LOCAL News :: Civil & Human Rights : Environment : Globalisation

Tuvalu: Global Face Of Climate Change

Author

Vincent Murwira

Date Created

14 Jun 2007

More details...

As the leaders of the G8 summit in Heiligendamm in Germany hammered the final communiqué on climate change, half a world away, in the small Pacific island country of Tuvalu, Silafaga Lalua, a born and bred islander pondered her shaky future on the islands, as she has always done again and again.

Silafaga Lalua has a difficult decision on her hands, to either pack her bags and leave Tuvalu for safer territories or stay and watch her country slowly sink under the rising sea levels in the Pacific and hope for the best. Scientific predictions from the Australian Government predict dire consequences for the island in the next 50 years. Other predictions say it could be sooner. So for Silafaga, both issues are not easy to deal with , but she is increasingly aware that something has got to give.

Her trepidation is real, and is shared by most of the 10000 Tuvaluans who still reside on the Island. In 1997 census figures showed a population of 13000. Today, 10 years later, the population of Tuvalu has gone down by 3000, or almost 25 percent down from the previous figure.

Tuvaluans, who are worried about the future, have been leaving their island for other Pacific states like Fiji and New Zealand. The New Zealand Government has a scheme entitled Pacific Access Category or PAC that allows up to 75 Tuvaluans per year to settle in New Zealand as Climate Changed refugees.

In the last few years press headlines in different parts of the world have highlighted Tuvalu’s plight . The Guardian of London had a doomsday story headlined ‘Farewell Tuvalu’ on 29 October 2001. Since then there has a number of other equally doomsday stories with headlines like ‘Tuvalu –Going Down’ –again in the Guardian, in Feb 2002, and ‘Tuvalu is drowning’ on salon.com on 31 March 2006.This small island nation in the South Pacific Ocean , area 26 SQ Metres and population 10000 people has become the living proof of the consequences of global warming and scientific predictions says Tuvalu is likely to completely disappear under water in less than 50 years.

Tauala Katea, the Scientific Officer and Acting Director of the Department Meteorological Department in Tuvalu says the weather conditions in Tuvalu have started getting harsher with the intensity and number of cyclones increasing every year. When not raining, the strange weather phenomenon has seen some prolonged droughts during the dry season, he says. This has become a cause for concern.

“The people are scared and worried about the harsh weather conditions. Such things have never happened before”, he said. The result of this is that some people are now leaving Tuvalu, and settling in other Pacific nations as Climate Change Refugees. “ Some of the people who area leaving Tuvalu are renting out their houses and leasing their land to the Government or to small companies”, he says.

As for himself, his commitment is with Tuvalu and with his employer, the Government and says he has no plans to leave and that he will stay behind. The greatest fear of migrating to another country, as far as he is concerned, is the loss of identity, loss of culture, language and everything that is Tuvaluan. He says this is the fear that everyone else on the island has, particularly the elders.

When I put the same question to Silafaga Lalua who is a radio journalist for Radio Tuvalu, and asked her whether she would consider relocating, Silafaga told me, “I am not proud to say so, but I would relocate” She elaborated by saying “ If I relocate I lose my culture, my identity and language.”

In the same vein, she expresses her fear of an uncertain future of the island and expresses a strong desire to create a global awareness of the predicament her country is in and the consequences of global warming. She tells me of plans by an NGO called Overview, run by Shuuichi Endou, to plublish a book where photos of all the 10000 Tuvuluans will be published alongside interviews laying out the people’s concerns and opinions about Climate Change.

In the past, Tuvalu has threatened to sue Australia and the United States which it accused of being the major emitters of environmental greenhouse gases which causes climate change. Tuvalu wanted Australia and the United States to compensate them for the damage caused by greenhouse emissions. The litigation only stopped when the leadership of the country changed in 2005.

Lalua is convinced that climate change is happening now and that the signs are for everyone to see. Her recollection of weather patterns from previous years is sharp. Several years ago, she says, high tides would only flood small parts of the islands in February and March. In recent years, she says tides have been hitting the islands beyond March and April and well into May as was the case this year. She says the famous king tide which floods the airstrip, or the airport used to happen only for a brief period in the year. Flooding now lasts much longer, she says. Tourists, particularly film crews flock into the country this time of the year to take photos.

Back to the G8 Summit’s Leaders final communiqué on climate change , described on the G8 website as “ A Breakthrough In Climate Change- Leading industrialized nations agree to at least half global CO2 emissions by 2050.”

While this may be a major political step, it is cold comfort to islanders like Tuvaluans who are witnessing freak weather conditions and some of whom are in the process of abandoning their homes, culture , tradition and simple island life to go and settle in bigger societies. Germany’s Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul is on record as saying: “The people who will suffer most from climate change are those who had the least to do with causing it, people in the poorest developing countries, Africa ,small island nations in the South Pacific, and heavily populated river deltas in Asia will be particularly hard hit.” It seems Tuvaluans are now paying the price.

Comment on this article
Title
Author
	Create a new account Enter a username and password which will enable you to edit this article later. You may leave these blank, but you will then not be allowed to edit the post. All fields except last name are required. First Name Last Name Username Password Email
Text Format
Comment
Anti-spam	Enter the following number into the box:
	To add more detailed comments, or to upload files, see the full comment form.

Comments

Re: Tuvalu: Global Face Of Climate Change

14 Jun 2007

by Anonymous

The 28th South Pacific Forum 1997

Australia continues to cudgel Pacific leaders into accepting an "acceptable" paradigm for economic development. So much so, the Australian bureaucrats continue to judge Pacific Island leaders and their country solely on the basis of crude economic indicators. There is no effort whatsoever to analyse the totally different circumstances that many Pacific nations encounter in the post-colonial period. For Small Island States in the Pacific, the urgent problem is greenhouse emissions and the subsequent rises in sea levels.

