It's low tide on Tarawa the main atoll of the island nation of kira bas Ta Tata and his three sons have just a few hours before the water returns There are no stones on the beach anymore and that's why we have to go far out We need to get coral because the sea is flooding our house The home of tear tartar and his family of 12 is under threat 10 years ago, they started building a wall made of coral When the water comes all the way up to here and there's a strong wind that's when it's worst And the water bashes against our wall and sprays over our whole house. We have to build a higher wall So the water doesn't flood our home In the past our wall kept breaking because it was only this high now it's higher and more stable It protects us from the sea many walls collapse at high tide, but we're lucky our walls still standing In just 30 years tear tates wall could cease to offer any protection from the sea The island state of carry bass is one of the lowest lying countries on earth the narrow Unprotected atolls in the South Pacific are on average only 2 metres above sea level the nation consists of 33 such attles spread out between Hawaii and Australia more than half its hundred thousand residents live on the Tarawa Atoll, but for how much longer Climate change is threatening the people of Kiribati Sea levels are rising storm surges and severe tropical storms are flooding the sparsely populated country with increasing frequency For the locals, it's a question of survival Climate change has national priority for the government of Kira bas Joy, eating has been the official climate commissioner since 2010. He's alarmed by the changes caused by climate change It is warned that you know the community has to live in these conditions, you know, um, I would imagine you know, there would be a lot of uh sanitation problems a lot of contamination of the drinkable water Right now we don't really Have a king tide, you know, you know rising sea, you know They will let the during this period but imagine when it does come, you know And and that little seawall there is fully, you know submerged by by by water One day the people of Kiribati will have to leave their country the government has already purchased land on Fiji to provide them with refuge Everyday to Tower and his three brothers have to carry their fishing boat into the sea. It's hard work As you can see this area's flooded all this from here to all the way back there used to be beach Now the beach is gone and the rocks are washed up. That's why we have to move our boat everyday. Otherwise, it would get smashed The family defies the rising sea levels with a coral wall that resembles a fortress But with that the water is rising and rising Eventually the land over there will disappear, but we'll stay and float like an island in the water Tower and his family have become a symbol of Kira bosses' fight for survival His mother my entire and her granddaughter Anna often reminisce about the times before they were affected by climate change Twenty years ago the sea was far away we were safe back then even at high tide the water only reached this far We used to have a lot of trees. Our land was much greener. We had no idea we'd have to live like this one day The access road has been flooded for years the family can only leave their property by boat But so what when I was little life here was really good there were lots of trees under which we played hide-and-seek I've heard that other countries are causing climate change, but I don't hate those people It that way I see it differently the Western countries are doing many things to cause climate change they're to blame All I can do is ask them to stop The sea is increasingly devouring unprotected tracts of land in the middle of the South Pacific This isn't a safe place for the future When we have a high tide and a big storm the water smashes into the seawall and sprays over the top During storm surges which occur once a month these days the people of Kiribati defenseless against the forces of nature I'm scared that the water will continue to rise. Maybe we'll have to leave here one day and live elsewhere if climate change gets worse a Mangrove forest in the south of Tarawa There knots of thin strong roots make these tropical trees the perfect protection against soil erosion With a group of young people climate activists varsity team Amari wants to plant mangroves on the beach at amble during low tide Will plant 15 rows You have to plant the mangroves are hands width apart The city has been organizing a growing number of such volunteer planting events Okay, these are the seats from the mangroves and we picked them up and then these are the ones that we used to plant them And then they grow again we take three in case cuz when we replant them the waves will come and maybe two will be flooded away at least one will stay and be and will live so that's why we Take three all the time The people of Tarawa have already planted more than 50,000 mangroves on the beaches of the at all The young people here have grown up with climate change they're scared Period important I Just don't want to see Milan get round everything. Yes in my village way I live goes after The future prospects for Curie basses young people are dire, but none of them want to leave their