I. Introduction to Tuvalu Tuvalu is a Least Developed Country or LDC located in the southwest Pacific Ocean between latitudes 5 degrees and 11 degrees south and longitudes 176 degrees and 180 degrees east. Geographically, Tuvalu is closet to Nauru, the Solomon Islands, Fiji, and Samoa, and is also in the relative vicinity of Papua New Guinea and Australia. As a Polynesian nation with ties to the Austronesian language group, Tuvalu possesses a rich culture and lifestyle important to global heritage and history. However, due to its size and geographical location, Tuvalu also encounters numerous difficulties that have influenced its development, as well as its experiences regarding climate change. Although, in this speech, I will focus mainly on the influences climate change has had on Tuvalu, as well as steps we have taken to respond to and mitigate these influences, I would like to first take a moment to explain challenges that Tuvalu faces regarding size, accessibility, economic infrastructure, and topography. It is my hope that, after listening to this basic introduction, you will not only better understand Tuvalu, which is perhaps rather unfamiliar to some of you, but you will also come to better comprehend the uniquely severe and detrimental effects that climate change has and will continue to have on Tuvalu, as well as the path Tuvalu has taken to draft climate change policies in keeping with its national strategies for sustainable development. Size First, I will speak on some of the challenges Tuvalu has encountered regarding its size, both in terms of total population and overall landmass. Tuvalu is the fourth smallest nation and second smallest developing nation in the world. The country commands a landmass of 26 square kilometers and, according to the 2002 census, a population of 9,561 people live on the nine islands that constitute the country. Although Tuvalu s landmass is extremely small, the nine islands that make up Tuvalu, which are named Niulakita, Nukulaelae, Funafuti, Nukufetau, Vaitupu, Nui, Niutao, Nanumaga, and Nanumea, are spread over 500,000 square kilometers of the western Pacific, which suggests the problems of inter-island transportation and communication encountered in the nation because the country s extremely small population is dispersed over a large area of land. Additionally, Funafuti, which is the capital of Tuvalu, contains 58% of Tuvalu s total population or 4,492 people, whereas the second most populous island, Vaitupu, contains only 16.5% of the population or 1,591 people. Consequently, we can begin to see that, although Tuvalu is a small country with a limited population, the people of Tuvalu are often separated from each other by wide stretches of the sea, and, whereas the capital is facing problems of overpopulation and even over-development, the other eight islands constituting Tuvalu are exposed to slowed development and manpower shortages.
Accessibility This naturally leads us to consider the problem of accessibility, not only regarding communication and transportation among the islands of Tuvalu, but also regarding accessibility between Tuvalu and other nations. Inter-island transportation among Funafuti and the outer eight islands of Tuvalu is provided by inter-island boat services, but several hours or days are required to travel among the various islands and the traveling conditions are frequently marked by discomfort and seasickness. Unfortunately, not only is transportation among the islands of Tuvalu difficult, but transportation between Tuvalu and other nations also proves extremely challenging. Direct flights to Tuvalu are only available from the nation of Fiji. Furthermore, planes traveling from Fiji to Tuvalu (and vice versa) only depart twice a week, on Tuesday and Thursday, which leads to substantial backlog and waiting lists during busier travel seasons such as the summer. Added to this, due to the small size of Tuvalu s one international airport, the largest plane that can land in Tuvalu only seats 40 people, which exacerbates problems of securing transportation between Tuvalu and other nations. From a communications standpoint, because Funafuti is the capital of Tuvalu, the majority of the nation s administrative offices are located in the Funafuti atoll. Funafuti possesses regular telephone service and maintains its connection to Tuvalu s other eight islands via postal services and radiophone. However, although Internet services have been available in Tuvalu since 1999, accessing the Internet remains difficult for the average citizen, with Internet cafes supplying Internet facilities for the majority of the population and only government offices possessing more stable Internet connections. Consequently, aside from its small size both in terms of population and landmass, Tuvalu also encounters numerous difficulties regarding accessibility to transportation and communication services, which, of course, affect Tuvaluans access to citizens on islands other than their own, as well as Tuvaluans access to the international community and the international community s ability to access and interact with the people of Tuvalu. Naturally, this phenomenon also influences the goods and services available to Tuvalu, restricting access to numerous products you may easily find in your daily life. Economic Infrastructure Largely due to the issues of size and accessibility described above, Tuvalu s economy has been slow to develop and is small, fragmented, and highly vulnerable to external economic influences. As a result, the government and people of Tuvalu
