Frontline nation

With its highest point a mere two metres above sea level, global warming is an imminent concern for the Maldives. As the conversation on climate change heats up prior to the December conference in Copenhagen, President Mohamed Nasheed spoke to Kunda Dixit about his plans.

The Maldives is a country whose very existence is threatened by climate change. What kind of strategy do you have to cope with it?
I have always said that climate change is not an environmental issue. It is a human-rights issue. It is actually also a security issue: the Maldives faces a challenge to its existence; we are a frontline nation. Just as defending Poland was important in 1939, it is important to save the Maldives today. What is happening to the Maldives will happen to the rest of the world. Security should not be defined just in military or geo-strategic terms. The security of the planet is at stake because of climate change – global warming will have huge social, economic and political consequences. This should be a matter for the Security Council. Climate change is not a vague and abstract danger; it is a real threat to our survival. But climate change not only threatens the Maldives, it threatens us all. The level of warming and associated sea-level rise that would inundate the Maldives could also tip climate change beyond man's control. If the world cannot save the Maldives today, it might be too late to save London, New York or Hong Kong tomorrow. This is a global emergency. The world is in danger of going into cardiac arrest, yet we behave as if we may have caught a common cold.