Climate change in Tuvalu

Main article: Tuvalu

Funafuti

Climate change is of a concern in Tuvalu since at its highest, Tuvalu is only 4.5 m above sea level, and could be one of the first nations to experience the effects of sea level rise. Not only could parts of the island be flooded, the rising saltwater table could destroy deep rooted food crops such as coconut and taro.

Climate systems that affect Tuvalu

Tuvalu participates in the operations of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Program (SPREC).^[1] The climate of the Pacific region at the equator is influenced by a number of factors; the science of which is the subject of continuing research. The SPREC described the climate of Tuvalu as being:

“[I]nfluenced by a number of factors such as trade wind regimes, the paired Hadley cells and Walker circulation, seasonally varying convergence zones such as the South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ), semi-permanent subtropical high-pressure belts, and zonal westerlies to the south, with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) as the dominant mode of year to year variability (…). The Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) also is a major mode of variability of the tropical atmosphere-ocean system of the Pacific on times scales of 30 to 70 days (…), while the leading mode with decadal time-scale is the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO) (…). A number of studies suggest the influence of global warming could be a major factor in accentuating the current climate regimes and the changes from normal that come with ENSO events (…).”^[2]

Measuring climate change effects in Tuvalu

Ocean side of Funafuti atoll showing the storm dunes, the highest point on the atoll.

In 1978, a tide gauge was installed at Funafuti by the University of Hawaii. It has measured a sea rise of 1.2 mm per year over 23 years—a figure consistent with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) global mean estimate of 1 to 2 mm per year over the 20th century.^[3] Uncertainty as to the accuracy of the data from this tide gauge resulted in a modern Aquatrak acoustic gauge being installed in 1993 by the Australian National Tidal Facility (NTF) as part of the AusAID-sponsored South Pacific Sea Level and Climate Monitoring Project.^[4]

The 40 cm rise in sea level predicted by the IPCC by the end of the 21st century (not including potential increases in sea level rise from dynamic ice sheet behaviour) could have significant effects for Tuvalu.^[5]

This concern is compounded by the effects of subsidence which causes the islands naturally to sink into the sea, and non-natural land use (such as farming) which causes soil compaction. And to further complicate matters, it has been difficult to accurately measure to what degree each of these causes is affecting the observed rise in sea level. Global warming may not be the primary cause for the rise in local measurements.^[6]

Sea-level rise may not necessarily mean Tuvalu will be inundated. Tuvalu is mainly composed of coral debris eroded from encircling reefs and pushed up onto the islands by winds and waves. This accumulation of coral debris can offset the sea level rise. 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 reef islands to sea level rise in the central Pacific. Tuvalu was mentioned in the study, and Webb and Kench found that seven islands in one of its nine atolls have spread by more than 3 per cent on average since the 1950s. One island, Funamanu, gained 0.44 hectares, or nearly 30 per cent of its previous area.^[7]

Estimates as to changes in the sea level relative to the islands of Tuvalu

As to whether there are measurable changes in the sea level relative to the islands of Tuvalu is a contentious issue.^[8] There are problems associated with the pre-1993 sea level records from Funafuti so that a data over a longer period needs to be collected in order to have more reliable data.^[4] The degree of uncertainty as to estimates of sea level change relative to the islands of Tuvalu is reflected in the conclusions made from the available data:

“A cautious estimate of present long-term relative sea level change at Funafuti, which uses all the data, is a rate of rise of 0:8 ± 1:9 mm/year relative to the land. This indicates that there is about a 68% probability of the rate of rise being between -1.1 and 2.7 mm/year.

A less cautious estimate, based on the rejection of data affected by El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events, is a rate of rise of 1:2 ± 0:8 mm/year relative to the land. This indicates that there is about a 68% probability of the rate of rise being between 0.4 and 2.0 mm/year.”^[4]

Part of the uncertainty relates to the impact of El Niño events which can actually result in sea levels falling by 11 inches (28.4 centimeters).^[9]

There is further contention as to whether saltwater encroachment which is destroying the gardens for pulaka, taro and coconut palms is the consequence of changes in the sea level;^[10] or the consequence of the fresh water being extracted from the water table or the consequence of the creation of the borrow pits, which are the result of the extraction of coral to build the runway at Funafuti during World War II.^[9]

Notwithstanding the uncertainty as to the climate science analysis of sea level change relative to the islands of Tuvalu, there are observable changes that have occurred over the last ten to fifteen years that show Tuvaluans that there have been changes to sea levels. Those observable changes include sea water bubbling up through the porous coral rock to form pools on each high tide and flooding of low-lying areas including the airport on a regular during spring tides and king tides.^{[11] [12] [13]}

National response

The New soil programme

Tuvalu faces challenges which will be exacerbated by climate change, those challenges are: i) Coastal erosion, saltwater intrusion and increasing vector and water borne diseases due to sea level rise; ii) Inadequate potable water due to less rainfall and prolonged droughts; iii) Pulaka pit salinisation due to saltwater intrusion; and iv) Decreasing fisheries population.^[14]

