Welcoming Fathimath Nistharan: Waitt Institute's New Marine Spatial Planning Manager

Fathimath Nistharan (Nisthu) has joined the Waitt Institute as Marine Spatial Planning Manager. She also serves as the Site Manager for the Noo Raajje Program. In her capacity as Site Manager, she has collaborated with local partners and the Waitt Institute to guide the Marine Spatial Planning process of the Maldives.

Nisthu is deeply passionate about the marine environment, particularly in Protected Area Management and Marine Spatial Planning. She has been involved in coral reef mapping since 2014 while working with the IUCN Maldives in collaboration with the Government of Maldives, under Project REGENERATE funded by the USAID. In addition to this, she has experience as a lecturer at the Maldives National University for the Bachelor of Environment Management Programme and as an exchange lecturer to the University of Milano-Bicocca in Milan, Italy, under an Erasmus+ fellowship. 

Nisthu is well versed in Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and has supported the Government of Maldives in their conservation efforts by developing cartography and facilitating coordination between the various Government agencies to compile marine spatial data. She holds a Masters Degree in Environmental Management in Sustainable Development from Bond University, Australia, and a Bachelor of Science (Hons) Degree in Computer Science & Software Engineering from Asia Pacific Institute for Information Technology, Malaysia (in affiliation with Staffordshire University, UK).