Baa Atoll Biosphere Reserve

This highly biodiverse environment is

home to the world’s seventh largest coral reef. Huge quantities of plankton flow through it, which enables the whole food chain to thrive. More than 250 types of corals are found in the Baa Atoll Biosphere Reserve, sustaining about 1,200 species of fish.

Baa Atoll refers to three distinct atolls that form a wider ring of islands covering a total area of 345,206 acres (139,700 hectares). Of the 75 islands in the Baa Atoll, 13 are inhabited by Maldivians, some are resort islands (where there is one tourist resort on the whole island), and the rest are uninhabited. The waters of the atoll vary in depth from 98 to 263 feet (30 to 80 meters), whereas around the atoll, the ocean plummets to more than 250 metres in depth.

Look in the water, and you’ll likely spot parrot-fish, butterfly-fish, angel-fish, clown-fish, wrasses, marine turtles, moray eels, manta rays, groupers, whale sharks, and dolphins. Some threatened and endangered species found in the waters of the atoll include green turtles, hawksbill turtles, Napoleon wrasses, and tawny nurse sharks.

The astonishing degree of biodiversity of the Baa Atoll extends also to above-water flora and fauna. Mangroves are present on virtually all islands, and among the most common animals are several types of lizards, skinks and geckos, fruit bats, frigate birds, and herons.

The government has made a commitment to environmental protection, with a particular emphasis on recycling, which has led to the export of recyclable waste becoming a thriving business in recent years, second only to the export of fish.