Vulnerability of Tuvalu to Climate Change and Sea-level Rise

Case study for Coral Island Country with Low Land Level in the South Pacific

Abstract

Tuvalu, with its limited land area, low elevation and high population density, is the most vulnerable to climate change and sea-level rise in the South Pacific island countries. The main purposes of this study are to recognize the vulnerability of physical and socio-economic aspects in Tuvalu through literature and field survey, and to assess the vulnerability to sea-level rise in Funafuti Atoll, using a coastal engineering approach. As the results of the study, it is concluded that the vulnerability would consist mainly of physical condition, industrial and economic vulnerability, the discrepancy between traditional culture and modernization, and that Funafuti would be affected fatally by estimated inundation/flooding and wave overtopping. At the present stage, there are no appropriate countermeasure to alleviate the impacts of climate change and sea-level rise in Tuvalu.