Climate Change

Tuvaluans fear loss of culture amid climate threats

September 24, 2025 11:49 am

The fear of being displaced by climate change remains a major concern for the people of Vanuatu.

While projects such as land reclamation for future generations are underway, activists believe many citizens will resist relocating to another country solely because of rising seas.

Tuvalu Climate Action Network Director Richard Gokrun says moving to a new place would mean adapting to a completely different way of life.

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“As we have seen, these impacts are getting very extreme and severe, and yet the people of Tuvalu do not want to leave their country.”

He believes many Tuvaluans who migrated did so for reasons other than climate change, and warns that relocation carries the risk of losing identity.

“We will not be fully secured like how we are living in Tuvalu, including the accessibility and the freedom that we have on our homeland. We fear what will happen to the cultural practices that we keep alive. These are things we fear losing.”

Tuvalu is also making strong progress on its Coastal Adaptation Project, with more than 90 percent of land reclamation and protection works now completed to safeguard communities and strengthen resilience against climate change.

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