Pacific Islands Development Program/Center for Pacific Islands Studies

By Dr. Sanjay Ramesh

The 28th South Pacific Forum was held in Rarotonga from 17 to 19 September and was attended by Heads of States and Governments and representatives of Australia, the Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

Before this grand meeting, the Smaller Island States (SIS) held its Seventh Economic Summit from 12 to 13 September 1997.

These two summits had one thing in common: the island states of the Pacific voiced concern over some of their severe environmental and economic problems. Of course, the stage had been set for a showdown between the Pacific Island nations and Australia in July 1997 when a confidential Australian Eyes Only (AUSTEO) document was leaked during the Forum Economic Ministers' Meeting (FEMM).

This report, among other things, criticised the Pacific Island nations for weak political leadership, economic mismanagement and lack of impetus for reform.

Immediately following the disclosure, the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Alexander Downer, went on a diplomatic mission to salvage Australia’s faltering reputation. Downer went to both Fiji and Vanuatu. In Fiji, the former Minister for Finance, Berenado Vunibobo, denounced Australia’s criticism and he was joined by Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, who saw the Australian comments as counterproductive. Quickly, however, Australia’s ambassador to Fiji, His Excellency Greg Urwin, assured Fijian authorities that his government was committed to Fiji and the Pacific region. The timely work of the ambassador was followed up by Downer who promised Fiji Australia’s support for its entry back into the Commonwealth. But Downer remained adamant on economic reform, which is seen by many Pacific Island nations as a recipe for social and political instability.

For Canberra, the comments contained in the FEMM document highlighted many economic and structural inadequacies in the Pacific. In fact, in the past, and many times during South Pacific Forum meetings, similar sentiments were expressed by Canberra. Armed with aid and trade, Australia continues to cudgel Pacific leaders into accepting an "acceptable" paradigm for economic development. So much so, the Australian bureaucrats continue to judge Pacific Island leaders and their country solely on the basis of crude economic indicators. There is no effort whatsoever to analyse the totally different circumstances that many Pacific nations encounter in the post-colonial period. For Small Island States in the Pacific, the urgent problem is greenhouse emissions and the subsequent rises in sea levels. Environmental concerns have been continually highlighted by regional activist groups like Greenpeace and the Pacific Resource Concerns Centre. But Australia insists that there shall be no global quota on the reduction of greenhouse gases and that each individual country shall be allowed to develop its own environmental policy.

The Australian stand is seen by many Pacific Island nations as grossly unfair, because there is evidence to suggest that Australia is one of the major polluters in the Pacific region. Small Island States such as Cook Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, and Tuvalu face catastrophe and Kiribati and Tuvalu will eventually sink. Tuvalu’s Prime Minister Bikenibau Paeniu has accused Australia of taking a weak approach to the reduction of greenhouse gases. The concerns of the Small Island States are based on an Assessment Report of the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change which stated that the "balance of scientific evidence suggests a discernible human influence on the global climate..." The report further states that the cultural and economic survival of these nations are inextricably linked to the environment. Despite this report, Canberra argues that it is not in the "national interest" of Australia to proceed with drastic cuts to greenhouse emissions and that any such step would cost Australian jobs.

The national interest argument, however, does not live up to scrutiny, since Canberra has already started to rationalise public service in Australia and initiate nation-wide cutbacks which will see many jobs go. The argument of national interest is, then, by far, facetious. As for Australian industry, it is, in fact, in the process of restructuring, and this is further aided by a new Workplace Relations Act, which aims to do away with collective bargaining. Threats to Australian jobs are imminent and this insecurity has been largely fuelled by government policy. The Pacific Island leaders cannot understand Australia’s "national interest" argument nor can they comprehend the move to link aid to economic reform.

The Forum meeting in Rarotonga was based on the theme of "Reform, Human Values and Togetherness." In the end, Australia got its way and in the final communiqué the Pacific nations, half heartedly, joined its Australian counterparts in applauding the Forum Economic Ministers' Meeting in Cairns on 11 July 1997. Already, Fiji and the Solomon Islands have started to move towards down-sizing their respective public service sectors. In the Solomon Islands, up to 3,000 jobs are expected to go. Interestingly, Fiji was brought on side by Prime Minister John Howard’s personal assurance to Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka of Australia’s support for Fiji’s re-entry into the Commonwealth.

While Australia is facing the brunt of Pacific Island criticism, there are other regional players that deserve the same scrutiny. Japan and China are Post Forum Dialogue partners that have moved into Pacific, while Britain and the USA have reduced their presence. Japan opened a South Pacific Trade Centre in 1996 and hosted a summit from 13 to 14 October, 1997. Like Australia, Japan wants to stay away from the environmental issues and previously, there has been a lot of criticism of Japan for its part in the transportation of reprocessed nuclear fuels through the Pacific. In addition, Japan has vested interest in seabed minerals and tuna. Japan’s motive then is to establish good relationship with its Pacific Island neighbours and to do exactly that, it has gone soft with the push for economic reform.

In the end, however, it s Australia that will have to show leadership in a region that is plagued with environmental and economic problems. Canberra’s overly bureaucratic "quick-fix" economic initiative will only help to alienate Pacific Island countries. It is, therefore, in the best interest of Canberra to constructively assist its neighbours with a prudent policy which, among other things, will encourage sustainable development and, at the same time, deduce ways to cut greenhouse gases so that Small Island States can stay afloat.

LOCAL News :: Civil & Human Rights : Environment : Globalisation

Tuvalu: Global Face Of Climate Change

Author

Date Created

Date Edited

License

Comments

Account Login

Information Library

Media Centers

Syndication feeds

Search