Following the government's decision to put up Keyalakunu island in Haa Dhaalu atoll for resort development, Raajje Television has launched a campaign to create awareness on the importance of the island.

The campaign was launched on Saturday, with an official Faceboog Page, Save Keylakunu, due to fear that the government's plans might cause irreversible damage to the island's ecosystem.

The island, which was declared 'globally important' by the International Society for Mangrove Ecosystem, is the only island in the country that hosts an Avicennia forest, in addition to four other species of mangrove plants. While the Avicennia trees 'are not so common in the world today particularly on island environments', some of the large ones in Keyalakunu measure over 100cm in diameter, and reaches a height of over 15m.

The now uninhabited island was previously leased to a private sector for agricultural development. Over 200 years ago, a tropical storm destroyed the island, forcing its residents to permanently move to nearby islands.

While the government plans to use the island for resort development, environmentalists have been working to get authorities to declare the island a 'protected area'.