KIRIBATI CASE STUDY

Location and background

• consist of 33 low-lying sand islands with mangrove atolls in the Pacific Ocean

• Population of 100,000

• Sea level rising by 1.2mm a year - 4x faster than the global average

Evidence of threat from rising sea levels

• in 1990, two Kiribati islands disappeared underwater due to rising sea levels

• By 2100, sea levels are predicted to rise by 50cm, but the highest point of Kiribati is only 4m above sea level

Threats to the physical environment

• coral destruction

• Soil salination

• Tides and coastal erosion

Coral destruction

• symbiotic algae which is needed to nourish coral Is lost when ocean temp rises or when UV stresses the corals

• This can cause the corals to starve, declining their growth and reproduction, and their vulnerability to disease increases

• Coral bleaching spiked in 1998, a record-breaking year for sea surface temperatures

Soil salination

• Kiribati soil is thin and calcareous, with a low water holding capacity and nutrient content

• Salt water intrusion from sea level rise and associated flooding has made the soil even less fertile for crop production

• The production of copra, the main cash crop for 55% of the population, is sensitive to salt water intrusion

Tides and coastal erosion

• in 1997, Kiribati was ravished with a “king-tide”, with waves reaching 2.87m high and sweeping farmland out to sea

• King tides are expected to worsen as sea levels rise, and by 2100, a further 40% of coastal areas are predicted to have been eroded away

Threats to the human environment

• population centralisation

• Public health concerns

• Economic uncertainty

Population centralisation

• coastal erosion, flooding and salt intrusion has hindered large-scale agricultural production, and people have turned to the sea for livelihood and subsistence

• In recent years, citizens have moved to the capital Tarawa, increasing the population to 53,000

• May rise by another 73% by 2030, which is unsustainable

• The capital itself is expected to lose half of its land area by 2050

Public health concerns

• higher temperatures and salt water flooding of fresh water wells have led to a reduction in drinking water, and may be mixed with sewage in flood events

• Th prevalence of diseases such as dengue fever has risen as a result, and Tarawa has experienced cholera outbreaks

• The water supply of Kiribati falls short of the WHO’s standard of 50L per person per day, and is expected to fall to 30L by 2030

Economic uncertainty

• rising sea levels are damaging the causeway roads that link the islands together, impacting socio-economic activity

• With a low GDP per capita of $1600, there are no funds to invest in coastal defences, and sea walls constructed from sand bags are costly and erode easily