home I'm so proud of you killing us Even though what we faced with it still proud of a country. This is where we belong It's our culture our identities. That's why I think this is where our hearts belong The hope is that these Mangroves on Ambo Beach will grow into a forest like the one that helps defy storm surges in the south of Tarawa Protecting the coastline has become a national priority for the people of Kiribati But there's no coherent plan and the government lacks the funds for long-term infrastructure measures Those who can afford concrete have built a wall at their own expense That's what it in when we has done a young entrepreneur from the village of table Oreo. I Think climate change will only get worse in the future One day Curie bars will drown when other people think differently, but I'm scared by what's happening. We have to protect ourselves That's why we're building the seawall this high The sea is calm today, but it's only a matter of time before the next storm surge arrives Terawatt is home to around 60,000 people more than half the country's entire population Livable land is becoming increasingly sparse says climate activists of a city Compared to ten years ago it not just like bliss people stayed in their homelands, but nowadays people migrate from there for a better future They give me a poor education for where for everything, and now it ended up like this and one live closely to each other In addition to climate change overpopulation is one of the biggest problems on Tarawa This is easily passed from one person to another and especially with the future of the kids The governments have a limits resource It can't employ each and every one of them on average a family here has five to six children Almost every square meter of land on Tarawa has now been built on the main thing That is strengthening us is the sea level rise. We have land erosion The sea is taking most of the lands and people here try whatever they have to build sea walls But it doesn't help when the water comes. No one can stop the water. It just comes and then take away all the lands again In 2014 the effects of global warming on kiri bus attracted international attention Yo, annotate iota made a bid to become the world's first climate change refugee when he applied for asylum in New Zealand The government of New Zealand didn't recognise climate change as grounds for asylum They didn't think that the people of kerry bus were threatened by nature and forced to flee as a result Yawara and his family were deported from New Zealand a year later Even though the situation in their home country has been getting progressively worse. It was a shock for the family What scares me is that our land is low-lying we're surrounded by the sea And it's being washed away around us Yoanna and his family have moved in with his sister, but they don't see a future for themselves on Kiera bas My biggest worry is my children. I want them to be safe. We don't want to wait until the end Many people criticize me for trying to be a climate change refugee saying I'm talking my country down But I want to leave again. It doesn't matter where we live our culture will survive with us Kirra buses first inhabitants settled here around three thousand years ago. The majority came from Southeast Asia and Polynesia The locals are a proud people who are attached to their traditions a By an atoll around 50 kilometers to the north of Tarawa is a different world, it's only sparsely populated The village of tübingen Akko has become a symbol of the impending dangers of climate change Over the past 20 years rising sea levels have destroyed kebab Jon's home Long time ago this is that land before and they used to have money a big house for like gathering people parties occasions and all the people before they live here and now they all move to tada the mainland Topanga narco is still home to 70 families. It was the second largest village on a by, yang Rising salinity from daily flooding has made the soil infertile Before I don't care about climate change when I hate about climate chat at all It's nothing and now I see the difference You know the impact and it's like worrying me and I know I'm thinking maybe I'm gonna move migrate to another Australia or New Zealand another country because the sea rising they're always increasing I Have two kids and then when I look for the kid then maybe I should move But Cabo wants to stay. It's not a question of courage. He just feels connected to his home We are from Kiev s we are proud to be the best we want to die here We don't want to go to overseas. We want to stay here When we move our culture we would be disappear There are lots of people on a buying who don't have work Cabarrus here on behalf of the government his job is to show people how to make palm sugar Hambo gonna be I know there was an Ogre boa is looking for a worker named Turk. Amber Palm sugar is obtained from the SAP known locally as 2 D of the palm blossom Tech amber has to climb to the top of a 20 meter coconut palm to collect it I'm do you mean up tech amber has three bottles of Tori's so far? That's enough for now Cibola learned how to make palm sugar in Thailand the government of kiri bas financed his training The Kirov US government also paid for the equipment here. This