Post date: Jun 20, 2012 6:36:13 PM
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (JUNE 20, 2012) (POOL) - The Maldives will become the first country to turn its waters into a marine reserve, which will be the world's largest, Maldives President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik announced at the Rio+20 Summit on Wednesday (June 20).
Maldives president announces plans to create world's biggest marine reserve in his country's waters while Brazilian protesters outside the summit venue demonstrate against proposals to displace communities for the 2016 Olympics.
Waheed said the proposal will be aimed at protecting the Maldives' rich biodiversity."I would like to announce today that Maldives will become the first country to be a marine reserve. We can do it in a short time. I hope we can do it in five years. It will become the single largest marine reserve in the world. This policy will allow only sustainable and eco-friendly fishing," he said, addressing the summit.
Waheed also called on other countries to refocus their efforts on sustainable development. He said that as one of the world's smallest countries, the Maldives needed to be able to count on bigger nations to balance economic growth with development.
"For the sake of our children, our future generations, we must protect and nurture the earth. To do that, we must use the best of science and technology but remain grounded in the collective wisdom of our people, both ancient and modern. Development policy must address the need for peaceful co-existence among all species while we address the need for economic growth. It is my hope that world governments will seize the moment to create a new paradigm for sustainable development," he said.
The Maldives is a tiny archipelago in the Indian Ocean known mainly as a top beach destination.
However, it has been rocked by political turmoil and climate change recently. Earlier this year, the country's first democratically elected president, Mohamed Nasheed, was ousted by Waheed in what Nasheed called a coup. At the same time, scientists say the waters surrounding the Maldives have risen significantly and the country could disappear in less than 200 years.
Meanwhile, outside the summit venue, Brazilian protesters were focused on other issues. Dozens gathered, waving banners and shouting into megaphones, protesting against plans to evict residents of Rio's Vila Autodramo slum to make way for the 2016 Olympic Village. Indigenous demonstrators dressed in their traditional clothes also joined the protest, demanding a voice at the summit and speaking out against the proposed Belo Monte dam project in Northern Brazil that threatens to displace an Indian community.
Police decked out in full riot gear kept an eye on the demonstration, but there were no reports of clashes or arrests.