Climate change is considered to be one of the most important global issues. In particular, the least developed countries such as Kiribati and many other islands found in the Pacific region are the most vulnerable countries to climate change because of their low altitude above sea level and insufficient funds for projects aimed at mitigating the impacts of climate change.
This paper examines how climate change affects Kiribati. Moreover, several adaptive measures are evaluated. We find that without external funds, migration within the country, as well as the construction of water storage tanks and desalination plants, may work to temporarily resolve the problem. However, in the long run, the ultimate plan may involve the acquisition of external funds to construct man-made islands and also external migration.

Table of Contents
Abstract..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………ii
Acknowledgements.………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….iii
List of Tables.…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….iv
List of Figures………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….iv
List of Appendices……..……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………iv
Table of Contents.……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...v
Chapter 1: Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….1-11
Chapter 2: Why Climate Change is important especially to Kiribati?.................................................. 12-22
2.1: Overview of Climate Change .......................................................................................................... 12
2.1.1: Global impacts…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………12
2.1.2: World temperature…………………………………………………………………………………………………………13
2.1.3: Global sea level rise…………………………………………………………………………………………………………14
2.1.4: Contributors to sea level rise…………………………………………………………………………………………..15
2.2: Potential impacts of Climate Change in Kiribati………………………………………………………………………16
2.2.1: Geographical facts………………………………………………………………………………………………………….16
2.2.2: Kiribati and Climate Change issues………………………………………………………………………………….16
2.2.3: Coastal erosion impacts…………………………………………………………………………………………………..17
2.2.4: Infrastructure impacts…………………………………………………………………………………………………….17
2.2.5: Water resources impacts…………………………………………………………………………………………………18
2.2.6: Agriculture impacts…………………………………………………………………………………………………………18
2.3: Impacts of Sea Level Rise on villages on South Tarawa situated below 2.3 meters of elevation…21
Chapter 3: Possible Strategies to mitigate impacts of Climate Change……………………………………………23-40
3.1: Netherlands……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….23
3.2: Tuvalu………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..24
3.3: Caribbean……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….....25
3.4: Possible Strategies …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….26
3.4.1: Water storage tanks………………………………………………………………………………………………………..26
vi
3.4.2: Internal Migration……………………………………………………………………………………………………………27
3.4.3: Man-made floating islands………………………………………………………………………………………………30
3.4.4: Transnational Migration………………………………………………………………………………………………….31
3.4.5: Buying Land in another country………………………………………………………………………………………33
3.4.6: Desalination plants………………………………………………………………………………………………………….34
3.4.7: Education……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………35
3.4.8: Construction of Dams and Dykes…………………………………………………………………………………….36
3.4.9: Building of Seawalls…………………………………………………………………………………………….…………..37
Chapter 4: Government Strategies Analysis…………………………………………………………………………………….41-47
4.1: Introduction of Desalination plants…………………………………………………………………………………………….41
4.2: Purchase of land in Fiji…………….………………………………………….………………………………………………………41 4.3: Kiribati Adaptation Program (KAP)……………………………………………………………………………………………..42
4.4: Government Schemes………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..46
Chapter 5: Conclusion and Policy Recommendations…..…………………………………………………………………48-49
Appendices……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………..50-58
References…………………………………..………………………………………………………………………………………………..59-62

References:
Abeta, R. Personal Communication. 2013. (Senior Climate Change Officer), Ministry of Environment, Lands and Agricultural development, Tarawa, Kiribati.
Agrawala, S. 2004. Adaptation, development assistance and planning: Challenges and opportunities. IDS Bulletin 35(3):50-4
B. Metz, et al. 2007. “PEOPLE”: Climate Change and Economic Development: Our Planet: UNEP Vol. 17 No 2.
Bettencourt, et al. 2000. Chapter 4 Impact of Climate Change on low islands, The Tarawa Atoll, Kiribati”. World Bank report Volume 4. Adapting to Climate Change. Washington D.C. U.S.A November 30. Page:19-26
Bhandari, P. 2007. “Into the Mainstream”: Our Planet: UNEP Vol. 17 No.2 Page 34-35.
Blobel, D. et al. 2006. (Climate Change Secretariat). UNFCCC handbook: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Bonn, Germany
Brinke, 2004. Dutch dikes and risk hikes: A thematic policy evaluation of risks of flooding in the Netherlands, Bilthoven.
Dell, et al. 2008. “Climate Change and Economic Growth: Evidence from the Last Half Century”. National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper 14132.
Downing, et al 1997. “Adapting to climate change in Africa. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change”, 2(1), 19–44
Elbourne, F. 2012. Kiribati buys land to relocate. The Fiji times online: Fiji news. Fiji.
Elrick, et al. 2009. Planning Manual: Supporting land use decision making in the Republic of Kiribati. Prepared for Kiribati Adaptation Project Phase II (KAP II), Kiribati.
European Commission, 2010. Climate Action: Policies. “What EU is doing about Climate Change. Brussels.
Gay, D. 2010. Kiribati Diagnostic Trade Integrate Study report. BluePlanet Media and Communications. Vanuatu.
