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Nasheed: EPA must remain independent, transferring it to Tourism Ministry is ‘misguided’

Then-President-Elect Dr. Mohamed Muizzu visits the Parliament and meets then-Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed on October 3, 2023. (Photo/People's Majlis)

Former Maldivian leader Mohamed Nasheed slammed the decision by the government to transfer the responsibilities of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to the Ministry of Tourism and Environment as a “misguided” move on Tuesday, as he stressed the need for the agency to remain independent.

The EPA was created during Nasheed’s administration in 2008.

On Tuesday, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu issued a presidential directive, renaming EPA to the Environmental Regulatory Authority (ERA), and deciding the institution will operate directly under the Ministry of Tourism and Environment, moving away from of its previous oversight by a governing board.

In a post on X on Tuesday afternoon, Nasheed, an outspoken environmental advocate, slammed the move as “misguided.”

Nasheed believes that the EPA must remain independent for the government’s environmental policies to retain credibility.

“Dissolving it and moving its work into the Tourism Ministry would be misguided,” he added.

Fayyaz Ismail, the chairperson of the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), also spoke about against the decision on X, describing it as “a major step backward in our efforts to protect the environment and maintain a balance between development and conservation.”

The former economic minister said that while there is always room to review and improve regulatory processes, he finds the decision to remove the independence of the work of EPA deeply concerning.

Fayyaz alleged the latest decision aligns with an ongoing pattern by the incumbent administration of “systematically dismantling checks and balances and consolidating power with the president.”

He added that beyond the obvious environmental risks, such abrupt and unreasonable disruptions to regulations and established systems also undermine investor confidence in the Maldivian economy.

“Beyond the obvious environmental risks, such abrupt and unreasonable disruptions to regulations and established systems undermine investor confidence leading to an acceleration of the decline of an already troubled economy,” he said.

The Maldives previously had a separate Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Environment. But the two ministries were merged to form the Ministry of Tourism and Environment in February, in a move slammed by environmental advocates.

The changes made on Tuesday includes curtailing EPA or ERA’s powers with regard to Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) done before authorizing infrastructure developmental projects.

According to an announcement published on the Government Gazette on Tuesday:

  • Applications for conducting EIAs before proceeding with projects must be submitted to a party decided by the Ministry of Tourism and Environment or the Minister for Tourism and Environment.
  • Work required up until applications for EIA reports must be expedited for projects deemed by the Minister for Tourism and Environment as priority government projects.
  • Projects deemed by the Minister for Tourism and Environment as priority government projects requires cabinet approval.

These amendments curtail the powers of the EPA or ERA, but expands that of the Ministry of Tourism and Environment.

The President’s Office described the move as structural changes “designed to reflect the primary responsibilities of the institution more accurately while enhancing its capacity to regulate the environment effectively.”

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