have established several innovative strategies to increase revenues. For example, the government has developed the Tuvalu Maritime Training Institute to train young men to work as seafarers on foreign ships, which has allowed these men to generate income that can be transmitted to their families in Tuvalu via remittances. Tuvalu has also successfully marketed not only its national stamps and coins, but its Internet domain name suffix.tv, which created substantial revenue during the late 1990s because tv is the shortened form of the English word television and which still provides a small but steady revenue stream for the Tuvalu government. Additionally, as you may have noticed during my discussion of Tuvalu s size, although Tuvalu s landmass is limited, its sea territories are quite vast. Thus, Tuvalu also utilizes the annual sale of fishing licenses to foreign vessels as a means of amassing annual revenue. Finally, the Government of Tuvalu and Tuvalu s local island governments have established two trust funds, that is, the Tuvalu Trust Fund and the Falekaupule Trust Fund, with the assistance of diplomatic allies and international organizations so as to bolster Tuvalu s national budget, as well as the operations of Tuvalu s eight outer islands. Despite these innovative actions on the part of the Government of Tuvalu, however, Tuvalu possesses few exports and no land-based natural resources, and semi-subsistence farming and fishing are its primary economic activities. Unfortunately, because the nine islands constituting Tuvalu are composed of infertile and low-quality soil and no fresh water aquifers exist, farming activities can only be conducted on a limited basis. Consequently, Tuvalu is heavily reliant on imports and outside development assistance to ensure the well-being of the local people, and, because of accessibility problems, although Tuvalu possesses spectacular scenery and pristine beaches, an average of fewer than 1,000 tourists visit Tuvalu annually. Topography Although all of the topics discussed above can allow us to better comprehend challenges that have influenced Tuvalu s national development and can serve as a basis for understanding why climate change might present a more unique and severe challenge to Tuvalu than to many other countries, my final topic in this introduction: topography, most clearly demonstrates the dire threat climate change, and sea level rise in particular, poses to Tuvalu. The major topographical characteristic of Tuvalu is that all of the land belonging to the nation is low-lying. This means that no mountains occur naturally in Tuvalu and that all of Tuvalu s islands are less than five meters above mean sea level. However, it is also imperative to note that, although some areas in Tuvalu reach four
or five meters above sea level, the majority of the population lives less than one meter above sea level, bringing Tuvaluan citizens into direct contact with the ocean almost every day of their lives. In addition to this and as mentioned earlier, the landmass of Tuvalu is extremely limited and each of the nine islands constituting Tuvalu are narrow to the point that citizens can walk across the islands in several minutes and can see the ocean surrounding them from nearly any vantage point on their land. The population of Fongafale, Funafuti, where nearly half of the country s population is concentrated, is on average less than 100 meters wide, making it extremely vulnerable to inundation from sea level rise. As a result, sea level rise is a direct threat to the lives, assets, livelihoods, and ecosystems of Tuvalu, and the sea level need only increase by one meter to displace the majority of citizens from their homes. The problem of Tuvalu s topography and the threat of sea level rise to the low-lying land of Tuvalu has been further exacerbated by the fact that, during World War II, much of the landmass of Tuvalu was excavated and forests and mangroves destroyed when U.S. troops constructed airbases on Funafuti, Nanumea, and Nukufetau. Consequently, Tuvalu is now not only threatened by overland ocean flooding, but sea water has also begun to seep and bubble up from below the islands of Tuvalu, leading to the increased threat of flooding from both above and below. II. Influences Climate Change Has Had and Will Have on Tuvalu Having understood this brief introduction to some of the difficulties that have affected the development of Tuvalu, as well as possible reasons for which climate change and sea level rise may have an especially severe impact on the people of Tuvalu, we can now focus more fully on the topic you have asked me to speak on today, that is, the influences and impacts that climate change has had and will have on Tuvalu. The effects of climate change on Tuvalu became evident beginning in 1950, but, in some cases, these impacts appeared even earlier in the nation s history. example, the maximum temperature in Funafuti has increased at a rate of 0.21 C per decade since 1950, which is consistent with patterns for global warming and climate change. Additionally, between 1950 and 2009, rates of relative sea-level rise near Funafuti were approximately three times higher than the global average, while ocean acidification levels have been slowly increasing in Tuvalu s waters since the 18 th century. Sea Level Rise Thus, we can see that, climate change has already begun to affect Tuvalu in For
