Six Senses Laamu has received double recognition for its pioneering marine conservation initiatives. It won the “Best Culture, Travel & Lifestyle Environmental Initiative” at the inaugural Country & Town House Future Icons Awards and was named in the prestigious Condé Nast Traveller’s 2024 “Bright Ideas in Travel” list.
With the Future Icons Awards the UK’s esteemed Country and Town House Magazine honors visionary innovators setting new standards in sustainability and environmental stewardship. Six Senses Laamu’s Sea Hub of Environmental Learning in Laamu (SHELL) was celebrated by the judges as “an incredible conservation project,” recognizing its role in uniting diverse stakeholders to protect marine ecosystems.
Simultaneously, the resort’s selection for Condé Nast Traveller’s Bright Ideas in Travel list acknowledges SHELL and the Maldives Underwater Initiative (MUI) as leading innovations addressing travel’s most pressing environmental challenges.
SHELL and its projects
Opened in March 2023, SHELL represents a groundbreaking collaboration between luxury hospitality and marine conservation, housing the MUI team, a partnership between Six Senses Laamu marine biologists and three renowned NGOs: The Manta Trust, Blue Marine Foundation, and the Olive Ridley Project. The 5,952-square-foot facility serves as the base for several pioneering research programs.
The team’s manta ray research has identified 138 individual manta rays in Laamu waters and developed the world’s first underwater contactless ultrasound scanner for studying manta ray reproduction. Their innovative “Eyes on the Reef” project provides 24/7 monitoring of manta ray behavior at cleaning stations.
In sea turtle conservation, the resort has documented 1383 hatchlings on its shores between January to November 2024 alone. The team maintains one of the Maldives’ largest turtle identification databases, with over 670 individually identified turtles in Laamu atoll. Their advocacy efforts contributed to the designation of Gaadhoo, a crucial turtle nesting beach, as a Marine Protected Area in December 2021.
The resort’s coral reef monitoring program has documented impressive recovery rates, with coral cover increasing up to 55 percent on the house reef. The team has identified 36 different coral genera on the house reef and 47 throughout Laamu, while conducting groundbreaking research on coral spawning patterns.
SHELL’s achievements extend beyond research to include successful conservation initiatives such as the #ProtectMaldivesSeagrass campaign, which has led to the protection of over 910,000m2 of seagrass meadows across 37 resorts. The facility features an immersive gallery with LED display floors, educational viewing booths, and advanced technology for guest education, making marine conservation accessible and engaging for visitors of all ages.