ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the environmental impact of development in the small island of Male’, the administrative and commercial capital of Maldives. From a small fishing community, the island has grown to what today is one of the most densely populated cities in the world, housing about 153,904 people in about 2 km2 of land. In this chapter we evaluate the historical evolution of Male’ city in a climate change context by examining the natural and anthropogenic pressures contributing to the changing islandscape. How has the changing islandscape added to the climate change vulnerability of the island? What adaptive changes have been adopted and how have they lasted through time? Learning how Male’ city has reached this stage and documenting its development into a city can provide opportunities for adaptive learning for local island development in other areas of the Maldives and other similar island nations.
