‘We can build homes, but we cannot restore this forest’: Environmentalists urge authorities to relocate Vilimale’ housing project

Environmental advocates are calling on the government to relocate the site for a mega social housing project in Vilimale’ to somewhere other than the Funa Vaa, a forest that is home to the some of the oldest trees in the island.

Those opposed to the current site for the project to build 300 plats is Aishath Shifana Wajeeh, owner and CEO of Heat Health & Fitness (Heat).

In a post on Facebook on Sunday, Shifana wrote that she agrees that people are desperate for housing, but believes that instead of creating thoughtful, sustainable solutions, the government is pushing quick fixes that ignore the long-term consequences.

“People are being packed into small apartment units, entire communities are being crowded into limited spaces, and the natural environment that once supported healthy living is being erased,” she wrote.

Shifana said that this is not just about housing, but about the future health and dignity of an entire population.

She warned that the country is already seeing the damage, as it faces a growing epidemic of non-communicable diseases.

“People are getting sick, not because they choose to, but because the environment around them leaves them no choice. When there are no spaces to walk, to move, to breathe, how can anyone live a healthy life?” she wrote, adding that it is the children who are suffering the most, as they grow up disconnected from nature, confined to small spaces, with fewer opportunities to play, explore, and simply be children.

“We are now seeing rising mental health struggles and alarming increases in diseases like diabetes at younger ages. This is not normal. This is not acceptable,” she wrote.

“Yes, people need homes. But they also need space, air, movement, and connection to the natural world. Without that, what we are building are not communities, we are building environments that make people sick.”

She warned that a nation that sacrifices the health of its people for short-term solutions is not solving a problem, but is creating a far greater one.

A group of concerned citizens staged a protest in Vilimale’ on Friday, urging the government to build the flats in another location.

One of the protest organizers, Ahmed Mohamed (Forme) told Sun that Vilimale’ has plenty of vacant plots that can be used to build the flats.

He questioned why the flats are being built in the forest instead of in one of these locations.

Forme said that what they are demanding is not to stop building flats, but to build it somewhere else.

“What we are saying is to relocate it from here. That we can build homes, but we cannot get this Funa Vaa back,” he said.

The housing project in Vilimale’ involves building three 17-story towers housing total 300 three-bedroom units.

The project is expected to be complete by mid-2028.