Since taking office last year, President Mohammed Nasheed has emerged as an important voice on the impact of climate change amid fears that within a century, rising ocean levels could swamp this Indian Ocean archipelago. Its islands average 7 feet (2.13 meters) above sea level, making the Maldives the lowest-lying nation on Earth.

Nasheed has announced plans for a fund to buy a new homeland if the 1,192 low-lying coral islands are submerged. He also has promised to make the Maldives, with a population of 350,000, the world's first carbon-neutral nation within a decade.

On Monday, the president also told foreign reporters that rich and poor countries need to look beyond national interests if the world is to reach a deal on fighting climate change.

Countries will meet to negotiate a successor to the Kyoto Protocol at talks scheduled for Copenhagen, Denmark, in December.

Wealthy nations want broad cuts in emissions from all countries, while poorer countries say industrialized countries should carry most of the burden.

Nasheed said the issue of climate change is too important to allow such disagreements to stop a deal. Climate change soon will be seen as a national security concern, not just an environmental one, as countries compete for natural resources, he said.

"But the core point is, there's hope. It's not doomed,'' he said. ``We can reverse the situation.''

Nasheed will not be attending the negotiations in December. In light of his nation's financial crisis, he has decided to stay home to save money.

The budget constraints have so far kept the government from moving forward with its plan to become carbon neutral, as it awaits foreign investors willing to pay for green development projects.

In an effort to make some progress on funding, Nasheed said he planned to introduce a $3-a-day green tax for all tourists at the country's popular island resorts.

The country's tourism ministry says the Maldives had 683,012 tourist arrivals in 2008.