Sad State of Affairs

I just came across this State of Environment Report 2001 (published by the then Ministry of Home Affairs, Housing and Environment) and read about aquifer contamination in both the islands and in Malé (p. 37-38, Paragraph 5). I was already familiar with the situation in the islands though most of them now has at least some sort primitive septic tank, but there are a lot of ways groundwater can get contaminated other than sewage. A hydrologist recently tested the water collected from one island household ground well and observed a thin film of oily substance resting on top of the water level. Tests conducted on this oil revealed its origin to be human. Not feces in this particular case, but the household from which the sample was obtained was right next to a cemetery. I'll leave you to guess what the oil was.

People in Malé, the grand capital of our nation, may not be drinking their own diluted feces and ... and their (for the lack of a better description) forefathers' liquefied remains (cemetery leachate?), but according to the aforementioned report our sewage system isn't exactly safe either. To quote:

"...there are critical design and long-term maintenance concerns that has contributed to rapid fecal contamination of Malé groundwater aquifer"

Under no circumstances am I trying to compare our misfortune with the plight of our fellow Maldivians in the islands. (We are just bathing and washing in it). I just wanted to convey the ironic disparity which exists in our nation even when it comes down to levels of contamination suffered by the populace.

Now assuming that all I said above is universal information, I am simply baffled because I have not, till date, heard a of a single public outcry demanding access to cleaner drinking water. Heck, if I had to drink and bathe in my own filth, I'd do a little more than make demands. So the big question is... why is nobody doing anything? Or am I just ignorant? (Note: The water tanks granted to many islands post-tsunami are not exactly safe either. I have seen reports claiming that the water collected is often contaminated by both feline and rodent excrement which has caused outbreaks of certain types of diseases, of which one is totally new. Check with DPH if you find it hard to believe me).

Its not just our water that is unsafe for consumption, but our air isn't exactly breathable either. Current waste disposal efforts in the central region of the country involves open burning (for compaction purposes; the government is too stingy to install a proper incinerator it seems) which releases "giant plumes of smoke" into the atmosphere. Apart from that, waste is disposed off in an unsanitary landfill site at Thilafushi island, which paves way for an immeasurable amount of leachate being released into the surrounding lagoon. Now unlike the previously mentioned water contamination issue, the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Water has been quite vocal on expressing their disapproval with all this. Which led me to do a bit of research into our legislature, in all its obsolete glory, to find out exactly who is responsible for protecting us from the elements. Article 3 of Environmental Protection Act (No: 4/93) reads:

"Formulating all policies for the environmental protection, preservation, making regulations and enforcement of these regulations, except those that have been delegated to another governmental authority by Law, shall be carried out by the Ministry of Planning and Environment."

Since our government keeps periodically shuffling its executive offices just like it does with its executive employees, I thought I'd point out the obvious here. Ministry of Planning and Environment is today's Ministry of Environment, Energy and Water who has somehow interpreted (and subsequently reduced) their obligation in this Act to provide vague commentaries and criticisms on all environmental violations. (I know the article mentions "except those that have been delegated to another governmental authority by Law" but the problem here is that no other authority has been entrusted by that non-existent law). Convenient huh?