[{"bbox": [96, 152, 1159, 737], "category": "Text", "text": "statistics, men make up around 90% in the tourism industry around 89% in agriculture and fisheries of the Maldives¹⁵. Therefore, the EU shall have a vested interest in more equitable and sustainable plans for economic and climate resilience, as women are worst affected by economic and climate-related crises¹⁶. The stakeholder interviews for the feasibility study of this proposed Action identified institutional coordination as a major constraint in the sectors of biodiversity conservation and waste management. Weak sectoral coordination between government, donors, researchers, private sector and civil society on both project planning and technical approaches constrains the potential impacts of investments. Examples given included criteria used for demarcating and assessing biodiversity for the establishment of parks and protected areas; technologies and approaches to coral conservation and restoration; and access to coordinated data around most sectors. Coordination between government departments at the national level is also weak, resulting in important gaps between policy, planning, budgeting and implementation on the ground. High staff turnover and unfilled positions contribute to the lack of institutional memory in public institutions, among both senior public servants and political appointees. Overall, weak governance, a lack of political will with a tendency to cater to narrow economic interests and corruption are identified as bottlenecks to sustainable development. There seems to be no clear process for public participation and stakeholder consultation when developing new policies and laws. At the same time, the 2018 implementation of the Decentralisation Act potentially confers a great deal of responsibilities to Island and Atoll Councils, but with little capacities and resources. The Strategic Action Plan section five is based on the concept that \"citizens livelihoods, economies, cultural identity and well-being are derived sustainably through connectivity and management of national resources\", with targets to \"increase autonomy of local council in the utilisation of resources in their jurisdiction... and support their own revenue generation\". However, these Councils have very little training and capacity around management of their natural resources, protected areas and waste management; nor how to bring these resources together to raise revenue including in partnership with the private sector, notably the significant tourism and guesthouse sector."}, {"bbox": [96, 737, 1157, 1056], "category": "Text", "text": "**Identification of main stakeholders and corresponding institutional and/or organisational issues (mandates, potential roles, and capacities) to be covered by the Action:** The primary stakeholders (rights holders) of the initiative will be Island and Atoll Councils, Women's Development Committees (WDCs), and women and youth in all their diversity, men and women earners in fisheries and communities reliant on a biodiverse marine environment. The local Island Councils, WDCs, Atoll Councils (an administrative unit gathering geographically-related islands), civil society organisations (incl. women-led) and youth are specific rights holders of the project to be mobilised as implementation partners/service providers. Increased capacity of these stakeholders to manage assets, including natural resource assets such as coral reef, biodiversity, as well as waste management, are foreseen through capacity assessments conducted during the project. They will also be mobilised through local and nationally-networked multi-stakeholder platforms of local leaders including women and youth, civil society, private sector, and government agencies, to achieve project outcomes as well as become sustainable management institutions for biodiversity conservation, natural resource management and waste management."}, {"bbox": [96, 1080, 1157, 1348], "category": "Text", "text": "**Youth and Gender:** Disaggregated data analysis and utilisation need to be improved for evidence-based policies and SDGs monitoring¹⁷. Women and youth in all their diversity are specific rights-holders of this Action who will be mobilised as implementation partners and service providers. Both fisheries and tourism are seasonal industries where women and men have specific tasks. Targeted vocational training programmes for young women shall equip them with job market skills and expand employment opportunities available in the identified sectors. Young women, especially in the remote islands, are primarily engaged in unpaid (at home) care and hence are found at the lowest end of the value chain¹⁸. The participation of women and youth in making decisions and practically implementing activities for marine resource protection (e.g. coral restoration including re-planting and data gathering), sustainable use (e.g. eco-tourism linked activities such as rangers in protected areas, sustainable harvesting of mangrove resources related to organic agri-business, fishing, alternative livelihoods such as handicrafts), and waste"}, {"bbox": [85, 1380, 1145, 1454], "category": "Footnote", "text": "¹⁵ National Bureau of Statistics (2016). *Maldives Population and Housing Census 2014: Statistical Release IV: Employment*. Ministry of Finance and Treasury. Accessed through https://statisticsmaldives.gov.mv/nbs/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/StatisticalReleaseIV-Employment.pdf"}, {"bbox": [85, 1453, 1145, 1527], "category": "Footnote", "text": "¹⁶ UNEP & GWA (2022). *Gender Mainstreaming in Coastal and Marine Ecosystems Management: Principles, Studies and Lessons Learnt*. United Nations Environment Programme & Gender and Water Alliance. Accessed through https://www.unep.org/resources/report/gender-mainstreaming-coastal-and-marine-ecosystems-management-principles-case"}, {"bbox": [85, 1525, 1145, 1574], "category": "Footnote", "text": "¹⁷ UNFPA (2023). *Human Rights and Gender Equality*. United Nations Population Fund in the Maldives, accessed through https://maldives.unfpa.org/en/topics/human-rights-and-gender-equality-1"}, {"bbox": [85, 1573, 1145, 1647], "category": "Footnote", "text": "¹⁸ ISDB (2022). *Member Country Partnership Strategy for the Republic of Maldives (2022-2025). A resilient and sustainable life, and diversified economy for Maldivians*. Islamic Development Bank, accessed through https://www.isdb.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/2022-08/Maldives%20MCPS_20220603_Final.pdf"}, {"bbox": [1038, 1681, 1145, 1707], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 7 of 24"}]