How did you come across the Tuvalu issue ?  

I read an article in National Geographic about climate change, they were making reference to the islands as the first country which would disappear due to climate change. I got fascinated by the country while doing my researches on the island and the life there.

Have you had difficulties making your documentary ? With the local authorities ? With the people living in Tuvalu ?

No, not at all. I didn’t know what to expect, I just flew out with my equipment, I did not have any accommodation or contacts on site. I was afraid of who I would meet and if they would be open to share information on this subject, because it is about a dark future and they may be hesitant, I didn’t know if they would be happy to talk about it.

But the thing was that people were very welcoming. Of course, they live on a little island which is sort of timeless so it was quite difficult to make appointments. Most of the people work in fishery and they basically take one fish and they’re done for the day, they take two they give one to the neighbors. So yes it was quite difficult to make appointments. But they are really very super friendly and the people in the government were very friendly as well and they wanted to talk about their problems and get the story out. They were heartwarming people.  I didn’t expect they would help me in this sense and give me all the information I was after.

One fact that struck me was how important the Christian religion was for the Tuvaluans. Their original beliefs were transformed by the colonization and their faith is clashing with what the Science is bringing saying that “yeah these islands are going to disappear”. Quite a few people don’t believe that this is going to happen because the Bible says so. The flood happened once and it was a warning, so it won’t happen again. Some people didn’t understand why I was here, “it’s nice of you to get this story out” but we don’t believe that it will happen because it’s literally said in the Bible. Noah was reminded of the earth being flooded by a rainbow and basically you see a rainbow everyday in Tuvalu so people see this as a sign of safety as well. It is quite difficult for scientists that come over and explain people what is happening to the islands because they are not really open for it. The younger generations are much more aware that something is going on but the older generations not that much really.

“Quite a few people don’t believe that this is going to happen because the Bible says so.”

What were your impressions of the concrete state of the Tuvalu islands when you were there ?

“The water rises up to one meter in the residential areas and over the landing strip”

I happened to witness a couple of those king tides because I got to stay there for a couple of months and they are extreme high tides. Those tides are predicted so people were ready and the tides don’t come over the edges of the island because they have anti-tides walls. They have, of course, measures taken to prevent this but it comes right in the middle of the island through the porous coral. Because it is a coral atoll, it developed over ancient volcanoes with sediments and coral on top of it so the water comes right through the bottom of the island. It is quite strange because in no time, in an hour basically, you’re knee high deep into the water. The water rises up to one meter in the residential areas and over the landing strip. That what quite shocking to see, it is not with a lot of force, no storm, it’s 35° and suddenly you’re surrounded by water. Children are enjoying it, they’re playing in it. The whole atmosphere is not threatening but if you think about it, this is happening every month now and it wasn’t before so it is a strange, strange situation.

“In an hour basically, you’re are knee high deep into the water”

What are the obvious and the less obvious reasons for this flooding? What are according to you the causes leading the island to sink?

It seems that there is a global problem turning into a bigger local problem in Tuvalu. Also there is quite a lot of people on this really small atoll -which is only 26 km2 in total for the nine islands- so it’s not much land really. There’s more than 11 000 people living there and mainly on Funafuti which a lot more civilized than the other islands because this is were the city center is.

“There is also a lot of human waste going into the ocean, which affects the coral – a natural breaking wall for the waves”

There is a huge waste problem because there are monthly ships bringing food, canned food, canned meat, to the island but they take nothing back. There is no way to grow crops on the island because of the salt intruded grounds. So there are no crops and no space for animals to keep either. So they bring in a lot of food and a lot of waste and on either ends of the island there are huge garbage dumps. There is also a lot of human waste going into the ocean, which affects the coral, and the coral is a natural breaking wall for the waves. And besides, the rising temperature of the sea water destroys the coral as well.

The coral is bleaching, I’ve seen it while snorkeling around and filming, it’s bleaching which means it’s dead and because this is gone there is erosion happening and you can see the beaches being literally washed away, the palm trees are falling down to the ground. So the island is not only facing salt water intrusion but there it is also getting smaller from the sides onwards so there is quite a few things coming together, it’s not only the rising sea but a quite more complex situation.

