No Plastic Maldives and Maldiviana Group have held a soft launching event at Ritrella, the largest safari vessel in the Maldives.

The ceremony was attended by Minister of Tourism Dr Abdulla Mausoom, Managing Director of MMPRC Tayyib Mohamed, no plastic and Maldiviana Group Board members and WAMCO.

Speaking at the ceremony, Minister of Tourism Dr Abdulla Mausoom highlighted the importance of protecting the environment and noted the importance of passing a clean environment to future generations in a sustainable manner. He also mentioned the efforts of No Plastic to solve the many challenges facing Maldive’s fragile environment including disposable plastic waste. Mausoom further noted that with the initiative launched by No Plastic in collaboration with Maldiviana, the government’s efforts to eliminate disposable plastic from the Maldives have been further supported. 

Chairman of Maldiviana Group and International Executive Director of No PlasticMaldives Arthur Lipov spoke during the ceremony. He highlighted the changes that have taken place in the environment of the Maldives over the past 30 years. Arthur said that 30 years ago, he was fortunate to see the true beauty of the Maldivian waters, but that the beauty is now slowly being slowed down due to various reasons. He further elaborated by saying:

Arthur thanked the Maldivian government for its efforts in promoting single-use plastics.

During the ceremony, discussions were also held on the negative effects of single-use plastic waste on the environment, vulnerable forests and human health. In a presentation, International Media Director of No Plastic Maldives Anastasia Stacey shared the activities to be carried out by No Plastic in the coming days to change the situation in the Maldives.

The ceremony was concluded with the hoisting of a flag on The Ritrella Safari, which symbolizes the relationship between No Plastic Maldives and Maldiviana Group. The flag was hoisted by Minister of Tourism Dr Mohamed Mausoom and members of the Maldiviana Group.

No Plastic Maldives is a 2019 registered civil society organization. The main objective of the association is to reduce the amount of disposable plastic waste in the environment and establish a culture of saying no to plastic. The association has initiated various initiatives in recent years to achieve this goal. The association has planned to carry out many projects in the future. The relationship with Maldiviana Group will strengthen the association’s management and carry out many major projects in this field.