e360 digest

10 Nov 2008: Maldives Eyes New Homeland In Face of Rising Sea Levels

Faced with rising ocean waters that could eventually inundate much of their island nation, the Republic of Maldives will invest a portion of the country’s annual budget in a fund to buy a new homeland, its new president told The Guardian. Mohamed Nasheed, a human rights activist who was elected last month, said his country must be prepared for the worst, with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicting that sea levels could rise up to 59 centimeters (23 inches) by 2100. Other experts forecast that sea level increases could be even greater, perhaps more than 1 meter (3.3 feet). That would be particularly dire for the Maldives, a chain of 1,200 islands and coral atolls south of India’s Lakshadweep Islands where much of the land is just 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) above sea level. “We do not want to leave the Maldives, but we also do not want to be climate refugees living in tents for decades,” said Nasheed. He said he will create a “sovereign wealth fund” from tourist dollars. Among possible countries where the Maldives population might be relocated are Sri Lanka and India, which share similar cultures with the island nation.

Yale Environment 360 is
a publication of the
Yale School of Forestry
& Environmental Studies.

SEARCH e360

CONNECT

Twitter: YaleE360
e360 on Facebook
Donate to e360
View mobile site
Bookmark
Share e360
Email newsletter
Subscribe to our feed:

ABOUT

About e360
Contact
Submission Guidelines
Reprints

e360 VIDEO

The Warriors of Qiugang, a Yale Environment 360 video that chronicles the story of a Chinese village’s fight against a polluting chemical plant, was nominated for a 2011 Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject). Watch the video.

DEPARTMENTS

Opinion
Reports
Analysis
Interviews
e360 Digest
Video Reports

TOPICS

Biodiversity
Business & Innovation
Climate
Energy
Forests
Oceans
Policy & Politics
Pollution & Health
Science & Technology
Sustainability
Urbanization
Water

REGIONS

Antarctica and the Arctic
Africa
Asia
Australia
Central & South America
Europe
Middle East
North America

e360 VIDEO REPORT

As temperatures rise and water supplies dry up, tribes in East Africa increasingly are coming into conflict. A Yale Environment 360 video reports on a phenomenon that could become more common: how worsening drought will pit groups — and nations — against one another. Watch the video.

e360 MOBILE

The latest
from Yale
Environment 360 is now available for mobile devices at e360.yale.edu/mobile.



Top Image: aerial view of Iceland. © Google & TerraMetrics.

e360 VIDEO REPORT

Leveling Appalachia: The Legacy of Mountaintop Removal Mining, an e360 video examining the environmental and human impacts of this mining practice, won the award for best video in the 2010 National Magazine Awards for Digital Media. Watch the video.

OF INTEREST