Will empowerment of women, or their control over their futures and lives save this planet from destruction? Intriguing as it may sound, there might be a rationale behind this relationship between women and environment.

With more and more women slowly yet steadily winning the war to control their fertility with better access to family planning, this may be a long-term solution for the world of nearly 6.1 billion and overstretched resources.

It is estimated that by 2050, 4.2 billion people will be living in countries that cannot meet the daily requirement of 50 liters of water per person to meet basic needs. With human encroachment, and vast scale depletion of rain forests, the impact on biodiversity is crucial, thereby contributing to global warming and rise in sea levels.

And now let us focus our rapt attention to miles of pristine beaches, white sands and blue sky. If we thought such are stuff that dreams are made of, very soon this waking reality will be a dream. That is what Mohamed Nasheed, the first democratically elected president of the Maldives, asserted in his rather startling revelation of moving the nation somewhere else.

Relocating a 300,000 odd population to the shores of India, Sri Lanka or Australia may seem like a grim scenario, however the steadily rising sea levels tell a different story. Made up of 1200 islands, Maldives holds the record for the country with the lowest high point on earth.

Sea levels in the area have risen by 20cms in the past century and United Nations affirms that there will be a further rise of 58cms by 2100. The future of bare breeze-block huts faced with the vagaries of nature poised within a stone’s throw from the luxurious Kandooma resort hangs in several unresolved fragile questions.

Could we then look at women as avatars in a newly defined role, still wearing the clichéd robe of the most powerful consumer force in the world? Women spend on an average $.85 of every dollar in the marketplace. Switching to eco-friendly products and services can help use less packaging, save energy and water and protect rain forests.

Sometimes the small scale solution to serious concerns are in a cloth bag in the kitchen, or conscious decisions such as discarding plastic or taking a flight of steps rather than an elevator, however that momentary decision is decisive in its long term impact.