Maldives Cabinet Makes a Splash by Holding an Underwater Meeting!

. By T.V. Antony Raj

Note: What you are about to see and read happened in October 2009. Though the news is old I was impressed by the event and want to share it with you.

“If the Maldives cannot be saved today we do not feel that there is much of a chance for the rest of the world” — President Mohamed Nasheed (fourth president of the Maldives from November 11, 2008 to February 7, 2012)

Amazing beach - Maldives — Amazing beach – Maldives

The islands of the Maldives archipelago stand an average of 2.1 metres (7 feet) above sea level.

In March 2009, scientists at a meeting in Copenhagen predicted that glaciers and ice sheets melting as a result of global warming could boost the level of the world’s oceans by as much as a metre by 2100; and at the rate of rising sea levels, the whole archipelago could end up under the water by the end of the century.

The government of the Maldives held a cabinet meeting underwater on October 17, 2009 to draw attention to to the threat global warming poses to the low-lying nation in the Indian Ocean.

Maldives cabinet holds underwater meeting 1 Maldives cabinet holds underwater meeting!

President Mohammed Nasheed and members of his cabinet wore scuba gear as they arrived for the meeting in a lagoon off the island of Girifushi.

They sat at a table anchored to the sand on the floor of the Indian Ocean and signed a document calling on all countries to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions.

They spent half an hour on the sea bed, communicating with white boards and hand signals.

Maldives cabinet holds underwater meeting 2 Maldives cabinet holds underwater meeting!

Maldives cabinet holds underwater meeting 3 Maldives cabinet holds underwater meeting!

Officials from around the world will meet in the Danish capital in Copenhagen in December 2009 under UN auspices to hammer out a successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol, aiming to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions that are blamed for global warming.

“We’re now actually trying to send our message, let the world know what is happening, and what will happen to the Maldives if climate change is not checked,” President Nasheed said, speaking six metres below the surface..

“If the Maldives cannot be saved today we do not feel that there is much of a chance for the rest of the world. We want other countries to come to an understanding [at the World Climate Congress] in Copenhagen. We do not want to see Copenhagen fail,” he added.

Maldives cabinet holds underwater meeting 4 Maldives cabinet holds underwater meeting!

At a later press conference while still in the water, President Nasheed was asked what would happen if the summit fails. “We are going to die,” he replied.