Maldives
Jiayu Gu
41005954
“The Republic of Maldives is an archipelago, a cluster of islands unified as a nation, of 1,192 coral islands located 400km south-west of India in the Indian Ocean.”(Australian government, 2012) The beauty of these islands attracts tourists from all around the world. Surrounded by the endless sea, tourists enjoy the breeze from the Indian Ocean and the sand from endless beaches; however, this gorgeous country will soon be gone. Maldives, the country with the lowest sea level in the world, is being threatened by total submergence due to environmental issues including climate change, a rising sea level, and water pollution. With its natural highest ground level of seven feet and ten inches; the majority of the land is four inches or less above the sea level. Maldives is in danger of being swamped by the Indian Ocean. The most important environmental issue is world climate change, because it directly causes the other environmental dilemma of a rising sea level. Both these external phenomena threaten the survival of this archipelago. Water pollution is the third most important issue, but though this remains a major problem for Maldives, this issue has the easiest and quickest solutions with the least amount of damage threatening the nation.
The rapid warming of the Maldives is a serious issue that needs global attention. This has occurred over a lengthy amount of time - over “the last 30 years, global surface temperature has increased approximately 2°C” (University Corporation, 2012). At this rate, the frozen ice in the North and South Poles will melt much faster than usual. The next article explains the reason for the perpetual warming - due to a positive environmental feedback loop, the process explaining how “Sunlight that normally would be reflected by the ice is instead absorbed by dark blue seawater, speeding warming and melting.”( David R. Keller,2009) According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), global sea levels will rise by between 3.5 to 14.6 inches. Not only are the sea levels increasing exponentially, but all summer sea ice is hypothesized to vanish by the increasing amounts of greenhouse gases that are being emitted continuously as we speak (David R. Keller,2009). Some low sea level countries will be completely swamped by their surrounding bodies of water. With the majority of twelve hundred islands lying less than one meter above sea level, Maldives’ very existence is threated by the climate change and rising sea level. Powerful storms, increased beach erosion, and higher storm surges are still possible devastating effects of global climate change that could directly affect this cluster of islands (David R. Keller,2009). Much of Maldives’ most disastrous problems are based upon the fluctuating change in climate; thus, climate change is the most critical environmental issue in Maldives.
All of the islands of the Maldives are extremely sensitive to rising sea levels due to its natural location in the Indian Ocean. (Justin Hoffmann, 2009) As mentioned before, the highest point in the country is only seven feet and ten inches above sea level, and if sea levels rise enough (which is not entirely impossible), the entire country could disappear underwater. Along with this island, the sea will possibly destroy, “the habitat of every human, plant, and land animal in Maldives.” (Justin Hoffmann, 2009) Although the population of humans can find alternative living solutions, it would be difficult to prevent biodiversity and species loss from the island, which would detrimentally affect our world’s diversity. (Justin Hoffmann, 2009) “Additionally, attempts to introduce a sudden rush of plants and animals to a new ecosystem could also be problematic and upset the natural balance of that ecosystem.” (Justin Hoffmann, 2009) These new species could become invasive and adversely affect the existing flora and fauna, possibly leading to complete eradication of these old species (Justin Hoffmann, 2009)). In the case of their sinking country, the residents of the Maldives will be forced to emigrate to neighboring nations such as India or Sri Lanka (United States department of states, 2012) but of course, the animal and plant natives may suffer without the ability to relocate. These implications of rising sea levels threaten the Maldives’ residents, habitats, and all organisms on the chain of islands; thus this product of climate change is a pervading issue that needs to be addressed before it impacts all areas of life for the Maldives.
