President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has called upon the Maldivian people to adopt a more environmentally friendly lifestyle and to believe that air pollution is directly linked to our health and therefore urged to refrain from polluting the air we breathe on our own. He made this remark in the message delivered to mark this year’s World Environment Day.
In his message, President Solih extended well wishes and greeting to all the Maldivian people on the occasion of World Environment Day. He also emphasized and extended gratitude on the work done by associations and institutions to protect the environment in the Maldives
In his message, the President deliberated on “Air Pollution” which is this year’s theme for the World Environment Day. In this regard, the President stated that this year’s theme is especially linked to the general health of human beings along with the environment. He stated that according to statistics from WHO, 4.2 million people die prematurely due to having to breath toxic air. He further stated that around 91% of the World’s population is deprived of access to enough clean air, according to the WHO standards.
Moreover, the President emphasized that even though we don’t have huge industrial factories in Maldives, toxic gas emission is comparatively high from vehicles from sea and land transportation in the Maldives. He also stated that due to this fact the Maldives has faced several dilemmas in regards to air pollution. He also stated that since the capital of Maldives is highly congested, the people residing in Male’ has to breath toxic air polluted from land vehicles.
Speaking in this regard, President Solih shed light on the fact that the only way to minimize air pollution is to reduce the emission of toxic gases into the air. He also stated that this could be achieved by increasing renewable energy mechanisms, reducing the creation of waste or recycling the waste we create. Furthermore, he emphasized the importance of increasing tree plantation and reducing any unnecessary tree destruction since trees are a natural source to produce clean air.
In his message, President Solih shed light on the fact that the policies of this government does not encourage the destruction of the environment in the name of development and that since the first day of the government, the government has been taking action to ensure the environmental protection. In this regards, the President stated that the government is searching for ways to reduce air pollution by planting more trees in the congested Male’ and developing more environmentally friendly transportation.