KIRIBATI AND SEA LEVEL RISE - INVENTORY OF CONFLICT AND ENVIRONMENT . Kiribati citizens have witnessed sea level rise and a surge in tropical storms and more forceful tides over the past 40 years. Groundwater contamination was first reported in the late 1970s and was then followed by erosion and more instances of houses falling into the sea. The government eventually gave up on repairing many of the sea walls bordering the island of Abaiang giving most villagers the only option of relocating. Climate change has had the most noticeable and significant impacts on Pacific Islands nation as seal level rise increasingly reduces the land mass of the islands and they are left vulnerable to salt water contamination and land that is unable to sustain vegetation growth. Scientists predict that island nations such as Kiribati will completely disappear by 2050. The government of Kiribati is currently faced with the reality that within the century their land will no longer be habitable and they must relocate the entire population. Sea Level Rise and Salination: Threat to sustainability is not limited to sea level rise but also in the way urban areas are managed, such as adequate sanitation facilities and access to fresh water has had an impact on the islands. The greatest social tensions and challenges are concentrated in South Tarawa. Especially in South Tarawa, where a population of 40,000 is crammed into less than 15 km of land mass, the fresh water supply is greatly strained through overuse, improper waste management and rising sea levels contributing to the salinity of water supplies. The most visible effects of water salination in South Tarawa is the dying plant life. Dead palms trees dot the coastline of South Tarawa and other agricultural crops for food consumption will not grow in the soil. There are high levels of lagoon pollution due to insufficient sewage systems. DEMOGRAPHICS The population of Kiribati is approximately 92,000 and 50,000 of which reside in densely populated neighborhoods of South Tarawa. South Tarawa is the most densely populated island among Kiribatis 33 atolls and has experienced a population growth rate of 3% per year. The geography of Kiribati is somewhat limiting in arable land resources The infrastructure of Kiribati especially in the island of South Tarawa is under immense tension due to sea level rise. Most of the houses lack modern sanitation and are not connected to the town sewage system and extreme weather conditions and high tides routinely contaminate the ground water.
Posted on: Fri, 09 Jan 2015 06:38:19 +0000
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