Diver Hana Amir on how a new mission could protect the Maldives against the climate crisis

As one of the world’s lowest-lying nations, the Maldives is threatened by sea level rise caused by the climate crisis. A new diving mission, which will plunge to depths of up to 1,000m underwater for the first time, will collect data to help safeguard the nation's future. We spoke to Maldivian diver Hana Amir to find out more.

Recently the Maldives’ Environment Minister Shauna Aminath delivered a sobering message: that more than 1.5C of warming would be a “death sentence” for the Maldives and other low-lying nations.

But a historic diving mission offers glimmers of hope for the future. Beginning on 4 September, a Maldivian and international team of divers and scientists took on the task of venturing into the Indian Ocean surrounding the islands.

The mission, run by scientific research charity Nekton in collaboration with the Maldivian government, aims to survey and sample a region up to 1,000 metres (3,280ft) below sea level. These are uncharted waters, as almost nothing is known about what lies beneath 30 metres (98ft).

We spoke to Maldivian diver Hana Amir, a diver with the Maldives Marine Research Institute (MMRI) who is taking part in the mission, to find out more.

Hana Amir, a diver involved in the mission [Image courtesy Hana Amir] Image courtesy Hana Amir

“You can really feel the impact of climate change”

Hana was born in the Maldives and started diving at a young age. “I’ve always had a love of the ocean,” she says, “so it made sense that I wanted to be involved in marine science.”

She knows the reefs around the Maldives better than anyone – and she’s seen them change over the years.

“From the surface you might be able to detect hints of change, but when you're diving, you're getting up close to the ecosystem, the corals and the marine life. You can really see and feel the impact [of climate change].”

The Maldives' coral reefs [Image: Willyam Bradberry/Shutterstock] Willyam Bradberry/Shutterstock

While coral bleaching is the most obvious example – “because all the colour disappears from the reef and it becomes so stark white” – Hana is also noticing smaller shifts. These include increased fragility or breakability of the reef, changes to wildlife and chips in the corals.

Exploring uncharted waters

Given that so little of the deep waters around the Maldives have been explored, “there’s a pretty huge knowledge gap” and no-one quite knows what exists there.

By collecting data about deep sea reefs for the first time, the findings can be used to protect the ecosystem. “Instead of going blindly into any sort of management or conservation effort, we'll be able to put real science behind it,” says Amir.

The submarine being used on the mission (Image courtesy Nekton Mission)

“We can identify hotspots, places that are vulnerable or places that need to be conserved, and put more of our efforts into protecting those sites, rather than just taking a stab in the dark and getting it potentially wrong.”

On the frontlines of the climate crisis

As Nekton’s Mission Leader Oliver Steeds emphasises, people of the Maldives “have done very little to cause the climate crisis” – yet the nation is among the places most vulnerable to rising waters.

In fact, with 80% of its 1,190 islands lying less than one metre (3ft) above sea level, one study predicted that the Maldives could become uninhabitable as soon as 2050.

As the divers reach depths of around 120 metres (394ft), they hope to locate the old beach line, which was formed 20,000 years ago by melting ice from the Last Glacial Maximum. This should help provide answers about how marine life is adapting to rising water levels and changing temperatures.

The paradise islands are on the frontlines of the climate crisis [Image: icemanphotos/Shutterstock] icemanphotos/Shutterstock

Incorporating traditional knowledge

For Hana, the most important thing about the mission is the fact it involves Maldivian people. “Often with big expeditions that come into the Maldives, it can feel a bit like parachute science, or colonial science.”

“There's a lot of traditional knowledge that often gets ignored,” she explains. We [Maldivian divers] may know of things like seamounts” – underwater mountains on the seafloor – “and other features in the area.”

Onboard the Nekton submarine [Image: Nekton Mission] Onboard the Nekton submarine (Image: Nekton Mission)

“A lot of the groundwork has already been laid, so it's about trying to bring this local knowledge that we have and combining it with the types of expertise that Nekton has as well. It’s about trying to find that equilibrium.”

Hope for the future

While the mission’s outcomes are certainly ambitious, Hana is optimistic about what they will be able to achieve. She hopes that its findings will support “concrete and practical” management and conservation efforts which will ensure the ocean is used more sustainably.

Lucy Woodall, Nekton’s Principal Scientist, is also hopeful. “If we're successful, we will have collected information about the deep sea in a systematic way for the very first time.

“But we will also be able to share that with our Maldivian colleagues so that together we can build a more equitable and inclusive ocean for the future.”

The Maldives mission is being coordinated by Nekton in collaboration with the Government of the Maldives. Nekton works to accelerate the scientific exploration and conservation of the ocean for people and the planet. Nekton is an independent, not-for-profit research institute and is a UK registered charity.