is a idea first one Accord them Up until now locals have only used the fresh palm syrup for drinks No, we're going to apply the fresh water a fresh story so Connor we want to eat we operate those, you know the water in the in uh, In the in the doggy so that we can crystallize the doggy Become suka, you know the soft parts The island of ABBA, yang is the perfect place for producing palm sugar there are thousands of coconut palms across the 37 kilometers You know cobra-cabra cutting as a source of income so our con men try to find ways which can help people like to win more money and this is one of the One of the income no income for the farmers It takes seven liters of SAP to produce one kilogram of palm sugar This is how you have to do it when you've reached this point, the fire mustn't be too hot You have to stir it the whole time Watch how I do it You have to push the tody up the side until it becomes hard and powdery The palm sugar from a by yang is set to be sold for five euros per kilo We'll continue with this work we can earn money that way and we can use that money to feed our families or He could be one this one is really quickly The government has plans to export the palm sugar from a bi hang around the world cub Our secured important contacts at the World's Fair in Milan in 2015 This is the sugar from your palm sap, this is what it looks like You want to try it What do you think of the new sugar it's not bad, right? Do you like it it tastes like candy this sugar is really different much more delicious Traditional caravans recipes are increasingly fading from memory women's rights activists and nutritionists Tonga fitty cross wants to fight that trend to Teach them how to eat food and how to prepare food with this they never do it before and to using the leaves in the Hips that they am their own country and they never use it because they don't know it that they eat a bowl You can use these palm leaves in many different ways not just to swat flies We'll wrap them around the fish Rip the leaves into two when you cook these leaves a liquid comes out that's very good for the stomach any guy Gonna fold the leaves like this and wrap the fish company nylon Fish has been prepared like this on kiri bass for generations He usually eats right food before but they went they imported food comes and that's where things has gone wrong because in Garages that the hospital is full of people to sick people and we try to cut down there the people too sick you know and receive the rightful so cut on tiem lack of vitamin Cynthia and their food and not The acanti they can't prevent any any disease You can eat every part of the squash the flower the stem the skin the seeds when you cut the squash Make sure you don't cut the slices too thickly Why do we want a lot of hugs in our soup? All these herbs have medicinal properties Your bodies take in these herbs and you get healthier, yeah, yeah, you're gonna okay not even oh boy You're not just making a meal. You are also making medicine dropper toy America Dharma pingatore America tour today at Two-thirds of kirov asses population consumes a staple diet of fish and imported rice a diet increasingly supplemented with high sugar foods Leading to rising rates of obesity and diabetes Soon-im got a body. I thank Tonga Fiji for this cooking class. I know more about cooking now I have a young daughter at home I'll cook with a lot of herbs and vegetables now so that she grows up healthy Up until now, we've only used these herbs for our customs. We didn't know you could cook them You can find everything she's showing us in the jungle. It's grandma one dependend afternoon everyone like their net out Nutritionist Tonga feet across his mission is far from over. She wants to share her knowledge in every village on a by, yang Traditional community centers on kiri bars are called man Yaiba the structures provide shade and protection Against strong winds and rain a Vienna is home to one of the largest manga bars in the region the environmental protection organization Kiri kan has invited representatives from several villages together. They're seeking ways to ensure potable water supplies So it is so important that we know that water is fresh water is clean And what is good for everyone so that we can all live long as a PK best people? Climate activists of our city is also working to combat the salinization of drinking water Dorian never but it burns Sometimes see water flows into my well and floods it all the dirt gets in we have no water to drink Our groundwater used to be fresh and clean we could drink it today it's salty and unpalatable to Wells near the sea are flooded quite Regularly and become spoiled by the salt if we were to wash with that water you'd feel like washing and sea water The salinity of water supplies isn't the only problem supplying clean drinking water is another challenge village representatives present their solutions We opted for this solar pump to make it work. We need equipment such as pipes to pump the well water to the houses We'll get the one about we thought about what would be the best solution for everyone that's why we chose a desalination plant We need a hand pump to supply ourselves with water You've suggested a number of ideas. It's important that the solution is cheap