PGR News from the Pacific

Posted 2:47 PM by Luigi

Tuvalu and sea-level rise

The following is a recent Guardian article on the effect the threat of sea-level rise is having on the population of Tuvalu.

David Fickling in Sydney
Saturday July 19, 2003
The Guardian

Faced with the prospect of being swamped by rising sea levels, the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu is considering evacuating its 9,300 residents. With a highest point just five metres above sea level, Tuvalu is one of the world's most low-lying countries. Half its population is crammed on the 30 hectare (75 acre) Funafuti atoll, which is only three metres above the waves.

With global sea levels predicted to rise by more than 80cm over the next century, Tuvaluans are living on borrowed time. The only solution, according to the government, is to transport the entire population overseas.

"We don't know when the islands will be completely covered," says secretary to the Tuvalu government Panapasi Nelesone. "But we need to start working on this now."

Nearly 3,000 Tuvaluans already live overseas, and a government programme is now relocating 75 more every year.

But Tofiga Falani, the president of the Tuvalu Congregational church, says that more urgent action is needed. "We must know that someone will be able to provide land for us, before a storm washes our islands away altogether," he said.

He is in Melbourne this week lobbying Australia to set aside land to serve as a new home for Tuvalu's people when they finally quit their nine inhabited atolls.

Fresh data on sea level rises have given a new urgency to his concerns. The consensus last year from Australia's national tide facility (NTF), which monitors Pacific ocean, levels, was that there had been no significant changes around Tuvalu for 10 years.

Some analysts even suggested that the aftermath of El Nino could cause sea levels in the area to drop by up to 30cm in future. That view is changing.

The most recent figures suggest that Tuvalu's sea levels have risen nearly three times as fast as the world average over the past decade, and are now 5cm higher than in 1993.

The NTF's Bill Mitchell says that such figures should still be regarded as provisional. "We've had a large El Nino which appears to have raised sea levels across the western Pacific, so rises in future may well not be as dramatic."

Tuvaluans are used to seeing islets vanish beneath the waves with cyclones, but their country is likely to become uninhabitable long before the waves finally close over them.

Islanders already drink from rainwater tanks to preserve the atolls' scanty groundwater, but the seepage of salt water into farmland has destroyed crops and made islanders dependent on canned imports.

Tuvalu's Polynesian people arrived in the islands 2,000 years ago by way of Tonga, Samoa and Tokelau, but international borders mean fewer relocation options are available. The neighbouring state of Kiribati has dozens of uninhabited islands, but it is facing its own population pressures.

Eleniu Poulos, president of UnitingJustice Australia, a church agency, says that the Tuvaluans should be granted one of the uninhabited islands at the northern end of the Great Barrier Reef.

"You spell an end to a culture if you split them up, but they would be happy to give up their national sovereignty as long as they're able to stay together. Australia has no shortage of land," she said.

Canberra's immigration department is believed to take a dim view of the Tuvaluan desire for land to call their own.

But Panapasi Nelesone says: "We cannot just float on the water hoping that the sea will go down again."



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DIVA-GIS	Tuesday, August 12, 2003 Posted 2:47 PM by Luigi Tuvalu and sea-level rise The following is a recent Guardian article on the effect the threat of sea-level rise is having on the population of Tuvalu. David Fickling in Sydney Saturday July 19, 2003 The Guardian Faced with the prospect of being swamped by rising sea levels, the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu is considering evacuating its 9,300 residents. With a highest point just five metres above sea level, Tuvalu is one of the world's most low-lying countries. Half its population is crammed on the 30 hectare (75 acre) Funafuti atoll, which is only three metres above the waves. With global sea levels predicted to rise by more than 80cm over the next century, Tuvaluans are living on borrowed time. The only solution, according to the government, is to transport the entire population overseas. "We don't know when the islands will be completely covered," says secretary to the Tuvalu government Panapasi Nelesone. "But we need to start working on this now." Nearly 3,000 Tuvaluans already live overseas, and a government programme is now relocating 75 more every year. But Tofiga Falani, the president of the Tuvalu Congregational church, says that more urgent action is needed. "We must know that someone will be able to provide land for us, before a storm washes our islands away altogether," he said. He is in Melbourne this week lobbying Australia to set aside land to serve as a new home for Tuvalu's people when they finally quit their nine inhabited atolls. Fresh data on sea level rises have given a new urgency to his concerns. The consensus last year from Australia's national tide facility (NTF), which monitors Pacific ocean, levels, was that there had been no significant changes around Tuvalu for 10 years. Some analysts even suggested that the aftermath of El Nino could cause sea levels in the area to drop by up to 30cm in future. That view is changing. The most recent figures suggest that Tuvalu's sea levels have risen nearly three times as fast as the world average over the past decade, and are now 5cm higher than in 1993. The NTF's Bill Mitchell says that such figures should still be regarded as provisional. "We've had a large El Nino which appears to have raised sea levels across the western Pacific, so rises in future may well not be as dramatic." Tuvaluans are used to seeing islets vanish beneath the waves with cyclones, but their country is likely to become uninhabitable long before the waves finally close over them. Islanders already drink from rainwater tanks to preserve the atolls' scanty groundwater, but the seepage of salt water into farmland has destroyed crops and made islanders dependent on canned imports. Tuvalu's Polynesian people arrived in the islands 2,000 years ago by way of Tonga, Samoa and Tokelau, but international borders mean fewer relocation options are available. The neighbouring state of Kiribati has dozens of uninhabited islands, but it is facing its own population pressures. Eleniu Poulos, president of UnitingJustice Australia, a church agency, says that the Tuvaluans should be granted one of the uninhabited islands at the northern end of the Great Barrier Reef. "You spell an end to a culture if you split them up, but they would be happy to give up their national sovereignty as long as they're able to stay together. Australia has no shortage of land," she said. Canberra's immigration department is believed to take a dim view of the Tuvaluan desire for land to call their own. But Panapasi Nelesone says: "We cannot just float on the water hoping that the sea will go down again." * Comments: Post a Comment	Archive October 2002 November 2002 December 2002 January 2003 February 2003 March 2003 April 2003 May 2003 June 2003 July 2003 August 2003 September 2003 October 2003 November 2003 December 2003 January 2004 February 2004 March 2004 April 2004 May 2004 June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009 January 2010 RSS Feed Alternative feed Contact Tevita Something new: Agrobiodiversity Weblog: For discussions of conservation and sustainable use of the genetic resources of crops, livestock and their wild relatives. 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