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Excerpt from sbs.com.au
The impacts of climate change are imminent in Tuvalu.
Its low-lying archipelago of six coral atolls and three reef islands is located in the South Pacific, spanning around 25 square kilometres and home to around 11,000 people.
Tuvalu’s atolls, including Funafuti, are formed around a central lagoon with extremely narrow coastlines. Funafuti’s lagoon is the largest, stretching 400 metres at its widest point, while the narrow outer rim of the island is less than two metres above sea level.
With global sea levels rising, Tuvalu’s islands have narrowed and small islets have disappeared completely.
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A ‘groundbreaking agreement’
At the opening of the
last month, Australia and Tuvalu ratified an agreement called the Falepili Union. It’s a comprehensive pact between the two countries that offers 280 visas every year to Tuvaluans and funding for climate adaptation and development projects.
The union is named after the Tuvaluan term for values of neighbourliness, care and respect and is the first agreement of its kind in the world, opening migration pathways for people facing the threat of climate change in their home country.
