Maldives face potentially dystopian future: UN Special Rapporteur

The Special Rapporteur of United Nations Dr. David R. Boyd has said the Maldives faces a potentially dystopian future owing to climate change.

According to the Special Rappoteur, the island nation could become unhospitable for life before it becomes fully submerged underwater.

Dr. Boyd made the statement after concluding his trip to the Maldives.

"WIth the highest point of land only 2.5 meters above sea level, scientific projections indicate that Maldives could disappear completely beneath the ocean at some point in the future due to sea level rise," Dr. Boyd said in his statement.

But the island nation could become "virtually uninhabitable" long before that due to the combined impacts of sea level rise, floods, coastal erosion, increased frequency of extreme weather events, severe heat, increase sea surface temperatures, vector borne diseases, oean acidification, and coral bleaching among other natural disasters.

According to Dr. Boyd, the most controversial environment and human rights related topic in Maldives involves land reclamation, with the process of dredging sand to expand islands having accelerated in recent years.

He also added that the associated activities to land reclamation pose significant threats to the marine and coastal environment.

While distinguishing the land reclamation projects for climate change adaptation from the projects done for luxury, Dr. Boyd emphasized that the former could be "done in a genuinely sustainable manner" with the full participation and support of local communities, and that it could be a valubale means of building resilience and adapting to the impacts of climate emergency.

Besides this, Dr. Boyd had highlighted other adverse impacts to the Maldives environment, emphasizing the fuel dependency in the country to produce power which leads to air pollution while hindering the country's efforts in advocating for climate adaptation.

Dr. Boyd also pointed out that many of the migrant workers live and work in poor conditions, earning minimal wages.

In his visit to the Maldives, the UN Special Rapporteur met with government officials, civil associations, youth representatives, and other stakeholders. He had also visited few sites with ongoing land reclamation initiatives, and toured the waste disposal zone at Thilafushi.