The Maldives archipelago is known as a tourist paradise of
pristine marine beauty and
golden sunsets. The other side of the luxury tourism is the
sunset of
environmental balance and the specter of the disappearance of
the atolls due to
high water produced by climate change. In this context lives a
population, mostly Muslims, of approximately 300,000
inhabitants (one
third in the capital alone) dispersed in 26 atolls, only partly
inhabited. The
development of tourism has increased the environmental risk
and the
coastal erosion, also changing the economy and way of life,
once based
primarily on fishing. More than 50% of the population is now
employed in
luxury resorts and tourism-related activities. With this series of
images I have
tried to show the atmosphere of loneliness and insecurity that
prevails
in these places despite the splendor of nature that surrounds
the islands.
The images were taken in the islands of Lhaviyani Atoll.
Raffaele Tuzio is a photographer based in Rome. He was born in Benevento and his passion for fotography began in 1981. In 1988 he went to Rome where he was involved in travel photography. During these years he travelled all around the world. In 1990 he started a collaboration with the italian tour operator sentieri di nuove esperienze, a company specialised in cultural tourism. Raffaele is consultant for tours planning and he directs a long term project to increase the company image.
