The Maldives, and other countries with low-lying shore lines, are year by year growing closer to an environmental catastrophe. This is a possible outcome of the rising of the seas level caused by global warming.
The Maldive Islands in the Indian Ocean are home to over 265,000 people. Most depend on the sea for their livelihood, mainly through tourism and fisheries. The country is independent and prospering, a model of modem civilization's efficiency and progress.
Yet, developments in industrialised countries thousands of miles from the Maldives threaten the island's existence. The pollution which causes global warming could result in rising seas capable of inundating these low-lying islands by the end of the 21st Century.
The concern of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, President of the Maldives since 1978, for the future of his country of over 1,100 islands, has thrust him to the world's stage as an advocate of reason. Addressing international forums, he has campaigned vigorously to alert the world of the danger from a disturbed environment that threatens not only small island states but also countries like the USA, Egypt, Germany, China and the Netherlands
In this collection of speeches, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom uses his platform as a nation's president to present the plight of nearly 300 million of the world's population if the world does not take immediate action. He appeals not just for the protection of the environment, but also for ways to save the people whose lives and homes could be destroyed by an environmental turmoil. To read this collection of speeches is to understand that we all share an obligation: to live in harmony with nature, not destroy it; otherwise it could destroy us.
About the Author
Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was a university scholar and educator in Egypt and Nigeria before he returned home to the Maldives in 1971, age 33, and became a government school teacher. His career in government service took him throughout the Maldives, making him familiar with conditions of remote island life and the dependence on a friendly environment of the country's people.
Following posts as Special Under Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office and at the Maldives' missions in Colombo and New York, he became a government minister. Elected as President in 1978, he immediately set about changing the Maldives from being an impoverished, unknown country to a progressive and responsible member of the world community.
Progress was shattered by unprecedented high seas in 1987 which introduced President Gayoom first hand to the changes in nature wrought by developments in industrialised nations. Tirelessly campaigning in international forums, he has championed the cause of Small Island States who are especially vulnerable to ecological upheavals, while concentrating on protecting the environment of the Maldives and improving the welfare of his people. His efforts earned him the informal accolade of Godfather of Environmental Awareness.
Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was elected for a fifth term as President of the Republic of the Maldives in October 1998.
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