Solutions
With help from an international effort, the Maldives can move past the implications of rising sea levels through providing relief to exhausted resources and systematically evacuating the population. By internally creating band aids allowing a longer inhabitance of the Maldives and utilizing external efforts in cooperation to form a long term plan, the Maldives can provide a path to success for their citizens.
Short term solutions
Destruction resulting from rising sea levels and irresponsibility in the government will create major chaos in the country in the near future unless the country can find counterbalances for these problems. Through implementing measures that create resiliency, and strength in the country's environment and government, the Maldives can lengthen their time inhabiting their islands.
Rising sea level Destruction counterbalance
As discussed in the Emergency section, the destruction caused by rising sea levels will diminish the economy and destroy the food surplus; although none of those issues can be stopped, implementing certain measures will slow them down. The Ministry of Environment, Maldives published a Programme of Action for climate change describing steps that would act as a band aid affect against the implications of rising sea levels. The first step recommended by the Ministry of Environment is to find ways of protecting human settlements from environmental challenges such as natural disasters, extreme rainfall and flooding (Ministry of Environment). Next steps are to strengthen reliable economic assets to the country such as the agriculture and fishing industries (Ministry of Environment), which are more valuable than higher income industries because they provide work and food to the community. The last step is to acquire technology to manage water resources and to strengthen capacity for health services (Ministry of Environment), steps that would better the country in extreme environmental problems. Although these solutions will not solve the implications of rising sea levels, they will significantly reduce their affects, allowing the country to embrace climate change better.
Government irresponsibility counterbalance
As previously discussed, the Maldivian government's integrity has been compromised by it's leaders corruption. The best thing going for the Maldives is that the country still has democratic elections, meaning the citizens hold can hold their government accountable for their actions. Leaders corrupt or not will have to do right by them and create legislature that helps the citizens; therefore stabilizing the country.
The government can also raise funds by taxing the Maldivian rich or the tycoons of the tourism industry; in the Maldives, the top 20% richest people in country make more money than the other 80% combined (World Bank Maldives). Taxing the thriving tourism industry not only gains funds for the government, but also promotes survival of the fittest in this sector of the economy, ensuring that the islands will not be overrun by harmful resorts (Bluepeace Maldives). By taking these steps, the Maldivian government will be able to support the country in the short term.
The government can also raise funds by taxing the Maldivian rich or the tycoons of the tourism industry; in the Maldives, the top 20% richest people in country make more money than the other 80% combined (World Bank Maldives). Taxing the thriving tourism industry not only gains funds for the government, but also promotes survival of the fittest in this sector of the economy, ensuring that the islands will not be overrun by harmful resorts (Bluepeace Maldives). By taking these steps, the Maldivian government will be able to support the country in the short term.
Long term solutions
No short term solution can allow the people of Maldives to stay in their country forever; once climate change has taken all of the nation's resources away, the country needs to be able to have an evacuation plan. For the Maldivian population to meet basic human needs, a financial intervention from an external effort needs to take place with Maldivian cooperation. Given this help, the Maldives can supply their citizens with a path to success by following through on a systematic plan to relocate their population.
evacuation from maldives
Although being in an extremely difficult situation, the Maldives has a few options for their people's long term future. It has been an option for the country to go to international court with the top polluting countries (Hoffmann), asking for settlements for the affected population. This would give money to those currently living in the country, and therefore an ability to move when their country becomes uninhabitable. On the other hand, this would be an extremely difficult court case to win as it is unprecedented, the crime is very vague, and the defending countries would have the best lawyers on their side (Hoffmann). But even if the Maldives doesn't go to court, the UN has discussed giving finances to the country's government (The Heartland Institute); a situation where individual settlements would be a good option.
Another option would be to buy a plot of land as a country somewhere else. With the money and a viable seller, those fleeing the consequences of rising sea levels could maintain their Maldivian lifestyle in a new place. Locations that come to mind for this proposal are Australia, India, and other Pacific Ocean islands, because of their distance from the Maldives, climate, and regions of unpopulated areas (Robinson 240).
The final long term option for the country would be building higher artificial islands off of the Maldives, something that the country has already begun doing (Hoffmann). The country has started building off of Male, the capital, and continuing would be costly, but necessary for the country’s inhabitants to continue living there. This plan could have some dramatic unintended consequences if corners are cut or shortened in the process, making it a tough plan to get behind unless the country can truly afford it (Hoffmann).
The process of relocating an entire country's population is an extremely complex and difficult task, yet it is necessary for the Maldives. If the country chooses one of these options or opts to go with another, they must find ways to plan ahead of time and follow through on a plan systematically.
Another option would be to buy a plot of land as a country somewhere else. With the money and a viable seller, those fleeing the consequences of rising sea levels could maintain their Maldivian lifestyle in a new place. Locations that come to mind for this proposal are Australia, India, and other Pacific Ocean islands, because of their distance from the Maldives, climate, and regions of unpopulated areas (Robinson 240).
The final long term option for the country would be building higher artificial islands off of the Maldives, something that the country has already begun doing (Hoffmann). The country has started building off of Male, the capital, and continuing would be costly, but necessary for the country’s inhabitants to continue living there. This plan could have some dramatic unintended consequences if corners are cut or shortened in the process, making it a tough plan to get behind unless the country can truly afford it (Hoffmann).
The process of relocating an entire country's population is an extremely complex and difficult task, yet it is necessary for the Maldives. If the country chooses one of these options or opts to go with another, they must find ways to plan ahead of time and follow through on a plan systematically.