Sea Level Rise-Maldives

1) Maldies is a group of over 1000 islands in the Indian Ocean

2) Population: around 300,000 people

3) 1190 islands with 199 inhabited

4) Average height of 1.5m above sea levels

5) However,  80% of the land is below 1m

1) Houses damaged or destroyed causing homelessness.- a severe flood could make entire communities homeless

2) Less freshwater available - if already low supplies of freshwater are polluted with seawater during floods, it means that some islands would have to rely on rainwater or to build expensive desalination plants to meet water demands

3) Traditional way of life can be lost

4) People could be forced to leave their homes

1) Loss of tourism could economically effect the Maldives as tourism is the largest industry there. If it floods, the main airport can't work properly meaning that the country will be cut off from international tourists. This could massively reduce the country's income.

2) Disrupted fish industry as coastal flooding may damage fish processing plants, meaning that fish exports will be reduced, also reducing the country's income. Fish are the Maldives' largest export.

1) Loss of beaches-  wears away the beaches which destroys habitats and exposes the land behind the beach to the effects of flooding.

2) Loss of soil-Coastal floods can easily wash away the soil, which is already very shallow, meaning that plants won't be able to grow.

3) Loss of coral reefs- as the water gets deeper due to sea level rise, the coral reefs become bleached, meaning that the ecosystem associated with reefs may be lost. There may also be a shortage of food if the coral reefs die.

1) Money- The Maldivian Government had to ask the Japanese Government to give them $60 million to build a 3m high sea wall to portect the capital city, Male.

2) Changes to environemental policies- the Maldives has pledged to become carbon neutral so it doesn't contribute to global warming, sea level rise and therfore the flooding.

3) Changes to long-term plans- the Government is thinking about buying land from countries like India and Austrailia and moving the Maldives there, before the islands become uninhabitable.