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Former Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed on Monday said countries bearing the brunt of climate change are not seeking charity or aid, but their fair and rightful due for the environmental services they provide to the world.
“Some countries have enriched themselves by exploiting the planet’s resources, while others are paying the price. The rights of climate-vulnerable countries must therefore be ensured in tackling the crisis,” Nasheed said while addressing the Bay of Bengal Conversation 2026 at a city hotel.
The three-day international conference was organised by the Centre for Governance Studies (CGS).
“We are not asking for charity. We are not begging for grants or aid. We are only asking for a fair and rightful due, because we are providing an environmental service to this planet,” he said.
Nasheed said the people of Nepal had done nothing to deserve devastating floods, just as the people of the Maldives had done nothing to cause the alarming rise in sea levels.
“Someone will have to bear the cost of this damage,” he said.
“I understand prosperity, I understand trade, I understand finance. I know everything in this world depends on money. But to use that money, we first have to survive,” Nasheed said.
He called for a development strategy that delivers the desired economic outcomes while minimising harm to the planet and the environment.
As the earth changes, people must also change their habits, he said, stressing that poor countries, however, cannot be expected to remain poor simply to save the planet.
“There are countries that have grown rich by using this planet’s resources for their own interests, and that has been done at our expense,” he said.
Highlighting the contribution of climate-vulnerable countries, Nasheed said they continued to provide environmental services to the world while trying to survive the impacts of climate change and should therefore be compensated.
The former Maldivian president said humanity could not survive without protecting nature.
He said the consequences of rising sea levels would go beyond the loss of land and homes, raising fundamental questions about the future of national territories and boundaries.
Referring to the law of the sea, Nasheed said a country’s territorial sea extends up to 12 nautical miles from its coast. But as sea levels rise, the fate of national territories and maritime boundaries will become a critical issue if coastlines are submerged.
He said the Maldives has an exclusive economic zone extending up to 200