Islands First

The South Pacific region comprises of numerous small land masses whose combined exclusive economic zone is approximately 30 million square kilometers, an area almost the size of Africa. According to the World Bank, the South Pacific island nations have suffered more than US$1.0 billion in damages in the past 10 years from rising sea levels and tropical storms.

Tuvalu, an island of the Pacific, is the first country where people are being evacuated because of rising seas. Leaders on the island predict that the nation will be completely submerged in 50 years. Tuvalu comprises nine coral atolls between Australia and Hawaii. Their highest point is 5 meters (15 feet) above seal level. As sea level has risen, the island has experienced lowland flooding and saltwater intrusion that has adversely affected drinking water and food production. Coastal erosion has eaten away at nine of the islands that make up the country. The Coastal Erosion is due to the unusually high level of tropical cyclones and hurricanes in the Atlantic that have occurred in the last ten years.The government is currently seeking a home for 11,000 environmental refugees. In March of 2002, the country’s prime minister appealed to Australia and New Zealand to provide refuge and safety for his people once the island is submerged. After being rebuffed by Australia, the Tuvaluans asked New Zealand to accept its 11,000 citizens, but it has not yet agreed to do so.

Other islands in the region, such as the island of Majuro (Marshall Islands), have already lost up to 20 percent of its beachfront. Low-lying islands such as Tarawa atoll in Kiribati, will face estimated annual financial damages of more than US$8-$16 million a year, or the equivalent of 17-34 percent of Kiribati's gross domestic product, according to World Bank estimates. Higher islands such as Fiji's main island would also be affected, with damages of US$23-$52 million a year by 2050, equivalent to two to four percent of Fiji's GDP.