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Related: About this forumAs sea levels rise, Kiribati eyes 6,000 acres in Fiji as new home for 103,000 islanders
http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/09/10618829-as-sea-levels-rise-kiribati-eyes-6000-acres-in-fiji-as-new-home-for-103000-islandersRichard Vogel / AP, file
Authorities in Kiribati, seen here in an aerial photo taken in 2004, have been considering several unusual options to combat climate change, including constructing sea walls and even building a floating island.
Fearing that climate change could wipe out their entire Pacific archipelago, the leaders of Kiribati are considering an unusual backup plan: moving the populace to Fiji.
Kiribati President Anote Tong told The Associated Press on Friday that his Cabinet this week endorsed a plan to buy nearly 6,000 acres on Fiji's main island, Viti Levu. He said the fertile land, being sold by a church group for about $9.6 million, could provide an insurance policy for Kiribati's entire population of 103,000, though he hopes it will never be necessary for everyone to leave.
"We would hope not to put everyone on one piece of land, but if it became absolutely necessary, yes, we could do it," Tong said. "It wouldn't be for me, personally, but would apply more to a younger generation. For them, moving won't be a matter of choice. It's basically going to be a matter of survival."
Kiribati, which straddles the equator near the international date line, has found itself at the leading edge of the debate on climate change because many of its atolls rise just a few feet above sea level.
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As sea levels rise, Kiribati eyes 6,000 acres in Fiji as new home for 103,000 islanders (Original Post)
xchrom
Mar 2012
OP
It's a miracle to me anyone could have lived on that island for any extended period.
denverbill
Mar 2012
#2
izquierdista
(11,689 posts)1. Better than no plan
Which is what most of the rest of the world has.
denverbill
(11,489 posts)2. It's a miracle to me anyone could have lived on that island for any extended period.
You would think a moderate storm surge or small tsunami would wipe it out every few years.
xchrom
(108,903 posts)3. i don't know -- i've wondered the same -- but one thing we can conjecture w/ certainty
is that if fiji is their future then the culture as it's developed up til now will end.