered and mineralized desalinated water. This eliminates tens of thousands of plastic bottles per resort per year
• Amenities: Refillable dispensers replace miniature shampoo and soap bottles in villas
• Straws and cutlery: Replaced with bamboo, paper, or metal alternatives across the industry
• Packaging: Working with suppliers to reduce plastic packaging in shipments — a significant upstream challenge that is harder to solve but increasingly addressed
• Guest engagement: Some resorts provide reusable water bottles and bags to guests on arrival, setting the tone for a plastic-conscious stay

Soneva's approach is particularly notable. Through their Namoona initiative, they have helped neighboring local islands set up waste management centers, established recycling programs, and installed water bottling facilities on inhabited islands — extending the benefits of their sustainability investment beyond the resort bubble.

Marine Protected Areas and Conservation Partnerships

Several resorts have established or support marine protected areas around their islands:

• No-fishing zones around resort reefs, enforced in cooperation with local communities
• Partnerships with the Manta Trust for manta ray identification and population monitoring
• Turtle nesting beach protection programs, particularly for critically endangered hawksbill turtles
• Shark monitoring using photo-ID databases to track reef shark populations
• Citizen science programs where guests contribute data through guided snorkeling and diving surveys

Ask your resort about their marine conservation program before booking. Resorts with active programs — resident marine biologists, coral nurseries, guest participation opportunities — tend to be the same resorts with the healthiest house reefs. Conservation investment and reef quality are directly correlated.

Waste Management Innovation

On an island that might be 500 meters across, waste management requires creative solutions:

• Composting and biogas: Food waste from resort kitchens is composted and used in resort gardens. Some resorts use biogas digesters to convert organic waste into cooking gas
• Glass crushing: Crushed glass is repurposed as construction aggregate or decorative material
• Fabric recycling: Old linens and towels are repurposed as cleaning cloths, staff uniforms, or donated to local islands
• Construction waste: Resorts undergoing renovation increasingly plan for material recycling and reuse

The challenge that remains: Despite progress at the resort level, the Maldives still lacks adequate national waste management infrastructure. Thilafushi continues to receive waste, and smaller inhabited islands have limited options. Some resorts ship recyclable materials to Sri Lanka or India for processing — expensive but currently necessary.

What Travelers Can Do

Your choices as a traveler have genuine impact. Here is how to be part of the solution rather than the problem.

Choose Wisely

Select resorts with demonstrated sustainability commitments. Look for:

• Active coral restoration programs with measurable results
• On-site water bottling (no single-use plastic bottles)
• Renewable energy investment (solar panels visible on the island is a good sign)
• Resident marine biologist or conservation team
• Transparent reporting on environmental metrics
• Local community engagement beyond the resort island

During Your Stay

• Use reef-safe sunscreen — Oxybenzone and octinoxate cause coral bleaching. Switch to mineral-based formulas with zinc oxide or titanium dioxide as the active ingredient
• Do not touch marine life or coral — This is the single most impactful thing you can do underwater. Even dead-looking coral may be recovering
• Participate in conservation activities — Coral planting sessions, reef surveys, beach cleanups. These are often free and genuinely enjoyable
• Minimize water and energy use — Desalinating seawater is energy-intensive. The same mindful habits you practice at home make a difference here
• Decline unnecessary services — Daily linen changes, excessive towel replacement, and overpackaged amenities all have environmental costs. Most resorts now offer opt-out programs
• Eat local fish — The Maldives' pole-and-line tuna fishery is one of the most sustainable in the world. Choosing local tuna over imported beef reduces the carbon footprint of your meal significantly

Carbon Offsetting

The flight to the Maldives is the largest single carbon impact of your trip. While the only real solution is decarbonizing aviation (a long-term project), carbon offset programs can help in the interim:

• Soneva's carbon fund — Automatically adds a sustainability levy to guest bills, funding verified offset projects
• Independent offsets — Programs like Gold Standard and Verra-certified projects allow you to offset your flights before travel
• Direct contribution — Some resorts accept direct donations to their marine conservation programs, which can be more impactful per dollar than generic offset schemes

Carbon offsets are not a perfect solution — they do not undo emissions, and the quality of offset programs varies widely. They are better understood as a necessary bridge while the aviation industry develops low-carbon alternatives. The most impactful choice is to travel less frequently but stay longer, reducing the per-day carbon cost of your flight.

The Resorts Leading the Way

If sustainability is a priority in your resort selection, these properties consistently demonstrate the strongest commitments:

Six Senses Laamu

The benchmark for sustainable luxury in the Maldives. Comprehensive marine conservation, significant solar investment, zero single-use plastic, on-site food production, and the most transparent environmental reporting in the industry. The Earth Lab is a genuine education center, not a marketing exercise.

Soneva Fushi and Soneva Jani

The Soneva brand has been the Maldives' sustainability pioneer for two decades. Their Namoona initiative extends impact beyond the resort to local communities. The Soneva Foundation funds education, conservation, and waste management across the country. The 2% environmental levy is used transparently and effectively.

Gili Lankanfushi

Rebuilt with sustainability at its core after a 2017 fire, this property demonstrates that luxury and environmental responsibility are fully compatible. Marine conservation, waste reduction, and community engagement are embedded in daily operations.

Kudadoo Maldives

The first fully solar-powered resort in the Maldives. Small scale (15 villas) means a genuinely low footprint, and the all-inclusive model reduces the waste associated with complex F&B operations.

Hurawalhi

The resort's marine biologist-led conservation program includes regular reef monitoring, coral transplantation, and one of the most active manta ray research partnerships in the country.

The Bigger Picture

The Maldives is a bellwether for the planet. What happens to these islands — and to the reefs, marine life, and communities they support — is a preview of what coastal regions worldwide will face as climate change accelerates.

The resort industry alone cannot solve the problem. Protecting the Maldives requires global action on carbon emissions, ocean acidification, and marine pollution. But what the resorts can do — and are doing — is demonstrate that economic development and environmental protection can work together rather than against each other.

Every traveler who visits a coral restoration project, snorkels a healthy reef, or chooses a resort that powers itself with sunshine is participating in a story that matters. The Maldives deserves to exist for centuries more. The resorts that understand this are the ones worth supporting.

The Maldives government has set a target of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. While the timeline is ambitious, the commitment signals the nation's determination to lead on climate action despite contributing a negligible fraction of global emissions. Several resorts are ahead of the national target, with net-zero operations already achieved or within reach.