Editing Tuvalu (section)

===Environmental pressures===
[[File:Tuvalu - Funafuti - Beach.jpg|thumb|right|A wharf and beach at Funafuti atoll]]
The eastern shoreline of Funafuti Lagoon on [[Fongafale]] was modified during World War II when the airfield (now [[Funafuti International Airport]]) was constructed. The coral base of the atoll was used as fill to create the runway. The resulting [[borrow pit]]s impacted the fresh-water [[aquifer]]. In the low-lying areas of Funafuti, the sea water can be seen bubbling up through the porous coral rock to form pools with each high tide.<ref name=MKM>{{cite web |first=Moya K. |last=Mason |url=http://www.moyak.com/papers/tuvalu-climate-change.html |title=Tuvalu: Flooding, Global Warming, and Media Coverage |access-date=13 October 2011 |archive-date=14 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111014104002/http://www.moyak.com/papers/tuvalu-climate-change.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="AHK1">{{cite web |last=Holowaty Krales |first=Amelia |title=Chasing the Tides, parts I & II |date=20 February 2011 |url=http://ameliaholowatykrales.blogspot.com.au/2011_02_01_archive.html |access-date=20 November 2012 |archive-date=9 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509173923/http://ameliaholowatykrales.blogspot.com.au/2011_02_01_archive.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2014, the Tuvalu Borrow Pits Remediation (BPR) project was approved so that 10 borrow pits would be filled with sand from the lagoon, leaving Tafua Pond, which is a natural pond. The New Zealand Government funded the BPR project.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tuvalu to Benefit from International Dredging Aid |date=1 April 2014 |url=http://www.sandandgravel.com/news/article.asp?v1=19459 |publisher=Dredging News |access-date=1 April 2014 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402170548/http://www.sandandgravel.com/news/article.asp?v1=19459 |url-status=live}}</ref> The project was carried out in 2015, with 365,000 sqm of sand being dredged from the lagoon to fill the holes and improve living conditions on the island. This project increased the usable land space on Fongafale by eight per cent.<ref>{{cite web |title=Coast contractor completes aid project in remote Tuvalu |date=27 November 2015 |url=http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/coast-contractor-completes-aid-project-remote-tuva/2855272/ |publisher=SunshineCoastDaily |access-date=28 November 2015 |archive-date=8 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208184226/http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/coast-contractor-completes-aid-project-remote-tuva/2855272/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

During World War II, several piers were also constructed on [[Fongafale]] in the Funafuti Lagoon; beach areas were filled and deep-water access channels were excavated. These alterations to the reef and shoreline resulted in changes to wave patterns, with less sand accumulating to form the beaches, compared to former times. Attempts to stabilise the shoreline did not achieve the desired effect.<ref>{{cite web |first=Ralf |last=Carter |title=Wind and Sea Analysis – Funafuti Lagoon, Tuvalu |date=4 July 1986 |url=http://dev.sopac.org.fj/VirLib/TR0058.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118202311/http://dev.sopac.org.fj/VirLib/TR0058.pdf |archive-date=18 January 2012 |publisher=South Pacific Regional Environmental Programme and UNDP Project RAS/81/102 (Technical. Report No. 58 of PE/TU.3) |access-date=4 November 2011}}</ref> In December 2022, work on the Funafuti reclamation project commenced, which is part of the [[Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project]]. Sand was dredged from the lagoon to construct a platform on [[Fongafale]] islet that is {{convert|780|m|ft}} meters long and {{convert|100|m|ft}} meters wide, giving a total area of approximately 7.8 ha. (19.27 acres), which is designed to remain above sea level rise and the reach of storm waves beyond the year 2100.<ref name="LB">{{cite web |last=Bouadze |first=Levan |title=Groundbreaking ceremony in Funafuti for Tuvalu's coastal adaptation |publisher=UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji |page= |date=6 December 2022 |url=https://www.undp.org/pacific/speeches/groundbreaking-ceremony-funafuti-tuvalus-coastal-adaptation |access-date=1 November 2023}}</ref> The platform starts from the northern boundary of the Queen Elizabeth Park (QEP) reclamation area and extends to the northern Tausoa Beach [[Groyne]] and the Catalina Ramp Harbour.<ref name="TCAP-F1">{{cite report |first= |last=FCG ANZDEC Ltd |title=Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project: Environmental and Social Impact Assessment - Funafuti |date=7 October 2020 |publisher=The Pacific Community |pages= |chapter= |url=https://www.adaptation-undp.org/Tuvalu-Coastal-Adaptation-Project-TCAP-ESIA-Funafuti |access-date=3 November 2023}}</ref>

