Maldives: new resorts and seagrass science
The Maldives tourism scene is heating up with major luxury entries like Aman and Mandarin Oriental slated to open this year, promising more high‑end island options for a beach‑meets‑pampering getaway. (splendidasia.com) At the same time Six Senses Kanuhura has partnered with the global COASTS Project to advance seagrass and blue‑carbon research — a sign that some resorts are pairing luxury with marine conservation. (corporate.visitmaldives.com)
Aman’s Maldives project is coming in on a relatively small scale for the atoll market: the resort will include about 52 guest pavilions and 16 branded residences on a private islet in Vaavu Atoll, with architecture by Kerry Hill Architects and a large, standalone spa facility. (aman.com) (businesstraveller.com) Mandarin Oriental’s entry will sit on Bolidhuffaru Reef across three private islands and is being developed as a 34‑hectare property with roughly 120 standalone villas — split between overwater and beachfront types — plus branded residences; the site is a 20‑minute speedboat ride from Velana International Airport. (photos.mandarinoriental.com) (maldives-magazine.com) Seagrass work at Six Senses Kanuhura will combine on‑site surveys (ecological checks of plant cover and animal life), detailed mapping of seagrass beds, and sediment core sampling — where researchers pull a column of seabed sediment to read how much carbon those layers have stored over time. (corporate.visitmaldives.com) (eomap.com) Those activities are part of the COASTS Project — short for Coastal Observation Advances leveraging Space Technology Services — a three‑year European research programme that mixes satellite data (called Earth observation), in‑situ measurements (data collected on location), modelling, and digital tools to produce maps and decision‑support products for coastal managers. The COASTS consortium is led by EOMAP and lists partners including Submaris and the Maldives Space Research Organization, and it is funded under the Horizon Europe / EUSPA 2023 call (grant ID 101180091, project running November 1, 2024–October 31, 2027). (eomap.com) (cordis.europa.eu) Resorts add value to this kind of science by offering access and local staffing: Six Senses Kanuhura’s in‑house marine biologist and sustainability team will host the fieldwork across the resort’s reef flat and lagoon and run guest education programmes tied to the research. The project’s stated aim is to translate those on‑site measurements into better models of how seagrass meadows protect shorelines, support marine life, and sequester “blue carbon” — carbon captured and stored by coastal ecosystems like seagrasses and mangroves. (corporate.visitmaldives.com) (coasts.eoapp.de) COASTS is running pilot sites in the Baltic Sea (Germany), the Chausey/Channel Island area, and the Maldives so its satellite‑plus‑field approach can be tested across different coastlines; the project explicitly aims to deliver fit‑for‑purpose products (for example, updated seagrass extent maps and local carbon estimates) that stakeholders can use in management and conservation planning before the programme ends in 2027. (euspa.europa.eu) (cordis.europa.eu)
