Rupesh Samant
Mobor (Goa) The climate change which results into the Sea level rise will force the people to leave their country flooding the neighbouring nations with the refugees, a maritime security expert said today.
Former Indian Coast Guard Chief Prabhakaran Paleri said that the rising sea level has threatened existence of few countries, which will completely go underwater.
Palleri was talking to reporters on the sidelines of three day long conference
Sagar Discourse 1.0 organised by Forum for Integrated National Security with participants from 22 countries participating in it, which is currently underway in South Goa.
“High levels of sea will give rise to the several problems specially for the countries which are low lying. While for those countries with bigger land mass, the people can go backwards, but there are some countries which fear to completely get underwater due to the sea rise as a result of climate change,” he said.
“In our country when the sea level rises we can go backwards but in some countries when sea level rises they have no place to go because they are one and half or two feet,” Paleri said.
He said these people will have to find places and refugees will come. “They all will come to the nearest countries,” he added.
“India is a place where most of the people come. We have been facing this kind of problems years and years,” Paleri added.
“The affected people will pack the bag go to different countries. Now itself we will have to think about it because it can happen any time,” the former ICG chief cautioned.
“We cannot allow the people to come to our country as that is not easy. Under international law these people are not considered as refugees. They will come sailing,” he said.
Palleri said that the countries will have to create laws so that we know how to handle the situation.
“There are quiet a few countries which can go completely go under water. What will happen when these people will be displaced, that time human traffickers will thrive and crime rate will increase,” he said.
The three day long conference was inaugurated yesterday by Union Minister of State for External affairs M J Akbar in presnce of State chief minister Manohar Parrikar.
