Earth Equity News

Help Needed for Sinking Island Chain. AFP, April 23, 2008. "Maldives President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has made an impassioned plea 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 Environment conference in Singapore today 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 1192 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.'"