Tuvalu, Canary in a coalmine?

The issue of sea level rise is often demonstrated with Tuvalu. Since the late 1980s Tuvalu has been identified as threatened by sea level rise from Climate Change (Connell 2003). Tuvalu has been given a stage on the political arena, provided with politicians to represent them in climate affairs, as well as being the poster child for the effects of Climate change (Fabotko 2010). Tuvalu has been mentioned (not in name) in Al Gores ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ and is used to publicise the effects of Climate Change to; politicians at climate debates, for example at Copenhagen; and to provoke countries and the public into action.

It is incredible how its name has become so known, with no internal conflict, nuclear testing or natural disaster so have been of little interest to journalists and neighbouring countries. However now they play an important role in Climate Change discourse. They are seen as Climate refugees, as imagined geographies have presented them as country too small and poor to be without foreign aid, and to solve their issues would be to move to mainland countries such as Australia (Fabotko 2010).

Tuvalu has also been the ‘global showcase’ for renewable energies, French environmentalists have made efforts to rid all their islands of fossil fuels (Fabotko 2010). Why is it so attractive to journalists and environmentalists? I suppose it is a site where uncertainty about global climate change is miniaturised and resolved in and through the quest to know if the sea around it is rising. Tuvalu has been compared to the metaphor ‘canary in a coalmine’ which indicates that Tuvalu is not a value in itself but is important to a larger (global) environmental purpose (Fabotko 2010).

Tuvalu has become a space where the fate of the planet is brought forward in time and miniaturised in space;

‘reduced to a performance of rising seas and climate refugees played out for those with most control over the current and future uses of fossil fuels.’ (Farbutko 2010 page 8)

In this way we can view Tuvalu as an ‘Island Laboratory’, it can show us a scenario of what to come (Fabotko 2010). As Tuvalu is a major player in Climate Change discourse there have been representational leaps from the island being a ‘marginal laboratory’ to an ‘expendable laboratory’ in pursuit of the larger purpose of saving the world (Fabotko 2010). This view has led to exaggeration of the threats facing Tuvalu. For example environmentalist, Mark Lynas, has a strong desire for Tuvalu to be almost uninhabitable (Fabotko 2010). He made a piece about rising sea levels affecting the high tides in Tuvalu, in which he has a photograph of a man, two children with a barbeque knee deep in water (Fabotko 2010). It represents the high tides that have been occurring more often due to climate change. However it has been criticised as it is a misleading photograph and has been presented in may reputable sources such as UNESCO which adds validity to the image. Although high tides have been occurring more frequently, they occur around three times a year, and last a few days (Fabotko 2010). There are many like Lynas who are over exaggerating the effects of climate change in Tuvalu which should be kept in mind when looking at the island (Fabotko 2010).  

Which is why I found it interesting to find a BBC news article about low lying Pacific Islands growing not sinking. It claimed that a new geological survey showed the islands of Tuvalu, Kiribati and the Federated States of Micronesia were indeed expanding because of coral debris and sediment (Bryant 2010). The study showed that 27 islands over the last 60 years have remained stable, and some have grown (Zukerman2010). Historical images and satellite photography showed that 80% of the islands had remained the same or had got bigger (Bryant 2010). Scientists believe many of the islands will still be around for another 100 years (Zukerman 2010). Although there are some issues with this article: historical images can be subjective, and although they may not be sinking these islands are still under threat from sea level rise. Although land may not be getting scarcer the issues of salt water contamination, inundation and coastal erosion are still issues brought on by climate change.