Rising Seas HaveAn Interview No Regard with For Sovereignty Seve Paeniu of Tuvalu Aerial view of Tuvalu’s capital, Funafuti. Tuvalu is a remote country of low lying atolls and islands, making it vulnerable to climate change. Photo by LilyAnne Homasi / Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
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he late Tongan-Fijian scholar Epeli Hau’ofa famously reframed previously held notions of the Pacific from small dots inconsequentially punctuating an endless blue map, to, instead, a vast sea of islands: Oceania. Within the subregion of so-called Polynesia, Tuvalu exemplifies both notions; a nation both small and vast, with just over 11,000 citizens existing in communities across 8 low-lying coral islands and atolls: Funafuti, Nukufetau, Vaitupu, Nui, Nanumanga, Nanumea, Niutao, and Nukulaelae. Though its relative isolation spared Tuvalu much of the cultural and linguistic destabilization wrought by settler colonialism elsewhere in the region, geography couldn’t protect its people from World War II encounters with battling empires or the Trans-Pacific slave trade, which resulted in nearly two-thirds of the islands’ population kidnapped by slave ships from Peru and forced to mine guano in its Chincha Islands. Today, Tuvalu’s distance from major industrialized nations of the world renders it all but out of sight, out of mind—just as it finds itself in the midst of an environmental doomsday scenario wrought by the effects of climate change and rising sea levels, threatening to sink the country below the waves forever. Seve Paeniu is Tuvalu’s current Minister of Finance, as well as an elected representative of parliament and cabinet member in the Tuvalu government. As the country navigates these frightfully uncertain times, his ministerial portfolio is responsible for addressing climate change issues toward empowering the nation and its people to chart the best course for their future. Cristina Verán recently spoke with Paeniu. Cristina Verán: Please describe for us the current scenario Tuvalu is facing. Seve Paeniu: Our country is living the full impact of climate
change—rising sea levels, flooding everywhere, hurricanes, cyclones, and so forth. Storms are becoming more frequent and their intensity is much more pronounced compared to previous years. When strong winds coincide with king tides and swells, the force that comes with all that is quite traumatic and devastating to our people’s homes, their livelihoods, our infrastructure. Tuvalu’s crops are constantly being inundated by seawater and damaged by the winds. There is extensive land erosion and degradation all over, and, as our old folks have been saying, places where water didn’t usually get into are now regularly flooded.
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CV: How does your office inform and consult with the people of Tuvalu on these issues? SP: We’re a very tight and close knit society, so first we go out
directly into our communities to gauge the views and feelings of our people, and then we hold national consultations on the relevant subject areas. The majority clearly articulate that they do not want to see Tuvalu disappear, or to leave it behind. CV: Given the immediacy and gravity of the situation, what strategies can help mitigate the challenges? SP: Our priority is on how we can adapt to make Tuvalu
more resilient to the impacts of climate change, especially in terms of the safeguarding and protection of our land, as well as on land reclamation. In doing so, we look to reduce our vulnerability. To be able to realize those kinds of measures effectively, we need technology, expertise, and financial assistance, as well as innovation. The standard approaches— putting up sea walls, growing special vegetation to hold off erosion—aren’t going to be enough to save us.
CV: What are Tuvalu’s typical housing structures like, and how are they faring? SP: Traditionally our homes have been ground level structures,
but these are easily damaged by strong winds, waves, and flooding; particularly those that fringe the foreshores. So in response we have developed a new kind of house. It’s still in the Tuvalu style, but comprised of a solid concrete structure raised up on top of concrete columns. On one of our islands, Nukulaelae, we’ve already been building them, and the results are promising. When Cyclone Tino struck in January, water rushed in and moved across the entire island, from the lagoon side to the opposite shore. Yet wherever these new structures were in place, it just passed right underneath them without disturbing the homes at all. We’re looking to replicate this model among the rest of our islands.
CV: Given that these conditions are likely to continue, and even worsen with time, what other options may be considered if the Tuvaluan people decide it’s no longer safe to stay? SP: Of course the alternative solution would be to leave
Tuvalu for bigger countries where climate change impacts are
