Maldives looking to buy new homeland
Updated
Global warming is a threat to many island nations in the Asia Pacific region. Not least, the Maldives, which is the lowest nation in the world, and is made up of over a thousand islands and coral atolls in the Indian Ocean. It's a major tourist destination. But it's under threat from the rising sea levels. And it's first democratically elected president, Mohamed Nasheed, who's just been sworn in to office, has a plan to buy a new homeland.
Presenter: Zulfikar Abbany
Speaker: Ibrahim Hussein Zaki, senior advisor to the new president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed
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IBRAHIM HUSSEIN ZAKI, SENIOR ADVISOR TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE MALDIVES: Well, Global warming, sea level rise and generally climate issues are of great importance to the people of Maldives and the government of Maldives. As you know we are just three feet above sea level so any negative effect on sea level wise could wipe out the entire landscape of the Maldives.
ZULFIKAR ABBANY: How much time do you think you have?
IBRAHIM HUSSEIN ZAKI: Well, this is a question for the scientific debate but all that we know is that it is happening and we have to be ready for it, we have to take every policy option and precautions for such eventualities. So President Nasheed, his proposal is - why don't we grow our national reserves to a level where we can ensure the Maldivian people and tell the Maldivian people in case of emergency or in case of severe circumstances, the people can be moved out of Maldives.
ZULFIKAR ABBANY: But how are you going to go about that increasing the national reserve? Where are you going to get the money from?
IBRAHIM HUSSEIN ZAKI: Well, the money will have to be - you see, we are getting a lot of foreign aid, we are taking a lot of loans and we have investing on Maldives, but I'm referring to national reserve which is the official reserve of the country - which President Gayoom only had about six weeks reserve. If you really have to consider ensuring Maldivian people against such a reserve you're talking about six months to one year reserve.
ZULFIKAR ABBANY: So how receptive do you think the international community is going to be this time to helping you? I mean, given the international financial crisis, do you see that maybe there might be a threat that aid from other countries might be slow to come to you?
IBRAHIM HUSSEIN ZAKI: Definitely there is a financial crisis globally, but we believe that in an issue like this the international community will be more than willing to help us as the way they have been doing in the past, and especially with the new democracy government for the first time in the Maldives, I have every reason to believe that the international community would like to see that this country's democracy is consolidated and survival is guaranteed.
ZULFIKAR ABBANY: Now, of course, the Maldives is known around the world as a major destination for tourists, that would obviously bring you some money for this plan to find a new homeland but I wonder to what extent had tourism, in fact, been part of the cause of your predicament right now? Has tourism affected the islands in any way negatively?
IBRAHIM HUSSEIN ZAKI: When we had the tsunami in 2004, some of the resources were badly damaged, so these things could affect resources.
ZULFIKAR ABBANY: But what about the tourists themselves and building in areas where perhaps it's inappropriate to build - whether in your pursuit of tourism and money from tourism building resorts may have contributed to the decay of your islands, in a sense?
IBRAHIM HUSSEIN ZAKI: Well, I'm afraid it is not so because, I mean, if you look at Maldives tourism, the entire world believes that we have a very sound and sustainable tourism policy. We have been practicing a policy that is not mass tourism but is selected and upmarket and a lot of guidelines and protections are given in its building and operation of resorts and especially in consideration of the environment.
ZULFIKAR ABBANY: I imagine there's quite a great expectation from the people of the Maldives from the new President as the first democratically elected president. He has a lot on his plate - reforms that have to be passed through and other issues. How willing do you think will the people of the Maldives be to move to a new homeland? It's quite a big undertaking and quite a big ask really, isn't it? To ask people to move to an entirely different plot of land?
IBRAHIM HUSSEIN ZAKI: Certainly we will have to take the people of Maldives into confidence. I know President Nasheed, he is facing a major challenge at the moment because it's a very historic transition here because, after several decades of dictatorship, for the first time in years, to this country we can bring democracy to this country and have a democratic government. So, it's not easy, it's challenging but we're confident that hopefully - inshallah - we will be successful. President Nasheed will consult the entire Maldivan population, he have a advertising exercise, the cabinet will have to sit in legislature and give the direction and after that we will have to take the issue forward.
