Reader's Digest - USA (2019-08)

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