Family Traveler

79earth.That’swhat’shappeningbeneaththesurfaceofourseas.It’sthereasonI’vedraggedmychildrenhalfwayaroundtheglobetointroducethemtoaworldthatcoulddisappearintheirlifetimeorberesurrectedbytheconcertedeffortsoftheirgeneration.Andyes,wedidoffsetourcarbon!IfirstvisitedtheMaldivesintheaftermathofElNiñoandwasshockedbyaonce-dazzlingmulticolouredunderworldturnedashen.Happily,nineyearslater,thereefsarerecovering,brightcoralsarereturningtoenticethefishlifethatdependonthemandshoalsoftinycartoon-likereeffish(ormaybeI’vewatchedFindingNemotoooftenintheinterveningyears)arestartingtomultiply.BaaAtoll’sdesignationasoneofahandfulofUNESCOBiospherescertainlyhelpstofocusattentiononitsuniquehabitats,andwhileitdoesn’tprovideanyparticularprotection,itdoesofferincentivestopreservethatstatus.Thebiggestthreat,ofcourse,comesfromman,andsincethe 1970 stheMaldiveshaswitnessedatourismbonanza.Hoteloperationsbothbigandsmallarebeingallocatedlucrativelicencestoturntropicalidyllsintoluxuryresorts,withlittlethoughtfortheenvironmentalimpact.Now,theconservationofthisfragilemarinehabitathasbecomeanurgentpriorityforthosewhomakealivingfromitsassets.TheFourSeasonsatLandaaIMAGINEKEWGARDENSTURNEDGREYANDWITHOUTBIRDSONG- THAT’SWHATHAPPENEDHEREPICTUREPERFECT‘Itreallydoeslooklikethephotos!’exclaimed12 -year-oldMolly``````Likeanygreatloveaffair,it’soneheightenedbythetenuousnessofitssurvival.Mostoftheislandsofthelowestnationonearthsitlessthan2mabovesealevel,makingtheMaldivesthefirstcasualtyofanyrise.Globalwarmingisn’taconceptfortheseislandersbutaclearandpresentdangertotheircenturies-oldlifestyle.Itmaybethegreatestperil,butit’snottheonlythreattheislandsface.In 1998 ,ElNiño,thewater-warmingweatheranomalythatcontinuestothisday,wipedout 95 %oftheMaldives’coralreefsinaphenomenoncalledbleaching,renderingoncevibrant,vividlycolouredhabitatsgreyandlifeless,unabletosupportthemultitudeofmarinelifethatcalledithome.Thisyear,it’sthreateningtoreturnanddestroyafurther50%oftherecoveredcoral.TheMaldivesisnotanexception.Similardevastationisoccurringacrossthesevenseas,theresultofpollutantsandoverfishing,globalwarmingandoverpopulation.It’sanapocalypticdemise,forthemostpartinvisibletolandlubbers,andhardtoimagineunlessyou’veseenfirsthandwhattheunderwaterworldcanbelikeatitsunspoiltbest–aplaceascolourfulasanytropicalgarden,andteemingwithlife.ImagineKewGardensturnedgreyandwithoutbirdsong,theCotswoldsparchedandbarren,theScottishmoorsreducedtoruttedbrown``````anover-watervillaatlandaagiraavarulearnto...scubadivePHOTOGRAPHS:GETTY