Tarawa, Kiribati (Commonwealth Union)_Scattered across a huge expanse of ocean in the Pacific are 33 coral atolls covering more than 1.3 million square miles. This makes Kiribati one of the largest nations in the world if you take the sea into consideration. However, it is one of the smallest, with a majority of the 120,000 population living primarily in its tiny capital Tarawa. And the biggest problem this tiny nation is facing is that it’s slowly being swallowed by the sea.
Once called ‘Gilberts’ during British colonial rule, Kiribati changed its name to the local translation, and given that no part of its land rises more than two meters above the ocean, it is now one of the most vulnerable places on earth. Several of the smaller islands have already disappeared and others are facing massive erosion due to advancing tides. Crops and fresh groundwater are also threatened due to saltwater intrusion.
It’s a dangerous place to be in and Kiribati knows that. President Taneti Maamau spent an expansive amount of time at the United Nations recently appealing to wealthy nations for assistance, given that it needs billions of dollars to stop his people and his country from disappearing altogether. And his plans are to physically raise the islands so they will be safe from the encroaching seas.
Detailing his plan, Maamau stated that saving his country would require digging up huge clumps of sand and rocks from the seabed and layering them on the thin coral atolls. Even though the land mass is limited, given the amount of ocean that Kiribati embraces, by reclaiming parts of the sea this Pacific Island Nation can be saved.
While the World Bank has stepped in with some funding to protect Kiribati’s groundwater, Maamau was also candid in placing the blame on rich countries which are mostly to blame for the climate crisis, which his country and other developing countries have to bear the brunt of.Â
Adamant that each day counts, he demanded action now from developed countries, saying prolonged talk and no action has led to his nation facing abject risk, loss, and damage. While the Cop27 talks in Egypt did agree on a proposed form of finance from rich countries to the poor nations to pay for climate damages, Maamau demanded that the money be given sooner rather than later. He asked the wealthy nations to honour their pledge given that it was they who were responsible for the catastrophe being faced by Kiribati.
The people of Kiribati are not in favor of abandoning their home of over two thousand years and migrating to Australia and Fiji as proposed by the previous president. Maamau is adamant that his people have a right to stay in their country and not be made migrants in another land. He said it is the responsibility of the world to ensure that people of any country should not be forced out of their homes for any reason, especially due to the actions of others.
Sea levels are predicted to rise by about a meter by 2100 or even more if ice sheets dissolve faster than expected. Unless Kiribati’s land is raised by at least three to five meters, the disappearance of a nation once known for its amazing beauty and the playground of the rich and famous may just be relegated to a tiny paragraph in the history books.
