Rising sea levels in the Maldives

BBC News has today reported how the Maldives is beginning a fight against global warming, namely rising sea levels. Some 80% of the archipelago is less than one metre above sea level, and coastlines are already creeping further inland. Houses are crumbling and there are very real fears that in the near future, some islands will have to be abandoned to the sea.
The country has a natural defence system in the form of coral reefs, though a sudden and sharp rise in sea temperature wiped most of it out around ten years ago. Marine Biologists are now making attempts to cultivate coral in research centres to gain knowledge on its protective role to hopefully implement as a defence to the region in the future.
Currently, temporary defences are being made via the dredging of sand from lagoons, and discussions are centring on whether to replicate the processes imposed onto Hulumale island- the whole island has been raised with sand, concrete and shingle.
President Mohamed Nasheed has recently stated that he hopes the Maldives will, within 10 years, become solely reliant on renewable energy sources, thus becoming the world’s first carbon neutral country. Although such progression will cost somewhere in the region of $1 billion, it is hoped that such a move will encourage further global action toward the preservation of the environment.