Rising seas and water shortages: Can fortress islands help the Maldives survive the climate crisis?

‘We are self-sufficient’: The Maldives' president says fortress islands will help to prevent climate migration.

Transcript

00:00 (dramatic music)

00:02 - Well, I can categorically say

00:14 that we definitely don't need to buy land

00:16 or even lease land from any country.

00:18 We have enough land.

00:20 - We have been reclaiming some islands

00:25 and one of the main reasons we are having to do this

00:28 is also because we have run out of space

00:31 in most of the islands where people live

00:33 and also being impacted by coastal erosion

00:37 and coastal flooding.

00:38 We are looking into how we may be able to use this

00:42 as on how we can adapt to it.

00:45 - We do get a lot of sediments.

00:57 Of course, the sediments do accumulate on the reefs

01:00 and of course, this will also suffocate the reefs,

01:04 destroy the reef.

01:05 We do pay a huge price for this project going on.

01:11 - Day by day, it's getting damaged

01:20 and coral bleaching is happening around very often now.

01:26 I think, in my opinion, we all should be aware

01:29 of protecting our reefs and the ocean.

01:33 (gentle music)

01:35 (upbeat music)

01:38 (upbeat music)

01:40 (upbeat music)