The Maldives Underwater Initiative by Six Senses Laamu Launches Their 2021 Annual Report


Maldives
PUBLISHED May 08, 2022 | updated May 08, 2022 03:40

Six Senses Laamu has released the most recent annual report from their Maldives Underwater Initiative (MUI) team, which highlights their key achievements in the realms of research, community outreach, guest education, communications and resort sustainability. This beautifully designed report is now available for reading on the MUI Website.  

In her introduction to the report, Marteyne van Well, the Regional General Manager of Six Senses in the Maldives comments “no year compares to 2021 when it comes to the advancements we have made towards protecting Laamu’s marine ecosystems. The extensive work the MUI team has conducted in the areas of research, guest education, community outreach and communications, combined with the incredible support and encouragement we continue to receive from stakeholders, partners and guests alike, is allowing us to start making tangible impacts and we are seeing the fruits of our labors.”

Last year, thanks to years’ worth of data collected by MUI, and an extensive application from the team, the Laamu Atoll was declared as a Hope Spot by Dr. Sylvia Earle and her team at Mission Blue. Shortly after this, the Maldives cabinet approved the protection of six ecologically significant sites in the Laamu Atoll thereby making these the first ever marine protected areas in Laamu.  

Beyond these advancements in marine protection, the report highlights the many other impacts the MUI team achieved last year including:  

- Laamafaru Festival 2021 which brought together 1,865 students to celebrate marine conservation at 8 different festivals  

- 1,191 encounters with manta rays were logged by the Six Senses Laamu Manta Trust researches.

- 240 organizations pledged their support to the #SaveOurSharks movement launched by Blue Marine Foundation and Six Senses Laamu.  

- 1,650 green sea turtle hatchlings safely started their lives on Six Senses Laamu’s beaches.

- 15,096 moments of marine education was shared with guests at the resort  

- 53 colonies of coral were recorded spawning by Six Senses Laamu researchers during a 12-month study of their house reef  

The Maldives Underwater Initiative (MUI) is a multiple award-winning marine conservation initiative based at Six Senses Laamu. Situated in a Mission Blue Hope Spot, Six Senses Laamu is a five-star resort in the southern Laamu Atoll. MUI consists of staff from the resort, as well as its three partner NGOs: The Manta Trust, Blue Marine Foundation and The Olive Ridley Project, all of whom work together to reach research, guest education and community outreach goals.  

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