Maldives - NAP Global Network

OUR PROGRAM

The NAP Global Network worked with the Maldives’ Ministry of Tourism and Environment (MTE) to establish an in-country NAP support program in November 2024. This program aims to support the country’s NAP development process through an embedded climate change adaptation specialist supporting the MTE’s Climate Change Department (CCD), the lead agency for adaptation planning and policy coordination.

Through this program, we are supporting the CCD’s efforts by developing a NAP Framework, facilitating sectoral consultations with governmental and nongovernmental actors (line ministries, agencies, councils, and the private sector) on adaptation; preparing a model for vertical integration and horizontal integration; and developing stakeholder engagement framework that is gender responsive and socially inclusive to promote balanced representation and the meaningful inclusion of women’s and marginalized people’s interests in decision-making throughout the entire NAP process.

2025

Embedded Advisor support: The embedded advisor provided technical and strategic support to the Maldives' CCD.
NAP Framework: A NAP Framework was developed under the coordination of the MTE. It is designed to set the strategic direction and overall approach for the Maldives' NAP process, setting the vision, principles, and mechanisms for adaptation planning.
Gender-Responsive, Socially Inclusive Stakeholder Engagement Framework: The Framework was developed to ensure balanced representation and the meaningful inclusion of women’s and marginalized people’s interests throughout the NAP process’s decision making.
Vertical and Horizontal Integration (VHI) model: The model aims to coordinate adaptation efforts across national, atoll, and island levels (vertical integration) and foster cross-sectoral collaboration among key ministries through a Climate Change Council (horizontal integration).
2nd Coalition of Atoll Nations on Climate Change (CANCC) peer learning workshop: The Maldives hosted the second CANCC peer learning workshop on the NAP process in April 2025, built upon the successful inaugural workshop held in May 2024. This workshop had a thematic focus on nature-based solutions and food security in NAP processes.
Docuseries: A docuseries was developed to document real-world climate adaptation and cultural loss in the Maldives. It aims to highlight community responses to climate impacts, threatened heritage sites, and human resilience, serving as a key communication product for stakeholder engagement and awareness campaigns.
Training of trainers in gender equality and social inclusion (GESI): A training focused on GESI was conducted with the goal of enhancing capacity and integrating gender-responsive approaches into adaptation planning and implementation.
Stakeholder forums and consultations: Supported and facilitated stakeholder consultations throughout 2025 to gather input from diverse groups, particularly underrepresented stakeholders like women and people with disabilities, to inclusively shape the Stakeholder Engagement Framework, the NAP Framework, and the VHI Model.

2024

1st CANCC peer learning workshop on the NAP process: Maldives hosted the first CANCC peer learning workshop on the NAP process in May 2024 with a thematic focus on coastal resilience in NAP processes.

Coral bleaching
Extreme weather events
Floods
Increasing temperatures
Loss of fresh water
Sea level rise

Agriculture
Biodiversity
Coastal Zones
Fisheries
Health
Human Settlements
Infrastructure
Tourism
Water resources

The Maldives' NAP process is a strategic, government-led, and contextually specific approach designed to confront the nation’s existential climate risks and enhance climate resilience across its low-lying islands. It seeks to integrate climate change adaptation into national, sectoral, and local development planning, budgeting, and implementation processes, ensuring it is not a standalone agenda but a core component of the country’s vision for a resilient and prosperous future.

Key approaches include vertical and horizontal integration across governance levels and sectors, prioritizing nature-based solutions, ensuring gender-responsive and community-based adaptation, and engaging the private sector, all while being iterative and evidence-based.