Like the Maldives, Kiribati Islanders too Seek Land to Buy as Rising Seas Threaten

Kiribati, a Pacific island-nation in danger of being submerged because of global warming, may purchase land elsewhere to relocate its people, reports www.bloomberg.com/.
“We would consider buying land,” President Tong of Kiribati said in an interview in New Delhi. “The alternative is that we die, we go extinct.” Kiribati (pic), between Hawaii and Australia, is the second island-nation after the Maldives that’s floated the idea of buying land should their islands be swamped by rising seas and more powerful storms. President Tong, who holds a masters degree from the London School of Economics, was elected Kiribati president in 2003 and re-elected in 2007. The country won independence from the U.K. in 1979.

Warmer temperatures are melting icecaps, expanding the volume of oceans and causing more intense storm systems. Higher tides in Kiribati’s 33-island archipelago are making potable water for its 100,000 residents too salty to drink. Tong appealed Feb. 5 to leaders who will meet in Copenhagen in December to turn their attention to islanders hurt by global warming.
“I can fully understand why responsible leaders of countries like Kiribati and the Maldives want to take action now and I think we’ll see more of this,” said Kim Carstensen, climate-change program director for the environmental group WWF International.
The United Nations has called on 192 countries to negotiate a new climate-protection treaty to be signed in Denmark. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has predicted sea levels will rise one to two feet by 2100, having climbed 17 centimeters during the last century. The panel also said tropical cyclones likely will increase in intensity.
The sea level around Kiribati, the former Gilbert Islands, has been rising 5.1 millimeters a year since 1991, Australia’s National Tidal Centre reported.

Giving some Japanese islands to the “sinking” Maldivians

Amy Chaves who is a Japanese resident has put forward a novel idea to relocate all Maldivians to Japan. Writing on http://search.japantimes.co.jp/ she says that by giving some Japanese islands to the Maldivians, Japan can solve some economic problems and at the same time help Maldives too! Following are extracts from Amy Chavez’s article:

“For years Japan has struggled with the question of how to revive the countryside. With few jobs and an aging population, the countryside isn't much of a draw for anyone under the age of 80. This goes for the islands in the Seto Inland Sea too, where the last generations of fishermen barely manage to hang on to a folkloric lifestyle. There have been many thoughts on how to revive the islands, but despite the half-hearted promotional efforts by the government, nothing much changes here.
But, I have an idea on how to revive not only the island where I live, but all of the islands in the Seto Inland Sea.

My plan would increase the overall island population by 400,000, build a new industry, and create up to a million jobs. This idea would make you, me and Japan very rich. My economic stimulus package for Japan is this: Japan should lease out the 200 or so inhabited islands in the Inland Sea.
Why? Because we already have a potential buyer. The Maldives. You see, the Maldives (a series of over 1,000 islands, but of which only about 200 are inhabited), have this sinking feeling that they are not going to be around for much longer. The relatively flat islands are disappearing as sea levels rise due to the warming of the planet. The Maldives government considered the possibility of protecting their islands by building giant sea walls around them, but the idea was deemed impractical and too expensive.

So instead, the country is looking for a new home. The Maldives government is already saving money to buy up land somewhere else. They have reportedly looked into large tracts of land in India, Sri Lanka and Australia. Hey Japan, these people have cash! Their population needs islands, and our islands need population. And since our islands are basically mountains, should the seas continue to rise, we can always move to higher ground. What happens if the Maldivians don't want to come? Don't despair. The South Pacific islands are sinking too.”

Sonam Kapoor does a photo shoot in the Maldives

Bollywood has a new star kid on the block. After impressing masses and critics alike with her debut film Saawariya, Sonam Kapoor is back with a bang this year.

Though people didn't get to see this (young Kapoor) - daughter of the very talented and versatile Anil Kapoor – last year in 2009 the pretty actress will be seen in the much-awaited Delhi 6. But before her film hits theatres her fans can get a glimpse of the actress in a hot avataar on the cover of Verve. Sonam, who is the fresh face of L'Oreal, has done an exclusive photo-shoot for the magazine that was shot on the beaches (pic) of Maldives.

Maldives Foreign Minister seeks more US scholarships

At a time when the new government of Maldives seeks immense strides in the development of the country it is imperative that we do not depend solely on the goodwill of the Indians. While India would always be a strategic and important ally and helper, it would be folly to ignore the importance of further strengthening the roles played by the United States and Europe in our development. It is perhaps for this reason that the Foreign Minister Shaheed visited Washington recently

During the visit to Washington, Foreign Minister Dr. Ahmed Shaheed emphasized the importance of increasing educational opportunities for Maldivian students in the United States, reported Miadhu Daily. Minister Shaheed made the emphasis during a courtesy call on US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Ambassador Richard. A. Boucher. The call took place at the US Department of State on the 23rd of this month.

