Editing Maldives (section)

===Environment{{anchor|Environmental issues}}===
Environmental issues other than [[sea level rise]] include bad waste disposal and [[sand theft]]. Although the Maldives are kept relatively pristine and little [[litter]] can be found on the islands, most [[Waste management|waste disposal]] sites are often substandard. The bulk of the waste from Malé and nearby resorts in the Maldives is disposed of at [[Thilafushi]], an industrial island on top of a lagoon reclaimed in the early '90s to sort waste management issues which had plagued the capital and surrounding islands.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Evans |first=Judith |date=24 April 2015 |title=Maldives island swamped by rising tide of waste |url=https://www.ft.com/content/29399966-e80b-11e4-9960-00144feab7de |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114164426/https://www.ft.com/content/29399966-e80b-11e4-9960-00144feab7de |archive-date=14 January 2021 |access-date=14 February 2017 |work=[[Financial Times]]}}</ref>

[[List of Protected Areas of Maldives|31 protected areas]] are administered by the Ministry of Climate Change, Environment and Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the Maldives.<ref name="Maldives Protected Areas">{{Cite web |title=Protected Areas - Maldives |url=http://epa.gov.mv/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=5&Itemid=25&limitstart=1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304134336/http://epa.gov.mv/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=5&Itemid=25&limitstart=1 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |access-date=25 May 2013 |website=Environmental Protection Agency}}</ref>