Dear Editor,
After giving quite a bit of thought to our current unfortunate situation on the coast it has become apparent that we will eventually need to relocate our coastal population to a new capital city.
Let’s consider this new and future reality and what steps we could take to create a more sustainable habitat for our citizens that will easily last for several centuries.
a) Knowing that the sea level rise will continue based on climate change factors, we must first take a high position in a location where our national security is strengthened. Providing access to our borders, while also allowing for a defendable position of the new capital city, our resources and our citizens.
b) Simultaneously we must incorporate easy access to key resources such as fresh water, agricultural/ fertile lands, building materials, and renewable energy.
Given the distribution of our natural resources, the configuration of our borders and topography of our land, a central position appears to be both doable and defendable. However, a short in-depth study should be conducted to facilitate our site selection. Upon determining the feasibility and cost for such a venture, the long-term development plan to accomplish the relocation of the coastal population should be established with the appropriate timelines and budgetary needs.
As for the coastal plains, plans for long-term usage given the forecasted environmental changes should be adjusted accordingly. We have a limited number of opportunities to get the population migration efforts done correctly and it will require a team effort within parliament to get this done both efficiently and in a timely manner. There will also be a necessity for land allocation to the citizens within such a migration plan.
Also in the interim it must be quickly determined what mitigation efforts we can afford to implement to defend our current capital from the effects of climate change, while also supporting the migration plan to the interior of the country and its associated budgetary needs to implement the plan for the new capital city. This is a good start to how we should think about spending the forecasted funds we plan to obtain for the sale and non-usage of some of our natural resources.
Let’s spend it where it matters most in the long term and be cautious of spending too much on developing an area that will eventually be destroyed by climate change. Maintenance and defence of what we have in low-lying areas should be the preferred approach vs. continual expansion within the low-lying areas over the long term.
Yours faithfully,
Jamil Changlee
