Young activists in the Maldives confront climate threats to their island nation

A surfer from Aloha Ufaa Surf Club in Hulhumale participates in an underwater trash clean up session with Ripple, a youth group, off the coast of Hulhumale, Maldives, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif) Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] Addu City, Maldives (AP) — A group of young people in the Maldives recently paddled kayaks to protest Land Reclamation work that was cutting through protected mangrove wetlands in a UNESCO biosphere reserve, even spray-painting “ECOCIDE” on a reclaimed patch.The nonprofit Project ThimaaVeshi, which means “self and surroundings,” is part of a new generation of activists in the Indian Ocean island nation tackling issues that are part of their daily lives: Coastal Erosion, Plastic Pollution and development-damaged ecosystems.In Addu City in the south, the activists have focused on overdevelopment, documenting the impact on wetlands and reefs. In the capital, Male, others are tackling the plastic waste suffocating streets, hangout spots and swimming areas. A participant holds a sign as part of Project ThimaaVeshi, a youth-led demonstration against ongoing reclamation project damaging mangroves off the coast of Addu City, Maldives, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif) A participant holds a sign as part of Project ThimaaVeshi, a youth-led demonstration against ongoing reclamation project damaging mangroves off the coast of Addu City, Maldives, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share A demonstrator holds a sign while participating in an action as part of Project ThimaaVeshi, a youth-led protest against ongoing reclamation projects damaging mangroves, in Addu City, Maldives, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif) A demonstrator holds a sign while participating in an action as part of Project ThimaaVeshi, a youth-led protest against ongoing reclamation projects damaging mangroves, in Addu City, Maldives, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share A demonstrator holds a sign while participating in an action as part of Project ThimaaVeshi, a youth-led protest against ongoing reclamation projects damaging mangroves, in Addu City, Maldives, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif) A demonstrator holds a sign while participating in an action as part of Project ThimaaVeshi, a youth-led protest against ongoing reclamation projects damaging mangroves, in Addu City, Maldives, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share “Eccocide in Addu” is displayed on reclaimed land by Project ThimaaVeshi, a youth left group, as part of a demonstration against ongoing reclamation projects in Addu City, Maldives, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif) “Eccocide in Addu” is displayed on reclaimed land by Project ThimaaVeshi, a youth left group, as part of a demonstration against ongoing reclamation projects in Addu City, Maldives, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share As they team up with surfers and others for cleanups, picking fishing lines out of coral reefs and piling up discarded water bottles, the groups educate youth on their right to a clean and healthy environment. They are united in knowing that, unlike with previous generations, Climate Change and environmental damage are no longer a distant threat. Buildings stand on Male, the capital city of the Maldives, June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif) Buildings stand on Male, the capital city of the Maldives, June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share A juvenile grey reef shark swims at Addu Nature Park, a protected UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, off the coast in Addu City, Maldives, Feb. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif) A juvenile grey reef shark swims at Addu Nature Park, a protected UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, off the coast in Addu City, Maldives, Feb. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share A hawksbill turtle swims at Addu Nature Park, a protected UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, off the coast of Addu City, Maldives, Feb. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif) A hawksbill turtle swims at Addu Nature Park, a protected UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, off the coast of Addu City, Maldives, Feb. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Yoohaa Ibrahim Saeed and Mariyam Ulfa Ahmed of Ripple, a youth group, pull out a fishing line that has become entangled with a coral during an underwater clean up session with the Aloha Ufaa Surf Club off the coast of Hulhumale, Maldives, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif) Yoohaa Ibrahim Saeed and Mariyam Ulfa Ahmed of Ripple, a youth group, pull out a fishing line that has become entangled with a coral during an underwater clean up session with the Aloha Ufaa Surf Club off the coast of Hulhumale, Maldives, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share The Maldives has championed itself as a country fighting its vulnerability to Climate Change and sea level rise, but the government has said sacrifices must be made at times in favor of development, and the activists say protective measures are not happening fast enough. Experts have said the country south of India and Sri Lanka is expected to be around 