Tuvalu will be a country even underwater, says leader – 09/22/2023 – World

The prime minister of the oceanic archipelago of Tuvalu, Kausea Natano, attended the UN General Assembly in New York this week to echo one of the arguments that most frequently emerged in the speeches of global leaders: the need to mitigate the climate emergency.

In the case of your country, the impact of this crisis has become an almost existential issue. “Tuvalu may be one of the first nations to go underwater as a result of climate change, but that does not mean it will cease to be a country,” the prime minister told the AFP news agency this Friday (22).

Natano was referring to the provisions of the Convention on the Rights and Duties of States, a document signed in 1933 in Montevideo, Uruguay, to establish the prerogatives for a State to be integrated into international law.

One of them is to have a defined territory. And Tuvalu is losing this characteristic.

Formed by nine islands, the archipelago north of Fiji has 26 km² of land less than five meters above sea level — most of the territory is maritime, with an extension of 800 thousand km². Two of its nine atolls, a type of ring-shaped island full of coral, have already disappeared with rising sea levels.

The country’s capital, the Funafuti atoll, has 40% of its territory submerged during the strongest tides, which destroy the cultivation of basic foods on the island, such as cassava and taro — another common tuber in the region. The country has around 11 thousand inhabitants.

The small population is barely able to access drinking water. With the rise in sea water levels, fresh water was salined in the region. Now, many citizens boil rainwater to drink and also use it to wash clothes, dishes and bathe. The precarious conditions have led to an accelerated exodus of inhabitants.

Prime Minister Natano, who is head of government — the head of State is the responsibility of King Carlos III, as Tuvalu is a constitutional monarchy — said that discussions such as those surrounding the Convention on the Duties of States are “unnecessary”. “Our sovereignty is non-negotiable,” he said.

Faced with this scenario, Tuvalu began a project to adapt its coast that seeks to recover around 3.8 km of land from the ocean, in addition to filling in the most vulnerable points of the territory. More recently, the country began to count on international help for the task.

This week, also in New York, a partnership with Australia was announced to help the country adapt to the climate crisis. The project is part of a new UN plan through which a developed nation assumes responsibility for bearing the financial costs of climate adaptation in a developing nation.

“Tuvalu’s habitable land is already succumbing to rising sea levels,” said the country’s Finance Minister, Seve Paeniu, during the launch of the initiative. Australian authorities said they will collaborate to provide more security and accommodate the population.

Prime Minister Kausea Natano also mentioned the issue during his speech from the General Assembly pulpit. “Collaborative efforts with other countries and organizations are vital to mobilize resources and enable sustainable development,” he said, referring to the impacts of the climate crisis as “existential threats.”

He also addressed the importance of the country being recognized by the UN —Tuvalu only joined the ranks of the United Nations 23 years ago. “Being part of the UN helps us navigate these uncertain times and believe that we are not alone,” he said, in yet another message about the importance of his territory being recognized as a sovereign state.

Rising ocean levels are a direct consequence of global warming. The water level rises as glaciers and polar ice caps melt and there is so-called thermal expansion.

According to experts from the UN climate change panel, sea levels rose by 15 to 25 cm between 1900 and 2018. An increase of 43 cm is expected by 2100 if the planet experiences a 2°C rise in temperature compared to the era pre-industrial.