terms of increases in temperatures, sea levels, and ocean acidification levels. The most recent report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change or the IPCC, a scientific body established under the United Nations, has further suggested the extreme effects climate change will have on Tuvalu as we move into the future. First, the IPCC report suggests that sea levels will rise in the range of.5 meters to one meter by the year 2100. If you will remember, earlier in this discussion, I explained that Tuvalu s land territories are all under five meters above sea level and the majority of Tuvalu s population lives less than one meter above sea level. Consequently, if the IPCC s findings are accurate, the majority of Tuvalu s populated land will be submerged by 2100! Due to the increased rates of sea level rise, not only will the low-lying areas of Funafuti and other Tuvaluan islands be exposed to more frequent and extensive saltwater flooding, but Tuvalu s agricultural activities, as well as the already limited water supplies possessed by Tuvalu, will also be severely affected. To describe a specific example, Tuvalu once relied heavily on growing pulaka, a type of taro, to maintain agricultural self-sufficiency. Now, due to sea level rise, the swampy areas of islands where pulaka is farmed have increased in salinity and citizens are unable to successfully raise this crop. As a result, the people of Tuvalu can no longer depend on pulaka to replenish their food supplies and are forced to instead import large amounts of rice to sustain the daily diet. More worrying still is the fact that, as rates of sea level rise increase, the people of Tuvalu will be forced to move off their land as the useable landmass of Tuvalu decreases, creating problems of overcrowding, especially on the island of Funafuti, and dangerously impacting the survival of Tuvaluan citizens. Severe Weather Events and Coral Reefs The IPCC has also predicted that, due to the effects of climate change, severe weather events will soon begin to threaten Tuvalu with increased frequency. For example, cyclones and droughts will become more commonplace and are some of the first serious effects of climate change Tuvalu will witness in the near term. Unfortunately, the effects of climate change are also presently destroying and will continue to destroy life forms including coral that have, in the past, naturally protected Tuvalu from severe weather events like cyclones. To give an example, increases in water temperature directly result in extreme coral bleaching phenomena, during which marine-life such as algae that grow within coral die out as temperatures reach excessively high levels. As a result, coral turns white hence the term coral bleaching and if high temperatures persist, the coral
itself dies. In addition, ocean acidification is currently threatening coral and shellfish composed of calcium carbonate such as clams, mussels, and snails. Ocean acidification is another consequence of climate change, in which high levels of carbon dioxide that now exist in the atmosphere because of greenhouse gas emissions result in higher levels of CO 2 being dissolved in the ocean. Increased CO 2 levels in the ocean contribute to the increasing acidity of ocean waters and threaten to dissolve marine creatures composed of calcium because CO 2 -rich habitats make these creatures erode faster than they can grow. Because, in the near future, severe weather events will begin to occur with greater frequency at exactly the same time that naturally protective life forms like coral experience accelerated rates of decay, the destructive force of severe weather events will increase exponentially, threatening both the people and land of Tuvalu. Rising Temperatures Finally, the Pacific Climate Change Science Program has developed several projections that indicate that average annual air and sea surface temperatures for Tuvalu have been and will continue to increase in the future. Under a high emissions scenario, temperature increases that will occur by 2030 are projected to be in the range of 0.4 C to 1.0 C, and will be accompanied by an increase in the number of hot days and warm nights and a decline in cooler weather. These temperature changes will not only lead to the enhanced severity of coral bleaching phenomena and affect the protections against severe weather events that coral reefs afford to Tuvalu, but will also reduce agricultural and marine resources, increase the evaporation of water resources from soils, and pose a direct threat to the health of local citizens. Summary of Climate Change Effects To summarize, at present, Tuvalu is at extremely high risk for the following climate change impacts and associated disasters: 1. Sea level rise, which will cause increased erosion and inundation and negatively influence marine systems including coral reefs, sea grass, and mangroves; 2. Intense storms and tropical cyclones and the damage these weather events will cause to the livelihoods of the people, infrastructure, and biodiversity of Tuvalu; 3. Droughts and the effects droughts have on human health and economic systems, including damages caused to livelihoods and ecosystems; 4. Increases in temperature, which will lead to the greater frequency of coral bleaching; and 5. Increases in ocean acidification and its influences on calcium carbonate and calcification, which will affect the growth and life cycles of corals, crustaceans, and shellfish. Because the above risks and their affects have tremendous implications for the
