Earth Science News
WATER WORLD
Tuvalu will always be a state, even if underwater, says PM
Tuvalu will always be a state, even if underwater, says PM
By Issam AHMED
New York (AFP) Sept 21, 2023

Tuvalu could be one of the first nations to sink beneath the sea as a result of climate change, but that doesn't mean its statehood is up for discussion, the tiny Pacific archipelago's prime minister said Thursday.

Speaking on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Kausea Natano said there had been "unnecessary" conversations in academic and diplomatic circles centered on the definition of a country under international law.

"Our sovereignty is not negotiable," Natano told AFP, adding that his country would be working with the international community to "bring a close to these distractions."

Tuvalu's population of 11,000 is spread across nine islands that rise less than five meters above sea level, underscoring the extraordinary challenges it faces from sea-level rise.

Two of the atolls represented on its flag of 11 stars have already disappeared, and even the higher lying areas could become uninhabitable by 2100 as a result of salt contaminating its land and water supply.

The 1933 Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States holds that a state consists of a defined territory, a permanent population, a government and the capacity to interact with other states.

If the territory is swallowed up, or no one can live on what is left of it, then at least one of the criteria is no longer met.

But while Tuvalu's land mass accounts for just 26 square kilometers (10 square miles) -- around the size of seven Central Parks -- its maritime territory covers a vast 800,000 square kilometers.

The convention is ambiguous on the question of whether territory is wet or dry, and there is no precedent for revoking the status of a UN member state, leaving the matter fuzzy.

- Land reclamation, and the metaverse -

Tuvalu isn't taking an underwater future as a given, and -- along with pleading with the world to end its addiction to fossil fuels -- has begun work on a Coastal Adaptation Project that aims to reclaim around 3.8 kilometers of land from the ocean and raise land levels in the most vulnerable spots.

It has been financed with $36 million in international assistance channelled through the Green Climate Fund, and $2.9 million from Tuvalu's own government.

The situation is dire, says Natano. Around 40 percent of the capital Funafuti already gets submerged during periodic "king" tides that wash away root crops, including former island staples taro and cassava.

While he is pleased that the project's first phase is nearing completion, Natano said the scope is too small to help all of his people.

"We need more, faster action from whoever is in a position to support us, urgently," he said.

To this end, the country has been at the forefront of the major climate action calls: a global tax on fossil fuels, and the activation of a "loss and damages" fund -- international climate jargon for climate compensation owed by rich polluting countries to the most impacted nations.

This fund was agreed to in principle at the last major climate talks in Egypt, but -- like so many other vows from the rich world -- has yet to be fulfilled.

"It's a matter of life and death -- it's a matter of disappearing from the surface of this Earth," said Natano, urging countries to keep their promise.

Should the worst come to pass, Tuvalu has been moving its cultural heritage to the digital sphere, in what some have called a model for how "Nation-States 2.0" might work.

But what happens to Tuvalu will merely be a harbinger of what cities around the world threatened by sea-level rise will experience -- from Miami to Manila, said Natano.

"More and more citizens of the world will have to relocate," he said. "Use us a model to preserve the entire world."

Related Links
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
WATER WORLD
Australia declares formation of El Nino weather pattern
Sydney (AFP) Sept 19, 2023
Australia's weather bureau declared on Tuesday the formation of an El Nino weather pattern, bringing hot and dry conditions likely to increase the severity of bushfires and drought. Government forecaster Karl Braganza said an El Nino pattern had settled over the Pacific Ocean, coinciding with an unusual spring heatwave currently baking eastern Australia. Braganza said the El Nino pattern would continue to warm up the planet's oceans, which have "been in record temperatures since April". "T ... read more

WATER WORLD
Blockbuster movie scares Chinese tourists away from Thailand

As Derna reels, other flood-hit Libyan cities struggle to recover

Morocco sets aside nearly $12 bn for quake recovery

Libya flood disaster displaced over 43,000 people: IOM

WATER WORLD
Every Gram Counts: SCHOTT Launches Lightweight Microelectronic Packages for Aerospace

Gold and mercury, not books, for Venezuela's child miners

Recycling plastic not enough, warns UN environment chief

AWS ties up with ISRO and IN-SPACe to advance India's space capabilities with cloud technologies

WATER WORLD
Ethiopia, Egypt, Sudan resume Nile dam talks

Crowdfunding conservation: A Pacific island's plan to protect its waters

Tuvalu will always be a state, even if underwater, says PM

Solomon Islands leader 'appalled' by Japan on Fukushima water

WATER WORLD
Bursting air bubbles may play a key role in how glacier ice melts

Heatwaves hitting Antarctica too

Cruise ship stuck in Greenland fjord refloated: owner

Cruise ship runs aground in Greenland fjord, no injured

WATER WORLD
US farmers, tech tycoons square off over plans for utopian city

Spain livestock farmers raise alarm over rise in wolf attacks

Marshes, mills and Michelin stars: Spain's 'chef of the sea'

Glyphosate: where is it banned or restricted?

WATER WORLD
Heaviest rains in century bring floods to Caspian Sea coast

Earthquake hits central Italy but no immediate damage

Study reveals human destruction of global floodplains

Quake exposed risk in Morocco villages' isolation

WATER WORLD
France withdrawing ambassador, troops from Niger after coup: Macron

Libya flood feeds unrest but political system unchallenged: analysts

Guinea junta leader tells UN to 'stop lecturing' Africa

Children trek to tent school in quake-hit Morocco

WATER WORLD
Fears for ancient Cyrene after Libya floods

Need to hunt small prey compelled humans to make better weapons and smarten up

Hong Kong's top court rules to recognise same-sex partnerships

New ancient ape from Turkiye challenges the story of human origins

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.