This beautiful island with a thousand years of history, located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean,
But in 30 years, it will disappear at the end of the world.
By then, 110,000 people will be homeless.
Kiribati is a small island nation in the South Pacific,
The country consists of 33 large and small islands,
The exclusive area of the sea reaches 3.5 million square kilometers, and the land area is pitifully small.
The highest elevation on the island is only two meters above sea level.
In addition to this, Kiribati has a particularly magical phenomenon,
That is, when the people in the east are asleep, the people in the west are already up and going to work.
In fact, all this stems from its unique geographical location,
It is understood that Kiribati is the only one in the world to cross the equator,
The country that crosses the International Date Change Line.
However, it is such a place where charm and beauty coexist,
However, experts predict that it will disappear completely before 2050 arrives.
Due to global warming in recent years, sea levels have been rising,
as a result of much of Kiribati's land being covered by seawater,
Storms, tides, and tsunamis are engulfing the island.
The local Tara and his 3 sons come from the small island of Tarawa in Kiribati.
On this day, the father and son 4 people came to the beach after low tide as usual to look for corals,
Because the stones on the island are gradually decreasing, they need to build a coral wall to withstand the invasion of the tsunami.
10 years ago, Tara's family of 12 began to devote themselves to this matter.
Tara said: At that time, the wind and waves were very strong, and the sea water was poured directly into the house.
We must build higher walls to ensure that the house is not washed away by the water,
When the storm hit, the walls of other people's homes collapsed, and only our walls stood.
Every day Tara's 3 sons would tow the boat into the sea,
Because the old beach will be flooded,
The boats of the islanders cannot be moored in fixed places,
Otherwise, it will sink into the silt.
Tara's mother often told her granddaughter Anna about the island 20 years ago.
She recalled: At that time, the land on the island was fertile and densely wooded.
The sea is far away from us, and even when the tide is high, the islanders are safe.
The old man firmly believes that one day, they will live as they used to.
However, "the ideal is very full, but the reality is very bone"
The sea has spread to the main traffic artery in front of the house.
The man was walking in the middle of the road with his things on his back, and the water was directly at his waist.
If you want to go to play with children, you have to use tires to drift over.
There is a mangrove forest in the south of Tarawa,
This is a tropical tree with slender but strong rhizomes,
Soil erosion can be well prevented.
Some young people spontaneously organized themselves and planted this kind of vegetation on the beach,
So far, they have planted more than 50,000 trees.
For the future of the island, they will continue to plant,
Because this group of young people knows that their homeland is in danger,
They said they would do their best to perpetuate their culture.
For a moment, it seemed that everyone in Kiribati was contributing to their homeland.
This man is the owner of the bar, he spends all his savings to buy concrete,
hired workers to build by the sea,
He said the climate of the future would only get worse
We have to do what we can to survive.
Due to seawater cover, the country is short of resources,
The employment opportunities available are also gradually decreasing,
Many people don't have jobs and leave their homes.
There are 60,000 people in the Gilbert Islands alone, half the country's total population.
The average family has 5-6 children and is severely overpopulated.
Boya is a 24-year-old from Tarawa,
With government funding, he traveled to Thailand alone to learn how to make palm candy.
After returning from his studies, he began to teach the villagers to learn how to make sugar, hoping that they would make money through this craft.
To make amber palm candy, you must first climb a 20-meter-high coconut tree,
Pluck the flowers on top and squeeze out the juice.
Then pour the juice into the pot and bring it to a boil,
During this process, he stirred constantly until the liquid became viscous,
Finally, just pack the coagulated syrup into the bag,
This additive-free palm sugar can sell for 35 yuan per kilogram,
Tarawa has thousands of coconut trees that stretch for 37 km,
Therefore, for the islanders, making syrup is a good profession,
It can help many people to get out of unemployment and support their families.
Tarawa has a marine training centre with 150 seafarers.
To help them work on a foreign ship to support themselves.
The person in charge conducts strict militarized management and training of seafarers every day,
This is a rare opportunity that young people cherish very much.
However, the islanders have taken all measures to save themselves, which are so insignificant in the face of nature.
Climate change is already seriously affecting people's lives.
A man named Ivan, who could not find a job in his home country, ran to New Zealand to work.
He once tried to apply for asylum with the New Zealand government,
However, the claim was dismissed because New Zealand considered that natural conditions did not threaten his life.
A year later, he and his family were even expelled from New Zealand.
As a result, Ivan had to return to Kiribati with his family and squeeze into his sister's house.
And this matter has set off a wave in the international community, and the People of China have accused them.
Ivan's wife said that many people criticized our actions as a denigration of Kiribati.
But we just want to survive, and if people are gone, how can the culture of the country continue.
About 3,000 years ago, the first inhabitants settled here,
Most of them are from Southeast Asia and Polynesia,
This nation is very proud of its cultural practices,
They will regularly pass on folk songs and dances to a new generation of children,
But if the island is submerged, the nation will probably fall apart.
Unique customs and habits will be lost.
In addition, the salinization of drinking water is also a serious problem,
The woman said that the sea water flooded her farmland and wells.
The water used to be very good, but now the groundwater is turbid and has a salty taste.
They're getting together and talking about solutions.
It has been proposed to pump water with a solar water pump,
There are also those who believe that desalination plants will be established directly on the island,
After voting, the majority of the people chose the first option,
But this expensive fee also requires international assistance.
The local climate coordinator predicts that Tarawa's population will double over the next 20 years.
In order to solve this problem, the relevant personnel proposed to transfer all islanders to artificial floating islands,
However, this is a huge project that requires time and money, and it will not be possible to achieve it for a while and a half.
So, as early as 2014, the Kiribati government had already purchased a piece of land in Fiji.
But moving all 110,000 residents is not an easy task.
Today, the life of the residents of Tarawa is still not optimistic,
Kiribati's future remains worrying.