"It is time to put people back at the heart of climate change diplomacy," Maldives President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom told the conference.

Ministers and diplomats met at an exclusive Maldives resort, one of more than 80 that underpin the Indian Ocean state's US$1 billion economy but are directly threatened by rising sea levels.

Delegates are expected to agree a declaration that climate change threatens the fundamental right to a safe, secure and sustainable environment, forcing developed countries to view rising seas through the prism of human rights.

Gayoom, Asia's longest serving ruler after 30 years in power, has repeatedly raised the spectre of climate change on international platforms, warning the UN Security Council of the potential "death of a nation" in 1987.

The Maldives' 1,200 coral islands sit less than 2 metres (yards) above sea level and are threatened with inundation if sea levels rise 59 cm (23 inches) by 2100 as predicted by the UN climate panel.

It would cost an estimated US$1.5 billion to provide sea defences for the country's deluxe US$1,000-a-night resorts.

The conference brings together officials from countries including Singapore, Micronesia, Grenada and the Seychelles, as well as environmental lawyers.