Three research stars fighting to protect coastlines

A coastal region's best asset in the fight against climate change is its people. Coastal locals fortify their areas, build dams or coral nurseries, or help create rich records of floods and cultural artifacts. Scientists Taukei Kitara from Tuvalu, Hannah Eisler Burnett from New York and Apple Chui from Hong Kong are working to ensure that people working on coastal issues have the support, training and advocacy they need.

TAUKIEI KITARA: Protector of the Island

Sea levels in the Pacific Ocean are projected to rise 15 cm or more by the 2050s, regardless of global reductions in carbon emissions. When that happens, parts of Tuvalu – a group of nine main islands halfway between Hawaii and Australia – will disappear forever. “This will be a significant loss for our people,” says Taukii Kitara, who was born on Nui Atoll, Tuvalu. Kitara, now based at Griffith University in Queensland, Australia, studies how climate change is affecting the culture, identity and sovereignty of small island states in the Pacific.

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The consequences for Tuvalu, whose average altitude is less than 2 meters above sea level, are serious. Increasingly warmer waters have led to coral bleaching and forced fishermen further out to sea. Seawater has seeped into the groundwater, forcing Tuvaluans to grow swamp taro and other staple crops in raised beds rather than underground pits – a practice dating back thousands of years. Rising sea levels are also eroding coastlines. Kitara says that after his birth, half of his umbilical cord was buried under a newly planted coconut tree about 30 or 40 meters from the ocean's edge, according to Tuvaluan tradition. “Now it’s right on the beach,” he says.

Moving is an option for some Tuvaluans. Australia offers visas to 280 Tuvaluans annually for migration and permanent residence under Falepili Union Treaty 2023 is a first-of-its-kind “climate visa” designed to help migration caused by climate change. More than 3,000 Tuvaluans (almost a third of the country's population) took part in the vote to issue the first visas. But many Tuvaluans don't want to become climate refugees, says Kitara, whose research examines the treaty's potential impacts.

In review 2023¹Kitara and Carol Farbotko, also from Griffith University, argue that migrants from climate-vulnerable Pacific countries are often portrayed in Australia as both “unskilled workers” and “climate migrants”, reinforcing harmful stereotypes and putting them at risk of exploitation in the workplace. Kitara and Farbotko called for fairer and more compassionate labor and climate migration policies inspired by Tuvaluan values Bill House – caring for others as if they were family.

Those who decide to stay in Tuvalu do not give up. The Tuvalu government wants to improve the country's resilience to climate change by “focusing on adaptation projects such as land reclamation and raising the elevation of existing land,” Kitara says. Between 2017 and 2023, Tuvalu's capital Funafuti was expanded by 5%, or 7.8 hectares, by dredging sand from the lagoon. Seawalls were built on the outer islands of Nanumaga and Nanumea to protect approximately 2,780 meters of coastline from rising sea levels and storm surges.

Tuvalu is also seeking refuge in a more unusual place: the metaverse. From 2023, efforts are being made to create “digital twin” island nation – a virtual reconstruction including details such as the location of shops, houses and trees, as well as recordings of cultural artifacts including recipes, dances, stories and memories. The project, managed by the Tuvaluan government in partnership with agencies from Australia, the United States and New Caledonia, began in Te Afualiku, Tuvalu's smallest and most vulnerable island.². Te Afualiku represents the most detailed reconstruction, but all nine of Tuvalu's main islands, as well as dozens of smaller islands and islets, have now been mapped in three dimensions, and Funafuti has been digitally recreated. using drone and street images.

Kitara says there are some concerns about data security and the energy demands of the work, but “there are good incentives behind this initiative.” “In the worst case scenario, if all the islands disappear, they will still exist digitally,” which will help preserve national identity, culture, government functions, sovereignty and maritime rights, he says. The project has given Tuvalu its first submarine cable, which will improve internet and mobile communications for Tuvaluans when construction is completed later this year.

Kitara said Tuvaluans are “pretty vocal” about the need for action on climate change. But the blows will not stop on the shores of Tuvalu. “We’re all in the same boat,” Kitara says. “If we solve this problem, it will be a win for us Tuvaluans, but it will also be a win for everyone.” — Sandy Ong

HANNAH EISLER BURNETT: Flood Watcher

Hannah Eisler Burnett knows firsthand how difficult it is to live in a place prone to flooding. Growing up on the Mississippi Gulf Coast in the southern U.S. devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Burnett has dedicated her career to helping coastal communities become more resilient to flooding caused by tides, storm surges and groundwater inundation.

“Flood resilience comes from a lot of sources,” Burnett says, beyond building roads, raising homes, and flood-proofing basements. Behavioral changes are also important, such as organizing neighbors to help clear storm drains before heavy rain and building makeshift elevated walkways through flood-prone areas.

“In some communities I work with, one or two people play a central role in communicating ahead of potential flooding through email, WhatsApp groups or Facebook, helping people understand what the local impacts of a high tide or heavy rain might be,” says Burnett, an anthropologist with the New York Sea Grant, an initiative run by the State University of New York and Cornell University. The program is one of 34 government-university partnerships that connect coastal research to community needs in the United States.

New York City, where Burnett now lives, is also vulnerable to flooding. Climate change is causing more frequent and stronger Atlantic hurricanes, increasing the risk of major flooding in the city. The water level lining it has risen about 30cm since 1900 – twice the global average – and is projected to rise just under 200cm by 2100. Researchers estimate that storm-related flooding could become four times more common along the US East Coast, putting 2.2 million New Yorkers at risk in low-lying areas such as Queens and southern Brooklyn.

Much of Burnett's work involves creating and maintaining a public database of flood photos called MyCoast. Community Flood Watch Projectrun by Sea Grant and the Jamaica Bay Institute for Science and Sustainability in Brooklyn. Photos taken by members of the public throughout New York State are used by the National Weather Service to inform local flood control officials.

“The MyCoast photos helped them realize that tidal/coastal flooding is more common than previously thought,” Burnett says. She adds that the database also provided “a big incentive” for New York City policymakers to install 500 flood sensors in all five boroughs in 2022 after realizing their value in early flood forecasting.

Last year Burnett helped launch Jamaica Bay Community Flood Scholarship Programwhich provides a platform for leaders from across Jamaica Bay and its environs—a large coastal estuary on the southern edge of Brooklyn and Queens—to work together on solutions to chronic flooding. It also helps connect community members to resources such as tide tables, which display the predicted times and heights of tides at specific coastal locations.

Burnett says it can be difficult to convince some decision makers that local knowledge, such as photographs and interviews, is important for flood forecasting. “A sensor may measure one thing, but a flood is something that happens in multiple dimensions,” she says.

At the same time, she praises how “innovative and visionary” many residents, researchers and government agencies are when it comes to working toward coastal resilience. “New York is a city of immigrants who bring flood knowledge from many parts of the world and apply that knowledge in different ways,” Burnett says. Sandy Ong