well-being and survival of the Tuvaluan people, Tuvalu has been cited as one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to the influences of climate change and sea level rise. Of course, in the face of such an imminent threat, the Government of Tuvalu has by no means sat idly by and has currently developed the Te Kaniva Tuvalu Climate Change Policy 2012 and the Tuvalu National Strategic Action Plan for Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management (2012-2016) to combat the various dangers caused by climate change. In formulating these measures, the government has sought not only to ensure that all policies related to climate change dovetail with Tuvalu s current sustainable development strategy, Te Kakeega II, but has also sought to guarantee that these measures enhance adaptation and mitigation for climate change and address the risks Tuvalu faces as a result of climate change. III. Tuvalu s Climate Change Policies: Te Kakeega II to Te Kaniva and the Tuvalu National Strategic Action Plan for Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management Tuvalu s current national strategy for sustainable development, which covers the period from 2005 to 2015, is entitled Te Kakeega II, and was approved by Tuvalu s Parliament in November of 2005. The Te Kakeega II strategy for national sustainable development was finalized following large-scale public consultations, during which discussions and meetings were conducted between a team of officials from both governmental and non-governmental organizations and each of the nine island communities constituting Tuvalu. These consultations were followed by a National Summit on Sustainable Development held in mid-2004, which resulted in general agreement regarding strategies that should be included in Te Kakeega II. The vision of Te Kakeega II is that by 2015, guided by strong spiritual values enshrined in its motto Tuvalu mo te Atua (meaning Tuvalu for God ) we will have achieved a healthy, educated, peaceful and prosperous Tuvalu. Te Kakeega II identifies eight strategic areas on which development should be focused, that is, good governance; macroeconomic growth and stability; social development; outer island and Falekaupule development; employment and private sector development; human resource development; natural resources development; and the development of infrastructure and support services. We expect that, after implementing this development strategy, increased employment opportunities will become available, economic growth will increase while poverty and hardship are reduced, healthcare and educational services will improve, basic infrastructure will be enhanced, and social stability will achieve continued development.
More important to our topic of discussion today is the fact that environmental issues and strategies for combating climate change are considered crucial to the success of Tuvalu s sustainable development. Strategy 11.4 within Te Kakeega II delineates key policy directives regarding the environment and specifically highlights Tuvalu s initiative to establish national climate change adaptation and mitigation policies. In response to this goal, my government has developed and promoted the Te Kaniva Tuvalu Climate Change Policy 2012, or the TCCP, and the Tuvalu National Strategic Action Plan for Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management, or the NSAP. We view these policies as a direct method by which to achieve Te Kakeega II goals and objectives and thereby contribute to Tuvalu s sustainable development. Additionally, the establishment of the TCCP and the NSAP was prompted and influenced by both Tuvalu s national policies, such as our National Energy Policy and National Disaster Risk Management Plan, and regional and international frameworks such as the Pacific Islands Framework for Action on Climate Change, the Regional Framework for Action on Disaster Risk Management, and the UNFCCC. The TCCP and the NSAP were developed using identical methodologies and processes and were designed for simultaneous implementation. Why, then, were two policies created instead of one? you might ask. Simply put, the TCCP and the NSAP were created as separate entities to more clearly highlight the theoretical and practical aspects of Tuvalu s national response to climate change. Consequently, whereas the TCCP outlines Tuvalu s vision and sweeping strategic policies for combatting climate change over the period extending from 2012 to 2021, the NSAP represents the government s plan for implementing the TCCP and more practically defines the manner in which the TCCP should be realized in all aspects of Tuvaluan life over the five-year period from 2012 to 2016. Within this innovative interweaving of separate but interdependent policies, the TCCP presents a broad vision and seven overarching thematic goals for mitigation and adaptation relating to climate change, while the NSAP pinpoints specific operational strategies, implementation arrangements, costing, and evaluation measures inherent to the success of TCCP objectives. The vision of the TCCP is to protect Tuvalu s status as a nation and its cultural identity and to build its capacity to ensure a safe, resilient and prosperous future. I ll take the time now to briefly explain the seven thematic goals constituting the TCCP to enrich your basic knowledge of Tuvalu s comprehensive strategy for overcoming climate change: Goal 1: Strengthening Adaptation Actions to Address Current and Future
