RUCHIAHUJA

SINKING ISLAND

Sometime back they cried for help from a world dazzled by their green specks of paradise but ignorant of their fight for survival against rising sea levels.

That was before the "great wall" came up.

Citizens of this Maldivian capital have their own wonder wall. At present it is saving their home from drowning in the very blue-green and speckled silver sea that draws thousands of tourists from the world.

The Japanese funded the wall, three metres above sea and surrounding tiny Male city, after an attack of huge storm waves in 1987 and 1989 damaged huge parts of the city.

The deluge threatened to submerge the capital and left citizens paranoid about their future. It was said that the Maldives' very proximity to nature was its curse.

The wall is nearing completion with only about 100 yards yet to be constructed, and is expected to be completed by the end of this year, a Maldivian minister told Indo-Asian News Service.

"This is the first wall they have constructed."

The wall is made up of thousands of tetra pods, or four-legged blocks, weighing about three tones that form a barrier to waves. At the same time it allows water to flow through the cracks.

The wall, its total length expected to be about five kilometers, now instills confidence in a city of some 70,000 people.

But there are no simple answers to complex problems such as this one.

Because of its fragile ecosystem, the Maldives has always been loudest among nations concerned about climate change and global warming and has welcomed the Kyoto Protocol calling for reduction of greenhouse gases.

The sunny strip of some 1,200 coral islands off India's southwestern tip is only a fraction above sea level and is vulnerable to even small changes in global environment.

Of these islands only about 200 are inhabited, many of them one metre above sea level.

"The city is sinking," is a common fear for the Maldivians who have grown very sensitive to environmental issues, especially global warming.

Many factors are at work apart from global warming -- winds, frequency of rainfalls, rainfall patterns and ocean currents.

Floods, famines, global warming, climate changes and coral bleachings and now the Asian Brown Haze were all warnings of an "impending catastrophe".

The coral bleaching was an almost eerie phenomenon that is still fresh in their memory.

, it happened in 1998 when a rise in sea temperature by one degree killed thousands of jewel-like corals and gave a white appearance to the sea bed next to the shore, usually a vivid shade of green.

It also caused a little flooding.

The wall of Male seems to be an effective answer to these problems for now. The tetra pods have a low centre of gravity, which is good for protection against waves.

Male was the first chosen for this experiment since it is the most crowded. The little island is only about one mile in diameter. In order to relieve it somewhat, the island of Hulhumale has been reclaimed through a long process of reclaiming it by sanding.

Hulhumale, formerly submerged under water, is now a good two meters above sea. It will accommodate about 55,000 people relocated from Male.

THANKING YOU
RUCHI AHUJA

crazyfingers

This does not belong in the IIDB Conference Room.

Bad Kitty

Buzz! Buzz! I know! Oh I know, Alex!

What is... a completely unrelated ramble! And I'll close out Non Sequitur for $1000, Alex.