60
Higgins, A. 2012. Lessons for the U.S. From a Flood-Prone Land. The New York Times: Europe.
Index of Economic Freedom, 2013. The Heritage Foundation: World Rankings: Kiribati: Available via: http://www.heritage.org/index/country/kiribati
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 2007. “Mitigation: Contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,” (Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press). International Monetary Fund. Research Dept. (2008). Chapter 4. CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE GLOBAL ECONOMY. In IMF eLibrary, World Economic Outlook, April 2008: Housing and the Business Cycle. USA.
Itinraoi, T. Personal Communication, 2013. (Former Permanent Secretary), Ministry of Line and Phoenix islands development, Kiritimati, Kiribati.
Karl, et al. 2009. Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States, Cambridge University Press.
Keariki, T. Personal Communication, 2013. Clerk, Tarawa Urban Council (TUC). Tarawa, Kiribati.
Ketchoyian, K. 2011. “Kiribati and Sea level Rise”. ICE case studies Number 244. July
King, P. 2010. Mainstreaming Climate Change into National Development Planning – A Guide for Pacific Island Countries. Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change. SPREP
Kiribati Climate Change Website, 2013. Available via : http://www.climate.gov.ki/
Mark, K. 2011. Sinking Pacific island Kiribati considers moving to a man-made alternative. The Independent News. Asia Pacific Correspondent. U.K.
McGuigan, et al. 2002. Poverty and Climate Change: Assessing Impacts in Developing Countries and the Initiatives of the International Community. London School of Economics Consultancy Project for the Overseas Development Institute. May 2002.
McKinney, V. 2007. “Sea Level Rise and the Future of the Netherlands”. ICE case studies Number 212. May .
Mendelsohn, R, 2009. “Climate Change and Economic Growth”. Commission on growth and development. Working paper No.60. World Bank.
61
Metutera T. 2002. Water management in Kiribati with special emphasis on groundwater development using infiltration galleries. Case study presented as part of Theme 1, Water Resources Management, at the Pacific Regional Consultation Meeting on Water in Small Island Countries, Sigatoka, Fiji , 29 July - 3 August.
Ministy of Environment, Lands and Agriculture development (MELAD), 2007. Environment and Conservation division. National Adaptation of Program Action (NAPA), Tarawa, Kiribati.
Mourits, L. 1996. (SOPAC Secretariat). An assessment of saltwater intrusion in babai pits and some water supply projects on Makin, Butaritari and Abaiang, Republic of Kiribati. SOPAC Technical Report 229. Fiji.
NBC news, 2007. Climate Change: Dutch to draft 200 year plan against warming, Associated Press, New York city.
Nordhaus, W D. 1991. “To Slow or Not to Slow: The Economics of the Greenhouse Effect.” Economic Journal, 101(444): 920–37
Oslakovic , I.S. et al. 2012. “Climate Change and Infrastructure performance. Should we worry about?” Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 48: 1775 – 1784. Transport Research Arena. Elsevier Ltd. Poore, R.Z., et al. 2000. Sea level and climate: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 002–00, 2 p.
Rimon, R. Personal Communication, 2013. Communications & Public Relations, Office of the President. Tarawa, Kiribati.
Ruth et al., 2007. The US Economic Impacts of Climate Change and the Costs of Inaction. CIER University of Maryland. October 2007 Shen, S. et al. 2011. Contrasted Views on Environmental Change and Migration: The Case of Tuvaluan Migration to New Zealand. International Migration, 49: e224–e242. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2435.2010.00635.x
SOPAC, 2010. Desalination in Pacific Island Countries. A Preliminary Overview. SOPAC Technical report 437.
Stern, Nicholas H. et al. 2006. Stern Review: The Economics of Climate Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
62
Tabiteuea South island report, 2012. Kiribati island report series, Ministry of Internal and Social Affairs. Tarawa, Kiribati.
Teraine, B. Personal Communication, 2013. (Senior Resource Economist), Ministry of Line and Phoenix islands development, Kiritimati, Kiribati. The World Bank, 2011. 37,000 Mangroves for Kiribati in World Bank News and Broadcast. Washington D.C. U.S.A
Tol, Richard S. J. 2009. The Economic Effects of Climate Change. Journal of Economic Perspectives—Volume 23, Number 2—Spring 2009—Pages 29–51
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). 2009. Adapting to Coastal Climate Change: A Guidebook for Development Planners.
UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme), 2008. Climate Change in the Caribbean and the Challenge of Adaptation. UNEP Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, Panama City, Panama.
Watkiss, P., Downing, T., Handley, C., Butterfield, R. 2005. The impacts and costs of climate change final report. ‘Modelling support for Future Actions – Benefits and Cost of Climate Change Policies and Measures’. ENV.C.2/2004/0088.
WHO: World Health Organization. 2010. Climate change and health, Fact Sheet no 266.
DATA SOURCE
World Bank. 2013. Kiribati Database: The World Bank Databank: World Trade Indicators 2001/2011 : Washington, DC. Available via webpage: http://databank.worldbank.org/data/views/variableselection/selectvariables.aspx?source=world-development-indicators#c_k