Ministry of Housing and Environment - Maldives Contribution at Rio+20 Conference

Press Release on a Side Event at Rio +20 by the Maldivian Ministry of Housing and Environment

With no concrete action taken to date to address climate change at the global level, reducing disaster risk and building resilience is utmost to Maldives and other SIDS. For SIDS, without addressing climate change, there can be no sustainable development, as climate change resilience is a prerequisite for the very existence of our nation states.




As nation states get together to secure renewed political commitment for sustainable development, assess the progress to date and the remaining gaps in the implementation of the outcomes of the major summits on sustainable development, and address new and emerging challenges, Rio+20 presents an important opportunity for the Maldives and other SIDS to showcase to the world, the special challenges that SIDS face in achieving sustainable development targets.

The side event will be hosted in collaboration with UNDP in Maldives, our biggest development partner. As is the case of many SIDS, with continuous support from the United Nations system, the Maldives has made significant progress towards achieving sustainable development and the Millennium Development Goals.

Specifically, the Maldives would like to demonstrate the lessons learned and how other SIDS benefit from these experiences.. In addition to its international obligations, the Maldives has taken bigger steps towards sustainable development, including the voluntary carbon neutral goal.

We wish to contribute to the outcome of the Rio+20 by highlighting the challenges of SIDS to the world community, so that our special circumstances are given due consideration at the summit.