Environmental Issues In Tuvalu

To start, indigenous peoples are defined as “those which, having a historical continuity with pre-invasion and pre-colonial societies that developed on their territories.” (UN.org)) Descendants of the indigenous people suffer in great discrimination and violation of their rights. This is due to the continuation of historical injustice, which leads to neglect from the government on their rights and culture. Tuvalu, as the fourth smallest independent nation in the world, with its population made up of indigenous people, suffer mainly from effects from climate change and limited resources to fulfill the children’s rights. To solve this issue, Tuvalu calls for countries to put in more financial or supply-based aid to enhance children’s freedom

Children in this country have the right to education, equality, adequate food, health, life, access clean water & other safe resources, and many more. However, some rights are critically threatened by current environmental issues such as contaminated water sources, increasing ocean temperature, and rising sea levels. Climate change had taken a heavy toll on Tuvalu’s land; corals reefs are damaged, and lands are slowly disappearing. It puts children at a great risk of displacement or possibly extirpation. In addition, citizens are relying heavily on rainwater source due to the contamination of groundwater by urban runoffs. This lets water-transported disease to be spread more widely. Thus, Tuvalu emphasizes on the importance of pointing the global population awareness towards climate change, and especially on the possible effects it has on weaker nations because, unfortunately, the problem does not seem to stop and the Tuvaluan are put at great risk of turning into future “climate refugees”, losing their right to health, culture, and life. In short, Tuvalu thinks that climate change is the biggest factor harming the Tuvaluan children’s freedom to exercise their

Tuvalu has previously passed the National Climate Change Policy in 2012, but it should be reviewed and updated to address the threats of climate change more accurately. The government will also develop mitigation strategies to prepare Tuvaluans more when threats are significant. Subsequently, the country of Tuvalu had brought the problem of climate change on numerous international and regional forums to call for global actions, and will continue to do so. To demonstrate, Tuvalu has made a request to the UN to convene a World Leaders Summit to combat the issue of climate change. While Tuvalu’s commitment to maintaining all children’s rights is evident, we still struggle to keep up the effort due to inadequate amount of wealth and resources. Without the fundamental sources the government needs to run a country, fulfilling these human rights obligations will be difficult. Hence, Tuvalu wishes for countries to give a helping hand by donating resources or aiding financially. We are thankful for the past donations put into Tuvalu Trust Fund and other investment fund, and will gladly accept more funding as it is for better lives of the people. Lastly, Tuvalu recognizes the significance of raising people’s awareness towards climate change and would like