Maldives prepare "green" tax on all tourists - at $ 3 per day

Maldives plan to introduce a new environmental tax for all tourists who stay in their resorts. Known mostly to luxurious hotels and white sand atolls, the Maldives have always struggled against because of climate change projections that rising sea levels will devour most of the islands in 2100 until last year the government even announced that it will begin to allocate funds for the purchase of new land for the country if the global warming island country disappear under the waters of the Indian Ocean. Over a quarter of the local economy, which has a total value of 850 million dollars comes from tourists, but so far no such environmental taxes. President Mohammed Nashid, which in March submitted plans for the conversion of the Maldives in the first state with zero carbon emissions in the world within a decade, announced that it will soon be introduced environmental tax for all tourists. "Putting green tax is already working on it. Question of parliamentary approval is what I hope to receive - comes to $ 3 per day for each tourist, "explains Nashid told reporters in the capital Male in the archipelago, said. With an average 700 thousand tourists a year who spend an average of three days on the islands, it's around 6.3 million dollars annually.
Nashid in March launched an initiative worth 1,1 billion dollars, which aims to move all the islands of renewable energy and buying carbon credits and secured from the EU to offset emissions from tourists who fly to the islands. The Government recognizes the need for external financing of investment for these plans and travel Nashid the negotiations for the UN climate change meeting in Copenhagen in December. Last month, the president's office said he would not attend the talks because of the budget crisis that forced the country to seek a loan of 60 million dollars from the International Monetary Fund. Nashid said that there are still no plans to attend the talks, "unless someone is not very generous help. I hope someone would do it. " According to him, the Maldives have little influence, but a large bet on the outcome of talks in Copenhagen, which aim to create a successor to the Kyoto Protocol. "The Maldives does not make sense to enter into the Agreement. This is a small country. It is about India, China, Brazil, U.S. to participate. Nobody will win, if no agreement is reached, "he said.