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Richard Vogel / AP, file
Authorities
in Kiribati, seen here in an aerial photo taken in 2004, have been
considering several unusual options to combat climate change, including
constructing sea walls and even building a floating island.
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msnbc.com
Fearing
that climate change could wipe out their entire Pacific archipelago,
the leaders of Kiribati are considering an unusual backup plan: moving
the populace to Fiji.
Kiribati President Anote Tong told The
Associated Press on Friday that his Cabinet this week endorsed a plan to
buy nearly 6,000 acres on Fiji's main island, Viti Levu. He said the
fertile land, being sold by a church group for about $9.6 million, could
provide an insurance policy for Kiribati's entire population of
103,000, though he hopes it will never be necessary for everyone to
leave.
"We would hope not to put everyone on one piece of land, but if it
became absolutely necessary, yes, we could do it," Tong said. "It
wouldn't be for me, personally, but would apply more to a younger
generation. For them, moving won't be a matter of choice. It's basically
going to be a matter of survival."
Kiribati, which straddles the equator near the international date
line, has found itself at the leading edge of the debate on climate
change because many of its atolls rise just a few feet above sea level.
Tong
said some villages have already moved and there have been increasing
instances of sea water contaminating the island's underground fresh
water, which remains vital for trees and crops. He said changing
rainfall, tidal and storm patterns pose as least as much threat as ocean
levels, which so far have risen only slightly.
Some scientists
have estimated the current level of sea rise in the Pacific at about 2
millimeters (0.1 inches) per year. Many scientists expect that rate to
accelerate due to climate change.
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Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert / Greenpeace via AP, file
In this 2005 photo released by Greenpeace, Pita Meanke stands beside a tree as he watches
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Fiji,
home to about 850,000 people, is about 1,400 miles south of Kiribati.
But just what people there think about potentially providing a home for
thousands of their neighbors remains unclear. Tong said he's awaiting
full parliamentary approval for the land purchase, which he expects in
April, before discussing the plan formally with Fijian officials.
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