The [[Coral reefs of Tuvalu|reefs at Funafuti]] suffered damage during the [[El Niño]] events that occurred between 1998 and 2001, with an average of 70% of the Staghorn (''[[Acropora]] spp.'') corals becoming bleached as a consequence of the increase in ocean temperatures.<ref name="SOCR2004">{{cite report |last=Jeremy Goldberg and Clive Wilkinson |title=Global Threats to Coral Reefs: Coral Bleaching, Global Climate Change, Disease, Predator Plagues, And Invasive Species |year=2004 |publisher=Status of coral reefs of the world (Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, and the International Coral Reef Initiative) |volume=1 |pages=75 |chapter=1 |issn=1447-6185}}</ref><ref name=RevLT>{{cite web |last=Lusama |first=Tafue |title=Tuvalu plight must be heard by UNFCC |publisher=The Drum – Australian Broadcasting Corporation |date=29 November 2011 |url=http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/3701422.html |access-date=29 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120403164107/http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/3701422.html |archive-date=3 April 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="JW">{{cite web |last=Whitty |first=Julia |title=All the Disappearing Islands |url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2003/07/all-disappearing-islands |year=2003 |work=Mother Jones |access-date=15 February 2015 |archive-date=10 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150210054243/http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2003/07/all-disappearing-islands |url-status=live}}</ref> A reef restoration project has investigated reef restoration techniques;<ref name=CRRP>{{cite web |author=Govan, Hugh |title=Funafuti Atoll Coral Reef Restoration Project – baseline report |date=June 2007 |work=Coral Reefs in the Pacific (CRISP), Nouméa |url=http://www.sprep.org/pyor/reefdocs/CRISP/C2B1_0706_Tuvalu.pdf |access-date=26 October 2011 |display-authors=etal |archive-date=18 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118075356/http://www.sprep.org/pyor/reefdocs/CRISP/C2B1_0706_Tuvalu.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> and researchers from Japan have investigated rebuilding the [[coral reefs]] through the introduction of [[foraminifera]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Hope for Tuvalu in 'sand' that grows, the Asahi Shimbun |url=http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201009060253.html |access-date=8 September 2010 |archive-date=10 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100910015802/http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201009060253.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The project of the Japan International Cooperation Agency is designed to increase the resilience of the Tuvalu coast against sea level rise, through ecosystem rehabilitation and regeneration and through support for sand production.<ref name="JICA">{{cite web |title=Project for Eco-technological management of Tuvalu against sea level rise |work=Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) |date=31 March 2009 |url=http://www.jica.go.jp/project/english/tuvalu/0802778/outline/index.html |access-date=20 November 2012 |archive-date=8 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130508015328/http://www.jica.go.jp/project/english/tuvalu/0802778/outline/index.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

The rising population has resulted in an increased demand on fish stocks, which are under stress,<ref name=RevLT/> although the creation of the [[Funafuti Conservation Area]] has provided a fishing exclusion area to help sustain the fish population across the Funafuti lagoon.<ref name="FRFSP">{{cite web |last= |first= |title=Funafuti Reef Fisheries Stewardship Plan (FRFSP) |publisher=Tuvalu Fisheries (Tuvalu Ministry of Natural Resources) |page= |date=15 November 2017 |url=http://www.tuvalufisheries.tv/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/FRFSP-231117-web.pdf |access-date=11 August 2021 |archive-date=31 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191031004907/http://www.tuvalufisheries.tv/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/FRFSP-231117-web.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref> Population pressure on the resources of Funafuti, and inadequate sanitation systems, have resulted in pollution.<ref name="Krales"/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/mar/04/tuvalu-sustainable-way-of-life-disappears |location=London |work=[[The Guardian]] |first1=Florent |last1=Baarsch |title=Warming oceans and human waste hit Tuvalu's sustainable way of life |date=4 March 2011}}</ref> The Waste Operations and Services Act of 2009 provides the legal framework for waste management and pollution control projects funded by the European Union directed at organic waste composting in eco-sanitation systems.<ref name=TWWSP>{{cite web |url=http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/documents/aap/2009/af_aap_2009_tuv.pdf |title=Tuvalu / Water, Waste and Sanitation Project (TWWSP): CRIS FED/2009/021-195, ANNEX |work=European Union |access-date=24 October 2011 |archive-date=26 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126064920/http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/documents/aap/2009/af_aap_2009_tuv.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> The Environment Protection (Litter and Waste Control) Regulation 2013 is intended to improve the management of the importation of non-biodegradable materials. [[Plastic waste]] is a problem in Tuvalu, for much imported food and other commodities are supplied in plastic containers or packaging.

In 2023 the governments of Tuvalu and other islands vulnerable to climate change ([[Fiji]], [[Niue]], the [[Solomon Islands]], [[Tonga]] and [[Vanuatu]]) launched the "Port Vila Call for a Just Transition to a Fossil Fuel Free Pacific", calling for the phase out [[fossil fuel]]s and the 'rapid and [[just transition]]' to [[renewable energy]] and strengthening [[environmental law]] including introducing the crime of [[ecocide]].<ref>{{Cite web |last= |title=Six Island Nations Commit to 'Fossil Fuel-Free Pacific,' Demand Global Just Transition |url=https://www.commondreams.org/news/fossil-fuel-free-pacific |access-date=2023-07-01 |website=www.commondreams.org |language=en |archive-date=16 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230616003648/https://www.commondreams.org/news/fossil-fuel-free-pacific |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-22 |title=Port Vila call to phase out fossil fuels |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/486463/port-vila-call-to-phase-out-fossil-fuels |access-date=2023-07-01 |website=[[RNZ]] |language=en-nz |archive-date=1 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230701175204/https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/486463/port-vila-call-to-phase-out-fossil-fuels |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ligaiula |first=Pita |date=2023-03-17 |title=Port Vila call for a just transition to a fossil fuel free Pacific {{!}} PINA |url=https://pina.com.fj/2023/03/17/port-vila-call-for-a-just-transition-to-a-fossil-fuel-free-pacific/ |access-date=2023-07-01 |language=en-US |archive-date=1 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230701175216/https://pina.com.fj/2023/03/17/port-vila-call-for-a-just-transition-to-a-fossil-fuel-free-pacific/ |url-status=live }}</ref>