Vulnerabilities Within this goal, the people of Tuvalu are encouraged to become more intimately involved in on-the-ground adaptation so as to strengthen Tuvalu s resilience and capacity and allow the people of Tuvalu to continue living in their country and experiencing their unique culture and way of life. Goal 2: Improving Understanding and Application of Climate Change Data, Information and Site Specific Impacts Assessment to Inform Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction Programmes Here, the Government of Tuvalu will develop scientific and assessment capacity so as to increase understandings of climate change and the specific influences it will have on Tuvalu. Goal 3: Enhancing Tuvalu s Governance Arrangements and Capacity to Access and Manage Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management Finances Within this goal, Tuvalu will strengthen national institutional arrangements and position itself to obtain maximum benefits from international and regional institutions relevant to climate change finances. Goal 4: Developing and Maintaining Tuvalu s Infrastructures to Withstand Climate Change Impacts, Climate Variability, Disaster Risks and Climate Change Projection This goal refers to Tuvalu s efforts to climate proof key infrastructures against the influences of climate change, increase awareness of the effects that climate change may have on properties and structures, and encourage the use of best practices for construction. Goal 5: Ensuring Energy Security and a Low Carbon Future for Tuvalu Specifically, as part of Goal 5, Tuvalu will remain committed to a mitigation agenda in which the nation transitions to a low-carbon future and focuses on improving energy efficiency and developing renewable energy. Goal 6: Planning for Effective Disaster Preparedness, Response and Recovery When faced with the various risks and dangers caused by climate change, disaster preparedness is crucial to saving lives and preserving property. However, because disasters are often difficult to avoid, well-developed disaster response and recovery measures are essential to ensuring that the damages caused by disasters are reduced and lessons learned can be implemented in the face of future disasters.
Goal 7: Guaranteeing the Security of the People of Tuvalu from the Impacts of Climate Change and the Maintenance of National Sovereignty Despite the influences of climate change, the people of Tuvalu hope to protect their cultural identity, and, if it is impossible to remain in Tuvalu, they hope to be well prepared and know what their future holds. To achieve this goal, the people of Tuvalu must be cognizant of the effects climate change can have on their lives and must develop strategies to mitigate these effects. IV. Opportunities or Case Studies Regarding Taiwanese NPOs/NGOs Cooperating with Tuvalu on Climate Change The policies and implementation plans established in the TCCP and NSAP represent an opportunity for Tuvalu to enact wide-ranging changes and policy movements that can serve to enhance the quality of Tuvalu s response to climate change. These policies can further transform Tuvalu into a model for enacting necessary adaptation and mitigation measures in the face of the imminent threat posed by climate change. However, realizing the goals indicated in the TCCP, as well as the operational processes defined in the NSAP, will require substantial monetary and intellectual resources, as well as tremendous manpower. It is estimated that implementing the NSAP will cost AU$8,002,408, of which AU$6,338,004 represent the financial cost and AU$1,664,404 represent the in-kind contribution from local and regional organizations. Moreover, several of the strategies set forth in the NSAP, for example, developing nurseries for food crops tolerant to salt and heat and the implementation of improved rain water harvesting facilities and practices, will necessitate the assistance of experts in various fields, and volunteers will certainly be essential to ensuring that all NSAP strategies can be feasibly executed. In the past, Tuvalu has consistently benefited from the assistance provided by non-profit and non-governmental organizations in Taiwan regarding improvements in national sustainability and environmental protection practices. In particular, the Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund, or the TaiwanICDF, has furnished significant aid in the areas of waste management and recycling, energy production and diversification, developments in agriculture and aquaculture, and the provision and design of solar lighting. As you would note, the basis for many of these projects is not direct financial injections into Tuvalu s economy but, rather, the provision of expertise and manpower resources to advance Tuvalu s intellectual capacity and allow the more rapid realization of projects vital to Tuvalu s development. Consequently, while monetary resources are prerequisite to Tuvalu s
