Shaahina Ali, a pioneering environmentalist from the Maldives, has been named one of the laureates of the 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Award, Asia’s premier prize for transformative leadership. She becomes the first Maldivian recipient of the award, honored for her outstanding work in combating plastic pollution and mobilizing communities to protect the country’s fragile marine ecosystem.
Often promoted as a tropical paradise, the Maldives is made up of 26 atolls and nearly 1,200 coral islands. Tourism has grown into its main industry, overtaking fishing and raising incomes in recent decades. But behind the postcard image lies a serious crisis: rapid urbanization has fueled plastic waste, polluting once-pristine waters and threatening marine life, the local economy, and human health.
Ali, who grew up experiencing the Maldives’ natural beauty, recalls a childhood when “plastic bottles were so rare that children fought over finding one.” Today, as a diver, photojournalist, and instructor, she has witnessed first-hand the devastating effects of tides of trash choking the reefs and killing fish and corals.
Determined to act, Ali partnered with the international NGO Parley for the Oceans in 2015 to address the growing threat. Now serving as Executive Director of Parley Maldives, she has spearheaded initiatives under their Avoid, Intercept, and Redesign (AIR) strategy to cut down single-use plastics, intercept waste before it reaches the sea, and promote sustainable alternatives.
Under her leadership, Parley Maldives has organized over 700 cleanup operations across the islands, established plastic collection points in dozens of communities and schools, and run education programs that inspire both locals and tourists to rethink their relationship with plastic. These efforts have prevented tons of waste from entering the ocean, while fostering a nationwide culture of environmental responsibility.
For Ali, however, the struggle is about more than cleaning up beaches. She has worked closely with government agencies and civic groups to confront the broader challenge of climate change, which she describes as “Nature’s way of talking to us.” With the Maldives consisting of only 1% land and 99% sea, she sees her country as a natural classroom to educate the world about climate resilience.
“Protecting nature is not only about the environment but about human survival itself, especially in an era of rising seas,” Ali emphasizes. Her vision is deeply personal: “I go there to clean up with hope, hope that my grandchildren will see whales in the ocean in their lifetime as I did growing up.”
In bestowing the 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Award, the Board of Trustees recognized Ali’s “unwavering commitment to protecting the marine ecosystem of the Maldives with passion, vision, and inclusivity.” Her achievement is groundbreaking, not only as her country’s first female professional diver, but also as a leader who has turned environmental advocacy into practical, community-based solutions.
Reflecting on her mission, Ali says: “We may have strayed, but we can still find our way back, together.”
The Ramon Magsaysay Award, established in 1957, is Asia’s most prestigious honor, celebrating the greatness of spirit in service to the people. Ali will be formally recognized alongside other awardees during ceremonies on 7 November 2025 at the Metropolitan Theatre in Manila.
