Young activists in the Maldives confront climate threats to their island nation

ADDU CITY, Maldives (AP) — A group of young people in the Maldives recently paddled kayaks to protest land reclamation work that was cutting through protected mangrove wetlands in a UNESCO biosphere reserve, even spray-painting “ECOCIDE" on a reclaimed patch.

The nonprofit Project ThimaaVeshi, which means “self and surroundings,” is part of a new generation of activists in the Indian Ocean island nation tackling issues that are part of their daily lives: coastal erosion, plastic pollution and development-damaged ecosystems.

In Addu City in the south, the activists have focused on overdevelopment, documenting the impact on wetlands and reefs. In the capital, Male, others are tackling the plastic waste suffocating streets, hangout spots and swimming areas.

As they team up with surfers and others for cleanups, picking fishing lines out of coral reefs and piling up discarded water bottles, the groups educate youth on their right to a clean and healthy environment.

They are united in knowing that, unlike with previous generations, climate change and environmental damage are no longer a distant threat.

The Maldives has championed itself as a country fighting its vulnerability to climate change and sea level rise, but the government has said sacrifices must be made at times in favor of development, and the activists say protective measures are not happening fast enough.

Experts have said the country south of India and Sri Lanka is expected to be around 80% uninhabitable within the next 50 years due to rising sea levels.

“It was just us and a bunch of hopes and dreams,” said a 21-year-old co-founder of Project ThimaaVeshi, Yameen Maumoon.

Maumoon along with Mishal Mushahid started their activism as student leaders working with the Addu City council. What started as a group of friends became a movement and a registered nonprofit after they graduated from high school.

In Male and neighboring Hulhumale, another youth group seeking formal registration, Ripple, started when friends noticed the trash building up in areas where they hung out.

“One day when we were playing Minecraft, we were joking around, saying we should start making TikToks and we should start cleaning up," said a co-founder, Mariyam Maasha Waheed. What began as an informal cleanup grew after their TikTok videos gained traction.

The group now organizes weekly cleanups and campaigns against plastic pollution, collaborating with others to recycle the plastic they collect.

Founders said they want environmental action to feel less intimidating and more communal.

A co-founder of the newest group seeking registration, Barnacles, Yania Hussain Ishan, became interested in environmental issues while preparing a presentation for school on protecting nature. The group focuses on climate education and youth leadership.

The constant talk on social media and elsewhere about a climate emergency has led to their generation's feeling of a lack of agency over it, Ishan said.

The age of the activists has drawn comments, even from government officials, that youth equates to naivety and ignorance. All three groups have been told their work is pointless, and that something as simple as a beach cleanup will not fix the overall challenges.

Young people have too many emotions and can’t be trusted with decision-making, the country's minister of climate change, Ali Shareef, last year told a public forum.

The activists said they know they cannot solve Maldives's problems alone. But they believe waiting for the bigger problems to be solved isn’t an option. They want to shape a generation who understand their rights and pass the responsibility to future ones.

“We are deciding what kind of ancestors we will be," Ishan said. “We are defending our home, our heritage and the right of every Maldivian child yet to be born to stand on these shores, look out at the sea and feel the same wonder and security that defines who we are.”

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Ripple, a youth group, joins an early morning beach clean up organized by the Ministry of Youth, on Dhiraagu Beach in Hulhumale, Maldives, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif)

Mangroves line the shore of Hithadhoo Island, part of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, with reclamation work visible through it in Addu City, Maldives, June 5, 2026, (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif)

Members of Project ThimaaVeshi, team up with Veshi Saafu, a group of older women who also campaign on environmental matters, to demonstrate against ongoing reclamation projects on World Environmental Day in Addu City, Maldives, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif)

Yania Hussain Ishan, co-founder of youth group Barnacles, sorts through the first batch of plastic waste collected in the joint plastic pollution clean in Male, Maldives, June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif)

Mohamed Ma'al Nazeel, co-founder of Ripple, a youth led group, empties out his full bag of plastic waste collected during a joint plastic pollution clean-up in Male, Maldives, June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif)

Ahmed Akif Ali, of the youth group Ripple, holds up a plastic bottle found underwater during a clean up session being held with Aloha Ufaa Surf Club, off the coast of Hulhumale, Maldives June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif)

A hawksbill turtle swims at Addu Nature Park, a protected UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, off the coast of Addu City, Maldives, Feb. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif)

Yoohaa Ibrahim Saeed and Mariyam Ulfa Ahmed of Ripple, a youth group, pull out a fishing line that has become entangled with a coral during an underwater clean up session with the Aloha Ufaa Surf Club off the coast of Hulhumale, Maldives, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif)

A juvenile grey reef shark swims at Addu Nature Park, a protected UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, off the coast in Addu City, Maldives, Feb. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif)

Buildings stand on Male, the capital city of the Maldives, June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif)

"Eccocide in Addu" is displayed on reclaimed land by Project ThimaaVeshi, a youth left group, as part of a demonstration against ongoing reclamation projects in Addu City, Maldives, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif)

A demonstrator holds a sign while participating in an action as part of Project ThimaaVeshi, a youth-led protest against ongoing reclamation projects damaging mangroves, in Addu City, Maldives, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif)

A demonstrator holds a sign while participating in an action as part of Project ThimaaVeshi, a youth-led protest against ongoing reclamation projects damaging mangroves, in Addu City, Maldives, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif)

A participant holds a sign as part of Project ThimaaVeshi, a youth-led demonstration against ongoing reclamation project damaging mangroves off the coast of Addu City, Maldives, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif)

A surfer from Aloha Ufaa Surf Club in Hulhumale participates in an underwater trash clean up session with Ripple, a youth group, off the coast of Hulhumale, Maldives, June 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Sophia Nasif)

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A new Tennessee congressional map that carved up a majority Black district in Memphis made its electoral debut Thursday in a primary election that will determine the nominees for a Republican attempt at a clean sweep of the state's U.S. House districts in the midterms.

