The Courier

Ongoing measures to protect the environment

We have conservation areas, one on this island and two on the other islands. The idea is to conserve those areas. And we are also trying to promote an awareness programme so that people will try to keep the islands clean. Plastic and tins have to be put in a designated area, to be taken away so they don’t litter the islands. We are also trying to seek assistance from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to help our attempt to address the erosion on our islands in Tuvalu. 

Ambitious project

As for the burrow pits*, there was a project funded by SOPAC (Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission) to dredge sand from the lagoon and to fill in the burrow pits but this project wasn’t successful because of the environmental impact on the sides of the lagoon. For your information, the government is trying to put in place a concept paper to seek donor assistance to build an artificial island somewhere in the lagoon. If this project gets off the ground, we will perhaps use the opportunity, with the assistance of countries that helped with the original project by using sand, to bury the burrow pits. It is very challenging for us but I do believe that with a well-coordinated concept, we can convince donors to assist us in this project. 

Overpopulation

It is becoming a problem, not a serious problem so far, but we must address the different levels of development between the islands and the capital so that we can stop urbanisation and more people coming here. We are trying to upgrade the other islands so they have the same facilities and the same kind of development projects to attract extra-funding.We are looking at ways and means of addressing the overpopulation we have in Funafuti. 

Overpopulation and traditional culture

In the case of Funafuti, we can say we have some small problems but in the other islands, this is not the case. Culture and customs still remain intact. Overpopulation and land problems do not affect everyday life and the culture of Tuvalu. And as far as security is concerned, we still have safe lands in Funafuti although overcrowding is becoming a problem. We have to address the waste management problem too. 

Stay anyway?

That's the general consensus at the moment. If we move, we will lose our identity and our sovereignty. So we try to protect our islands as much as we can so that we can stay here. But if worst comes to worst, contacts have been made with Australia and New Zealand to see if they can accommodate Tuvalu.

Thank you for the timely opportunity to put Europeans in the picture.We really have a chance to tell the world that although we are small in size and isolated, we are not doing badly compared with some big islands in the region.It is very important for the government and people of Tuvalu to move forward, to try to live within our resources and means, and to consolidate financial reserves and invest in projects that are viable and have economic benefits for the people. Above all we want to maintain the concept of good governance which is a big problem for many countries in the world.

*Holes dug during the war where refuse was dumped

Maatia TOAFA, Tuvalu’s Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, 59th UN General Assembly 24 September 2004: “We in Tuvalu live in constant fear of the adverse impacts of climate change and sea level rise. With a height of a mere three metres above sea level, our livelihoods and sources of food security are already badly affected, with increased salinity in ground water, land erosion, coral bleaching and total anxiety. The threat is real and serious. And it is no different to a slow and insidious form of terrorism against Tuvalu.

Tuvalu therefore accords significant importance to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol as they provide the most appropriate global framework to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG).”

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