Who is Mohamed Nasheed and why does he matter?

Until last week Nasheed was President of The Maldives – a string of 1200 tiny islands in the Indian Ocean where the average elevation is just 5 feet above sea level.

After Nasheed came to office in 2008, he made world headlines when he declared the Maldives was in the market for a new homeland for its doomed population – given predictions of sea level rise due to global warming.

The leader of this little nation then challenged the world’s largest developed and developing countries to stop pointing the finger of blame and to start acting on climate change. He pledged the Maldives would lead the way and be the first country on the planet to become carbon neutral.

But it’s been a turbulent time back at home for Nasheed. Things came to a head last week when forces loyal to former president Gayoom (who ruled the Maldives for 30 years) began rioting. Nasheed had set a collision course after ordering the arrest of a troublesome  judge. One that had been installed by Gayoom.

In an opinion piece a day after he was deposed, Mohamed Nasheed describes the country’s judiciary as “rotten”, and defends his actions and his decision to step down in order to avoid bloodshed. Read Nasheed’s opinion piece in the New York Times ‘The Dregs of Dictatorship’.

So what’s the deal with Nasheed? Why was he important?

Mohammed Nasheed was shaping up as a spokesman for the “vulnerable nations” – managing at last to lift their plight higher in the consciousness of the world’s priveleged. To get them to understand what’s at stake and that we’re all in this together.

In 2009 Nasheed was named as one of Time magazine’s leading ‘Heroes of the Environment’. In 2010 he was became one of the UN’s Champions of the Earth.

The above video is the trailer for the the documentary ‘The Island President’ – an in-depth portrait of the man due for release 28 March 2012. (You can find international screening dates and places on the film’s website.)

Following the events of last week filmmaker Jon Shenk cut this latest short portrait of Mohamed Nasheed. Worth checking out in the meantime.

So will we see Nasheed’s return to the world stage? Time will tell. But then time is not really a luxury for the world’s most vulnerable nations.

Related links
Nasheed’s 2009 address to the UN – where he announces his country’s intention to lead by example (video)
Nasheed’s 2009 address to the Climate Vulnerable Forum (video)
The Guardian’s recent profile of Nasheed

Here’s Nasheed being arrested in a shop in Male last week:

Theres one person whos been to every beach in Australia – all 12,000 of them. It’s Professor Andy Short, Director of the Coastal Studies Unit at the University of Sydney. In this interview Andy explains how he came to visit every one and why Australia has the world’s best beaches – by far.

Audio: Interview with Prof Andrew Short on why Australia’s beaches are best.

Useful link: How Australia got the world’s best beaches (Herald article)

Photo: Not bad for the middle of Australia’s largest city hey? The infamous ‘Bra’ – Maroubra Beach. My local. (Where I go to wake up in the morning.) Shot by betta design.

Not that long ago, surfing was seen as a renegade sport in Australia. In the early 60’s, surfers were even required to have a license to use some beaches. Just how far things have come can be seen in the establishment of a number of ‘National Surfing Reserves’ in recent years.

Audio: Interview with Andrew Short on Australia’s Surfing Reserves.

These reserves recognise the iconic nature of the sites and the special bond surfers have with them. In New South Wales they’ve been gazetted under state law.

The following places have been designated as Surfing Reserves so far: Maroubra, Angourie, Lennox Head, Crescent Head, Cronulla and Bell’s Beach.

Useful links: This article by Neil Lazarow goes into more detail. It’s entitled ‘What is a Surfing Reserve and why should surfers care about them?’ And here’s the official spiel from the NSW government on National Surfing Reserves.

Photo: Lennox Head locals and the National Surfing Reserves Australia committee. Lennox was recognised earlier in the year. (The point break, just below here, ‘goes off’ when there’s big swell.)

At the recent Sydney Film Festival I saw a great new documentary called ‘The Cars That Ate China’. In this podcast the director Stefan Moore discusses the background to the film and we hear a clip with Joe White, China correspondent for the Wall Street Journal.

Joe takes us to the Beijing car show and explains how foreign car makers are piling into China to make a killing in the last big score in car manufacturing.

Audio: Listen to The Cars That Ate China interview and movie podcast – part 1, Joe White and the Beijing Car Show.

Link: More about the film on the makers’ website Jumping Dog Productions.

Photo: Commutr, Creative Commons, Flickr

Western marketing has moved into China in a big way. In this podcast we hear a clip from the film ‘The Cars That Ate China’ with Tom Doctoroff from J Walter Thompson Advertising. He explains how marketers have tapped into Chinese thinking. And specifically why the Chinese have gone so nuts about getting a car.

Audio: Listen to The Cars that Ate China movie podcast – part 2, Tom Doctoroff on Chinese consumer behaviour.

Photo: decade_null, Creative Commons, Flickr.

Audio: Listen to The Cars That Ate China movie podcast – part 3, James Kyng on the implications for the world’s environment.

The Cartaret Islands, north east of PNG, are only a metre above sea level. Each year tidal surges on the island get bigger.

The tides have damaged the islands’ fresh water sources and food growing areas. To the point where the people of The Cartarets are now planning to evacuate to nearby Bougainville. It’s estimated their island will be unihabitable by 2015.

Phil spoke with Charlotte Sterrett, Climate Campaigner for Oxfam Australia, to find out more about the situation and what can be done. Listen to the interview.

But most visitors would be oblivious to the fact nature hasn’t quite finished its work there. And with climate change, it may be working overtime to bring some changes which may be a tad unwelcome – particularly for the rich folk who’ve built their designer houses right on the sand dunes. I spoke to Australia’s leading coastal expert Professor Bruce Thom (of the Wentworth Group of Scientists) to explore what nature has in store for Byron. Listen to the Byron Bay – Bruce Thom interview.

An important listen if you’re going to spent some time at Byron in the future.

Click on this interesting article from the Sydney Morning Herald to find out how we got them.

The article also mentions one small catch with our love affair with the beach. Sand formations can change rapidly, which is bad news for the thousands of people with homes in prime beachfront positions – given current cliimate change predictions.

Anyway, where else in the world does have the best beaches? I’d be keen to know if there’s some good ones I’ve missed. Don’t say Thailiand or Greece, because they didn’t cut the mustard. (Tips on good surf breaks for long boards are welcome too.)