ability to implement the TCCP and NSAP, Taiwan s NPOs and NGOs, which may command more resources in terms of professional knowledge and enthusiastic volunteers than monetary funding, are essential to the ultimate success of Tuvalu s large-scale environmental protection projects. Therefore, I would encourage any NPOs or NGOs interested in Tuvalu s environmental policies and strategies to contact the Government of Tuvalu, and, specifically, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Trade, Tourism, Environment, and Labor, to discuss possible opportunities for cooperation. Individual people can also make a difference, and we welcome assistance provided by individual volunteers or volunteer groups who are passionate about combating climate change and ensuring the future survival and prosperity of Tuvalu. V. Planned Relocation Solution or Procrastination? Finally, I would like to touch upon an issue of particular concern for the current government in Tuvalu, that is, whether planned relocation is an appropriate solution to the climate change crisis Tuvalu is currently facing. Numerous people have proposed that if Tuvalu is at risk of disappearing due to the effects of sea level rise, the Government and citizens of Tuvalu should seek refuge or purchase land in other countries so as to escape the dangers posed by accelerated increases in sea levels. For example, Australia and New Zealand have been urged to provide assistance in the resettling of islanders threatened by rising sea levels as a consequence of climate change, and Kiribati s President Anote Tong recently announced that the Government of Kiribati has purchased a 5,460-acre piece of land in the country of Fiji to provide for the potential resettlement of Kiribati citizens if the nation disappears due to sea level rise. My government, however, has never accepted the strategy of planned relocation. Currently, Tuvalu recognizes that, in the future, planned relocation may become inevitable, especially if countries that produce large quantities of greenhouse gases refuse to curb their irresponsible actions and climate change becomes increasingly severe and irreversible. However, the nation of Tuvalu cannot at the present time accept the strategy of planned relocation because it will both threaten Tuvalu s national sovereignty and way of life and also provide an easy solution to the most pressing dangers caused by climate change, which will allow major polluters and creators of greenhouse gas emissions to continue to ignore climate change phenomena. That the citizens of Tuvalu hope to maintain their hold on their land is both a strategy that can be used to protect the sovereign rights of the people and nation of Tuvalu and a reminder to the international community that climate change is an omnipresent threat with real consequences that cannot and should not be
ignored. In this case, accepting planned relocation as a feasible strategy is akin to acknowledging that the destruction of Tuvalu in the face of climate change and sea level rise is unavoidable, whereas rejecting relocation and remaining committed to mitigation extends the hope that if the international community is able to work together and all parties are willing to make sacrifices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and curb the effects of climate change, Tuvalu may survive. VI. Conclusion Although Tuvalu s future in the face of the increasing severity of climate change seems grim, I hope that my speech today can serve as a message of hope and anticipation rather than a pessimistic tale of environmental disasters we are powerless to stop. Tuvalu realizes the dangers posed to the nation by sea level rise and is working to not only better understand these dangers and the mechanisms causing them, but also to draft and implement strategies through which Tuvaluans can enhance national mitigation measures and alert the international community to the threat we are encountering. I have come to you today to educate you and ensure that you can confidently answer anyone who asks you So, why does Tuvalu care about climate change so much anyway? I have also come to you today in the hope of inspiring you. The people of my nation are, in one way or another, affected by climate change every day, but we have not and will not give up our home and traditional culture. We will continue to fight to better both our own response and the international community s response to climate change. I urge you to use the opportunity provided to you through this two-day Taiwan Power Shift program to develop tangible action to combat climate change. Critically examine your own life and the lives of those around you and identify ways in which you can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase energy efficiency. Your attendance at this program already indicates that you are passionate about the environment, and I encourage you to funnel this passion into action. You can help Taiwan, you can help Tuvalu, or you can even help the entire world, but you must in some way help. Even if the results of your actions are never clearly apparent to you here in Taiwan, I assure you that the people of Tuvalu will notice them and will thank you for them. Thank you and xiexie!