Delicate Island Home

KIRIBATI: Global warming has serious implications for small Pacific island nations.

An older woman contemplates the weather in the small island state of Kiribati in the central Pacific Ocean, 'The sun is getting closer to my island. It is getting hotter. '

She could be right. The weather patterns that cross the 33 coral atolls that make up Kiribati seem to be changing and becoming more extreme. 'We used to be able to predict the weather. We knew when the strong westerly winds would blow and when the waves would be high. But it 's different now. We don 't know what to expect or when, ' says Kaiarake Taburuea from the Kiribati Adaptation Project.

Funded by donor nations, including Australia, New Zealand and the World Bank, the adaptation project is finding ways to reduce the country 's vulnerability to climate variability and sea encroachment.

When it comes to climate change, Kiribati is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world. Its atolls which, on average, are only a few hundred metres wide lie just four metres above sea level. People live under the constant threat that inundating seawater and erosion will take their land and heavy storms will contaminate precious groundwater lenses. As one of the main sources of drinking water, groundwater lenses are critical for survival.

A groundwater lens is a layer of fresh water floating on layers of salt water under the ground. The quality and depth varies from atoll to atoll but when there are big storms with excessive rain the lenses can become contaminated with runoff.

'Australia is helping us to improve our water management, ' says Katuna Kaitara from the climate adaptation project. 'We are preparing a master plan for South Tarawa, which is very heavily populated, and this will form part of our national water plan. '

Foremost is the need to catch and preserve as much rainwater as possible. Through its Small Grants program, AusAID

continues to fund the installation of numerous water tanks in villages in South Tarawa and the outer islands, and is also helping to improve sanitation.

Most of the 90,000 people on Kiribati live a subsistence lifestyle. They rely on fish and crops such as coconuts, giant taro, breadfruit and bananas. But for the crops to thrive and continue to bear fruit they need a healthy environment and protection from seawater, sea spray and erosion.

'We are doing a lot to educate people about climate change, ' says Riibeta Abeta, an officer in the Ministry of Environment. 'We have programs on the radio that discuss different concerns and we get together with communities. We are all doing the best we can to prepare ourselves and adapt to changes as they occur. '

Above: Riibeta Abeta who works in Kiribati 's Ministry of the Environment contemplates the future. He more than most knows the importance of educating people about the possible impacts of climate change. Photo: Lorrie Graham

2007