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A group of islands in the Sout Pacific is in danger of disappearing. Tuvalu will soon become the first country to be uninhabitable because of climate change and rising sea levels.
Tuvalu is about 1050 kilometres north of its nearest neighbour Fiji. Its name means eight standing together, but in fact it is nine islands.
This tiny country is the fourth smallest in the world, after Monaco, the Vatican and Nauru.
In the summer, Tuvalu is hit by hurricanes and rough seas. These hurricanes have recently become more frequent and have begun to threaten life and damage buildings and homes. They have also killed the fish in the seas around the island. This is very serious because the fish are an important source of food for the people.
Rising sea levels, caused by global warming, have increased the level of salt in the ground water. This water is the only source of fresh water for people and farm animals.
Of course Tuvalu’s emission of greenhouse gases is tiny because it’s such a small country but the Tuvalu government has begun a programme to reduce its own greenhouse gases.
But this will not change the situation, and eventually, the Tuvaluans will have to leave their islands.
New Zealand has agreed to take in 75 immigrants per year, but there are 9000 people living in Tuvalu at the moment. In 2001, the Australian government was asked to accept immigrants from Tuvalu: it refused. So where will the people of Tuvalu go?
«Մխիթար Սեբաստացի» կրթահամալիր Անահիտ Մելքոնյան 