“It’s not only the rising sea but a quite more complex situation”

Who are the people / the organizations trying to make a difference about this situation?

I’m really amazed by Ian Fry, he used to be the head of Green Peace Pacific and he’s making a big stand for Tuvalu and I met him and he has a heart for the country. He is the most audible actor for the country.

“Ian Fry- he is the most audible actor for the country”

What are the people of Tuvalu currently doing to try and make a change for Tuvalu?

I think there is a small group of people focusing on this subject. Of course, people are aware of the problems, there are discussions about people who see this situation as a ticket to more developed countries as in the USA, New Zealand and Australia- which is, I think, not true because the people from Tuvalu don’t want to leave their Island. I would say that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the NGOs, Tuvaluan Meteorological Office are making a stand for what is going on. There is quite a few foreigners coming in and helping as well, bringing knowledge. But in general that’s a small percentage of the people really.

Tuvalu is so symbolic because it is one of the smallest nations in the world and it’s one of the first to disappear. It has a government, it has it’s own language, it’s own original religion, its own sports, plants unique to Tuvalu and all that is going to disappear and this really attracts international attention. Yet, I saw that day to day the Tuvaluans are not worried at all, they don’t see it as a problem for their generation or the next generation. It’s quite hard to imagine but it’s very timeless, people don’t live by the same time as we do. It’s hard to imagine when you live in Paris or London. In the beginning, I went to the city to meet someone for an interview and the person wasn’t there because it doesn’t matter whether you meet this week or the next. Then you would meet people and they would talk to you about anything for hours, they would really take their time. It has nothing to do with them being rude. The whole attitude towards timing is similar with the problems they are faced with.

“Tuvalu is so symbolic because it is one of the smallest nations in the world and it’s one of the first to disappear”

Because Tuvalu is so symbolic for some, do you think there are lessons for the future to be learned from their situation?

It’s quite difficult because it is happening so slowly and also because there are some controversies among scientists and people are still saying it is not true. I think you can  answer this question after the things have really happened because now there are a lot of discussion about what is really going on, if it’s something that is not as bad or if it’s going to be a lot worse than expected. So the lesson to be learned is I think, because it’s such a small country, because it’s not much on the map, it is being pushed aside and ignored. It is predicted and slowly happening, yet it is very urgent and probably too late because there is so much momentum in climate change and CO2 emissions evolution that even if the big players such as the US, China and India would stop emitting now it wouldn’t change a thing for Tuvalu.

“It is very urgent and probably too late”

People would probably still be able to live there but nothing would grow on the Islands. Tuvalu islands would turn into sand bars which will make living impossible. Ian Fry told me that the situation was irreversible. It’s a bit doomy and I can’t tell you when it’s going to happen but I think this generation is going to have a big problem.

Do you think someone should be held accountable for what is happening to the Tuvalu people ? Should a country be the designated “new home” for the Tuvaluans ?

I think it’s really difficult to blame it on someone in particular. The climate refugee status does not suit the Tuvaluans because it would actually mean they get separated and placed in different countries. The most important is that they stick together, because their values, their culture is the most important thing, that’s something you want to keep, so if you bring one half to the States, the other to Australia, some people to Fidji and some to New Zealand it would be also catastrophic for them, but it also seems hard to bring them all to another island. That is something they are working on because there are islands around Fidji and few of them are owned by Tuvaluans and they are thinking about relocating them there. The problem with that is, if you have so much people, most of them are illiterate, there is some criminality as well, and some alcohol problems as well because one of the main income of the country is from international seamen from cargo ships and those seamen brought the alcohol problem. Before that time there was no alcohol in the country. So if you relocate the people you bring all the problems to another country so of course Australia has a big problem with the Tuvaluans because they are illiterate and that’s a shame. The most important thing is that these people stick together. That’s not going to happen.

“The most important thing is that these people stick together. That’s not going to happen”