Rising sea levels threaten Tuvalu as a nation, but that won’t stop the dream

A tiny nation set to be eventually swallowed by the ocean has just secured a remarkable accolade.

Flag bearers Matie Stanley and Karalo Hepoiteloto Maibuca of Team Tuvalu during the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on July 23, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. Picture: Jamie Squire/Getty Images

IT’s the nation tipped to disappear into the ocean. At its narrowest point, an Olympic shot putter could hoist it from one side of the country to the other.

But, for the fifth successive Olympics, the tiny island paradise of Tuvalu has done the improbable and will be represented at the Games.

“Tuvalu will participate at Paris,’’ Tuvalu’s National Olympic Committee spokesman Melei Melei told this masthead via email. “So far we have only one athlete, in the 100m.

“Karalo Hepoiteloto Maibucais (is) based in Suva studying at the University of The South Pacific and training together with some of Fiji sprinters.’’

Maibucais was the flag-bearer for Tuvalu at the Tokyo Games. At the moment he is odds-on to do so again, even if he has no-one behind him.

He will get a thunderous ovation. Tuvalu always does. People are fascinated by their story.

Located halfway between Australia and Hawaii, Tuvalu is at the frontline of global warming and has been tipped to be swallowed up by the Pacific Ocean in the next 40 years.

Tokyo Flag bearers Matie Stanley and Karalo Hepoiteloto Maibuca during the 2021 Opening Ceremony. Picture: Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Locals fear it will be sooner than that but, for the moment, it is business as usual.

The narrowest point of its main island, Fongafale, is just 20m wide which means whoever wins the men’s or women’s shot put in Paris could hoist their best effort from one side of the country to the other.

Google describes Tuvalu as the least visited country on earth with just 3,700 visitors annually coming in on the three flights a week to join 10,700 residents on the 27 sqkm which make it the fourth smallest nation on earth.

Few Australians hold greater affection for the region than Gold Coast engineer James Lewis who has designed a seven hectare patch of new land which has given residents an area to build on as well as having a barrier for the waves.

He is returning there on Sunday to continue his work and sees daily their passion for sport.

“Unfortunately there is so little land,’’ Lewis said.

“The only playground they had prior to us doing this work was the international (airport) runway. Every afternoon after work you can see maybe 200 people on the runway playing their games on the tarmac.

“Soccer in one area, volleyball in the other, rugby somewhere else. It is really cool. It is like a social gathering. Everyone does it every afternoon.

Residents of Tuvalu go about their business as rising sea levels complicates their day to day lives. Photo: James Lewis, Intercoastal Consulting

“Volleyball is what they love because it is actually linked to an old traditional game where one whole part of the island playing the other side of about 50 people where they hit a loaded pandanus back and forth. It is a really cool game.

“I have been out there for the last five years on and off. It is such a beautiful place. There is no tourism set-up. It is really traditional because it has not been touched by the outer world.

“It is a beautiful place. It is a great place to visit.’’

So can Tuvalu beat the odds and survive?

“It is so hard. The water comes up through the island. We don’t see sea levels rise on the east coast of Australia like we do up there. It is sad but we did that pilot project and the Australian Government has approved the next stage of land reclamation down the beach. They have hope now.’’

Originally published as Rising sea levels threaten Tuvalu as a nation, but that won’t stop the dream