Outrigger Konotta Maldives Resort – where the eco-minded soak in luxury

What is it? Konotta Island lies in the deep south of the Maldives and on it stands the luxurious and eco-minded Outrigger Konotta Maldives Resort. A one-hour flight from the capital, Malé, brings guests to Kaadedhdhoo Airport, and from there, a flash yacht, often escorted by dolphins, zips customers across a glassy ocean to the resort, in 30 minutes.

I heard something about coral bleaching in the Maldives. What’s that? Sad but true; like many others, all Maldivian coral reefs have been affected by the warming seas. Corals are made up of animals known as polyps. Aside from feeding on plankton, corals supplement their nutri­tion by farming tiny plants, called zooxan­thel­lae, that live inside their tissues.As tem­peratures rise, the corals get stressed and eject their farmed friends, turning unhealthy and white. This process is known as “bleach­ing” and if temperatures stay high, corals die.

Does Outrigger have a solution? No – the only solution is to reduce global warming. But the resort’s marine biologist, Caterina Fattori, is encouraging the house reef to recover by replanting corals. Fattori collects pieces of live coral that have broken off naturally, fragments that would otherwise die. Guests join her in attaching these still-living fragments to a metal frame (below) while learning about the challenges of a warmer ocean.