PHOTOS: OMOMOM
A
t firstsight,theSouth
PacificislandsofRa-
rotongaandKiribati
look likeheavenon
earthwiththeir lushgreen
hills,whitesandybeachesand
turquoisesea.Butappearances
aredeceptive.Theislandsare
feelingtheseriouseffectsofcli-
matechange.LargeareasofKir-
ibati,forexample,nowlieless
thantwometres above sea level.
Scientistsbelievethattheisland
willbeinundatedbytheseain
thenextcoupleofdecades.
Fornineyears,photographer
BarbaraDombrowskihasbeen
visitingpeople particularly
affectedbyclimatechangeas
partofherTropi cIc eproject.
AftertravellingtotheAmazon,
Greenland,MongoliaandTan-
zania,theislandsofOceania are
her fifth and final stop.
TheSouthSeaislandsofRarotonga
andKiribatiareidylliclocations
- but for how much longer?
PARADISE
in
DANGER
READER’S DIGEST
PHOTOSBarbaraDombrowski
TEXTCornelia Kumfert
94 Augus t 2019