“Climate change is very real in the Maldives and its effects on rights, including the right to housing, safe water and livelihoods, are being felt on many islands," said Chaloka Beyani, the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs).
“The suffering caused by coastal erosion, salination, rising sea levels, and more frequent storms and flooding is all too obvious to be ignored," he said after a six-day mission to the country.
“It is also essential to put in place climate change induced displacement preparedness measures applying a human rights-based approach, and mechanisms for the participation of affected communities," he added.
The expert said that addressing the “real and clearly visible" impacts of climate change on the ordinary lives of the people of the Maldives through mitigation and adaptation measures is “necessary and urgent," and will require partnerships with the international community.
Beyani also highlighted the need for a law on disaster risk reduction to ensure the implementation of the Strategic National Action Plan for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation 2010-2020. He also called on the Maldivian Parliament to enact the law on disaster management that has been pending for some time. Read the full report here.
Source: India Blooms News Service, New York.
