In Search of Shelter - Center for International Earth Science ...

Zealand, but not explicit policies to accept Pacific Islanders whohave been displaced due to rising sea levels. Interviews fromfieldwork revealed mixed views on migration, ranging from themost common perception of resignation and despair, to hopethat the international community will rally to effectively battleclimate change and prevent sea level rise and other harrowingconsequences. Some believe that climate negotiations that setaside sufficient adaptation financing could preempt a need tomigrate due to changing climate and sea level rise:“The international community needs to do something to help us.We´re not responsible for climate change, so our country cannotdisappear. The other countries need to fix this problem.” 103Since Tuvalu joined the United Nations in 2000, it has playedan active role in the Association of Small Island States (AOSIS),and has used international fora like the climate negotiationsto attract the world´s attention to the specific vulnerabilitiesof small island states and the need to identify acceptableadaptation alternatives in good time.The MaldivesThe Maldives is an atoll country comprised of 1,200 islands and298,968 inhabitants in 2006. 104 Its highest point is 2.3 metersabove sea level, and it is considered the lowest laying countryin the world. Male, the capital city, holds 35% of the country’spopulation and is one of the most densely populated cities onearth. The city is surrounded by a 3.5 meters high sea wall, 105credited with saving the capital from the 2004 Tsunami. 106As indicated in the map, a sea level rise of one meter would inundateinfrastructure and threaten living areas. This would pose a threatto the tourism industry that comprises the most important incomesource for the Maldives, but this is not the only risk. Maldives’government has identified a number of vulnerabilities: land lossand beach erosion, infrastructure and settlement damage, damagedeveloping states, sea level rise could submerge entire parts ofsovereign nations. The process of resettlement may in the longrun be a central adaptation measure. Yet if entire sovereign statesare submerged by rising seas, resettlement poses significantgeopolitical questions and highlights the need for effectiveinternational cooperation.to coral reefs, agriculture and food security, water resources, andlack of capacity to adapt (both financial and technical). 107 Thenewly elected president of the Maldives, Mohamed Anni Nasheed,made international headlines in 2008 when he announced the“Safer Islands Plan” which includes internal resettlement fromsmaller, less populated islands to larger islands with better naturalprotection and enhanced coastal defenses. The plan even addressedthe possible relocation of all the Maldives population to anothercountry such as India or Iceland.Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the United Nations,H.E. Ahmed Khaleel noted, “Migration and resettlement fromMalésmaller to larger islands has become an important prerequisite fordevelopment and for our survival.” 108To find adaptation alternatives for the approximately fortycountries whose existence is threatened by rising sea levels,international cooperation and assistance is needed. Oneresearcher at the recent climate negotiations in Poznan, Poland(COP 14) noted, “So few of the migrants we encountered in ourfieldwork worldwide were able to migrate internationally—thevast majority face a situation where they ‘only make it’ to thenext livable place. This will increasingly require countries to worktogether, especially developing countries”. 109