How is climate change evident in the Maldives now?
A. There is a lot more soil erosion. We never used to get typhoons and hurricanes, but the stormy weather, rough seas, are much more frequent and much more intense than before. Q. Was President Nasheed’s statement on buying land from another country to relocate his people serious? A. I think he is once again trying to raise the awareness. We do have the very real risk of losing our land, and the population of this country becoming what you might call environmental refugees. But we have not been looking for other islands or other land. We are very much determined to stay where we are. This is land we have lived on for over 800 years, and the problems that we face haven’t been caused by any activity that we have taken on. The activities have been undertaken by countries much larger, much more powerful than us, and it is up to them to find ways to deal with the effects of climate change globally and also help us to adapt to the environment. Q. Do you think the Maldives can be saved? A. I’
