High density living in the Maldives less than eco-friendly

There are many good reasons for a concerted global effort to mitigate global warming, writes eco-blogger China Matters.

“However, enabling the Maldives to continue its high population density/atoll-filling/trash-dumping/tourism-based lifestyle one metre above sea level is perhaps not one of them.

“The Maldives is in many ways an artificial human construct.  The capital city, Male, is one of the most densely populated cities in the world.

“In a quest for lebensraum, the island was expanded by filling in the surrounding sea floor to the encircling coral atoll and beyond.  A 3.5 metre high, six kilometre sea wall was constructed with Japanese aid to protect the island (mostly one metre above sea level).

“Another atoll a few miles away, Hulhumale’, was filled in to a height of two meters above sea level to serve as a new home if Male becomes unviable.”

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