Kiribati : A Sinking Paradise

msgayeta

Pres. Anote Tong 

The name Anote Tong may  not ring a bell to many people. He is the president of a small  country whose name  sounds just as unfamiliar. Anote Tong is definitely not as  well-known as Barack Obama or Vladimir Putin , but the task currently on his shoulders  is  more burdensome  than what these two leaders carry. Anote Tong  is the president of   the Republic  of Kiribati  ( pronounced as KIRR-i-bas ) . Unknown to many , he  has  the toughest , and most heartbreaking , responsibility  among national leaders   these days . His country is sinking , literally . And he has to relocate  his people ---- all of his people --- to another country . Scientists  have given him dire evidence : in the next  50 to 60 years , which is a short time in the context of world history  , the entire country will be under water .

Located in the central  Pacific Ocean , the Republic of Kiribati   is  composed of 33 islands , 22 of which are inhabited . Most of the  islands are low-lying and are   as flat as  pan cakes.   Its total  land area is only  313 square miles .The people are called I-Kiribati and by 2012 population estimates , there are 110,000 of them.  Kiribati  boasts of spectacular landscape  --- but that is beginning to change .

            Kiribati  is a casualty of drastic  climate changes due to  mankind’s environmental neglect. Salty water has contaminated fresh water supply .  Drought has  done substantial damage on agriculture. And the most threatening of all ,   the rising sea level  is starting to  submerge its islands. 

People in many  coastal  villages  are moving  to higher grounds . Their communities have become uninhabitable  because of the encroaching sea water  .  Tens of thousands  have already  transferred  to  Tarawa , the main island .  But how far and how high can they move ? At  present , the highest  accessible point in Kiribati is just two  yards above sea level. How long can it stay above the water is a question with an obviously  scary answer.

Actually , Kiribati has one island  that is 81 meters above sea level . It is called the Banaba Island . However , its area is only six square kilometers. How can 110,00 people  be cramped in  such a small area  and have  a sustainable life ? Besides , managing this island is a politically  complicated matter which involves   its neighbor Fiji .

At a United Nations World Environment Day in 2008  , Pres. Tong lamented  that efforts to reverse the effects of  climate change  may already be too late  for  Kiribati.  One of Pres. Tong’s desperate  plans   is to   buy  5,000 acres of  land  in  Fiji.  If Fiji agrees , the land will be used initially  for  business and agriculture --- and eventually for resettlement . Fiji leaders had assured Pres. Tong that   they are very much willing to help   when the time to evacuate comes.

Pres. Tong has appealed to other countries as well   to accept his people as migrants . Many Asia Pacific islanders have actually  immigrated to New Zealand . However ,  absorbing 110,000  I-Kiribatis will have adverse effects on its economy . On the other hand , as early as  2006 , Australian scientists  had already warned of the influx of environmental refugees  from countries like Kiribati.

Pres. Tong  has started to prepare his people  for life in other  countries . Batches of young  I-Kiribatis  have been sent for education and training  abroad .  The project is called “ Education for Migration ” . Pres. Tong  said that they intend  to “ migrate  with dignity ” . He wants the Kiribati people to be accepted as  skilled and capable migrants who will contribute to the growth of their new country  , and not as  helpless refugees who will be a burden on the economy . 

Pres. Tong is also considering  a very ambitious  endeavor . He  has  asked a Japanese engineering company about the possibility and viability of constructing man-made islands  where his people can live. Such artificial islands will be similar to off-shore oil-drilling platforms.  If  accomplished , these  man-made  islands  would be an engineering feat . Cost and sustainability  are  serious challenges  to consider .If  the project does materialize , it will be a drastic change for the I-Kiribatis  who have been accustomed to their paradise-like islands  with  beautiful  native houses  and  tall ,  graceful   coconut trees. Instead of  strolling  on the  soft powdery sand , they will be trodding  on hard , cold steel.   

The issue of climate change and global warming    still seems  so remote to  many people . They think it is   just a  chapter in a high school textbook ,  or something discussed by nerd scientists  in the halls of the academe , or a topic dabbled in by  politicans  in the United Nations headquarters. But to the I-Kiribatis , climate change is a real enemy that has come pounding on their  beloved country  and is  threatenening their very existence .  If scientists are correct , after 50 years , Kiribati will be  no more.

                                                  Kiribati : from this 

  

to this ?