The island of Tuvalu, the fourth smallest country in the world with only 12,000 inhabitants, is located between Australia and Hawaii.
It is a paradisiacal place of which very few people know, surrounded by white sands and crystal clear waters, has four coral reefs and five small coral islands in the form of a ring, all forming a great home due to the good quality of life of marine animals, fish species, corals, algae and invertebrates.
“According to a new report from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), this paradisiacal destination was the least visited place on the planet, in 2016, with only 2,000 tourists.”
This could be due to the fact that it involves some difficulty to access the island, as there is only one airline that flies to Tuvalu, Fiji Airways, and specifically it does so only 2 times a week with a flight cost of approximately 900 euros.
This country is in danger of extinction, as it is sinking due to global warming, so it could be the first country to disappear. The inhabitants of Tuvalu are witnessing more and more high tides and their growth due to the dilation of the water and melting of the glaciers, including the seepage of water from underground, so the island is gradually sinking. They have suffered damage to houses, crop fields, infrastructure, salt contamination of coconut trees and loss of drinking water reserves.
In the framework of the XXI Conference on Climate Change held in Paris in 2015, the Tuvaluan Prime Minister, Enele Sopoaga urged the leaders of the great powers of the Pacific to become more decisively involved in the fight against climate change, “Let’s do it for Tuvalu” – concluded the Polynesian ruler when speaking before the rest of the world leaders – “If we save Tuvalu, we will save the world”.
Unfortunately, many experts foresee that the island will vanish into the Pacific Ocean by the end of the century, but the people of Tuvalu refuse to give up their culture, their customs and their life on the island, no matter which country they move to, as we can see mentioned below:
“When a few years ago the problem of Tuvalu jumped to the media, it appeared that raised the possibility of progressively moving the population of the country to Australia, New Zealand or Fiji. The local authorities, however, denied this possibility, arguing that it would be like throwing in the towel before putting up a fight. Thus, Tuvaluans do not seem to be leaving their homes for the time being, although it is not ruled out that this could happen in the not too distant future.”