Because the Maldives do not have enough groundwater, a large portion of it has become polluted and is a harm to all on the islands. (State Of The Environment, 2002) Maldivians has been dependent on groundwater from wells which were dug in the ground from centuries ago. Most people on the island will utilize rainwater collected in tanks and also desalinated water for their drinking purposes (because this water needs to be guaranteed clean), and groundwater for other daily purposes. (State Of The Environment, 2002) Because the groundwater is close to the earth’s surface, it’s easily polluted by human activities. Usually, groundwater supply is replenished by rainfall, but human contamination through a variety of waste ends up rendering the water useless and unrecyclable. Thus, the natural cycle is broken by the pollution (State Of The Environment, 2002) According to 1990 statistics, 98 percent of the urban population in the city of Male and 57 percent of the rural population on the atolls had access to safe drinking water. (Jim Kundell,2007) If, however, Maldivians reduce ground pollution, the underground water will not be contaminated and the cleanliness of the water supply will improve dramatically. Although the raging pollution is an important issue which should be addressed, it is not currently seen as the most detrimental to Maldives because if the rising levels threaten the existence of all humans and life on the islands, safe drinking water won’t necessarily be the biggest problem.
By using the help of information technology, the non-profit company Climate Services for Maldives by Foundation for Environment, Climate, and Technology (FECT) is helping Malives for the climate change. It set up in 2012 and capitalizes on the 5-year long work with the Ministry of Environment, Columbia University, and other organizations which lead to unique capabilities in climate adaptation for Maldives (Foundation for Environment, Climate, and Technology, 2012). It uses information technology such as monitoring the change in climate, prediction technologies and advances in computing, satellite imaging and communication technologies to predict potential impact and risks. (Foundation for Environment, Climate, and Technology, 2012) Using these measures will better help assess and solve the environmental problems that need to be addressed. “There has been inadequate use of the latest climate science for adaptation, risk management and policy-making. Climate variability and climate change poses compelling challenges for the Maldives. Further interactions have followed through a series of visits with other Agencies under the Ministry of Environment.”( Foundation for Environment, Climate, and Technology, 2012 ) These interactions have led to the development of an action plan for capacity building for climate services, collaborative climate research and the development of web based tools for climatic analysis, monitoring and predictions for the Maldives.
FECT uses satellite imaging technology to study the climatology of Maldives, which refers to the average conditions experienced historically for a given month. For example: “Usually the climatology is a good guide to what one may expect in a given month absent other information. For example, the historical average rainfall for the Northern islands is high in July (200-250 mm), higher in August (250- 300 mm) and drops in September & October (100- 200 mm). In the Central Islands rainfall is usually moderate (150- 200 mm) during the August – October period. Heavy rainfall is typical for the Southern Islands during these four months. The winds over the Northern & Central Islands are usually westerly (from West to East) and wind speeds are expected to be high. For Southern Islands, low wind speeds are expected for July and August but stronger westerly winds in September and October.” (Foundation for Environment, Climate, and Technology, 2012) With all this information, people in Maldives will have a better understanding of its climate change, which helps them to not only better plan their lives but also make changes essential to the nation’s survival. This would be impossible without the help of information technology.
Information technology and climate change have a strong, close relationship with one other, because by using information technology, individuals and communities can assess the data gathered and make changes that directly affect the climate change. The environmental issues Maldives are facing are serious and deadly and may possibly wipe out the country as a whole, causing loss of life, biodiversity, and an abundance of other problems. With the help of information technology, people will be able to decrease the damage from natural disasters as well as manmade issues and prevent any more human error contributing to the Maldivian doomsday.
References:
1. Australian Government, 2012
http://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/maldives/country-brief.html
2. University Corporation for Atmospheric Rearch
https://www2.ucar.edu/climate/faq/how-much-has-global-temperature-risen-last-100-years
3. Global Climate Change, U.S. Interests, and Vulnerable Nations, David R. Keller,2009
http://www.uvu.edu/ethics/docs/Global%20climate_change.pdf
4. The Maldives and Rising Sea Levels by Justin Hoffmann, ICE Case Studies , Number 206, May, 2007
http://www1.american.edu/ted/ice/maldives.htm
5. United States department of states, 2012
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5476.htm
6. MALDIVES : STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT 2002
http://www.rrcap.ait.asia/pub/soe/maldives_freshwater.pdf
7. Water profile of Maldives, Jim Kundell, 2007
http://www.eoearth.org/article/Water_profile_of_Maldives
8. Foundation for Environment, Climate, and Technology ,2012
http://tropicalclimate.org/maldives/
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