At the call, the Minister expressed sincere gratitude to US for its commitment to the democratization process of the Maldives. Furthermore, he took this opportunity to outline the Government’s development plans and priorities. Returning his remarks, Ambassador Boucher congratulated the Maldives on its historic achievement, and expressed continued support to the Maldives.

Discussions also took place on strengthening development cooperation between the two countries. Dr. Shaheed expressed hope that the US will remain a close development partner of the Maldives in the future as well. In response, the Ambassador reaffirmed the goodwill and support of the US to the Maldives.

While the certificates and qualifications from US institutions are desirable, most students in Maldives are unable to pursue studies in US due to comparatively high costs and difficulties in obtaining visas. Increased opportunity to study in US will be welcome improvement for the country. US Ambassador Robert Blake in his last visit to Maldives has indicated US support to develop human resources in the Maldives and has commented that the program will commence soon.

At a time when the new government of Maldives seeks immense strides in the development of the country it is imperative that we do not depend solely on the goodwill of the Indians. While India would always be a strategic and important ally and helper, it would be folly to ignore the importance of further strengthening the roles played by the United States and Europe in our development.

Sri Lanka to boost cricket in the Maldives

The Daily Mirror Newspaper of Sri Lanka (www.dailymirror.lk/) reports that Sri Lanka is to help Maldives in the development of cricket. According to Daily Mirror, the Sports ministers from the Maldives and Sri Lanka agreed to a sports promotion exchange programme between the two countries. The meeting between the Maldivian Sports Minister Hassan Latheef and Sri Lankan Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge took place at the Sports Ministry recently.

The main topic of discussion was the cooperation from Sri Lanka in the development of cricket in the Maldives.
Sri Lanka is a world power in the sport of cricket and they have, in the past, won the cricket Asia Cup and the World Cup too. Most of their national team players are world icons in cricket. Sri Lanka could indeed help put Maldives in the map of the cricketing world.

President Nasheed’s father is an ardent cricket fan and a former national team wicket keeper. I call upon Nasheed’s father and other cricket fans to lobby to the President to come up with a solid plan to at least qualify Maldives for the Asia Cup within the next five years.

Maldives to put aside at least us dollar 2 million a year into a fund

(Extracts from the article on http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article5604464.ece)
Of the $45m the government currently earns annually from tourism, President of the Maldives (Nasheed) plans to start putting aside at least $2m a year into a fund, with contributions increasing substantially over time. This seems unlikely to be enough to buy a sizable chunk of land in the near future in such mooted destinations as Australia. But the government’s intention, he says, is that this fund be supplemented by donations from the richer nations that bear the brunt of responsibility for global warming.
When pressed, however, Nasheed says he only mentioned Australia as a possible destination out of solidarity with other small island states in the South Pacific such as Tuvalu and Kiribati, for which the rising oceans are also a ticking time bomb. Regional think-tanks are already urging the Australian government to draw up plans to relocate the small populations of these atoll states through staged migration as land becomes increasingly uninhabitable.
A more realistic destination for Maldivians, says their president, would be a tract of land in one of the southern states in India, such as Kerala, where the relocation of 386,000 in a country with a population of 1.14 billion might be more feasible. “No country has said they will not have us,” says Nasheed. “We are going into unknown territory, so we have to have the vision to believe a new future is possible. If the Maldives is going to be underwater, for instance, who owns it?

Former Vice President Al Gore has referred to the case of the Maldives

(Jakarta News.Net) While speaking before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Washington, former Vice President Al Gore has referred to the case of the Maldives, which he said was now looking to purchase territory to re-locate its entire population due to of rising water levels. Al Gore called for climate crisis leadership under President Barack Obama. He urged US lawmakers to enact legislation on climate change before a U.N. summit on the issue late this year in Copenhagen.

Mr. Gore, the winner of a Nobel Peace Prize in 2007, said he thought President Obama would be able to actually get something done on climate change. Gore showed the panel charts and pictures to illustrate the urgency of the climate crisis, saying worldwide major weather-related disasters had been building up.

He gave the example of the Maldives, which he said was now looking to purchase territory to re-locate its entire population due to of rising water levels.
The former vice president said the US is the only industrialized country that refused to ratify the Kyoto climate accord, should negotiate a new global climate treaty with other countries this year.