Kiribati : A Sinking Paradise

by MARILY SASOTA GAYETA

The name Anote Tong may not ring a bell to many people. He is the president of a small
country whose name sounds just as unfamiliar. Anote Tong is definitely not as well-known as
Barack Obama or Vladimir Putin , but the task currently on his shoulders is more burdensome
than what these two leaders carry. Anote Tong is the president of the Republic of Kiribati
( pronounced as KIRR-i-bas ) . Unknown to many , he has the toughest , and most
heartbreaking , responsibility among national leaders these days . His country is sinking ,
literally . And he has to relocate his people ---- all of his people --- to another country . Scientists
have given him dire evidence : in the next 50 to 60 years , which is a short time in the context of
world history , the entire country will be under water .
Located in the central Pacific Ocean , the Republic of Kiribati is composed of 33
islands , 22 of which are inhabited . Most of the islands are low-lying and are as flat as pan
cakes. Its total land area is only 313 square miles .The people are called I-Kiribati and by 2012
population estimates , there are 110,000 of them. Kiribati boasts of spectacular landscape --but that is beginning to change .
Kiribati is a casualty of drastic climate changes due to mankinds environmental
neglect. Salty water has contaminated fresh water supply . Drought has done substantial
damage on agriculture. And the most threatening of all , the rising sea level is starting to
submerge its islands.
People in many coastal villages are moving to higher grounds . Their communities
have become uninhabitable because of the encroaching sea water . Tens of thousands have
already transferred to Tarawa , the main island . But how far and how high can they move ? At
present , the highest accessible point in Kiribati is just two yards above sea level. How long can
it stay above the water is a question with an obviously scary answer.
Actually , Kiribati has one island that is 81 meters above sea level . It is called the
Banaba Island . However , its area is only six square kilometers. How can 110,00 people be
cramped in such a small area and have a sustainable life ? Besides , managing this island is a
politically complicated matter which involves its neighbor Fiji .
At a United Nations World Environment Day in 2008 , Pres. Tong lamented that efforts
to reverse the effects of climate change may already be too late for Kiribati. One of Pres.
Tongs desperate plans is to buy 5,000 acres of land in Fiji. If Fiji agrees , the land will be
used initially for business and agriculture --- and eventually for resettlement . Fiji leaders had
assured Pres. Tong that they are very much willing to help when the time to evacuate comes.

Pres. Tong has appealed to other countries as well to accept his people as migrants .
Many Asia Pacific islanders have actually imigrated to New Zealand . However , absorbing
110,000 I-Kiribatis will have adverse effects on its economy . On the other hand , as early as
2006 , Australian scientists had already warned of the influx of environmental refugees from
countries like Kiribati.
Pres. Tong has started to prepare his people for life in other countries . Batches of
young I-Kiribatis have been sent for education and training abroad . The project is called
Education for Migration . Pres. Tong said that they intend to migrate with dignity . He
wants the Kiribati people to be accepted as skilled and capable migrants who will contribute to
the growth of their new country , and not as helpless refugees who will be a burden on the
economy .
Pres. Tong is also considering a very ambitious endeavor . He has asked a Japanese
engineering company about the possibility and viability of constructing man-made islands where
his people can live. Such artificial islands will be similar to off-shore oil-drilling flatforms. If
accomplished , these man-made islands would be an engineering feat . Cost and sustainability
are serious challenges to consider .If the project does materialize , it will be a drastic change
for the I-Kiribatis who have been accustomed to their paradise-like islands with beautiful
native houses and tall , graceful coconut trees. Instead of strolling on the soft powdery
sand , they will be trodding on hard , cold steel.
The issue of climate change and global warming still seems so remote to many
people . They think it is just a chapter in a high school textbook , or something discussed by
nerd scientists in the halls of the academe , or a topic dabbled in by politicans in the United
Nations headquarters. But to the I-Kiribatis , climate change is a real enemy that has come
pounding on their beloved country and is threatenening their very existence . If scientists are
correct , after 50 years , Kiribati will be no more.