The primaries were upended just three months before the vote when the Republican-led Legislature redrew congressional districts following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that weakened federal Voting Rights Act protection for minorities. President Donald Trump cheered the redistricting as part of a national plan to try to help Republicans hold on to their slim House majority.

Polls closed at 8 p.m.

Trump endorsed state Sen. Brent Taylor in the four-person Republican primary for the significantly reshaped 9th Congressional District, which now stretches about 200 miles (320 kilometers) east from Memphis before reaching north toward the Nashville area. The district, which previously favored Democrats, now tilts toward Republicans, and some Memphis voters have raised concerns that their representation has been diminished.

After the redistricting, longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen announced that he would no longer seek reelection in the 9th District. Cohen's primary challenger, Democratic state Rep. Justin Pearson, then was joined by state Sen. London Lamar in what became a four-person contest.

Pearson gained national attention in 2023 when he was expelled by the Republican-led state House for protesting in support of gun control measures following a deadly school shooting in Nashville. Memphis voters later reelected him.

Republicans currently hold eight of the state's nine congressional seats.

For decades Memphis, the most populous city in Shelby County, formed the base of its own congressional district. Now the county is split among three districts that extend outward like spokes into rural areas.

Lonzo Taylor, a retired postal worker and military veteran, said Black voters like himself have had their voices diluted.

“We only had one district in the whole state of Tennessee, and you don’t even want that to be fair? It’s just terrible,” said Taylor, 72. “I love this state, but I am very disappointed in our governor,” who called lawmakers into a special session for the redistricting.

Milla Meiman, 23, who voted early in the Democratic primary, said she did not realize the congressional map had changed until receiving a letter about it in the mail.

“It’s a drastic change to have your district sort of switched around like that,” said Meiman, who works part time at an ice cream shop and public library. Meiman added: “I think it’s a voter suppression tactic.”

Terrice Thomas, 45, an educator who votes for Democrats, had to learn a lot more about the candidates when she got switched from District 9 to District 8. She is concerned Memphis constituents could get overlooked.

“Is everybody going to have an equal say on what’s happening in their communities or even the people that you’re voting for?” Thomas said. “Are they going to really take into account the different areas and what makes us unique?”

The cracking apart of Memphis sent ripples throughout the state, also significantly reshaping the 5th Congressional District held by Republican Rep. Andy Ogles, a conservative Freedom Caucus member who sought reelection and was endorsed by Trump.

He faced a primary challenge from Charlie Hatcher, a former state agriculture commissioner under Republican Gov. Bill Lee, who endorsed Hatcher for Congress.

Previously centered on Nashville and central Tennessee, the district now extends to the northwest corner of the state before snaking south along the Mississippi River to Memphis. Along the way it touches the borders of Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas and Mississippi.

Ogles has faced controversy. His cellphone was seized by the FBI in 2024 as part of an investigation into his campaign finance reporting. But the Justice Department recently agreed to return the device, signaling that it was abandoning the probe, which began under the Biden administration.

On the Democratic side, the five-way primary featured Columbia Mayor Chaz Molder, who has continued to run in the reshaped district despite being drawn out of it.

Republican U.S. Rep. John Rose opted not to seek reelection in the 6th District to run for governor instead. That created a contentious primary for the Republican-leaning district, which stretches east from Nashville.

The four Republican candidates included state Rep. Johnny Garrett and Rose’s recent chief of staff, former U.S. Rep. Van Hilleary, who served eight years in Congress before losing a gubernatorial bid in 2002. Five Democrats also were seeking the seat.

Rose and U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn were among three Republicans and five Democrats running to succeed Republican Gov. Bill Lee, who is barred by term limits from seeking reelection. Blackburn, who won her second six-year Senate term in 2024, would have to give the seat up if elected.

Memphis City Council member Jerri Green won the Democratic gubernatorial primary.

Republicans have held the governor's office since 2011 and won every U.S. Senate election since 1994. Sen. Bill Hagerty won the Republican primary without opposition, though numerous Democrats and independents are battling for the chance to challenge him.

The story has been updated to correct the day of the primary election to Thursday, from Tuesday.

Lieb reported from Jefferson City, Missouri.

Democratic congressional candidate State Rep. Justin J. Pearson, D-Memphis, greets a supporter at a primary election night party Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Democratic congressional candidate State Rep. Justin J. Pearson, D-Memphis, smiles upon arriving to a primary election night party Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Helen Plummer walks into a polling place to cast her ballot in a primary election Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Two voters fill out their ballots in Memphis, Tenn., Wednesday, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Kristin M. Hall)

FILE - Republican congressional candidate State Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Memphis, speaks to a supporter outside an early voting polling place Friday, July 24, 2026, in Brentwood, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)

FILE - Democratic congressional candidate State Sen. London Lamar, D-Memphis, speaks to potential voters during a political event Thursday, July 23, 2026, in Franklin, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)