The inconvenient truth

Many years ago, in a desperately poor village in Rajasthan, people decided to plant trees on the land adjoining their pond so that its catchment would be protected. But this land belonged to the revenue department and people were fined for trespass. The issue hit national headlines. The stink made the local administration uncomfortable.

Ecotourism: Scrambling for paradise

Seeking nirvana Rich, restless and willing to pay

South Asia

green tax: The Maldives said it would impose a green tax on tourists to pay for environmental protection of the low-lying archipelago and also revive the it's economy. The country is threatened by rising sea levels blamed on global warming. The new tax of US $3 is expected to yield US $21 million a year. President Mohamed Nasheed said the amount is unlikely to put off tourists. Tourism is the economic lifeline of the Maldives, famous for atolls, lagoons and tropical marine life.

Zero-carbon nation

Maldives to spend US $1,100 million THE Maldives has decided to de-carbonize itself by giving up fossil fuels and switching completely to renewable energy. President Mohamed Nasheed on March 16 said US $110 million would be spent every year for the next one decade to eliminate fossil fuel use.

New address

Maldives prefers India, Sri Lanka, Australia for relocation FOR the new president of Maldives, acquiring land in foreign countries for his people is a priority. The country, said to have over a thousand 'Robinson Crusoe islands', is under threat of getting submerged with rising sea levels due to climate change.

News 360° - Briefs

global warming Maldives seeks new homeland As rise in the sea level caused by global warming threatens low-lying islands across the world, Maldives is looking for a new territory to relocate to.

Climate change is now a human rights issue

Climate change is now officially a human rights issue. The un Human Rights Council on March 28 endorsed a resolution recognizing that global warming threatens the livelihoods and welfare of many of the world's most vulnerable people.

A man-made island!

Human enterprise knows no bounds, and the people of Maldives have proved this. They have built a new island to contain the overflowing population of the capital Male. "The project was launched because of land shortage in Male. We've taken a shallow lagoon and created a totally new piece of land," says Mohamed Shahid of the Hulhumale Development Unit. Nearly 1,500 people have already started living on the 188.2-hectare island.

Bleached to death

with sea temperatures increasing, the world's coral reefs are once again facing threat as shown by intensive bleaching. Data from a new information system, called ReefBase, shows that 2002 is the second worst year for coral bleaching after 1998, when a very strong episode of the El Nio weather phenomenon caused irreversible damage to the reefs.

Favourite destinations

USA: Domestic and international travellers made nearly 287 million visits to the 378 parks under the US National Park Service in 1998 compared to the 275 million visits in 1997. This travel generated US $14.2 billion and supported almost 300,000 tourist-related jobs during 1996.