Help needed for sinking islands

Help needed for sinking islands	22.04.2008
MALDIVES President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has made an impassioned plea for a cut in global greenhouse gas emissions, warning that rising sea levels could submerge his paradise island chain. He launched a book at the UN-backed Business for the Environment conference in Singapore today to highlight the threat to his South Asian tropical island chain famed for its white sandy beaches, clear waters and swaying palm trees. "My people are blessed with one of the most beautiful settings that nature has to offer... To many people across the world, our shores have indeed become an earthly paradise. This paradise, though, is endangered,`` he said. "Each year, the seas that make up 99 per cent of the Maldives are rising, and, slowly but surely, engulfing our 1192 low-lying islands and posing serious risks to the lives and livelihoods of the people.`` He said he chose the title of Paradise Drowning for his book because "it evokes an image fraught with great danger`` and "most clearly encapsulates the threat of climate change and sea-level rise to my people.`` Speaking to reporters later, Mr Gayoom said his government could only do a little to prevent sea water engulfing the islands as building protective walls on the islands was too expensive. He said the real culprit for rising sea levels was global warming, and the solution lay in countries around the world cutting carbon dioxide emissions which have been blamed for the phenomenon. Mr Gayoom said there was still hope. "Ultimately, what it (the book) signals is hope - hope that humankind will find consensus and a clear will to act. I am confident that we, the peoples of the world, will not allow this paradise to drown,`` he said. Global business executives, government officials, environmentalists and others have gathered for the two-day conference in Singapore organised by the United Nations Environment Program and the UN`s Global Compact, an initiative which brings companies together with UN and other agencies to support environmental and social principles. Share this article Digg this Post to del.icio.us Post to Newsvine Post to Facebook Add to kwoff
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Paulina Porizkova, Rick Ocasek / AP

Writer ... Paulina Porizkova with husband, Rick Ocasek / AP

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	09. 2008

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