INITIATIVES
CLIMATE CHANGE & DISPLACEMENT INITIATIVE
MALDIVES
CURRENT INITIATIVE
The 100,000 people of Kiribati are on the frontline of climate displacement. DS is working with the government and civil societyDisplacement Solutions has worked extensively for several years on various HLP issues in the Maldives. Based on discussions with numerous officials in the Maldives and its own previous analyses, it is increasingly clear that the many non-climate-specific HLP challenges can only be effectively addressed if this is done within the context of broader climate change adaptation planning processes. As is well-known – indeed, perhaps more well-known than any other affected country – the Maldives is under continual threat from rising sea levels. In addition to the devastating effects rising seas may have in economic terms for a country so dependent on international tourism, ongoing land loss, overcrowding and the gradual decline of living standards on several island groups all have a major bearing on planning processes to tackle the consequences of displacement caused by climate change.
REPORTS
RAPID ASSESSMENT OF THE HOUSING SITUATION IN THE MALDIVES, OCTOBER 2008
Based on research conducted from 2006-2008, the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives published this report in consultation with Displacement Solutions on the very difficult housing situation in the Maldives. To access it, click below.
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DS MISSIONS
MARCH 2008
Following intensive work in the Maldives after the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2005, in March 2008 the DS Director gave a series of speeches and training sessions on human rights and climate change in the Maldives at the invitation of the UN Office in the Maldives. This mission was followed-up in May 2008, when a member of the HLP Expert Registry was deployed to the Maldives at the request of the National Human Rights Commission to assist in the preparation of an in-depth Housing Assessment in the country. The recommendations of the Housing Assessment were some of the first policy documents implemented by the new Maldivian Government, led by President Nasheed.
MEETINGS
SPEECH BY DS DIRECTOR IN MALE, THE MALDIVES, MARCH 2008
In this speech entitled “The Human Rights Implications of Climate Change: Where Next?”, DS Director Scott Leckie both addresses the issue of climate change and displacement and the challenge it poses for the Maldives, and also makes practical recommendations for overcoming it. A transcript of the speech can be accessed below.
Download (216kb)
FURTHER RESOURCES
MALDIVES NAPA
For access to the National Adaptation Plan of Action of the Maldives, click here.
MALE’ DECLARATION
For the Male’ Declaration on the Human Dimension of Global Climate Change, made by the Small Island Developing States, click here.
REPORT OF SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE RIGHT TO ADEQUATE HOUSING
For the report of Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing, Raquel Rolnik, regarding her mission to the Maldives, click here.
PARADISE ALMOST LOST: MALDIVES SEEKS TO BUY NEW LAND
For a brief description of the plight of the Maldives, please see Randeep Rasheed’s article “Paradise almost lost: Maldives seeks to buy new land” here.
IPCC CLIMATE CHANGE 2007: SMALL ISLANDS
“Small Islands” is Chapter 16 of the IPCC’s fourth report on climate change. This chapter provides the most thorough assessment published as yet of the effects climate change will have on small island states like Kiribati, Tuvalu and Maldives. To access this chapter, click here.
ARTICLE – CLIMATE CHANGE DRIVES MALDIVES TO BUY LAND
To access a Financial Times article on climate change and displacement in the Maldives, click here.
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF MALDIVES
To access the Maldives Constitution and see the relevant HLP provisions there, click here.