Shrinking States

The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) is an intergovernmental organisation of low lying island nations, formed with the purpose of protecting these island populations most vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. AOSIS has 44 member states and observers, most located within the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans.

One such small island state is Kiribati, located in the Central Pacific Ocean it is composed of 32 atolls and one raised coral island.

Video explaining the threats facing Kiribati from climate change and rising sea levels and social issues from within the state.

Source: The Global Mail

Rising sea levels will have numerous environmental and sociological effects on The island of Kiribati and its inhabitants, all culminating to a complete loss of island life, destroying the community and traditions of the Kiribati people.

The most obvious of these effects is the complete loss of land as sea levels rise and erosion is enhanced by the increased frequency and strength of storm surges. Whilst most coastal areas can retreat when inundated by water, due to Kiribati's narrow size there is nowhere for people to go except to flee to other atolls already under strain from overpopulation or leave Kiribati altogether.

Another effect of the rising sea levels is the salinization of freshwater, a scarce resource on islands surrounded by saline oceans. Freshwater sources for Kiribati’s island communities are restricted to rainwater, shallow unconfined groundwater, imported water or desalinated ocean water. More and more of these sources are now becoming contaminated by the infiltration of saline seas and anthropogenic waste caused by the extremely high (and ever increasing) population densities of these small islands (some being equal to those in large cities such as London, UK and New York, USA, without the high rise buildings).


The effects felt if these small islands are submerged under water are not only sociological they are also ecological, with many islands hosting rare species and ecosystems. Kiribati has great marine biodiversity with 120 species of corals and 520 species of fish. These coastal environments can survive some sea level rise, however most, such as coral reefs, rely on their placement within the photic zone where microscopic algae can best provide photosynthesis for the corals. Therefore when submerged below this zone, beneath the area of influence from the sun, coral reef growth is inhibited.

So the question is, Why should these vulnerable small islands be the ones feeling the greatest effect caused by humanity's hunger for development, when they themselves contribute so little to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions?

Graph showing the Greenhouse Gas contributions of The United Kingdom, United States and Kiribati in 2010 (LUCF - Land Use Change/Forestry).
Kiribati's contributions is so small relative to The UK and USA that it cannot be seen in comparison.
Source: World Resources Center; CAIT2.0

In 2010 Kiribati produced 0.11 Mt of GHG (including the effects of land use change and forestry), USA on the other hand produced a massive 6,775.45 Mt. A staggering contrast that small island states are feeling the main consequences of.




References

Bernard Lagan. (2013). Kiribati: A Nation Going Under. Available: http://www.theglobalmail.org/feature/kiribati-a-nation-going-under/590/. Last accessed 30/10/2013.

World Resources Institute. (2013). Available: http://cait2.wri.org/wri/Country%20GHG%20Emissions?indicator=Total%20GHG%20Emissions%20Excluding%20LUCF&indicator=Total%20GHG%20Emissions%20Including%20LUCF&year=2010. Last accessed 30/10/2013.

Thomson Reuters. (2013). Tide of humanity, as well as rising seas, lap at Kiribati's future. Available: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/13/us-kiribati-climate-idUSBRE95C04L20130613. Last accessed 30/10/2013.

Alliance of Small Island States. (2013). s. Available: http://aosis.org/. Last accessed 30/10/2013.