"We don't want to walk on the sea, to have our feet being wet. We want to walk on dry land."
Hilia Vavae, head of the Meteorological Service of Tuvalu.
In December this year a treaty to replace the Kyoto protocol will be drawn up at the climate change conference in Copenhagen. At a preliminary summit in March, scientists presented new information that revised previous estimates of future sea level rise. The new figures suggest that by the end of the century the...
more »"We don't want to walk on the sea, to have our feet being wet. We want to walk on dry land."
Hilia Vavae, head of the Meteorological Service of Tuvalu.
In December this year a treaty to replace the Kyoto protocol will be drawn up at the climate change conference in Copenhagen. At a preliminary summit in March, scientists presented new information that revised previous estimates of future sea level rise. The new figures suggest that by the end of the century the oceans could be one metre or more above their current levels. Coastal regions will be flooded and low-lying nations such as the tiny South Pacific country of Tuvalu could be submerged.
The impact of rising seas and the increase in extreme weather events can already be seen in Tuvalu. It is one of 22 Pacific island nations with 7 million inhabitants between them that contribute only 0.06% of global greenhouse gas emissions but are three times more vulnerable to climate change than countries in the North.
At the primary school in Funafuti, children are taught about climate change from the age of six. They are also learning what it means to emigrate, because this could be the last generation of children to grow up in Tuvalu. Its people are already in flight. More than 4,000 live in New Zealand, and the Tuvaluan government is planning the migration of the remaining 10,000.
Despite the bleak outlook, many Tuvaluans deny that they are at risk. Although most understand the scientific data they retain their belief in the words of the bible, that God made a covenant with Noah and all of his descendants:
Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.
It is said that every rainbow is a reminder of His promise.
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