|
|
Maldives prepares for the worst
|
Plans are being prepared for the relocation of the entire population of the Maldives, as the prospect of rising sea levels paints a grim picture of the islands' future.
|
|
The Maldivian Government is reported to be setting up a sovereign wealth fund, drawing from revenues raised from tourism, to finance any necessary move to resettle the population of the low-lying group of Indian Ocean atolls.
According to a report in The Straits Times, the Government would use the money diverted from tourism to purchase land in other countries, to which Maldivian people could move. 'We will invest in land,' the country's newly elected president, Mohamed Nasheed, was reported to say. 'We do not want to end up in refugee tents if the worst happens.'
The Government had, it was reported, put the idea to several countries and found them to be, it said, 'receptive'. Possibilities for land purchase were reported to be in Sri Lanka and/or India, as countries sharing similar climates and cultures, and Australia.
The Maldives, popular with holidaying scuba divers, consists of 1200 islands, of which 200 are inhabited by some 380,000 people. More than three-quarters of the islands rise less than a metre above sea level. According to researchers on climate change and effects on sea levels, the islands could become submerged within 100 years.
Although it is preparing for the worst, the Government has stated that it is to seek international help in sustaining the Maldives' natural coral reefs and, where necessary, in creating artificial reefs to protects atolls from rising seas.
President Mohamed Nasheed's government took office on 11 November, after winning the country's first democratic election following 30 years of authoritarian rule. |
Start a Forum discussion on this topic
|
