Friday, April 23, 2010

Maldives president wins UN eco prize

President Mohamed Nasheed of Maldives, a low lying atoll nation in the Indian Ocean which fears inundation rising sea levels, has won a top environmental prize from the United Nations, his office said.

He has been named a winner of the 'Champions of the Earth' award for policy leadership.
Maldives had committed a becoming a carbon neutral nation and is going ahead with multiple fronts to protect its ecological resources eco friendly.

"It goes to show that by doing the right thing, a small country can make a big impact on the world stage," the statement quoted Nasheed as saying.

The head of UN's environment program, Achim Steiner had said that Nasheed was not only a voice for the vulnerable and poor facing the challenges of global warming but was a politician who showed that even a small nations could be climate neutral.

Previous winners of the award included former US vice president Al Gore, and former prime minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark.

Zhou Xun, a Chinese film star and popular green lifestyle guru and Taro Takahashi, a pioneering Japanese earth scientist are among the winners this year.

Source: http://www.lankabusinessonline.com

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