and will work for a long time We're going to lay out all of your criteria on the floor here Which solution will win? The village delegates are asked to vote That's an important part of the process says key Ricans Australian development aid worker Robert Kane We know this process isn't gonna lead us to a project It's really just getting people to think about The kinds of things the questions they should be asking when confronted with a new project all donors bringing a community There's not much export that comes out of view of us so there's no foreign income coming in which is difficult because Often you need the materials or the money and I think you someone need to break the dependency cycle Polynesia alofa founded the environmental protection organization kiri can Her goal is to support the people in kiri bus in their battle against climate change In Carabas most of the time the priority need for our people is water and that's why we got water into these communities The water is the priority we brought water tanks to collect or to harvest the rain Over the next few months every extended family will be supplied with their own water tank and solar panels to generate electricity part of a program funded by international aid People will be forced to live if we do not step in right now today to help them to adapt to stay That's what adaptation is all about for people to remain in their own homes in their own continued with their life and their culture I Wouldn't imagine my people living to another country. That is not this Because we have a very deep connection with our land but moving away to somewhere where you do not belong to you You will always become a second class person in your heart. You know that you don't belong there We're back on the main at all of Tarawa The Marine training center is a window of opportunity to a better life for many young Kira bars Up to 150 students trained here every year to become seafarers ship mechanics and cooks The drill at the training center strict as is the morning roll call 96 1197 24 not talking during the breakfast mess up so attached so what now I eat 45 F 39 long thickeners, but now the punishment here in the MTC desist scale So if a train is found today fingernails long fingernails Not wearing the younger chief told uniform I said for improper shame. That's to be punished. The change has to be punished for now The trainees have to rehearse a docking maneuver on the deck of a training ship today among them is 25 year old Tamara And the wrist and stream right so less than two plus one Seafarers from Puri Bass are in demand particularly on German vessels six shipping companies from Hamburg have offices on Tarawa supervised by Andrew Hines N' he holds the locals in high esteem and finds jobs for them on ships from all around the world Firstly the people who grow up on these islands have a strong connection to water They've been fishing and spending time on the water since childhood. They're strong in my experience It takes just one Kira bus to do a job that needs two Filipinos These 15 months are a process. They have to be on time be clean and well-dressed because they'll be confronted with a completely different world The trainees have to work hard for their dream all week long the demands are great Tamara only sees his wife and one-year-old daughter at the weekends He currently shares a dorm room with 19 other sailors Your this is my bed and that's my mattress made of palm leaves I Roll out the mattress every night. This is what it looks like. Yeah This is how I sleep Nagging them t0 I chose to train as a merchant marine because it gives me the chance to provide for my family It's my dream to continue my training after I finish this program The training center has a good reputation on kiri bus, but even this modern complex faces increasing bouts of flooding As you can see the entrance to the basin has become blocked by sonic rocky reefs and he's Built up here overnight because a small section of the seawall has broken Option it the water was a bit higher than usual and lacking or insufficient maintenance cost it to break That's a good food. I see Varga Voronezh the current deposited the sand here one had to hear off guitar People mess about with everything just like they do in Europe driving along this causeway You can see that the water exchange is restricted to just a small aperture all the water from the lagoon has to squeeze through Human interference with nature with disastrous consequences not least because it's changed ocean currents The causeway is a costly never-ending construction site The primary school in bond Ricky every morning begins with a prayer more than 90% of kiri buses population is Christian School is compulsory for children between the ages of 6 and 14 Right now these are the three forces caused by global warming So, what does the future hold for Curie buses children it's a subject addressed in primary schools We want to alert the children to what's going on here and how they can deal with the problem most of the children are scared of climate change The children's fears differ from those of their teacher but They're all very concrete She's scared of the future, too We can emigrate to another country or confront the problem and live with it I always tell