Feature: Paradise Lost - Disappearing Islands And The World's First Climate Refugees

An entire culture is at risk of being completely wiped out as rising sea levels are eating away at low-lying islands in the South Pacific Ocean. Scientists believe Papua New Guinea’s Carteret Islands [1]will become uninhabitable by 2015. [2]

The Carteret Islands sit on a circular reef, now comprised of seven tiny islands, as the largest island was recently cut in half by the sea. According to the Telegraph, the highest point on the islands is just 150 centimeters above sea level and the sea around the islands is currently rising at a rate of about 1.8 centimeters per year. [3] By the end of this century, the sea level is expected to rise by 75 centimeters, making the islands, which are home to approximately 3000 people, unfit to live on.

The population will need to be evacuated, giving them the title of the world’s first climate change refugees. Nearly 20 years ago, the islanders began creating man-made clamshell and rock dams to stop the tides, but despite their best efforts the damage has been done.

'The relocation of people and the uprooting of an entire culture is not only an economic and political issue, but an ethical and spiritual dilemma'

The government of Papua New Guinea first organised a relocation plan in 2005 to the nearby mainland city of Bougainville, situated 86 km Northeast of the islands. According to an interview by Pacific News with Basil Peso, a representative for Tulele Peisa, the NGO behind the relocation process, the government did not implement their plan with enough urgency.

Tulele Peisa’s [4]aim is to influence and mobilize people, governments, businesses and institutions to stop global warming and to educate communities and migrants, explaining why they must relocate to the mainland. In 2007, Tulele Peisa submitted a new plan in conjunction with the Catholic Church which was implemented in 2008, starting with the building of new homes and agricultural space. The relocation actually began in spring 2009, and the entire process is hoped to be completed by 2012.

There is a large debate as to whether the rising sea level and temperatures on the islands are the result of tectonic placement, geological reasons associated with their volcanic origins, pollution, or simply due to the normal cycles of climate change. The Carteret people don’t need convincing either way - their islands are sinking before their own eyes. Without a doubt the islanders blame global warming, as they explain in the video below.

It’s too late for the people of Carteret to worry about how, why and what force is dragging their homes into the sea. They are not thinking about causes. In Carteret spirituality, the islands are where the spirits of the ancestors live - all of their stories and ancestors remain on their ill-fated land.

The relocation is voluntary, and whilst some have gone willingly to Bougainville, some are choosing to stay on the island. Life on the islands has become difficult, and the Carteret people can now barely live off their land; they now face food and water shortages.

The Carteret people are currently subsisting on small coconuts and fish, according to the How-To Guide For Environmental Refugees [5]. Salt water has eroded the roots of the coconut trees, one of the island’s staple food sources. Waves have also destroyed the banana and tapioca planted in special gardens, causing them to become unusable, as a result of the salt deposits. The high tides have left swamps where malaria carrying mosquitoes are now breeding, causing nearly all the children on the island to become sick with the disease.

'Environmentalists and climate change scientists expect to see more low-lying islands in the Pacific face similar challenges that Tuvalu and Kiribati are currently experiencing. The Carteret people are the first among many communities to be victims of climate-induced displacement'

Two or three times a year, the Bougainville administration supplies rice via boat, but this is only a short-term solution. As soon as that food runs out, the islanders will be faced with the same problem once again. At one point the Carteret Islands were completely self-sufficient, almost idyllic. They lived life without modern conveniences like electricity and running water, and grew and supplied their own food. The move to a mainland city with an entirely different social system and way of life certainly won’t be easy.

Basil Peso continues "the islanders think it’s too late to tackle climate change, and that the rising sea level and storms are related to global warming caused by greenhouse emissions". Ideally, the islanders would like to see climate policy implemented immediately and internationally to reduce these emissions; the islands won’t disappear without a fight.

Environmentalists and climate change scientists expect to see more low-lying islands in the Pacific face similar challenges like those Tuvalu and Kiribati are currently experiencing. The Carteret people are the first among many communities to be victims of climate-induced displacement.

The relocation of people and the uprooting of an entire culture is not only an economic and political issue, but an ethical and spiritual dilemma. The islanders are not only becoming refugees, but the place they call home will soon disappear under the sea. The group of islands lies just 150 centimeters above sea level: if the average sea level continues to rise at the current rate, in just 50 years there will be nothing left of the carteret people's homeland but waves.

Words: Alicia-Rae Light

Photos: flickr user Sun Come Up [6]

To enter Ctrl.Alt.Shift's Climate Fever competition click here [7]