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Shifting Sands and Solastalgia The Emotional Political Ecology of Land Reclamation in The Maldives

Persson, Olivia LU (2025) HEKM51 20251
Department of Human Geography
Human Ecology
Abstract
Rampant land reclamation is shifting the ecological, political, and social landscape of the Maldives. While the state frames land reclamation as a remedy for land scarcity, a climate change adaptation, and as an indicator of development, these narratives conceal lived-experiences of land reclamation and the accompanying social and environmental harm. Through semi-structured interviews with Maldivians demonstrating strong place attachment, this thesis investigates what environmental changes are observed following land reclamation, what emotions arise from experiencing these changes and how this impacts Maldivians’ perception towards state narratives justifying land reclamation. The findings reveal that the most commonly observed... (More)
Rampant land reclamation is shifting the ecological, political, and social landscape of the Maldives. While the state frames land reclamation as a remedy for land scarcity, a climate change adaptation, and as an indicator of development, these narratives conceal lived-experiences of land reclamation and the accompanying social and environmental harm. Through semi-structured interviews with Maldivians demonstrating strong place attachment, this thesis investigates what environmental changes are observed following land reclamation, what emotions arise from experiencing these changes and how this impacts Maldivians’ perception towards state narratives justifying land reclamation. The findings reveal that the most commonly observed environmental changes were in coral ecosystems, sedimentation and species richness. Experiencing the disruption following land reclamation impacted participants by threatening their place dependence and identity, evoking feelings of solastalgia and ecological grief. Participants were largely critical of hegemonic state narratives, reflecting on how they are employed to serve political interests. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Persson, Olivia LU
supervisor
organization
course
HEKM51 20251
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
land reclamation, emotional political ecology, place attachment, ecological grief, solastalgia, Maldives
language
English
id
9209371
date added to LUP
2025-09-26 08:25:45
date last changed
2025-09-26 08:25:45
@misc{9209371,
  abstract     = {{Rampant land reclamation is shifting the ecological, political, and social landscape of the Maldives. While the state frames land reclamation as a remedy for land scarcity, a climate change adaptation, and as an indicator of development, these narratives conceal lived-experiences of land reclamation and the accompanying social and environmental harm. Through semi-structured interviews with Maldivians demonstrating strong place attachment, this thesis investigates what environmental changes are observed following land reclamation, what emotions arise from experiencing these changes and how this impacts Maldivians’ perception towards state narratives justifying land reclamation. The findings reveal that the most commonly observed environmental changes were in coral ecosystems, sedimentation and species richness. Experiencing the disruption following land reclamation impacted participants by threatening their place dependence and identity, evoking feelings of solastalgia and ecological grief. Participants were largely critical of hegemonic state narratives, reflecting on how they are employed to serve political interests.}},
  author       = {{Persson, Olivia}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Shifting Sands and Solastalgia The Emotional Political Ecology of Land Reclamation in The Maldives}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}