Paper short abstract:

The paper scrutinises the evolution of geo-engineering activities in the Maldives to show how the refashioning of terrestrial and submarine spaces reflects and fosters changes in archipelagic society.

Paper long abstract:

In the Maldives land reclamation must be viewed as part of a broader approach to modifying landscapes. Because the Maldives are an archipelago solely comprised of coral reefs, small islands and vast areas of sea, geo-engineering must be attuned to the specificities of this predominantly aquatic ecosystem. Consequently, I review terrestrial as well as submarine geo-engineering projects to infer the changing impetuses with which onshore and offshore landscapes have been shaped over the last six decades. Since independence in the 1960s, geo-engineering became a fixation for the post-colonial state and has by now developed into a massive enterprise that not only affects vast terrains in the atolls but also many domains of everyday life. It has evolved to a full-fledged activity, involving the construction of connectivity infrastructures (like harbours, shipping lanes and air ports), the facilitation of modernisation and economic development, the tackling of population pressure, land shortage and rampant urbanisation (through artificial island construction), the mitigation of erosion and climate change effects, as well as the catering for tourist consumption of environments (through beach nourishment and coral planting). By drawing out the progression of landscape and seascape modifications the paper on the one hand traces how such projects reflect shifting priorities and preoccupations of the island society as well as altered relationships between islanders and their archipelagic environment. On the other hand it discusses how landscape modification serves as an instrument to facilitate social, economic, cultural and political change.