News

Inception Workshop Held to Initiate the Development of Maldives’ First Climate Change Gender Action Plan

26 Jan 2026

The Climate Change Department (CCD) of the Ministry of Tourism and Environment conducted an inception workshop on 26 January 2026 to initiate the development of the Maldives’ first Climate Change Gender Action Plan (CC-GAP). The workshop was held at Meerumaa and brought together 32 participants from government ministries and civil society organizations.

The workshop was officially opened by Ibrahim Mimrah, Minister of State for Tourism and Environment, who highlighted the Ministry’s ongoing efforts to strengthen national climate action through the development of key frameworks and reporting instruments, including the National Adaptation Plan and the implementation of the Maldives’ Third Nationally Determined Contribution.

Following the opening remarks, Thibyan Ibrahim, Director of the Climate Change Department, provided an overview of the objectives of the workshop. He outlined the current work being undertaken by the Department to strengthen climate governance and coordination, and noted that the CC-GAP will serve as a dedicated framework to systematically integrate gender considerations into climate adaptation and mitigation planning, implementation, and monitoring processes.

The workshop was facilitated by Jauza Khaleel, Senior Climate Change Adaptation Consultant. Through technical presentations and facilitated group discussions, participants examined the gender and climate change nexus in the Maldives, including gender-differentiated climate vulnerabilities and capacities, and identified key gaps in existing climate policies and actions. Participants also worked collaboratively to develop a preliminary conceptual framework and to identify and prioritise gender-responsive climate actions across key sectors, providing inputs that will inform the structure, priorities, and implementation approach of the Climate Change Gender Action Plan.

The workshop was attended by representatives from the President’s Office – Special Envoy for Climate Change, the Ministry of Cities, Local Government and Public Works, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Homeland Security and Technology, the Environment Protection Authority, the Ministry of Finance and Planning, the Maldives Meteorological Services, the Ministry of Social and Family Development, the Attorney General’s Office, Small Island Geographic Society, Society for Health Education, Maldives Authentic Crafts Cooperative Society, Maldives Red Crescent, Maldives National University, Islamic University Maldives, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

The CC-GAP is being developed by the Climate Change Department with technical assistance from the NAP Global Network.