Maldives to Impose Green Tourist Tax

An environmental tax is on course to be levied on tourists visiting the Maldives - a group of islands in the Indian Ocean.  Enviro-News has reported on the Maldives several times already during 2009.  In March, it emerged that the group of 26 coral islands planned to become the world’s first 100 per cent carbon neutral nation, while more recently, a plan to use coconuts to capture CO2 emissions became known.  The latest development is the announcement of a green tax on tourists staying at its resorts and, thus, contributing to its economic growth. 

Climate change is expected to impact on the Maldives in particular, as all its parts are extremely low-lying and, therefore, especially susceptible to the effects of rising tides. 

“We have introduced a green tax - It's in the pipeline”, Mohammed Nasheed, the President of the Maldives, advised representatives of the media on September 8th 2009.  He continued:  “It's a matter of parliament approving it and I hope parliament will approve it...$3 per each tourist a day.”    

Maldives Green Tax

The Maldives are visited by approximately 700,000 tourists each year, who are there for three days on average.  Based on these figures, the projected $3 Maldives green tax equates to an annual income of over $6 million. 

In December 2009, 190 national representatives are set to converge in Copenhagen, Denmark, to forge a new global deal on climate change.  Last month, it emerged that the Maldives would not be one of those in attendance, due to budgetary constraints.   This, according to Nasheed, is still the case unless a major sponsor can be located.  “I hope someone can be found”, he added.

Nasheed explained that although the Maldives’ input to these talks would not be that significant, a lot still hinged on their outcome.  “There is no point in Maldives entering the agreement”, he stated.

“It is a small country.  It is India, China, Brazil, the United States that have to join in.  No one is going to come out as a winner without an agreement”