Maldives Edition
Regional/Cultural Day
Earth Day : Maldives
The Maldives is the poster child for climate vulnerability : 80% of the land is below 1 meter above sea level, and the IPCC projects that the Maldives could be largely uninhabitable by 2100 if current warming trends continue. Earth Day in the Maldives is not abstract: it is about survival. The events include beach clean-ups (plastic pollution is a severe problem, as ocean currents deposit tons of plastic waste on Maldivian shores), coral planting, mangrove restoration, and school programs on climate adaptation. The Maldives was one of the first countries to sign the Paris Agreement, and the former president Mohamed Nasheed's underwater cabinet meeting in 2009 remains the most dramatic climate protest in history.
