In his keynote address at the Asia-Pacific Water Ministers’ Meeting in Singapore, President Mohamed Nasheed spoke on the link between the low carbon growth and water security.
He said, for the Maldives “the links between low carbon growth and water security are particularly pronounced.”
The President said although the most of the country was ocean, the Maldives still had acute fresh and drinking water problems.
He said freshwater lens that provide water for drinking, washing and agriculture has become contaminated by sewage and salt water intrusion forcing a large part of the country to depend on other sources of water including desalinated water.
Many of these problems “arise because of poor governance of water supplies over the past few decades”, added the President.
Speaking on the higher cost and energy inefficiency of desalinated water, the President said, many islands that cannot afford desalinated water rely of unreliable rainwater harvesting.
“Rainwater harvesting also brings problems: during dry months, islands often run out of water and the government has to provide emergency supplies,” said the President.
Underscoring the link between climate change and water, the President said “most of the worrying effects of climate change involve water.”
In this regard, the President noted prolonged droughts in some regions of the world, while others experience greater flooding due to intense rainfall. He also noted the threats faced by low-lying islands as a result of melting polar ice caps.
The President indicated due to these changes, the biggest threat to water security was posed by climate change.
Therefore, he said, “discussions over security – whether it is water security or national security – must include the climate crisis.”
Highlighting the Maldives’ emphasis on low carbon growth, the President said it was in both economic and national security interest to adopt renewable energy technology.
Noting that Maldives was one of the most energy insecure nations in Asia, he said the Maldives wanted to embrace green growth because it improves energy security.
“We plan to use cutting edge, environmentally sound technologies to enhance our energy security”, said the President.
Since a large proportion of water used in the Maldives is desalinated, the price of water is highly dependent on the price of oil and electricity.
He said while gaining energy security makes water prices more stable and affordable, the Maldives wanted to extend the use renewable energy technologies to power desalination plants in order to improve water security.
