16 Spotlight 9/2019 ENVIRONMENT
but by the next generation. Scientists say
Tuvalu could become uninhabitable in
the next 50 to 100 years. Locals say they
feel it could be much sooner.
Nausaleta Setani, Frank’s aunt, sleeps
beside the lagoon at night in the wooden
shack, using a float buoy as a pillow. At
first a non-believer in climate change, like
many older people on the island, Setani
has slowly become convinced of the ar-
gument, as her daily life becomes tough-
er with every unexpected movement of
the sea.
“The weather is changing very quickly,
day-to-day, hour-to-hour,” says Setani, 54,
who is both calmed and troubled by the
ocean metres away from her hut.
“I have been learning that the things
which are happening are the result of
man, especially from other countries. It
makes me sad. But I understand that oth-
er countries do what is best for their peo-
ple. I am from a small country. All I want is
for the bigger countries to respect us and
think of our lives.”On the ground
The United Nations Development Pro-
gramme (UNDP) classifies Tuvalu as a
“least-developed country” that is poor
in resources and “extremely vulnerable”
to the effects of climate change. Porous,
salty soil has made the ground almost to-
tally useless for planting, destroying im-
portant pulaka crops and decreasing the
yields of various fruits and vegetables.
Starchy Pacific Island staples such as taro
and cassava now have to be imported at
great cost, along with most other food.
Since the rising ocean has contaminat-
ed underground water supplies, Tuvalu
is now totally reliant on rainwater, but
droughts are occurring with alarming
frequency. Even if the locals could plant
successfully, there is now not enough rain
to keep even simple kitchen gardens alive.
The Frank family spend around A$ 200
(€124) every two weeks on food, a bill that
keeps rising as the fruit on the trees that
circle their modest home — breadfruit, ba-
nanas and pandanus — fail to ripen, and
fall to the sandy ground.
The fish, too, the stuff of life here, have
become problematic. Ciguatera poi-
soning affects reef fish that have eaten
microalgae expelled by bleached coral.
When fish infected with these ciguatera
toxins are consumed by humans, theycause an immediate and sometimes seri-
ous illness, with fever and diarrhoea.
At the local hospital, a specialist depart-
ment has been set up to study and man-
age illnesses related to climate change.
Around ten Tuvaluans come in with
symptoms of ciguatera poisoning every
week, about 10 per cent of the weekly
number of climate-related illnesses. Suria
Eusala Paufolau, acting chief of public
health, says cases of fish poisoning be-
gan to increase a decade ago, around the
same time as the weather really started to
become so unpredictable.
Climate-related illnesses that have in-
creased along with the changing weather
include influenza, fungal diseases, con-
junctivitis and dengue fever, according
to the hospital’s research. Higher daily
temperatures are also putting people at
daily risk of dehydration and heatstroke,
Paufolau says: “Generally the local pop-
ulation does not see the link between
climate change and health. But there is
always a sense of fear about what is hap-
pening to our home.”acting [(ÄktIN]
, hier: amtierend
affect [E(fekt]
, betreffen
bleached [bli:tSt]
, ausgebleicht
cassava [kE(sA:vE]
, Maniok
ciguatera poisoning
[)sIgwE(teErE )pOIz&nIN]
, Ciguatera-
Fisch vergiftung
conjunctivitis
[kEn)dZVNktI(vaItIs]
, Bindehautentzündung
crop [krQp]
, Feldfrucht, Ernte
diarrhoea [)daIE(rIE]
, Durchfall
drought [draUt]
, Dürre
expel [Ik(spel]
, ausstoßen
float buoy [(flEUt bOI]
, Schwimmkörper, Boje
fungal [(fVNg&l]
, Pilz-heatstroke [(hi:tstrEUk]
, Hitzschlag
microalgae
[(maIkrEU)ÄldZi:]
, Mikroalgen
pandanus [pÄn(deInEs]
, Schraubenpalme
pillow [(pIlEU]
, (Kopf)Kissen
porous [(pO:rEs]
, porös, durchlässig
soil [sOI&l]
, Erdboden
staple [(steIp&l]
, Grundnahrungsmittel
starchy [(stA:tSi]
, stärkehaltig
taro [(tA:rEU]
, Taro, Wasserbrot-
wurzel
uninhabitable
[)VnIn(hÄbItEb&l]
, unbewohnbar
vulnerable [(vVlnErEb&l]
, gefährdet, anfällig
yield [ji:&ld]
, Ertrag