Similarly, Indonesia under president Suharto moved Muslims from Java to outlyingislands such as the Malukus not only to relieve population pressures, but also to integrate the country.
Mr Nasheed has pulled off a typically flamboyant stunt, leaving the capital island on a flotilla of boats chartered by his party to go campaigning in outlyingislands, reports the BBC's Charles Haviland in Male.
The draft law also raises the question of how the government will be able to finance development in the poor and over-crowded heartland of Java if it loses a large chunk of its income to the outlyingislands.
Altering the balance of energy has created what Bornstein calls "urban heat islands" where the temperature is 5 to 10 degrees hotter than outlying areas and generate their own rain.