KIRIBATI TEAM
Moselle Fredericks
Rowan Heinze
Kylie Kruger
PROJECT STATEMENT
This annotated collage is an interactive exploration of the possible extinction of the Pacific island nation Kiribati (pronounce "Kiribas"). The 32-atoll nation's fate will be defined by rising sea levels caused by global warming. Much of Kiribati may be underwater in twenty-five years, with its highest elevation just three meters above sea level. So, what happens to the 120,000 human inhabitants of the island when this happens? Does their culture face extinction as well? What happens to the non-human inhabitants and ecological balance of the islands? These are the questions this project seeks to answer. As former Kiribati president said, "It's about culture, identity and life itself."
The project focuses on three major components of the past, present and future of the crisis in Kiribati. Through careful research and analysis in our separate fields, we were able to find connections that tie our subjects together with the island. By clicking on each component - the Christmas Sandpiper, Sea Level Rise, and the Presidents' Plans - the explorer's train of thought is unravelled as they gain understanding of the cascading effects that sea level rise has on the nation's individual parts and connections between them.
WORKS CITED
In the collage:
Nordenskioldbreen Glacier, Norway
https://www.robertharding.com/preview/918-84/
nordenskioldbreen-billefjordenspitsbergen-svalbard-norway-scandinavia-europe/.
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Norway, Scandinavia, Europe]. Retrieved from
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tAhWSjZ4KHUUSCZ8Q2-cCegQIABAA&oq=robert+harding+norway+glacier&gs_
lcp=CgNpbWcQA1CCNFi0SGChSWgAcAB4AIABTogBugSSAQE4mAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWfAAQE&
sclient=img&ei=m8LHX8SZEpKb-gTFpKT4CQ&bih=729&biw=1175&
rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS775US775#imgrc=iLtCMRWh-b4nlM.
Tabwena Kaokatekai, 42, of Buariki, a village in North Tarawa
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/03/world/asia/climate-change-kiribati.html.
Haner, J. (2016, July 2). [Tabwena Kaokatekai, 42, of Buariki, a village in North Tarawa, with
her newly planted mangrove trees. Erosion along the beach here has already toppled
dozens of coconut trees into the ocean.Credit...]. Retrieved from
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/03/world/asia/climate-change-kiribati.html
Christmas Sandpiper - William Ellis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_sandpiper#/media/File:Prosobonia_
cancellata_cancellata.jpg.
Ellis, W. W. (n.d.). [William Wade Ellis's painting of Kiritimati Sandpiper Prosobonia cancellata,
held by the Natural History Museum, London, UK.]. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/William-Wade-Elliss-painting-of-Kiritimati-
Sandpiper-Prosobonia-cancellata-held-by-the_fig1_342362210
Satellite image of Kiribati
https://satellites.pro/Kiribati_map#1.675176,-157.122345,9
Oceania. (n.d.). Retrieved December 02, 2020, from https://satellites.pro/Kiribati_map
Man sitting on sea wall https://www.lensculture.com/articles/vlad-sokhin-kiribati-disappearing
LensCulture, V. (n.d.). Kiribati: Disappearing? - Photographs and text by Vlad Sokhin.
Retrieved December 02, 2020, from
https://www.lensculture.com/articles/vlad-sokhin-kiribati -disappearing
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https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/24/opinion/kiribati-climate-change.html.
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from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/24/opinion/kiribati-climate-change.html.
Wave https://time.com/5768347/climate-refugees-un-ioane-teitiota/.
Godin, M. (2020, January 20). Climate Refugees Cannot Be Sent Home, U.N. Rules.
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President in the Arctic
https://www.climatechangenews.com/2014/09/23/kiribati-
president-my-people-are-the-polar-bears-of-the-south/.
Kiribati president: My people are the polar bears of the Pacific. (2014, September 23).
Retrieved December 02, 2020, from
https://www.climatechangenews.com/2014/09/23/kiribati-
president-my-people-are-the-polar-bears-of-the-south/
Christmas Sandpiper Pop-up Sources
https://www.iucnredlist.org/.
Bird Call Mark, Todd. XC97320 Tuamotu Sandpiper (Prosobonia Parvirostris),
www.xeno-canto.org/97320.
President’s Plans Pop-up Sources
Jackson, Photograph by Lucas, et al. “Leader of Island Nation Advocates Exit Strategy for
Rising Seas.” National Geographic, 10 Mar. 2015,
www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/03/15 0310-pacific-
atoll-kiribati-anote-tong-climate-change-rising-seas/.
Rytz, Matthieu. “Sinking Islands, Floating Nation.”
The New York Times, The New York Times, 24 Jan. 2018,
www.nytimes.com/2018/01/24/opinion/kiribati-climate-change.html.
“Kiribati Land Purchase.” YouTube, YouTube, 15 Aug. 2019,
www.youtube.com/watch?v= zsgqWyy-laI&feature=emb_title.
Anote Tong in Arctic “Cold Comfort.” The Monthly, The Monthly, 17 Oct. 2018,
www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2014/december/1417352400/john-van-tiggelen/cold-comfort#mtr.
“Kiribati’s president’s plans to raise islands in fight against sea-level rise.”
Christopher Pala,The Guardian, 9 Aug. 2020,
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/10/kiribatis-presidents-plans-to-
raise-islands-in-fight-against-sea-level-rise
“Kiribati President Plans to Raise Islands to Address Sea Level Rise.” Victoria Sinla,
Nature World News, 10 Aug. 2020,
https://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/44214/20200810/addressing-sea-
level-rise-kiribati-president-plans-raise-islands.htm
“Mother of seven is forced to leave her island home on Kiribati because of rising sea levels.”
Rebecca West, cbc documentary channel,
https://www.cbc.ca/documentarychannel/features/mother-of-seven-is-forced-to-leave-her-island-home-on-kiribati-because-of-r.
Miller, Margaret W. “Detecting sedimentation impacts to coral reefs resulting from
dredging the Port of Miami, Florida USA.” Peerj, 17 November 2016,
https://peerj.com/articles/2711/.
Sea Level Rise and the Defense against it Pop-up Sources
Lindsey, Rebecca. “Climate Change: Global Sea Level.” Climate.gov, 14 August 2020,
https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-global-sea-level.
Gillis, Justin. “Climate Model Predicts West Antarctic Ice Sheet Could Melt Rapidly.”
The New York Times, The New York Times, 30 Mar. 2016,
www.nytimes.com/2016/03/31/science/global-warming-antarctica-ice-
sheet-sea-level-rise.html.
“Kiribati is Gone.” Ciril Jazbec, Global Oneness Project,
https://www.globalonenessproject.org/library/
photo-essays/kiribati-gone#photo=3&sm=slideshow.slideshow
“Kiribati: The Sinking Island Being Destroyed By Climate Change.” AJ+,
Youtube, 8 Dec. 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9P7jXveokDY
