A Sinking Feeling

Pacific islands take global warming into their own hands
It is a favorite Hollywood storyline: a natural disaster is impending, and despite the efforts of the smartest scientists the nation can assemble, the only choices remaining are to evacuate or face annihilation. This fate may actually await low-lying island nations like the Maldives, Kiribati, and Tuvalu due to rising sea levels caused by global warming. Avoiding ruinous flooding seems largely beyond these countries’ control, but that is not stopping them from trying to prevent it and plan for its disruptive consequences.
A National Challenge

On islands only five or ten feet above sea level, an increase of just inches in the sea level can affect the entire population. While the complete disappearance of island countries may still be far in the future, the short-term environmental threats are quite serious. The national strategic plan of the Maldives warns of “severe beach erosion, damage to human health and infrastructure, loss of biodiversity and impacts on food security and the economy” as potential consequences of rising sea levels.
In the Maldives, where some islands are just three feet above sea level, plans are underway to consolidate the population on a handful of “safe islands.” Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed, the Maldives Ambassador to the United Nations Office in Geneva, told the HPR that the Maldives is prepared to reinforce these safe islands with sea walls and raise them using sand dredged from their harbors. Because of the possibility of creating safe islands, said Ghafoor, “There are no plans to relocate Maldivians outside the country.”
For other countries, relocation is already on the horizon. The government of Kiribati will look to Australia and New Zealand to host its displaced population. The current plan aims to keep the people united and allow their culture and language to be preserved, but many are concerned about the long-term feasibility of achieving these goals.
Creative Solutions
The latest creative thinking, captured by a report by the Foundation for International Environmental Law and Development, suggests that at-risk countries should take their predicaments to court. Under international environmental law, a country is prohibited from causing environmental harm outside its own borders. The case could be made that industrialized nations, with all their greenhouse emissions, cause precisely this sort of harm to island nations.
Even global warming skeptics would be hard-pressed to deny the human impact of rising sea levels. Scientists at Utrecht University recently found that, in addition to melting ice caps, “water mining”—the extraction of groundwater, typically for irrigation—may be contributing significantly to sea level rising. More water is extracted from the ground than replaced, and little by little, evaporated water ends up in the ocean. Yet, an island country like Kiribati cannot sue every single irrigating farmer or country. The challenge for environmental lawsuits will be determining whom, exactly, should be held legally liable.
Another approach involves the use of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), which restrict fishing, polluting, and other ecosystem-altering activities. Greg Stone, a marine scientist who worked closely with the government of Kiribati to implement its MPA, told the HPR that many Pacific islands that are made of coral or encircled by coral grow faster if the surrounding ecosystem is healthy and thriving. “For thousands of years, coral growth has kept up with sea level rise,” Stone said. Though the connection between MPAs and coral growth is not yet established science, the president of Kiribati has worked hard to convince his people to be “aware and proactive in saving themselves.” MPAs may be one step in that direction.
Call to Action
A Maryland newspaper recently called for more proactive planning to handle eroding shores and disappearing islands in the Chesapeake Bay. More locally, the city of Boston has begun weighing policies and projects to stave off the ill effects of higher sea levels. The sense of urgency that the people of the Maldives and Kiribati feel about this issue is slowly making its way to larger countries with more capacity to fight climate change. As Ghafoor pointed out, his nation will have “very little impact on the climate situation of the world,” no matter what they do. They still hope that their efforts might draw the attention of decision-makers with more power to help.
Alec Barrett ’11 is a Senior Writer.
Photo Credit: Flickr (Hank Leclair)