Drowning islands warn of future perils for ‘environmental refugees’

(CNN) — There is one holiday destination that should shake the faith of even the most vehement climate change skeptic: the Carteret Islands, part of Papua New Guinea, located northeast of Bougainville.

The palm trees sway gently under a balmy sun, the beaches are perfect, and stretched out as far as the eye can see is the wide blue of the Pacific Ocean.


The only problem with this idyllic scene is that the water is getting closer; slowly but surely, as global warming bites and sea levels rise, the islands are being swallowed up, leaving the few hundred inhabitants pondering an uncertain future.

“King tides and sea surges are floodling the island to a knee high and it is difficult for the salt water to dry up,” says Ursula Rakova, a Carteret islander and campaigner.

“Fruit trees and nut trees have lost their leaves and only skeleton branches are left standing. The only greenery is from coconut and sago palms… People have no garden food to feed on… We have lost more than 60 percent of our land already.”

CNN