CathNews New Zealand

The Australian Uniting Church support for Tuvalu  is being provided through partnership with Christian Church of Tuvalu and in close contact with church leaders in Tuvalu. The population of Tuvalu is 11,500. The Church of Tuvalu is by far the largest church, 97% of the population. Besides the small Catholic Church, less than 0.5%, there are two other small churches, Pentecostal and Seventh-day Adventist.

Christian Church of Tuvalu leaders report that the southern island of Nukulaelae is most severely affected by the extreme water shortage and locally produced food. The Church Secretary has reported that “the coconut tree tops have started falling off, breadfruit trees are dead, banana plantations are dried up and the traditional pulaka pits are rotten because of the drought.”

A big meeting on climate change that has just finished in Panama was urged to consider the plight of Pacific nations.

Presentations from Tonga highlighted the impact of climate change in the Pacific – including the current water shortages in Tuvalu and Tokelau.

However, according  to John Hunter from Australia’s Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre in Hobart, Sea level rise is not a major factor in the water shortages in Tuvalu and Tokelau at the moment.

The current drought affecting the central pacific is due to a La Nina weather pattern, but sea level rise as been suggested by some as being a factor in the water shortage in low lying atoll nations.

Source

• The Drum
• Pacific Beat
• Pacific Beat
• Image: Journey

Additional reading

• Uniting Church in Australia calls for help for Tuvalu
• Solomons Bishop wants help with water supply problems
• SPREP helps drought stricken Tuvalu and Tokelau
• Tokelau drought having significant impact on local food sources
• Samoa water problems inevitable

News category: Asia Pacific.