Em dezembro deste ano os líderes mundiais se reunirão em Copenhague, a capital da Dinamarca, para forjar um novo tratado sobre as emissões mundiais de carbono. O resultado da Conferência Climática das Nações Unidas (COP15) e o tratado que emergirá desse encontro – o sucessor do Protocolo de Quioto – determinará o destino de vários países vulneráveis no planeta, incluindo a Ilha-nação de baixa altitude no Oceano Índico: as Maldivas.

Uma série de eventos e atividades estão sendo organizadas nas Maldivas para trazer atenção ao mundo no que concerne a situação deste país, com a esperança de que um acordo ideal seja forjado na conferência COP15.

Um grupo jovem organizou um evento local para o evento A Hora de Acordar o Mundo iniciado pela organização Avaaz.org. Crianças e adultos se uniram ao evento que aconteceu na Praia Artificial de Malé, a capital das Maldivas

O evento do Dia de Ação pelo Clima aconteceu nas Maldivas em 21 de setembro de 2009. Foto por Nios no Flickr. Usada sob uma licença Creative Commons

Algumas das atividades caíram no dia 24 de outubro, o Dia Internacional de Ação Climática liderado pela organização 350.org [en]. Vroomfondel discute algumas das atividades planejadas para o dia:

On 24th October 2009 350.org is coordinating an International Day of Climate Action in order to unite the public, media and political leaders behind the 350 goal. By having actions all around the world that day, 350.org plans to send a clear message to the world leaders (who will be meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark this December to craft a new global treaty on cutting emissions) that ‘the solutions to climate change must be equitable, they must be grounded in science, and they must meet the scale of the crisis.’

Bill McKibben's talk, hosted by the Maldives Science Society, has inspired different individuals and groups in the Maldives to join the 350 campaign and is currently organising different actions for the International Day of Climate Action. So far, four different actions have been registered at 350.org from the Maldives.

Uma das atividades planejadas em 24 de outubro foi o Postcards from the Frontline [Cartões Postais da Linha de Frente, en], criando 350 cartões postais a partir de fotos submetidas por residentes das Maldivas, e enviando aos líderes mundiais, como explicado por Vroomfondel:

We request ALL MALDIVIANS, young and old, to submit photos for the cause. Entries do not need to fit into a conventional photographic category. It can be absolutely anything that reflects what the Maldives is to you.

350 photos you send will be then made into postcards, and sent to 350 world leaders with a very special appeal. These world leaders will decide the fate of Maldives, and the world, at the crucial UN Climate Change Conference Copenhagen 2009 (COP15) this December.

Your photo can save our home. And you needn’t even be a professional photographer. Being Maldivian is all that you need to be.

No momento em que o prazo para envio das fotos foi encerrado, no dia 4 de outubro, mais de 6 mil fotos foram submetidas, e este vídeo distribuido pelo Facebook contribuiu para a promoção da atividade:

Outra atividade que foi organizada para 24 de outubro é o Mergulho 24h. Zim, um blogueiro e jovem instrutor de mergulho envolvido na organização deste evento emocionante escreve:

In Maldives several activities are going to take place. And one of the key events on the international day of action is the 24 hour Underwater Rally organized by the Divers Association of Maldives (DAM). 350 divers, diving in teams are going to spend 24 hours underwater. The message DAM is giving is that Maldives is sinking and it’s more than just a country being lost to the sea. A unique heritage is gone. An irreplaceable ecosystem is being destroyed. The rally would be one of a kind.

A Associação também organizou o primeiro encontro de políticos debaixo d'água nas Maldivas, em 17 de outubro. Zim discute a importância deste evento e do rally 24-horas:

The President of Maldives along with all the cabinet ministers are going to meet underwater while using scuba. Using hand signals and slates they are going to endorse and sign a message from the people of Maldives to the world leaders meeting at Copenhagen this December for the Conference of Parties (COP 15).

[..] We are on the edge. With just a couple of steps forward Maldives along with a number of other vulnerable countries will be lost beneath the waves. We ask everybody not to sign our suicide pact.

