A global warm welcome to how climate change is affecting the Pacific Islands

We love talking and reading about things that are beautiful, take R-Patz and Blake Lively for example. Although this provides a good chat for the ordinary, we geographers prefer a different approach, and what is more beautiful than the Pacific Islands? Lustrous beaches, diverse biodiversity, seclusion and peace. However this could all change due to, the topic no geographer or Al Gore can resist talking about… climate change!

The Pacific Islands lie south of the tropic of cancer and are grouped into three sections Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. In generalised terms there are two types of island in this area, high islands and low islands. High islands are typically formed from volcanoes and usually support a larger population due to their fertile soil. Low islands are reefs and atolls and are usually small.

Small island countries are among the most vulnerable to climate change. The effects are so great due to their; location, low lying setting, population growth, and migration. These characteristics vary island to island however. Low islands are more vulnerable to the physical risks such as beach erosion, saltwater intrusion, and flooding. Whilst larger islands are at a greater threat from social changes such as population growth, mainly being immigration from smaller island states.

The blog will be exploring the physical and human impacts of climate change in the Pacific Islands as well as the coping strategies, this will mainly involve reviewing academic articles, and a cheeky add of my own opinion as well as information gathered from newspapers, videos, lectures and other internet sources which will be linked

References

Mimaru, N. (1999) ‘Vulnerability of island countries in the South Pacific to sea level rise and climate change’, climate research, 12, 137-143