Tuvalku’s flag has nine yellow stars, one for each island that makes up this small Pacific archipelago, home to 11,000 people.
Currently, two of the atolls are on the verge of disappearing under water as a result of the climate crisis.
What happens if a country disappears under water and all its people have to leave it?
“This is exactly the idea behind the Emerging Nations Initiative: to persuade UN members to recognize our nation even though we are underwater, because that is our identity,” Prime Minister Kausea told AFP, speaking to Natano, who is attending the UN General Assembly.
Messages of sympathy and vague promises from the international community did little for the Pacific island nations, which on Wednesday began a formal legal process to protect their states, even if the worst were to happen.
The plan aims to reaffirm the international community’s commitment to the sovereignty of Tuvalu and other island nations, create a repository for the islands’ cultural heritage, designate the islands as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and increase funding to take steps to help them adapt.
The situation is already dire.
Like “floating islands” that are not directly connected to the land below, atolls are located on “mirrors” of fresh water, increasingly penetrated by salt water from the oceans, which increases its level.
This has made them dependent on rainwater for personal consumption and agriculture, but Tuvalu has been suffering from a severe drought for six months.
“We need to build desalination plants, but they are very expensive and consume large amounts of electricity,” explains Natano.
The islands of the archipelago are practically at ocean level. The highest point is only 4.5 meters, but in other places it is only a meter or a half meter.
Thus, Natano explains, the islands are exposed to waves that sweep away crops and fill the soil with salt.
The situation is extremely unfair: Pacific island nations bear the least responsibility for global warming and produce only 0.03% of the world’s emissions.
But even if the world’s most polluting countries correct their course and meet the Paris Agreement’s target of limiting warming to +1.5°C, it will be too late for the most vulnerable countries like the Marshal Islands and Tuvalu.
– “We live as a society” –
Natano says that after the devastating crossing of the Pam Cyclone in 2015, many people – depending on New Zealand, Australia or the United States – began to leave the country, even though immigration opportunities were limited due to tight immigration policies.
“We live as a community in Tuvalu,” says Natano, visibly moved. “Even people who go don’t want to go, they take care of their children, grandchildren and now have to look for a future for them.”
The country has joined the “loss and damage” compensation mechanism offered by rich countries for its historical and current contributions to the climate crisis, but the problem is far from being a solution.
Natano still hopes to get the help his country needs so people can stay on the island.
He is now in full negotiation to determine how it would be possible to maintain a separate identity if he and his compatriots have to go to other countries, but this is a difficult thing and assures it is a “last resort”.
“When you’re in Australia, you’re Australian. So is New Zealand. We want to stay in our country, preserve our culture and traditions, and preserve our heritage,” he says.
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© Agence France-Press
source: Noticias
