Climate Change and Island Paradises

When queried about how many islands there were in her country, the delegate of the Philippines to the 1994 Ms. Universe beauty pageant came back with a question of her own: “High tide or low tide?” Now, that was one memorable answer that may or may not have cost her the title, depending on who you ask.    

In light of the effects of climate change sitting like a thousand bombs with travel alarm clocks for timers, the high tide or low tide reply is no laughing matter nowadays. Many island-nations are in great danger of sinking under increasing sea levels brought by, what else, climate change.

So, before these countries sink like the Titanic, better get your passport holder out and take a vacation there!

Tuvalu

The world’s fourth smallest country, Tuvalu may well become a missing country in half a century, if and when the rate of climate change keeps up its pace. Then the world can say bye-bye to splendid lagoons, atolls, coral reefs and islands of this South Seas Eden!

With its peak elevation at just 4.5 meters over sea level, even a small tsunami can wipe out Tuvalu off the map. In fact, seasonal flooding is an accepted lifestyle here but fast-rising seas are another matter altogether.

And even its government is aware of this fact. It has made agreements with New Zealand to grant 75 Tuvalu citizens environmental refugee status each year. Think of it as slowly but surely ensuring that the Tuvalu DNA be passed on for many more generations to come albeit in a faraway land.

Maldives

Possibly at higher risk than Tuvalu is the Indian Ocean Eden of the Maldives. Its peak elevation is a mere 2.4 meters over sea level, which means that very small changes in sea level can erase much of the Maldives. In fact, even unusually high tides have wiped out vast tracts of land and, in the process, wiping out crops and fouling the water supply!

Maldives is the type of Robinson Crusoe islands where time seems to have stood still. But if the effects of sudden climate change manifest in the island-paradise, there will come a time when it is but a memory in time.

The moral of the article: Please do your role in protecting the plant. Many nations half a world away needs our enlightened awareness and affirmative action to ensure that many more generations will enjoy their island Eden. And that means your travel alarm clocks can also see some action there!