80% uninhabitable within the next 50 years due to rising sea levels.Youth push back against a sense of helplessness Members of Project ThimaaVeshi, team up with Veshi Saafu, a group of older women who also campaign on environmental matters, to demonstrate against ongoing reclamation projects on World Environmental Day in Addu City, Maldives, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif) Members of Project ThimaaVeshi, team up with Veshi Saafu, a group of older women who also campaign on environmental matters, to demonstrate against ongoing reclamation projects on World Environmental Day in Addu City, Maldives, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share “It was just us and a bunch of hopes and dreams,” said a 21-year-old co-founder of Project ThimaaVeshi, Yameen Maumoon. Maumoon along with Mishal Mushahid started their activism as student leaders working with the Addu City council. What started as a group of friends became a movement and a registered nonprofit after they graduated from high school. Mohamed Ma'al Nazeel, co-founder of Ripple, a youth led group, empties out his full bag of plastic waste collected during a joint Plastic Pollution clean-up in Male, Maldives, June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif) Mohamed Ma'al Nazeel, co-founder of Ripple, a youth led group, empties out his full bag of plastic waste collected during a joint Plastic Pollution clean-up in Male, Maldives, June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Yania Hussain Ishan, co-founder of youth group Barnacles, sorts through the first batch of plastic waste collected in the joint Plastic Pollution clean in Male, Maldives, June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif) Yania Hussain Ishan, co-founder of youth group Barnacles, sorts through the first batch of plastic waste collected in the joint Plastic Pollution clean in Male, Maldives, June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share In Male and neighboring Hulhumale, another youth group seeking formal registration, Ripple, started when friends noticed the trash building up in areas where they hung out.“One day when we were playing Minecraft, we were joking around, saying we should start making TikToks and we should start cleaning up,” said a co-founder, Mariyam Maasha Waheed. What began as an informal cleanup grew after their TikTok videos gained traction. The group now organizes weekly cleanups and campaigns against Plastic Pollution, collaborating with others to recycle the plastic they collect. Ahmed Akif Ali, of the youth group Ripple, holds up a plastic bottle found underwater during a clean up session being held with Aloha Ufaa Surf Club, off the coast of Hulhumale, Maldives June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif) Ahmed Akif Ali, of the youth group Ripple, holds up a plastic bottle found underwater during a clean up session being held with Aloha Ufaa Surf Club, off the coast of Hulhumale, Maldives June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Founders said they want environmental action to feel less intimidating and more communal.A co-founder of the newest group seeking registration, Barnacles, Yania Hussain Ishan, became interested in environmental issues while preparing a presentation for school on protecting nature. The group focuses on climate education and youth leadership.The constant talk on social media and elsewhere about a climate emergency has led to their generation’s feeling of a lack of agency over it, Ishan said. The groups have faced criticism over their youth Mangroves line the shore of Hithadhoo Island, part of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, with reclamation work visible through it in Addu City, Maldives, June 5, 2026, (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif) Mangroves line the shore of Hithadhoo Island, part of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, with reclamation work visible through it in Addu City, Maldives, June 5, 2026, (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share The age of the activists has drawn comments, even from government officials, that youth equates to naivety and ignorance. All three groups have been told their work is pointless, and that something as simple as a beach cleanup will not fix the overall challenges.Young people have too many emotions and can’t be trusted with decision-making, the country’s minister of Climate Change, Ali Shareef, last year told a public forum.The activists said they know they cannot solve Maldives’s problems alone. But they believe waiting for the bigger problems to be solved isn’t an option. They want to shape a generation who understand their rights and pass the responsibility to future ones.“We are deciding what kind of ancestors we will be,” Ishan said. “We are defending our home, our heritage and the right of every Maldivian child yet to be born to stand on these shores, look out at the sea and feel the same wonder and security that defines who we are.” Ripple, a youth group, joins an early morning beach clean up organized by the Ministry of Youth, on Dhiraagu Beach in Hulhumale, Maldives, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif) Ripple, a youth group, joins an early morning beach clean up organized by the Ministry of Youth, on Dhiraagu Beach in Hulhumale, Maldives, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share ___The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.