2015•12•12     Paris     Manila Bulletin

In 2009, up to 40 families or around 240 inhabitants of the Carteret Islands in Papua New Guinea evacuated their homes because the sea had risen to such levels that farmland became barren and the groundwater undrinkable from the spike in salinity. International media dubbed them among the world’s first climate refugees or migrants.

Last year, Kiribati President, Anote Tong, announced that his country finalized the purchase of 20 square kilometers of land in neighbor Fiji for a relocation site in case rising sea levels completely submerge and render unlivable the islands of his constituents. Currently, the Kiribati government is implementing various programs that help their citizens “migrate with dignity,” such as improved education and skills training for jobs abroad.

Read the article online here.