MaldivesSea level changes

Maldives-IntroductionThe Maldives is a group of coral islands in the Indian ocean and they are just west of India and Sri Lanka. The capital is Male. Maldives is the smallest Asian country in both size and population, it is also the lowest country on the planet, as on average is 1.5m above sea level. In July 2013 it had a population of 393,500 peopleCoral reefs are ridges of rock in the sea formed by the growth and deposit of coral

Rising sea levels• 80% of its 1,200 islands are no more than 1m above sea level,

so within the next 100 years these islands will be inhabitable- leaving 360,000 people to be evacuated

• This has led them to sign the Kyoto protocol, so there is targets which are set to cut industrialised countries greenhouse gases

• The capital Male has had to have 3m high walls built around it, but not going to protect them for long as only really protecting them from tidal surges and not rising sea levels

• People living in Kandholhudhoo have their houses flooded every two weeks

ImpactsPeople:• 360,000 citizens are going to be forced to evacuate• Already 60% of residents in Kandholhudhoo have

volunteered to evacuate over next 15 years• Less tourism to the Maldives, so less jobs and a declining

economy

Economy:• More money has to be spent on defences- so can’t spend

as much on public services or on resources that are neededEnvironmental:• Lose of coral reefs as they need light and that occurs

within shallow water, but the sea level is rising. - Also corals cant survive with sea levels above 25m - Dredging also ruins the coral reef

Shows changes in their coral reefs

Solution’s

• They have already erected sea walls around one of the islands, but that is not going to protect them from the ever increasing sea levels

• Maduvari- dredged sand from the lagoon to build temporary defences

• Could build higher artificial islands, but that would only provide room for a small proportion of their population

• Migration• Become carbon neutral, which they are close to

becoming• Another solution is for them to create floating islands• For their coral reefs they plan to educate, train and

create legislations so they will be even more protected