Times of India , Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Correspondent : Staff Reporter

SINGAPORE: Maldives President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom made an impassioned plea on Tuesday for a cut in global greenhouse gas emissions, warning that rising sea levels could submerge his paradise island chain. He launched a book at the UN-backed Business for the Environment conference to highlight the threat to his South Asian tropical island chain famed for its white sandy beaches, clear waters and swaying palm trees. "My people are blessed with one of the most beautiful settings that nature has to offer. To many people across the world, our shores have indeed become an earthly paradise. This paradise, though, is endangered," he said. "Each year, the seas that make up 99 per cent of the Maldives are rising, and, slowly but surely, engulfing our 1,192 low-lying islands and posing serious risks to the lives and livelihoods of the people." He said he chose the title of "Paradise Drowning" for his book because "it evokes an image fraught with great danger" and "most clearly encapsulates the threat of climate change and sea-level rise to my people." Speaking to reporters later, Gayoom said his government could only do a little to prevent sea water engulfing the islands as building protective walls on the islands was too expensive. He said the real culprit for rising sea levels was global warming, and the solution lay in countries around the world cutting carbon dioxide emissions which have been blamed for the phenomenon. But Gayoom said there was still hope. "Ultimately, what it (the book) signals is hope -- hope that humankind will find consensus and a clear will to act. I am confident that we, the peoples of the world, will not allow this paradise to drown," he said. Global business executives, government officials, environmentalists and others have gathered for the two-day conference here organised by the United Nations Environment Programme and the UN's Global Compact, an initiative which brings companies together with UN and other agencies to support environmental and social principles.

SOURCE : Times of India, Tuesday, April 22, 2008