Em 26 de setembro, a ONG Strenght of Society (S.O.S) [Força da Sociedade] organizou um workshop com o nome World Wide Views on Global Warming [Opiniões Mundiais sobre o Aquecimento Global], que foi parte de um evento internacional [en], com o intuito de descobrir a opinião dos cidadãos comuns a respeito das mudanças climáticas e passar adiante sua visão àqueles que fazem as políticas. O blog da S.O.S dá detalhes deste evento:

The purpose of World Wide Views is to pass on the opinions of ordinary citizens to political decision-makers. Results from World Wide Views will therefore be delivered directly to Connie Hedegaard, host of the UN Climate Conference (COP15), who this December together with political leaders from all over the world will be making decisions with far-reaching consequences for the future of the planet.

During this day citizens will be introduced to the same information material in all 38 countries, which presents them with different dilemmas in the climate debate. On the basis of this material and their own experience, citizens will answer the same questions, composed by The Danish Board of Technology. Results from all countries will currently be uploaded on www.wwviews.org. During this 24 hours online event, three international expert panels will comment results as they come in and make live videoconferences, which will be visible to everyone with access to the Internet.

Fenfulhangi comenta sobre o efeito do workshop sediado nas Maldivas:

This meeting brought together a group of citizens to and helped find their views on Climate Change and the Global policies regarding it. This was the first of its kind…maybe this is what the government should also be doing. More democratic values are realized through these kinds of public participation activities. Check out the results compared to other countries. IT is quite interesting. it seems we are not as concerned as other citizens of the world on the Climate Change issue. Strange ain't it.

Bluepeace [en], a primeira organização ambiental formada nas Maldivas está organizando uma exibição de fotos chamada “Vulnerable” [Vulnerável, en], para documentar a vulnerabilidade das Maldivas com as mudanças climáticas. A exibição acontecerá em Copenhague, em Dezembro, trazida pelo Klimaforum09, um encontro climático alternativo com participantes de organizações da sociedade civil e movimentos ambientais internacionais. O blog do Bluepeace explica a importância desta exibição:

As one of the lowest-lying countries in the world, Maldives is particularly vulnerable to climate change. The proliferation of images in today’s internet age is such that Maldives is known the world over as a stunning holiday destination. While Maldives has been the subject of many documentaries and news articles regarding climate change, to date no documentary has been produced by Maldivians for an international audience. This is a chance for Maldives to show vulnerability to the world as seen through our eyes.

Enquanto as Maldivas se preparam para Copenhague com eventos cativantes, Fenfulhangi faz algumas perguntas críticas:

1-Will the new President Mohammed Nasheed attend the summit with the talks of lack of funding in the government budget?
2-As one of the major contributors to Climate Change and its adverse effects; Will the USA sign onto the new document that will succeed the Kyoto Protocol that USA previously refused to sign onto?
3-Will there be same or harsher penalties for developing countries that emit large amounts of CO2 or will it be the richer countries who pay?

O Bluepeace, que representará as Maldivas em um número de fóruns da sociedade civil em Copenhague em dezembro, resume os problemas que serão vivenciados pelos pequenos Estados-ilha e países vulneráveis e enfatiza a necessidade urgente de se trabalhar juntos para encontrar uma solução para o Planeta Terra:

The issues of migration and adaptation, the scenario of becoming sea level refugees one day, and joining forces with the most vulnerable countries to combat climate change will be some of the issues that Bluepeace hopes to debate and discuss in Copenhagen.

In November 1989, less than three months after Bluepeace was formed, the first small states conference on sea level rise was held in the Maldives. As a dramatic conclusion to the conference, a demonstration was held in Male’, in which students and the general public spoke on the imminent dangers of living in a low-lying country. A large billboard placed by Bluepeace asked the question “Do you know we are just four feet above sea level?” Twenty years later we need not ask the same question, as the world is well-aware of the dangers Maldives faces. However, we face the urgent need to talk and work with the rest of the world to find solutions.