Editing Kiribati (section)

=== Environmental issues ===
{{see also|Coral reefs of Kiribati|Protected areas of Kiribati}}
According to the [[Pacific Regional Environment Programme]] (previously South Pacific Regional Environment Programme), two small uninhabited Kiribati islets, [[Tebua Tarawa]] and [[Abanuea]], disappeared underwater in 1999.<ref>{{cite news |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/368892.stm |title = Islands disappear under rising seas |publisher = BBC News |date = 14 June 1999 |access-date = 14 May 2010 }}</ref> The sea level at [[Kiritimati|Christmas Island]], in the 50 years between 1972 and 2022, has risen {{convert|5|cm|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/sltrends/sltrends_station.shtml?id=770-022 | title=Sea Level Trends - NOAA Tides & Currents }}</ref> The United Nations [[Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change]] predicts that sea levels will rise by approximately {{convert|50|cm|abbr=on}} by 2100 due to [[global warming]] and a further rise would be inevitable. It is thus likely that within a century the nation's arable land will become subject to increased [[soil salination]] and will be largely submerged.<ref>{{cite news |url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/28/AR2006012801021.html |newspaper = The Washington Post |title = Debate on Climate Shifts to Issue of Irreparable Change |first = Juliet |last = Eilperin |date = 29 January 2006 |access-date = 7 May 2010 }}</ref>

The exposure of Kiribati to changes in sea levels is exacerbated by the [[Pacific decadal oscillation]], which is a climate switch phenomenon that results in changes from periods of [[La Niña]] to periods of [[El Niño]]. This has an effect on sea levels. For example, in 2000, there was a switch from periods of downward pressure of El Niño on sea levels to an upward pressure of La Niña on sea levels, which upward pressure causes more frequent and higher high tide levels. The [[Perigean spring tide]] (often called a [[king tide]]) can result in seawater flooding low-lying areas of the islands of Kiribati.<ref>{{cite web| last =Packard | first =Aaron | title= The Unfolding Crisis in Kiribati and the Urgency of Response| publisher= HuffPostGreen|date=12 March 2015 |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/aaron-packard/the-unfolding-crisis-in-kiribati-and-the-urgency-of-response_b_6854386.html |access-date=14 March 2015}}</ref>

[[File:Onotoa.png|thumb|South of [[Onotoa]] Atoll]]
[[File:South Tarawa from the air.jpg|thumb|[[Tarawa Atoll]]]]

The [[atolls]] and [[reef]] islands can respond to changes in sea-level. Paul Kench at the [[University of Auckland]] in New Zealand and Arthur Webb at the [[South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission]] in Fiji released a study in 2010 on the dynamic response of atolls and reef islands in the central Pacific. Kiribati was mentioned in the study, and Webb and Kench found that the three major urbanised islands in Kiribati—Betio, Bairiki and Nanikai—increased by 30% (36 hectares), 16.3% (5.8 hectares) and 12.5% (0.8 hectares), respectively.<ref name="WZ">{{cite magazine |last=Zukerman |first= Wendy |title=Shape-shifting islands defy sea-level rise |date=2 June 2010 |magazine=New Scientist Magazine |issue=2763 |url = https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20627633.700-shapeshifting-islands-defy-sealevel-rise.html }}</ref><ref name="Elsevier">{{cite journal |last1 = Webb |first1 = A.P. |last2 = Kench |first2 = P.S. |year = 2010 |title = The dynamic response of reef islands to sea-level rise: Evidence from multi-decadal analysis of island change in the Central Pacific |journal = Global and Planetary Change |volume = 72 |issue = 3 |pages = 234–246 |doi = 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2010.05.003 |url = http://www.pacificdisaster.net/pdnadmin/data/original/SOPAC_2010_The_dynamic_response.pdf |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121222070018/http://www.pacificdisaster.net/pdnadmin/data/original/SOPAC_2010_The_dynamic_response.pdf |url-status = dead |archive-date = 22 December 2012 |access-date = 22 July 2013 |bibcode = 2010GPC....72..234W }}</ref><ref name="PSK2014">{{cite news| last = Kench | first =Paul |title= Dynamic atolls give hope that Pacific Islands can defy sea rise | work= The Conversation|url= http://theconversation.com/dynamic-atolls-give-hope-that-pacific-islands-can-defy-sea-rise-25436 | access-date=16 April 2014}}</ref><ref name="AWPK">{{cite journal|last= Arthur P. Webb & Paul S. Kench |title = The dynamic response of reef islands to sea-level rise: Evidence from multi-decadal analysis of island change in the Central Pacific |year=2010|volume=72 |issue=3|journal= Global and Planetary Change|pages=234–246 |doi=10.1016/j.gloplacha.2010.05.003|bibcode=2010GPC....72..234W}}</ref><ref name="NG15">{{cite web| last = Warne | first = Kennedy | work= National Geographic |title= Will Pacific Island Nations Disappear as Seas Rise? Maybe Not – Reef islands can grow and change shape as sediments shift, studies show |date =13 February 2015|url= http://news-beta.nationalgeographic.com/2015/02/150213-tuvalu-sopoaga-kench-kiribati-maldives-cyclone-marshall-islands/|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150214031223/http://news-beta.nationalgeographic.com/2015/02/150213-tuvalu-sopoaga-kench-kiribati-maldives-cyclone-marshall-islands/|url-status= dead|archive-date= 14 February 2015| access-date=14 February 2015}}</ref>

