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COP29 -

At the climate conference COP29, which was held in November 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan, one of the biggest discussions was how to protect small island states.

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Old news -

It is no great secret that these countries often bear the brunt of damage caused by climate change, and for years experts have been calling for more to be done to protect them.

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Fresh appeals -

Speaking at the closing plenary of the conference, the Samoan chair of the Alliance of Small Island States (Aosis), Toeolesulusulu Cedric Schuster, appealed to delegates.

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Transformational changes -

He referred to the fact that time is running out to implement meaningful change, and he called for "transformational changes" in the way that climate finance is raised and distributed.

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The debt debate -

There is a controversial debate whether the countries who bear the most responsibility for polluting the earth should repay their debt by providing financial aid to the countries who suffer the most damage.

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Current actions -

Until that debate is resolved, however, the governments of small island states must continue to find ways to protect themselves against the threat of climate change.

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Biggest threat -

The biggest threat faced by small islands is that they will essentially be swallowed up. Both rising sea levels and increased floods contribute heavily to this threat.

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Case in point -

Unfortunately, we can already see these effects. There are five islets in the South Pacific’s Solomon Islands that have already been lost to rising sea levels.

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Land reclamation -

One of the measures taken by the governments of small islands is to create more land. On a basic level, it makes sense–to combat the risk of losing land, one should create more of it.

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How it works -

Experts refer to this technique as "land reclamation" and it basically works by dredging up sediment from the ocean floor and using it to extend coastlines.

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In the Maldives -

One country that has adopted this approach is the Maldives, a low-lying archipelago around 400 miles (664 km) south of India.

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Existing project -

Despite being a climate vulnerable country, the Maldives has a growing population. For years, the government has been pursuing an extensive land reclamation project.

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Statistics -

According to one research paper, at least 186 of the islands belonging to the Maldives archipelago have some reclaimed land.

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Concerns -

Land reclamation is not without its issues, however. One of the key grounds for concern from scientists is that land reclamation can be very harmful to local ecosystems.

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Harming natural defenses -

Natural coastal ecosystems have features, such as coral reefs and mangroves, that are very important for the resilience of the islands themselves.

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Increased flood risk -

By harming coral reefs and mangroves, land reclamation can actually serve to increase the risk of flooding on small islands.

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Vicious circle -

It is for this reason that the UN’s climate body, the IPCC, has actually warned that land reclamation can cause a sort of vicious circle on islands looking to protect themselves from rising sea levels.

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Assurances -

In response, representatives of the Maldives have assured those concerned that their projects will also focus on nature-based solutions that include restoration of mangroves and coral reefs. They also acknowledge that there are still knowledge gaps, however.

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Sea defenses -

Another popular, and perhaps more obvious, measure deployed by small island governments is to put up more sea defenses.

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Sea walls -

So-called sea walls are a double-edged sword in the sense that they help prevent coastal erosion (the soil effectively sliding away) as well as protecting the shoreline from flooding.

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Common defense -

Putting up seawalls is the most common defense by countries trying to protect themselves against climate damage. However, if not properly constructed, they can collapse.

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In the Seychelles -

According to the IPCC, this is what has happened on the Seychelles, an island in the Indian Ocean. It has been described as "littered with broken seawalls and groynes."

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Added complication -

There is also the risk that erecting a seawall in one place will increase the risk of flooding and coastal erosion in another.

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In Samoa -

This is exactly what happened in a village in Samoa, where a seawall was put up, but it was not long enough to protect all houses. The result was that some families faced an increased impact from large waves.

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Different focus -

The limitations of seawalls are one of the reasons that certain governments are focusing on other protective measures, such as the restoration of mangroves and coral reefs.

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Improved monitoring -

There is also an increased focus on improving weather monitoring and early-warning systems for extreme weather events, such as hurricanes and tsunamis.

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Selling citizenship -

One final technique that some small island countries are using to protect themselves is selling citizenship to raise funds for climate-related projects.

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In Dominica -

One country that has adopted this approach is the Caribbean Island of Dominica, which has been selling passports since the 1990s, sometimes even to people who have never been to the island.

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Important revenue stream -

In recent years, revenue from this project has ballooned, and currently it makes up 25-30% of the country’s GDP.

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Final thoughts -

Whether citizenship schemes like this will be a reliable source of income in the long term remains to be seen. For now, however, they provide an important resource for certain countries looking to boost their resilience in the face of the threat of climate change.

Sources: (BBC)

See also: Cities that will be least impacted by climate change

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