Kiribati to follow Maldives and buy land for survival

[Stacey King]

Miadhu News Maldives
11 February 2009

The number of countries wanting to purchase land in safer countries to relocate its people and prevent them from being environmental refugees in the event their country is submerged due to sea level rise caused by global warming is on the rise.

The latest to join the list of countries wanting to purchase land elsewhere is the pacific island nation of Kiribati. Kiribati President Anote Tong on the 9 th of this month has indicated that his country, which is on the verge of being submerged due to rise in sea levels caused by global warming may buy land elsewhere to relocate its people.

Speaking on the issue he said we would consider buying land or the alternative would be that we die, and be extinct.

Global warming is increasing; warmer temperatures are melting icecaps, expanding the volume of oceans and causing more intense storm systems, low level islands are at severe risk , he said. He said these trends may not be reversed.

Ever since Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed floated the idea, the subject has caught the attention of world media. Kiribati is the second nation after Maldives that expressed the idea of purchasing land elsewhere to relocate and save its people from going extinct.

Despite few criticisms, stating that it was not the solution and that such relocation was virtually impossible; many countries have expressed support to the idea.

Kim Carstensen, climate-change program director for the environmental group WWF International, in response to Kiribathi leader’s announcement, has expressed that he can fully appreciative why responsible leaders of countries like Kiribati and the Maldives want to take action now and that he was expecting more countries to follow.

Carstensen said hundreds of millions of people are at risk from the consequences of climate change in the form of rising sea levels for small island-states, like Maldives, Kiribati and low-lying countries like Bangladesh.