Tuvalu’s local community governance, called the Falekaupule, responds to the climate change problem with the combined efforts of several local outlying bodies. The main office, aptly named the Department of Environment, is responsible for coordinating the Non-Governmental Organizations, Religious Bodies, and Stakeholders. Each of the named groups are responsible for implementing Tuvalu’s National Adaptation Programme of Action, the main plan to adapt to the adverse affects of human use and climate change.^[15]

Tuvalu has said it wants all its energy to come from renewable sources by 2020.^[16]

See also: Renewable energy in Tuvalu

Tuvalu's role at the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference

Main article: Tuvalu and the United Nations

In December 2009 the islands stalled talks at United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, fearing some other developing countries were not committing fully to binding deals on a reduction in carbon emission, their chief negotiator stated "Tuvalu is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to climate change, and our future rests on the outcome of this meeting."^[17] When the conference failed to reach a binding, meaningful agreement, Tuvalu's representative Ian Fry said, "It looks like we are being offered 30 pieces of silver to betray our people and our future... Our future is not for sale. I regret to inform you that Tuvalu cannot accept this document."^[18]

Fry's speech to the conference was a highly impassioned plea for countries around the world to address the issues of man-made global warming resulting in climate change. The five-minute speech addressed the dangers of rising sea levels to Tuvalu and the world. In his speech Fry claimed man-made global warming to be currently "the greatest threat to humanity", and ended with an emotional "the fate of my country rests in your hands".^[19]

See also

• Talofa! Tuvalu Met Service
• South Pacific Sea Level and Climate Monitoring Project (SPSLCMP)
• Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Program
• Renewable energy in Tuvalu
• Regional effects of global warming

References

1. ^ "SPREC". Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Program. 2009. http://www.sprep.org. Retrieved 22 Oct. 2011. 
2. ^ "Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change Tuvalu Report of In-Country Consultations". Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Program (SPREC). 2009. http://www.sprep.org/att/irc/ecopies/countries/tuvalu/49.pdf. Retrieved 13 Oct. 2011. 
3. ^ Kennedy Warne, "Dance of a Dangerous Sea", Canadian Geographic Magazine, October 2008, p. 58
4. ^ ^{a b c} Hunter, John R. (2002). "A Note on Relative Sea Level Change at Funafuti, Tuvalu". Antarctic Cooperative Research Centre. http://staff.acecrc.org.au/~johunter/tuvalu.pdf. Retrieved 13 Oct. 2011. 
5. ^ Kennedy Warne, ibid, p. 61
6. ^ http://ruby.fgcu.edu/courses/twimberley/EnviroPhilo/Cabanes.pdf
7. ^ http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20627633.700-shapeshifting-islands-defy-sealevel-rise.html
8. ^ Dr Vincent Gray (15 June 2006). "The Truth about Tuvalu". http://nzclimatescience.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=1. Retrieved 13 Oct. 2011. 
9. ^ ^{a b} Field, Michael (28 March 2002). "Global Warming Not Sinking Tuvalu - But Maybe Its Own People Are". Agence France-Presse. http://www.tuvaluislands.com/news/archived/2002/2002-03-30.htm. Retrieved 13 Oct. 2011. 
10. ^ Baarsch, Florent (4 March 2011). "Warming oceans and human waste hit Tuvalu's sustainable way of life". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/mar/04/tuvalu-sustainable-way-of-life-disappears. 
11. ^ "Global Warming". The Luaseuta Foundation. http://www.tvhope.org/. Retrieved 14 Oct. 2011. 
12. ^ Laafai, Monise (October 2005). "Funafuti King Tides". http://www.tuvaluislands.com/photos/2006_tides/2006tides.html. Retrieved 14 Oct. 2011. 
13. ^ Mason, Moya K.. "Tuvalu: Flooding, Global Warming, and Media Coverage". http://www.moyak.com/papers/tuvalu-climate-change.html. Retrieved 13 Oct. 2011. 
14. ^ "Tuvalu’s National Adaptation Programme of Action - Under the auspices of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change". Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment, Agriculture and Lands - Department of Environment. May 2007. http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/napa/tuv01.pdf. Retrieved 24 Oct. 2011. 
15. ^ Tuvalu’s National Adaptation Programme of Action http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/napa/tuv01.pdf
16. ^ "Tiny Tuvalu says all its energy renewable by 2020". The Jerusalem Post. http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1246443854919&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull. Retrieved 2009-07-20. 
17. ^ "Island's tough climate plea denied". BBC News. 2009-12-09. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8405051.stm. Retrieved 2010-04-30. 
18. ^ Future not for sale: climate deal rejected
19. ^ YouTube video of Fry's speech, accessed 2011-03-10

External links

• "Maps of Tuvalu". http://www.tuvaluislands.com/maps/maps.html. 
• Tuvalu and global warming
• Small Is Beautiful - a lobby group set up to help the island nation
• Tuvalu's options on setting up defences against the rising sea
• King Tide | The Sinking of Tuvalu
• The Luaseuta Foundation

News

• Climate Change - Tuvalu - ACF Newsource
• Tuvalu: That Sinking Feeling from PBS Rough Cut
• Environment: Tiny Tuvalu Fights for Its Literal Survival IPS News