A/HRC/43/50/Add.2 craftspeople from all regions of the country could sell their work under the principles of fair trade. 76. The Special Rapporteur encourages travel agencies and tourists visiting Maldives to support ethical tourism by opting to take part in activities that are in accordance with the protection of the environment and human rights, and by requesting food, souvenirs and products that are local and sustainably made. E. Climate change, environment and cultural rights 77. Climate change is one of the most serious challenges humanity has ever faced.11 All relevant actors at the international and national levels must act with determination to respond to this threat. No country can do so effectively by itself. The Special Rapporteur supports the call of the former Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment for international recognition of the human right to a healthy environment, on the premise that the universality of human rights, including cultural rights, has no meaning today without a liveable environment in which they can be enjoyed (A/73/277, para. 38). 78. In addition to its other damaging effects, the impact of climate change on cultural rights and cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible, is an urgent human rights question (A/HRC/37/59, paras. 11–16), and must be understood and responded to as such. 12 This is nowhere more evident than in low-lying island nations, such as Maldives, which face the possibility of catastrophic effects. 79. During her mission, the Special Rapporteur visited a centuries-old cemetery reportedly containing the graves of those involved in bringing Islam to Maldives. That cemetery is perhaps less than 100 metres from the ocean. Locals feared the site would be gone in 10 years, owing to sea-level rise and erosion. A 15-year-old Maldivian environmental and cultural heritage activist said to the Special Rapporteur: “I fear for the survival of my country.” No young person should have to face such fears. 80. As stressed by the Minister of Environment, a temperature rise of 2 degrees or more will result in 60 to 90 per cent of the coral reefs being destroyed, leaving the islands exposed to being washed away by the ocean. He further underscored that the culture and language of Maldives are also specifically threatened by the possibility of “environmental catastrophe”. 81. At the national level, the Special Rapporteur hopes that the laudable human rightsbased approach to climate change in Maldives will be further entrenched and implemented. In doing so, cultural rights and the negative impact on culture must be given even greater consideration, including with regard to all aspects of related internal migration, which is expected to result in more than half of the population moving to the capital in the next 25 years. A human rights approach to preventing and responding to the effects of climate change should empower individuals and groups as active agents of change and not as passive victims (A/HRC/10/61, para. 94). 82. Numerous experts and affected persons stressed the need to take an ecosystem-wide approach, because mitigation in one place without concern for the impact elsewhere could produce negative effects. Some development projects approved in the recent past without adequate disaster mitigation plans had resulted in increased flooding; loss of natural protection, such as mangroves; and increased sedimentation, which contributes to coral bleaching and the resultant loss of livelihoods, including by women. Concerns were expressed about recent regulations from the Ministry of Environment that failed to protect trees or regulate activities of private developers in the tourism industry. Information received also suggests that, even though there is awareness of the critical role of mangroves and wetlands as wind breakers and in blocking erosion, only about 5 per cent of them were 11 12 14 “OHCHR analytical study on climate change and human rights is now available”, March 2009. Available at ohchr.org. Karima Bennoune, Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, “A human rights approach to the intersection of climate change and cultural heritage”, keynote address given at the Climate Heritage Mobilization at the Global Climate Action Summit 2018, San Francisco, United States, 12 September 2018. Available at ohchr.org.