KIRIBATI / CLIMATE CHANGE

President Anote Tong of Kiribati says that his people are already the victims of climate change and will soon have to be relocated as the low lying pacific Island disappears into the ocean. UNDP

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:01:53
• Production Date: 11 December 2009
• Asset Language: Original
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME - UNDP
• Subject Topical: NATURAL RESOURCES; ENVIRONMENT; ENVIRONMENT
• Geographic Subject: KIRIBATI
• MAMS Id: U091211c

Description

STORY: KIRIBATI/ CLIMATE CHANGE
TRT: 1:53
SOURCE: UNDP
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: NOVEMBER 2009, KIRIBATI

Shotlist

1. Aerial shot, Kiribati
2. Wide shot, seawater coming further inland
3. Med shot, waves coming in close to house
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Karen Bernard, Program Specialist, Natural Disaster Reduction and Transition, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP):
“On a flat island like Kiribati, that amount of sea level rise comes very far inland. So it’s a very serious situation, and for that reason, the government is looking at options for relocating the population.”
6. Various shots, children playing in and by the sea
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Anote Tong, President of Kiribati:
“One thing that I want, and I’ve always emphasized is that we never wish to be refugees. And we will be refugees if we don’t do anything now.”
9. Various shots, Boobu Tioram building a sea wall around his house
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Boobu Tioram, Resident of Kiribati:
“After another three years, I have to move away from here and build another home there.”
11. Various shots, students in classroom
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Josephine Barro, Student:
“The scientists have say that within fifty years, Kiribas will submerge under water. That’s not a happy thought.”
13. Various shots, children playing by the sea
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Anote Tong, President of Kiribati:
“There has got to be some very special provisions for the victims, not the potential victims, but the victims because we are victims.”
15. Various shots, waves coming in

Storyline

In low-lying Pacific islands like Kiribati, thousands of people risk losing their homes and eventually the entire island to rising sea-levels within the next 50 years.

Kiribati’s highest point is four meters above see level. Its entire population lives within one kilometer of the coast, making this nation one of the most vulnerable to the effects of global warming.

SOUNDBITE: (English) Karen Bernard, Program Specialist, Natural Disaster Reduction and Transition, United Nations Development Programme:
“On a flat island like Kiribati, that amount of sea level rise comes very far inland. So it’s a very serious situation, and for that reason, the government is looking at options for relocating the population.”

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) believes that it is the developing world that stands to lose in its battle against climate change.

Kiribat’s President Anote Tong fears that his people will soon become refugees and his only hope is that they will be able to migrate with some dignity.

SOUNDBITE (English) Anote Tong, President of Kiribati:
“One thing that I want, and I’ve always emphasized is that we never wish to be refugees. And we will be refugees if we don’t do anything now.”

In Kiribati, some residents have already lost their homes to waves rushing in to claim more land.

Boobu Tioram moved three times in the past ten years as the shore line has steadily receded before the rising tide. His first home used to be what is now part of the ocean – 20 meters away from the new coastline. He fears that he has to move again in three years.

SOUNDBITE (English) Boobu Tioram, Resident of Kiribati:
“After another three years, I have to move away from here and build another home there.”

Like Tioram, many local residents are not only fearful of losing their homes, but also their culture and identity.

SOUNDBITE (English) Josephine Barro, Student:
“The scientists have say that within fifty years, Kiribas will submerge under water. That’s not a happy thought.”

President Anote Tong calls his people the victims of climate change.

SOUNDBITE (English) Anote Tong, President of Kiribati:
“There has got to be some very special provisions for the victims, not the potential victims, but the victims because we are victims.”

Kiribati is not only extremely susceptible to the effects of climate change but also unable to meet the costs of adaptation. According to the UN Framework on Climate Change, the island risks losing 35 percent of its GDP just to deal with climate change related risks.