The study by Paul Kench and Arthur Webb recognises that the islands are extremely vulnerable to sea level rise, and concluded that: "This study did not measure vertical growth of the island surface nor does it suggest there is any change in the height of the islands. Since land height has not changed the vulnerability of the greater part of the land area of each island to submergence due to sea level rise is also unchanged and these low-lying atolls remain immediately and extremely vulnerable to inundation or sea water flooding."<ref name="Elsevier"/>

The Climate Change in the Pacific Report of 2011 describes Kiribati as having a low risk of [[cyclones]].<ref>{{cite report |title=Climate Variability, Extremes and Change in the Western Tropical Pacific: New Science and Updated Country Reports 2014 |year=2014 |publisher=Pacific Climate Change Science Program |series=Climate Change in the Pacific: Scientific Assessment and New Research |volume=1 & 2 |chapter=Chapter 6: Kiribati |chapter-url=http://www.pacificclimatechangescience.org/publications/reports/climate-variability-extremes-and-change-in-the-western-tropical-pacific-2014/}}</ref> In March 2015 Kiribati experienced flooding and destruction of seawalls and coastal infrastructure as the result of [[Cyclone Pam]], a Category 5 cyclone that devastated [[Vanuatu]].<ref name="SBS15">{{cite web| work= SBS Australia |title= Flooding in Vanuatu, Kiribati and Tuvalu as Cyclone Pam strengthens |date =13 March 2015|url= http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/03/13/flooding-vanuatu-kiribati-and-tuvalu-cyclone-pam-strengthens | access-date=15 March 2015}}</ref> Kiribati remains exposed to the risk that cyclones can strip the low-lying islands of their vegetation and soil.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}}

Gradual sea-level rise also allows for coral [[polyp (zoology)|polyp]] activity to raise the atolls with the sea level. However, if the increase in sea level occurs at a rate faster than coral growth, or if polyp activity is damaged by [[ocean acidification]], then the resilience of the atolls and reef islands is less certain.<ref name="PK14">{{cite news| last = Kench | first =Paul |title= Dynamic atolls give hope that Pacific Islands can defy sea rise (Comments) | work= The Conversation|url= http://theconversation.com/dynamic-atolls-give-hope-that-pacific-islands-can-defy-sea-rise-25436 | access-date=16 April 2014}}</ref>

