Maldives turns islands into "fortresses" to cope with rising sea levels

The 1,192-island Maldives archipelago is a world-famous holiday destination, with white sand beaches, turquoise lagoons and vast coral reefs. But the archipelago is at the forefront of the climate crisis and is struggling to survive. In 2007, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned that if sea levels rise by 18-59 cm, the Maldives would be virtually uninhabitable by the end of the century.

Fifteen years ago, when he took office, former President Mohamed Nasheed suggested that the country’s people could become the world’s first environmental refugees, forced to move to another country. He wanted people to start saving money so they could buy land in neighboring India, Sri Lanka, and even Australia.

However, the new President Muizzu, 45, stressed that Maldivian citizens would not have to leave their homeland, and called on the international community to provide $500 million to protect the archipelago's vulnerable coastlines.

Speaking in the capital Male, surrounded by concrete sea walls, President Muizzu asserted: "If we need to increase the area for living or for economic activities, we can do that... I can say clearly that we definitely do not need to buy land or even lease land from any country." He said the sea walls would help turn the at-risk islands into safe "fortresses".

This month, Tuvalu signed a deal that would give its citizens the right to live in Australia if the tiny Pacific nation were to be submerged by rising seas, but Muizzu said the Maldives would not follow that path.

However, with 80% of the Maldives less than 1 meter above sea level, sea walls may keep the islands safe from the waves, but there is no guarantee that these coastal islands will ever be as popular with tourists as they once were. Meanwhile, according to the World Bank (WB), tourism accounts for nearly 30% of the Maldives' economy.