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Last month, I reported that the Maldives cabinet had held a meeting under water to highlight the dangers of global warming.

Clearly, this kind of green protest is beginning to catch on, because I see now that ministers in Nepal are to hold a meeting on Mount Everest later this month.

The entire cabinet will travel to a base camp at an altitude of 17,585 feet to highlight the impact of global warming on the Himalayas ahead of December’s climate change talks in Copenhagen.

The Forest Minister, Deepak Bohora, said the melting of the glaciers in the Himalayas was a serious concern. About 1.3 billion people depend on the water that flows down from the Himalayan glaciers, which experts say are melting at an alarming rate, threatening to bring floods and later drought to the region.

“Climate change has hit the Himalayas in general and Nepal in particular,” said Mr Bohora. “Its effects are being manifested in different forms, from the rapid increase in the size of the glacial lakes to erratic monsoon patterns and unprecedented forest fires.”

He said the visit would be an opportunity for ministers to gain first-hand information about the effects of climate change on the vast mountain range.

by Andy Moreton

Nepal is one of the most fascinating countries on earth and Luxique can book you a place at a hotel to match – Dwarika’s in Kathmandu. Recent guests described it as ‘a wonderful haven’ and ‘a magnificent oasis’.

For a small country, the Maldives generates a fair amount of publicity.

The latest news from the island group is that the country’s cabinet is to meet on Saturday … underwater.

The idea is to highlight the threat of global warming, to which the Maldives is particularly vulnerable. Most of the islands are less than three feet above sea level and face being wiped out if oceans rise.

An adviser to President Mohamed Nasheed said the dive was ‘a bit of fun’ but the cabinet intended to send a serious message about rising sea levels. Members will sign a document (waterproof, presumably) calling for global cuts in carbon emissions. Mr Nasheed, who’s a qualified diver, will hold a news conference.

The President’s adviser said that although the country’s government was almost all going to be under water at the same time, there was no real danger. Each minister would be accompanied by a diving instructor and a military minder and the local sharks were ‘friendly’.

by Andy Moreton

Dive in for a taste of paradise – Luxique offers ten luxury hotels throughout the Maldives.