my students that we have to find ways of preventing soil erosion We have to build sea walls and plant mangroves we mustn't cut down our trees anymore The children have drawn pictures to illustrate what they think will happen as a result of global warming Our beaches will be washed away. This boy says we're using too much fuel In this girl's picture the land is submerged Everyone she says is swimming in the water because the ocean is washed away the land if sea levels continue to rise She says we'll all die These children are growing up with a palpable fear of the future This girl tells us her home was flooded just last week It happened while she was sleeping her mother woke her up and carried her out of the house This girl says she's very scared about climate change she believes many people are responsible for it But as a child, there's nothing she can do about it The village of baan, Ricci has become increasingly susceptible to flooding after heavy rainfall often the high water lasts for days Trainee Seafarer Tamara and his wife better our have bought a small house here We're going to live here in the future I'm currently living with my wife and my daughter with my parents, but we'll move in soon Once I've completed my training at the Marine Center, and I'm earning money by working on a ship I want to start raising my children here I Want to have a garden here, but I have to plow the soil first I want to build a fence and plant sweet potatoes and tapioca Maybe letters too As a crew member on a large container ship tomorrow we'll be able to earn up to 700 US dollars a month That will place him in kiri boss's middle class I'm very excited to be moving here. I'm so proud of him when he gets a job and starts earning money We'll be able to build something and have a bigger family if he didn't have a job We'd have a lot of problems. We wouldn't be able to lead this life. I'm very happy When night falls on Tarawa the fishermen sometimes recall a centuries-old fishing method Tear later and Matteo light a three-meter torch made of palm leaves on the beach at Tomiko The warm light of the fire lures small tasty reef fish into the shallow water It's not like it used to be when there were fewer people here Population growth has fueled an increase in fishing because of rising demand Many fishermen now use neon lights to attract fish It's rare that I writer and LaToya catch any fish with their traditional fishing method these days The one dog I've only caught her tomorrow It's hard to catch fish these days I feel the current has changed Tiger Antigone that in that day giving Mike my butt itchy The fishermen wonder whether climate change is to blame for that too The fisheries ministry are Cuba's Marine biologist our ante Takeo has been investigating the health of the coral reefs around Tarawa and the surrounding atolls for more than ten years Using measuring tapes he and his team regularly monitor coral growth and health What we're seeing is the more popular corals now are the ones that are detecting and more resilient to change Into increasing temperature, they're surviving more in the hot temperatures. They're spreading over which is okay in a sense that the corals aren't dying They're spreading there are lots of them But it's only it's like survival of the fittest The polyps that make up the stony corals are among the winners of climate change They seem to be particularly happy in the waters around kiri bass Because they're so resilient all that change That's why they're in really improving their Coral Cove is massive, even they could mean survivor you know storms and stuff like that a Hope for kiri bass but only healthy coral reefs can grow with the rising sea levels Their natural breakwaters and provide important protection for the islands during major storm surges Here in South that all wears in urban area there's a lot of factors affecting coral reefs construction infrastructure The main thing is it is rubbish since there's a very high population here in South tunnel which causes rubbish Yeah waste done to the coral reefs that's putting heavy pressure on As a result there are signs of degradation among weaker coral species in many reefs around Tarawa The population is set to double on Tarawa over the next 20 years climate coordinator Troy heating and the government of kiri bas face a huge challenge Unless we find a solution now to address this problem, you know If we were to top up the land here sand and you know kind of reclaim it, you know, that may be an option The government is even considered moving its people onto artificial floating islands futuristic visions and exorbitantly expensive designs by international architects Requires a period of Constant development and it's very hard to do with the lack of resources that we have science tells us the other timeline Something that we very hard to accept right now it may be that in just 50 years Kiri Bass will no longer exist. It could be the first country to be wiped off the map by climate change They're still very small window of hope I guess. Yeah pride is is is something that will keep you going Maybe the end not yet. 4k diversity is life. I Still will be a curious You
Beautiful place. Subsidence stinks.
[gasp] [clutches pearls] [recycles plastic grocery bag] [smiles to self]