What can "we" do to help them?

The Pacific community is very much concerned about our neighboring countries, Kiribati and Tuvalu that are facing the threats of climate change.

However, there is a lot more that the Pacific as a whole can do rather than showing concerns towards these people. First and foremost, the Pacific community should get together to discuss their issues and concerns.

All this while it has been the developed countries holding conference in Mexico and Copenhagen however, nothing has been done yet to help cater for these people. Hence, the Pacific community should give a helping hand and come up with immediate and responsive actions.

The fact is the islands are going under water and one day there will be no Kiribati and Tuvalu. What the Pacific community can do is give homes to these people. The Pacific community should accept them and give them new homes.

What the Pacific community can do is allow a certain number of people in a particular country. For example, Fiji can accept 1,000 people from Kiribati. Other Pacific Island countries can do the same.

In this way these people will have a future, a bright future for their children. And not waking up every day and thinking, where will we go? Do we have a future? What will happen to my children who don’t even know anything about climate change? Where will they go to?

We are known as the Pacific Islanders because of the bond we share. And if one of our family member is going through tough times than we should go ahead and help our family. This is speaking from a Pacific mentality.

But we cannot completely deny the fact that the developed countries are not giving a helping hand in this. They are trying their best because they are the emitters of green house gas. Therefore, they are ones who have led to climate change.

An initiative by one of the prominent Universities in Japan has raised new hopes for the survival of Kiribati.

The poor nation is facing a bill of $947 million just to protect infrastructure from the effects of climate change, and has yet to come up with viable alternatives to relocate some of the population.

A team of five Professors from Nihon University conducted a broad research and came up with a countermeasure of the problem of climate change in Kiribati. They suggested having the island country that exists, on the floating structures.

So far, the university has held two seminar series in Japan. Nihon University in the 1^st International Symposium of Ocean Space in 2010 invited the President of Kiribati, Anote Tong and made a preposition to him.

One of the academics from the University of the South Pacific was invited to attend the 2^nd International Symposium of Ocean Space 2011. Dr. Joeli Veitayaki, Associate Professor of Marine Studies was invited to talk on climate change adaptation issues in the Pacific Islands.

However, the only drawback is the funds. So let’s say the Pacific Islanders are dependent on the developed countries for funds. This will be something to see if the project is successful. Let’s hope for the best and for a brighter future for Kiribati.