The Maldives, a nation of small islands located in the middle of the Indian Ocean, consists of about 1,200 tiny coral islands of which 199 are currently inhabited. The country covers an area of 90,000 km2, stretching along longitude 73° East from about 8° North to 1° South. The Maldives has a total land area of about 298 km2 of which less than 10 percent is used for agriculture. Given that it is composed of small low lying coral islands, the concept of ‘coast’ in the Maldives includes the total land area of each island, its surrounding lagoon extending over the reef flat to the outer edge of its reef. Inhabitant communities of individual islands regard the surrounding lagoon and reefs as an integral part of their coast. Within this ‘coastal’ area, while individual home and agriculture plots are delineated, the rest of the land area, the beach, lagoon and reef are community wealth and used by all. Access to and from beaches is not a major issue as individual land plots are set back from the beach slope. Coastal stewardship in these islands includes managing the use of resources in the coastal area. Activities that promote coastal stewardship have been primarily in four categories: programmes to increase awareness; capacity building programmes; programmes to support the use of wise practices in environment management; and strengthening of the regulatory regime to promote the sustainable use of coastal resources. These are highlighted in the paper with the use of examples.