International Coastal Environments

This Republic of Kiribati site details the climate change issues for the island nation, the effects on agriculture, coastal erosion, economy, health, people and water, and the adaptation measures being undertaken.

All of Kiribati is coastal. People in Kiribati are experiencing extensive coastal erosion, not just of the beaches, but also of the land. This is now displacing come people from the traditional house plots they have occupied since the early 1900s, the same people who are losing their coconut trees, papaya trees and other varieties of vegetation they rely upon. Many of the country’s islands are so narrow that there really is no place to go.

The 33 islands of Kiribati, a remote and low-lying nation in the Pacific Ocean, are under threat from climate change. But the islanders have not given up hope.