Vice President Faisal Naseem has urged to install water filtration systems in households, where ever possible, to reduce the amount of plastic generated and disclosed that he himself uses this system and drink filtered water.

Encouraging the public to install filtration systems in households, VP Naseem noted that he enjoys drinking filtered water.

He made these remarks at the PROMISE Sustainability Awards 2022 ceremony, held on Wednesday.

Speaking at the ceremony, VP Naseem highlighted that a large portion of our nation still continues to buy water for our daily consumption that comes in plastic bottles. He noted the importance of our individual responsibility to be better stewards of our environment and oceans. He stressed on our collective responsibility to protect our oceans to secure our livelihoods, climate, and children’s future.

In his remarks, the Vice President called on the public to reduce the amount of waste produced on a national scale. He stated that pollution poses the biggest threat to the oceans. He emphasized how waste collected near coastal mounds finds its way into water bodies and the correlation between pollutants contaminating marine ecosystems and the increased amount of micro plastics in the food we consume. He then stressed the severe impact of micro plastics in the oceans on marine life and our livelihoods.

The Vice President also lauded the administration’s remarkable efforts in confronting the issue, stating that the recent adoption of waste segregation in the Malé region is already showing signs of progress. He stated that waste segregation demonstrates to future generations our environmental stewardship by encouraging mindfulness in the waste we produce and allowing for better waste management that has the potential to generate energy or income.

The Vice President stressed the urgency of reducing waste generated on a national scale and emphasized the Maldives’ plan to phase out single-use plastics by 2023. Highlighting the innovative waste management solutions employed by micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises in the tourism industry in the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and India, the Vice President applauded the efforts of the PROMISE project in guiding enterprises in building the best waste management practices to protect the oceans.

Prevention of Marine Litter in the Lakshadweep Sea (PROMISE) is supported by the European Union—under the Switch Asia Program—to target marine litter along the Lakshadweep shorelines of the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and India.