Kiribati risks becoming the first country to lose its land territory
Kiribati
last update:
3 months agoProblems
Climate Impact: Sea Level Rise
Human-caused climate change has caused our oceans to rise. This can have disastrous effects on coastal communities and coastal ecosystems. Kiribati is predicted to be one of the countries most impacted by climate change, in part to its vulnerability to sea-level rise. It is less than 2 meters above sea level. It is experiencing flooding, contamination of water sources, and food scaricty.
Land Loss/Flooding
Already 2 of the islands in Kiribati, Abanuea, and Tebua Tarawa have been completely flooded and no longer exist. As water levels rise, towns in Kiribati are flooding and the island itself may be also soon be consumed by water. The streets of Kiribati are filling with water more and more often from the rising tides and an increase in storms. Citizens are frequently being displaced as their homes and businesses are being destroyed. Most Kiribatians live in the capital of South Tarawa, which has over 100,000 inhabitants. This city is very vulnerable to flooding due to its low elevation. As a result, most Kiribatians are liable to losing their homes. Loss of outer islands and erosion of beeches causes Kiribati to be even more susceptible to damage from an increase of storms due to climate change.
Contamination of Fresh Water - Food and Water Security Impact
Loss of outer islands has increased storm surges that contaminate drinking water and water used for agriculture. Rising sea levels have also led to contamination of groundwater, which is killing native plants and destroying crops. Almost all agricultural crops in the capital South Tarawa have been killed. This is causing food scarcity. Kiribati's main three crops, breadfruit trees, papaya, and taro are all susceptible to dying from salinization of groundwater. Drinking water has also been contaminated with saltwater. In addition, climate disasters are also causing water scarcity. The Buota water reserve in South Tarawa, Kiribati is one of the two major water sources in Kiribati's capital South Tarawa. Flooding from rising sea levels caused to Tarawa bridge to collapse in June 2008, severing pipelines from the water reserve. Two years later KAP III (Kiribati Adaption Program Phase III) was able to replace the bridge and lay down new pipes. This will benefit citizens living in South Tarawa that don't live near the other water reserve. They can now access safe drinking water without having to commute to the Bonriki reserve. This will also prevent Bonriki from being overpumped.
Coral Reefs - Ecosystem Impact
Increased storms and the warming of the oceans have damaged most of the coral reefs surrounding Kiribati. Warming temperatures instigate coral bleaching. This causes a tragic and irreversible loss of biodiversity as many marine animals are left without a habitat. This is also having negative impacts on Kiribati's economy as there is a drastic loss of revenue from the lack of fishing from coral reefs. Coral reefs are also being affected by ocean acidification and stronger storm tides.
Solutions
Kiribati's president's plans to raise islands in fight against sea-level rise
Author: Taneti Maamau
The Pacific state of Kiribati has a very specific and unusual demand – that its islands be physically raised up to escape the encroaching seas. The plan to dig up huge clumps of sand and rocks from the seabed and layer them upon the thin coral atolls that make up Kiribati’s sparse landmass will cost “in the billions” of dollars, the country’s president, Taneti Maamau, told the Guardian. Kiribati has secured a more modest amount from the World Bank to help protect its tenuous water supply but Maamau argues that the rich countries that have done the most to cause the climate crisis should pay out far more to help save this slice of Pacific island life. “We’ve asked donors to help – the physical land is limited but we have a lot of sea area, we can reclaim those areas and raise them high,” he said. “[Developed countries] should act, because time is short for us. Every day counts, a delay of a day means loss to us. It’s time for action, we demand action now.
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Timelines
2020
Today, Kiribati faces many of the same risks that other small island nations face in a changing climate. These risks include the degradation of ecosystems, sea level rise, freshwater contamination, extreme weather events and erosion. These pose a significant threat to people living in Kiribati and their ability to continue to inhabit the islands they call home.
2016
A 2016 UN report has shown that half of households have already been affected by sea level rise on Kiritimati. Rising sea levels also pose challenges to the storage of nuclear waste on small island states – a hangover from their colonial past.
2015
In March 2015 Kiribati experienced flooding and destruction of seawalls and coastal infrastructure as the result of Cyclone Pam, a Category 5 cyclone that devastated Vanuatu. Kiribati remains exposed to the risk that cyclones can strip the low-lying islands of their vegetation and soil.
2010
The atolls and reef islands can respond to changes in sea-level. Paul Kench at the University of Auckland in New Zealand and Arthur Webb at the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission in Fiji released a study in 2010 on the dynamic response of atolls and reef islands in the central Pacific. Kiribati was mentioned in the study, and Webb and Kench found that the three major urbanised islands in Kiribati—Betio, Bairiki and Nanikai—increased by 30% (36 hectares), 16.3% (5.8 hectares) and 12.5% (0.8 hectares), respectively.
2000
The exposure of Kiribati to changes in sea levels is exacerbated by the Pacific decadal oscillation, which is a climate switch phenomenon that results in changes from periods of La Niña to periods of El Niño. This has an effect on sea levels. For example, in 2000, there was a switch from periods of downward pressure of El Niño on sea levels to an upward pressure of La Niña on sea levels, which upward pressure causes more frequent and higher high tide levels. The Perigean spring tide (often called a king tide) can result in seawater flooding low-lying areas of the islands of Kiribati.
1999
Since 1993, data has indicated a rise of 1-4mm per year in sea level across Kiribati (Kiribati Meteorological Service). In Kiribati, in a medium emissions scenario, sea level is projected to rise by 10 to 20 cm by 2050 (Kiribati Meteorological Service). According to the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (previously South Pacific Regional Environment Programme), two small uninhabited Kiribati islets, Tebua Tarawa and Abanuea, disappeared underwater in 1999. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that sea levels will rise by about 50 cm (20 in) by 2100 due to global warming and a further rise would be inevitable. It is thus likely that within a century the nation's arable land will become subject to increased soil salination and will be largely submerged.