Date: October 17, 2009
Photographer: Mohamed Saneen – Associated Press Photographer
Details: The background of the image relates to the Maldivian government’s initiative to draw global attention to the threat posed by global warming to their country, ahead of the major climate change conference scheduled to take place in December of the same year in Copenhagen, Denmark. President Mohamed Nasheed devised a plan to hold a Cabinet meeting involving all Maldivian officials underwater. This was precisely what happened: the President, his Vice President, and government members donned diving gear upon arriving off the coast of “Girifushi” Island, a site used as a training ground for the Maldivian armed forces. The island was specifically chosen due to its ability to guard against any potentially bothersome sharks in the vicinity during the meeting, with a first-aid station on standby in case of emergencies.
President Nasheed and other Maldivian officials submerged to a depth of 6 meters and sat at a table set on the sandy floor of the Indian Ocean, shaped like a horseshoe. Each place at the table had a sign bearing the name of the respective minister. Behind them stood diving instructors ready to intervene in case of any issues. The meeting lasted for half an hour and discussions were conducted through hand signals. It concluded with the signing of a document on a waterproof whiteboard calling on all countries to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. In the photo, Maldivian Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture, Ibrahim Didi, is seen signing the document. After emerging from the water, President Nasheed stated, “We are trying to send our message about what will happen to the Maldives if climate change is not controlled. We want other countries to reach agreements on combating global warming, and we hope to leave the Copenhagen conference with an agreement that ensures everyone’s survival.”
The move by Maldivian officials was a natural reaction to predictions by scientists of a significant rise in sea levels due to global warming-induced ice melting, which led the Maldivian Cabinet to warn that if no measures were taken to stop this rise, the entire Maldives could be underwater by the end of the century.
Notably, before this unprecedented meeting, the ministers received diving lessons from professional trainers over a period of two months, as none of the Maldivian government members, except President Nasheed and his Defense Minister Amin Faisal, knew how to dive. After the meeting, the ministers’ diving suits were signed and put up for sale to raise funds for coral reef protection in the island.
