Kiribati has bought 6,000 acres of land in Fiji as the island nation prepares for the worst due to rising sea levels as a result of climate change.
Acting Prime Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says whole countries like Tuvalu and Kiribati are at risk as ice caps melt and sea levels rise to unprecedented heights.
Sayed-Khaiyum says some of these countries are already preparing for a doomsday scenario in which their islands are eventually submerged and their populations have to be moved to higher ground elsewhere.
He says Kiribati has bought land in Vanua Levu to guarantee its food security as its own arable land is swamped by rising tides.
Sayed-Khaiyum says it’s a sobering thought when we start talking about the need to prepare for a scenario in which the nation of Kiribati largely exists within the borders of Fiji.
The Acting Prime Minister highlighted the plight of Pacific countries while opening the first regional joint meeting of the Pacific Platform for Disaster Risk Management and the Pacific Climate Change Roundtable in Nadi this morning.
