Five tiny Pacific islands have been lost to the sea due to sea level rise. These islands were once part of the Solomon Islands. The islands range in size from 1 to 5 hectares. Although these 5 islands were not inhabited by humans.
Apart from the five, there are six other islands that are undergoing the same fate, according to The Guardian. Large portions of these six islands were washed into the sea. Of these six, two had entire villages destroyed and people were forced to relocate.
One such island was Nuatambu Island. This island is inhabited by 25 families and it has already lost 11 houses and half of its inhabitable area. An Australian study said that the anecdotes from the people were the first confirmation of the effects on the coastlines of the Pacific by climate change and global warming.
The same study used aerial and satellite images since 1947 up to 2014 on 33 islands, combining also with historical insight and local knowledge. The Solomon Islands is made up of hundreds of islands and has a population of about 640,000. It is located about 1,000 miles north-east of Australia.
The Australian study brought up the issue of relocation planning and the role of government. "This ultimately calls for support from development partners and international financial mechanisms such as the Green Climate Fund," Melchior Mataki, head of the Solomon Islands' National Disaster Council, was quoted as saying in the commentary.
The Green Climate Fund mentioned is part of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change which as founded to assist countries affected by climate change, like the Solomon Islands.
Relocation like those at Nuatambu Island have already occurred, and people transferred to a higher volcanic island. Others also evacuated from Nararo Island. 94-year-old Sirilo Sutaroti, told researchers: "The sea has started to come inland, it forced us to move up to the hilltop and rebuild our villages away from the sea."
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