Republic of Maldives will next month host an international climate change meeting ahead of the December UN brokered meeting in Bali where it is hoped to agree to keep global warming within manageable limits in line with the Kyoto Protocol.
The Male' meeting which will be attended by ministers and senior officials from developing island nations will be declared open by President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.
Mr. Ahmed Abdullah, the Minister of Environment of the Maldives, said last week that there has been forward movement internationally in meeting challenges confronting low lying island nations like the Maldives as a result of rising sea levels.
Over the past 20 years, President Gayoom has used the high profile platforms of various international meetings including the UN General Assembly to alert international opinion of dangers faced by countries like his risking obliteration from the face of the earth by the rising sea level,
Abdullah noted that climate change is the greatest threat faced by the world today with the emission of greenhouse gas to the atmosphere increasing alarmingly.
He said that this reality has been unequivocally confirmed by the UN Panel of Climate Change which has said in recent reports that some low lying islands face extinction during this century unless climate change is tackled.
The UN Panel has called urgent practical action to combat this problem.
“Thankfully, environment is now on the top of the global agenda and a new sense of commitment on the need for action is emerging from the world community" Abdullah said.
“Several important efforts are being made, many international meetings held and new studies of scientific and technological knowledge on this subject are undertaken"
He said there is substantial information on how individual countries and the international community can work together in a new partnership to combat greenhouse gas emission and save the world from catastrophic consequences.
“The forthcoming Bali Summit will hopefully be a watershed to decide on measures to combat environmental and climate change problems" Abdullah said.
The Maldives meeting titled “Human dimensions of climate change" will have an agenda dealing with many effects of climate change on human beings and especially environmental human rights.
“A safe environment is obviously the most important human right" he said. When we look on sustainable development and quality of life, it goes without saying that the right to a safe environment is a prerequisite for the development.
Abdullah said that the topic of human rights as an indivisible part of the environment and life itself will be extensively discussed at the Male' meeting.
In an address to the Royal Commonwealth Society in London in July this year, Gayoom called for a new initiative in this regard.
“I think the world must take a clear and firm decision at Bali to move from inaction to action and from pollution to protection" Abdullah said.
“Environment must not be compromised for development. There should be a good balance between development and environment. After all, a safe environment is the best guarantee for sustainable economic development. Protecting the environment makes good economic sense" he said.
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