Ecocare Maldives has said that the current government ‘is planning to destroy the very nature that allows Maldives to survive’.

Ecocare’s allegation comes after vice president Abdulla Jihad’s boasted, at the Maldives Investment Forum in Dubai, that the country had green lit foreign investments worth USD 14 billion.

Calling on international investors ‘to respect the indigenous and intrinsic value of the Maldives’, Ecocare called on them to refrain from partnering up with a government ‘that is planning to destroy the very nature that allows Maldives to survive’.

“We urge you to invest responsibly to save Maldives,’ added Ecocare, in a tweet sent out on Monday.

In a separate tweet, Ecocare noted that the Maldivian government has plans to ‘reclaim 20 lagoons, 10 hectares each, for commercial purposes [of MVR 107 million]’. It added that the number of lagoons that are not budgeted but can be leased to private parties for reclamation remains unclear’.

Ecocare filed a case at the Civil Court, against the Environment Ministry and Environment Protection Agency (EPA), over the government’s decision to reclaim the mangrove area in Kulhudhuffushi island of Haa Dhaalu atoll. At Monday’s hearing, the state argued that the Civil Court cannot review the case, and that it can only be reviewed by the Kulhudhuffushi Magistrate Court.

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for Thursday, where Ecocare will respond to the issues raised by the state.

Ecocare has also been vocal against the government’s decision to add Keylakunu island to the list of islands to be leased for resort development.