Manta Trust, partners gear up for first-ever Baa Atoll Manta Festival

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Manta Trust and Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru have partnered with Baa Atoll UNESCO Biosphere Reserve to raise awareness of marine plastic pollution and manta rays in the Maldives. The Manta Trust is hosting its first-ever Baa Atoll Manta Festival on November 24 in Dharavandhoo Island of Baa Atoll. The festival is hosted in the Baa Atoll UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, a world-acclaimed destination to see the manta rays, the gentle goliaths of the ocean, which can amass in numbers of over 200 in the famous Hanifaru Bay.

This exclusive day is inaugurated to celebrate the various marine life of the Maldives and raise awareness of the existing threats to it—mostly from climate change and plastic pollution—amongst local communities and education centres. School students will have the opportunity—many for the first time—to learn to snorkel thanks to the liberal donations of snorkelling equipment from luxury tourist resorts in Baa Atoll.

The day will be a dynamic blend of illuminating discussions from marine biology and conservation experts, competitions and educational stalls from a wonderful selection of local marine and government organisations, along with resorts’ marine biology teams and school students. In the evening the festival will conclude with performances by Maldivian celebrity Shiuz Mohamed along with traditional music and food from local communities. Visitors and guests are welcome at the festival.

The festival is sponsored by 12 luxury tourist resorts in Baa Atoll – Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru, Vakkaru Maldives, Coco Palm Dhuni Kolhu, Kihaa Maldives, Anantara Kihavah Maldives Villas, Royal Island Resort, Milaidhoo Island, Reethi Beach Resort, Finolhu, Amilla Fushi, Dusit Thani Maldives and Soneva Fushi, as well as luxury travel agent Manta Reisen.

The Manta Trust anticipates the Baa Atoll Manta Festival to leave a lasting heritage for the peoples of Baa Atoll – inspiring the next generation to become Ocean Guardians in the Maldives. To learn more about the Manta Trust and the Maldivian Manta Ray project, visit www.mantatrust.org.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]