An areal view shows a resort island in the Maldives December 14, 2009. Maldives has a population of some 400,000 islanders, whose livelihood from fishing and tourism is being hit by climate change. Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed said in November that 2 degrees Celsius warming would risk swamping the sand-rimmed coral atolls and islets, dotted with palm trees and mangrove clumps, that form his small country.[Xinhua] |