The Human Rights Measurement Initiative<ref>{{Cite web |title=Human Rights Measurement Initiative – The first global initiative to track the human rights performance of countries |url=https://humanrightsmeasurement.org/ |access-date=2023-05-01 |website=humanrightsmeasurement.org}}</ref> finds that the climate crisis has worsened human rights conditions moderately (4.8 out of 6) in Kiribati.<ref name="Kiribati - HRMI Rights Tracker">{{Cite web |title=Kiribati - HRMI Rights Tracker |url=https://rightstracker.org/en/country/KIR?subregion=pacific&tab=pacific-region-data |access-date=2023-05-01 |website=rightstracker.org |language=en}}</ref> Human rights experts reported that the climate crisis has compromised access to food and clean water, as well as women's rights, housing security and cultural integrity.<ref name="Kiribati - HRMI Rights Tracker"/>

The [[Kiribati Adaptation Program]] (KAP), started in 2003, is a US$5.5&nbsp;million initiative that was originally enacted by the national government of Kiribati with the support of the [[Global Environment Facility]] (GEF), the [[World Bank]], the [[United Nations Development Program]], and the Japanese government. Australia later joined the coalition, donating US$1.5&nbsp;million to the effort. The program aims to take place over six years, supporting measures that reduce Kiribati's vulnerability to the effects of [[climate change]] and sea level rise by raising awareness of climate change, assessing and protecting available water resources, and managing inundation.
At the start of the Adaptation Program, representatives from each of the inhabited atolls identified key climatic changes that had taken place over the past 20–40 years and proposed coping mechanisms to deal with these changes under four categories of urgency of need. The program is now focusing on the country's most vulnerable sectors in the most highly populated areas.
Initiatives include improving water supply management in and around Tarawa; [[coastal management]] protection measures such as mangrove re-plantation and protection of public infrastructure; strengthening laws to reduce coastal erosion; and population settlement planning to reduce personal risks.<ref>{{cite web |title=Adapting to climate change |url=http://www.climate.gov.ki/Kiribati_climate_change_strategies.html |website=Climate change in Kiribati |publisher=Office of the President of Kiribati |access-date=23 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120202020502/http://www.climate.gov.ki/Kiribati_climate_change_strategies.html |archive-date=2 February 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The government has taken specific action to ensure [[food security]], as sea level rise, drought, and overfishing have created food and water shortages. This has involved diversifying food sources and ensuring existing resources are managed sustainably.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://undp-climate.exposure.co/locallysourced |title=Locally-Sourced How Kiribati is shoring up food security and community resilience in the face of global climate change |publisher=United Nations Development Programme |date=21 February 2023 |access-date=3 March 2023}}</ref>

The issue of [[plastic pollution]] has also been a key challenge for Kiribati as it hurts both its marine biodiversity and its economy that relies primarily on tourism and fishery.<ref name="auto2">{{Cite web |last=United Nations Environment Program |date=2019-09-24 |title=Kiribati to carry out considerable efforts in sound management of chemicals and waste |url=http://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/kiribati-carry-out-considerable-efforts-sound-management-chemicals-and-waste |access-date=2023-05-28 |website=UNEP |language=en}}</ref> As a result, the government of Kiribati, more specifically the Environment and Conservation Division (ECD) which forms part of the Kiribati Government's Ministry of Environment, Lands and Agricultural Development, has made efforts to tackle this issue nationally through environment acts and state policy papers.<ref name="auto2"/> To a further extent, it has also recognized the global nature of plastic pollution, and consequently, has promoted international cooperation and multilateral solutions.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kiribati calls for the special circumstances of Small Islands Developing States to be factored in new global agreement on plastic pollution {{!}} Pacific Environment |url=https://www.sprep.org/news/kiribati-calls-for-the-special-circumstances-of-small-islands-developing-states-to-be-factored-in-new-global-agreement-on-plastic-pollution |access-date=2023-05-28 |website=www.sprep.org}}</ref> This is notably observable during the current negotiations of the [[Global plastic pollution treaty|Global Plastic Pollution Treaty]] planned to be finally drafted by the end of 2024.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bundela |first1=Amit Kumar |last2=Pandey |first2=Krishna Kumar |date=2022-07-01 |title=The United Nations General Assembly Passes Historic Resolution to Beat Plastic Pollution |journal=Anthropocene Science |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=332–336 |doi=10.1007/s44177-022-00021-5 |s2cid=258700697 |issn=2731-3980|doi-access=free |bibcode=2022AnthS...1..332B}}</ref>