The view as you fly into Malé, the capital of the Maldives, is that of a floating tropical utopia. Looking out the window, hundreds of atolls are dotted over thousands of hectares of ocean stretching from directly below the wing of the plane to the distant, shimmering horizon. For a surfer, the imagination kicks into overdrive; each atoll potentially represents another perfect wave. How fortunate are local Maldivian surfers then, living in a country with all those perfect waves to choose from?

The reality, however, is very different. Though the local surf community numbers between 150-200 very few of them have surfed beyond Malé or the islands immediately adjacent. Those that do venture further afield mostly work as guides on the charter boats that ply the waters of the southern atolls or in surf resorts stationed on inhabited atolls. Very few local Maldivian surfers have the resources or means to explore their own country under their own steam.

“The Maldives have hundreds of waves but truth is locals can only surf about four or five,” said Ahmed Aznil the last time we spoke. Aznil is the president of the Maldivian Surfing Association (MSA). The MSA is the peak surfing body of the Maldives, yet unlike other national surfing associations the MSA's purpose is not to oversee competition or to unite recreational surfers for fun. The MSA's raison d'etre is blunt: they exist to “save their waves”. In this island country, home to innumerable perfect waves, the Maldivian Surfing Association is fighting to preserve the few waves available to locals from environmental destruction and from privatisation.

The MSA's first campaign was to oppose a resort development on nearby Thanburudhoo Island that would've restricted access to the two waves that break off it's flanks, Honkys and Sultans. The 'eco-resort' was proposed by a company called Telos Investments, run by Dr Gunnar Lee-Miller, a Harvard-educated American businessman. Prior to unfurling his plan, Lee-Miller ingratiated himself into Maldivian politics by working with the Maldives National Sports Council and also serving the Maldivian Ministry of Youth and Sport.

Aerial view of Thanburudhoo Island with Honkys at left and Sultans at right

Sultans and Honkys are important to the local surfing community due to their accessibility. They're also breaks that have played a crucial role in the history and development of surfing in the Maldives. Acknowledging this, Dr Lee-Miller conceded that local surfers should be allowed two “surf days” out of every month at Thanburudhoo. The MSA was understandably outraged.

 "We believe the waves should not be owned and should be accessible to all locals and visitors," said Hussain Salah, spokesperson for the Maldivian Surfing Association

For two years the MSA fought the proposal and in 2014 they received the news they were hoping for: the Maldives Tourism Ministry suspended the development of Thanburudhoo Island. "This will allow local surfers, surfers from around the world and organisers of surf competition to use the island in the best possible way," noted the Ministry of Tourism.

The news was reason for locals and travellers to celebrate, however it came with a mild disclaimer. At the time, an experienced business operator commented on the achievement: "Things change fast in the Maldives. They have a small population so family loyalty and voting blocs can turn laws on their head. You get used to it over here."

To understand what he's talking about allow me a small digression...

In 2008 the Maldive's first democratically elected president was voted into office. After thirty years of autocratic rule, Mohammed Nasheed swept to office on a progressive, pan-Maldivian ticket. Among other things, Nasheed was proactive in tackling climate change, a prudent stance for the leader of a country whose highest point is a mere 2.4 metres above sea level. The Maldives is a country with a lot to lose if the climate change boffins are on point.

President Nasheed proposed the Maldives become the world's first carbon neutral country and an important step in that process was to decommission the diesel generators that provided electricity to each island and replace them with a 100% solar economy. A documentary about Nasheed's efforts to halt climate change, The Island President, was filmed in 2010 and won the People's Choice at the Toronto Film Festival.

However, while Nasheed was on a noble quest, his political foes were scheming to reclaim power. At the same time that the MSA were fighting the Thanburudhoo resort proposal, President Nasheed was forced to resign, apparently at gunpoint. The coup was orchestrated by Abdulla Yameen, the half-brother of Mamoon Abdul Gayoom, the autocrat who had ruled the Maldives for thirty years prior to Nasheed's election win.

Mohammed Nasheed, now the ex-President, was subsequently thrown in prison on charges that alternated between terrorism, acting against the constitution, and drinking alcohol. He's currently serving 13 years following a trial that Amnesty International says “has been flawed from start to finish” and which concerned the United States due to its “apparent lack of appropriate criminal procedure." Similarly, Brown Political Review said the actions were “driven by the current government’s effort to eliminate potential opposition.”

Recently, Yameen ditched Nasheed's carbon neutral plan announcing the Maldives would triple their emissions by 2030, much of that on the back of diesel imports from Saudi Arabia that strengthen the religious and financial ties between the two countries. Also, drilling for oil has begun under the Maldives. Recent seismic surveys showed evidence of oil deposits and the Yameen government promptly held investor forums receiving interest from Western companies hoping to secure contracts on the deposits.

As the new Maldivian government was renewing Islamist ties with the Saudis and throwing itself open to foreign investment, ex-President Nasheed was allowed to travel to London for compassionate reasons. While there he met with Amal Clooney, wife of George, who will represent Nasheed as he fights terrorism charges. Nasheed is challenging the Maldivian government in court. And the person representing the autocratic Maldivian government? Cherie Blair – Tony's wife.

With corruption and cronyism continuing in their island nation, Western companies building more gated resorts, and Maldivian politics becoming the plaything for international celebrities, local surfers simply want to escape into the ocean. “We just want to go surfing," said Ahmed Aznil echoing the sentiments of surfers worldwide who, when things get stressful and complicated on land, find succor in a relaxed session at their local.

However, such simple pleasures are no longer available to the local surfers of Malé. Though they won the fight for Thanburudhoo they recently had their closest wave, Raalhugandu, which is actually a cluster of waves, pronounced off limits.

Male, the capital of the Maldives, with Raalhugandu visible breaking off the tip

Ahmed Fauzan, an ex-president of MSA, could see this coming. Last August he told the Maldives Independent, "It's great that we’ve got Thamburudhoo back, but I think [it] is a compensation to divert us from talking about the government taking six surf points for one project, calling it 'development.'"

The development Fauzan refers to is the Chinese-funded Friendship Bridge that will connect Male with the airport on nearby Hulhule. While construction continues – and it's estimated to take two years – surfers are restricted from surfing Raalhugandu. The MSA estimates that 90% of the surfing done by the local population happens – or as is the case, happened - at Raalhugandu. "For the last twenty years, I walk out of my home every day, go out to Raalhugandu and surf. This is what I love doing, just like 150 other surfers in Malé Atoll. What are we supposed to do now?" Ahmed Fauzan rhetorically asked.

Raalhugandu is now fenced off with cyclone wire and the Maldivian Surfing Association watch the authorities drill into the rocks and place tetrapods where the waves break. “We have not been shown details of what the adverse effects would be because of the development,” says Hussain Salah. “The work has commenced and we are demanding for more details but we are not getting much.”

So what is a local surfer to do? Just as you and I surf our local break to wash off the stresses of the day, a group of local Maldivian surfers recently went to surf theirs. Among the eleven surfers who scaled the fence and surfed Raalhugandu was Ahmed Aznil, leader of the MSA and the architect of the successful Thanburudhoo campaign. All eleven surfers were immediately arrested and taken into custody.

The MSA contested the arrests but appeals to higher powers are futile; corruption in the Maldives is rife and local surfing holds no cachet with government. Tourism drives the Maldivian economy, it's the country's largest industry and each year nearly a million tourists arrive to enjoy the Maldive's beaches and reefs. Meanwhile, the situation is desperate for local Malé surfers. Citizens of a country with 1,000 perfect waves that they can't reach, they're now having the only ones they can slowly destroyed.