The Maldives is one of the greatest collections of islands on Earth; boasts blue lagoons, lush tropical forests, white sand beaches and colorful coral reefs. The idyllic islands are popular with tourists who come to experience a true island paradise, but this picture perfect archipelago is likely to be the first and biggest victim of rising sea levels, scientists argue that the government is up nearly 1 cm per year. This may not seem like much, but when the highest natural point in your country is only 2.3 meters above sea level, and many of them much smaller than the threat of submersion is very real.
It is therefore perhaps not surprising that the Maldives was the first country to sign the Kyoto Protocol, a set of maximum emissions goals that industrialized countries should meet. However, globally the Maldives' carbon emissions are negligible, and while countries such as the United States continues to delay their commitment to the reduction of carbon, the sea level will continue to rise and time is running out for the islands.
In an effort to save time, the Maldives' capital, Male, was surrounded by a wall of 3 m high, a project which took 14 years and cost $ 63m. However, the wall provides protection for only one of the Maldives' 1200 islands (200 of which are inhabited), and even this impressive structure can only hold off Neptune for so long.
The rising waters pose a huge problem not only for the tourism industry, which includes dozens of luxury hotels in the Maldives, but also for the islands' inhabitants. Some atolls have already begun planning for migration, tsunamis as a problem more regular basis, with homes being flooded every two weeks in some areas. On an island, Kanholhudoo, 60 percent of residents have already volunteered to evacuate the next 15 years, and probably those who remain will eventually have to do the same.
The Maldives government is also trying to combat the effects of climate change by encouraging reforestation beaches to prevent erosion and to protect coral reefs, which, in turn, provide a barrier to tidal waves. However, these actions merely treat the symptoms of the rising seas, and ultimately do nothing to stop the cause.
The unfortunate truth for the Maldives is that its future lies in the hands of large, industrialized nations of the world. It is the conduct of the United States, Russia, China, India and Europe, which will eventually seal the Maldives' fate unless serious, major steps were taken to combat global warming very soon.
It seems that the Maldives are destined to become the next Atlantis - an entire nation swallowed by the sea, a beautiful paradise - forever lost.
It is therefore perhaps not surprising that the Maldives was the first country to sign the Kyoto Protocol, a set of maximum emissions goals that industrialized countries should meet. However, globally the Maldives' carbon emissions are negligible, and while countries such as the United States continues to delay their commitment to the reduction of carbon, the sea level will continue to rise and time is running out for the islands.
In an effort to save time, the Maldives' capital, Male, was surrounded by a wall of 3 m high, a project which took 14 years and cost $ 63m. However, the wall provides protection for only one of the Maldives' 1200 islands (200 of which are inhabited), and even this impressive structure can only hold off Neptune for so long.
The rising waters pose a huge problem not only for the tourism industry, which includes dozens of luxury hotels in the Maldives, but also for the islands' inhabitants. Some atolls have already begun planning for migration, tsunamis as a problem more regular basis, with homes being flooded every two weeks in some areas. On an island, Kanholhudoo, 60 percent of residents have already volunteered to evacuate the next 15 years, and probably those who remain will eventually have to do the same.
The Maldives government is also trying to combat the effects of climate change by encouraging reforestation beaches to prevent erosion and to protect coral reefs, which, in turn, provide a barrier to tidal waves. However, these actions merely treat the symptoms of the rising seas, and ultimately do nothing to stop the cause.
The unfortunate truth for the Maldives is that its future lies in the hands of large, industrialized nations of the world. It is the conduct of the United States, Russia, China, India and Europe, which will eventually seal the Maldives' fate unless serious, major steps were taken to combat global warming very soon.
It seems that the Maldives are destined to become the next Atlantis - an entire nation swallowed by the sea, a beautiful paradise - forever lost.
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