Rising seas and water shortages: Can fortress islands help the Maldives survive the climate crisis?

Photo: (Malé, Maldives. Credit: Shubham Koul / AFP. Retrieved from euronews.com

Rising sea levels threaten to swamp the Maldives and the Indian Ocean archipelago is already out of drinking water. But the new president says he has scrapped plans to relocate citizens.

Instead, President Mohamed Muizzu promises the low-lying nation will beat back the waves through ambitious land reclamation and building islands higher.

Environmental and rights groups have warned such could even exacerbate flooding risks.

An upmarket holiday destination, the Maldives is famed for its white sand beaches, turquoise lagoons and vast coral reefs. In recent years, the chain of 1,192 tiny islands has found itself on the frontlines of the climate crisis, battling for survival.

Former president Mohamed Nasheed began his administration 15 years ago warning citizens they might become the world’s first environmental refugees needing relocation to another country.

He wanted the Maldives to start saving to buy land in neighbouring India, Sri Lanka or even far away in Australia.

But Muizzu, 45, while asking for almost €500 million in foreign funding to protect vulnerable coasts, said his citizens will not be leaving their homeland.

“If we need to increase the area for living or other economic activity, we can do that,” Muizzu told news agency AFP, speaking from the crowded capital Male, which is ringed with concrete sea walls. “We are self-sufficient to look after ourselves.”