Tuvalu, a tiny Polynesian archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, is on the frontline of climate change, with two of its nine islands on the verge of being swallowed by rising seas and coastal erosion, according to the government. The nation, home to just 11,000 people, has a total land area of less than 26 square kilometres, and most islands sit barely three metres above sea level. At its narrowest point, the largest island, Fongafale, stretches just 20 metres across.
Residents like Leitu Frank, a 32-year-old housewife and mother of five, describe the sea as “eating all the sand” and making the water cloudy, while coral dies. The phrase “Tuvalu is sinking” is commonly used to describe the effects of climate change. Many locals report nightmares of the sea consuming the islands, and scientists predict Tuvalu could become uninhabitable within 50 to 100 years, though locals fear it could happen sooner.
The United Nations Development Programme classifies Tuvalu as a resource-poor, least-developed country extremely vulnerable to climate change. Porous, salty soil has made the ground almost useless for planting, destroying staple crops like pulaka and reducing yields of fruits and vegetables. Starchy staples such as taro and cassava now must be imported at great expense.
Rising ocean levels have contaminated underground water supplies, making the nation entirely reliant on rainwater, yet droughts are occurring with alarming frequency. The Frank family, for example, spends around AU$200 (£105) a fortnight on groceries, a bill that keeps rising as fruit trees fail to ripen and fish become unsafe due to ciguatera poisoning. At the local hospital, a specialist department has been set up to manage climate change-related illnesses, with around ten cases of ciguatera poisoning reported each week.
Nausaleta Setani, 54, a resident who initially did not believe in climate change, has become convinced as daily life grows harder. “The weather is changing very quickly, day to day, hour to hour,” she said. “I understand other countries do what is best for their people. All I want is for the bigger countries to respect us, and think of our lives.”
