Betio Is Facing A Population Crisis, And A Sea Wall Could Be Its Only Hope Of Survival

ABC News - Carly Learson

Esther, who resides in Betio, says she lives under constant threat of disease outbreaks. (Carly Learson/UNFPA)

Carly Learson is in the Pacific supporting UNFPA, the UN's sexual and reproductive health agency, which seeks to ensure that women, girls and young people have access to essential services, with a special focus on areas impacted by the climate crisis.

On a sandy islet engulfed by greenery, Esther lives under constant threat.
But it's not violence she's most concerned about — it's disease.
Not coronavirus — Kiribati is one of the few countries without a single case. But the threat of disease hounds Betio, the most populated section of South Tarawa, an island in Kiribati, where there are around 15,000 inhabitants per square kilometre.
To put it into perspective, that's 2.5 times the density of Tokyo.
"The beach used to be way back there — I don't know how many houses have been lost but it's a lot," says Esther, who moved to Betio from a remote island with her family.

"Now everyone is crowding into this area. There's no privacy, people are going to the toilet on the beach, and there's the constant threat of disease outbreaks."

In Betio, the most populated section of South Tarawa, there are 15,000 inhabitants per square kilometre. (Carly Learson/UNFPA)

Here, families live in open shacks on around four square metres of land, where the distance between houses is a matter of centimetres.
These sorts of crowded conditions contribute to some of the worst health outcomes in the Pacific: tuberculosis and leprosy are rife in Betio, with thousands of cases detected and treated each year.

A constant scramble for a place to live
Few countries are more vulnerable to the effects of global warming than the Pacific islands of Kiribati.
A group of atolls spread across millions of square kilometres of ocean, the islands have lost more than 10 per cent of their land in just two years.

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Kiribati could soon be a memory as sea levels rise but its President has a 20-year plan to turn it into the next Dubai or Singapore.

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Kiribati is made of sand and reef rock, materials that easily erode, causing houses built close to the water to collapse when there's a strong storm.
There's no basis to build strong foundations, and those families who become homeless due to erosion have to find a new block of land further inland.

"There's currently no provision for land lost to erosion, and while we have ordinances for land use in places like Betio, they're not being enforced," says Taneka Redfern from the Office of the President.

The constant scramble to find a place to live has meant that parts of South Tarawa have the among the highest population density in the world.

Families live in open shacks, where the distance between houses is a matter of centimetres. (Carly Learson/UNFPA)

'We need a sea wall that will last 20 years'
In the absence of other options, residents of Kiribati are putting their faith in sea walls.
All over the island, young people are bringing in cement and rocks to build up new walls that will stop the tides from reaching their houses, however temporarily.

In the absence of other options, residents of Kiribati are putting their faith in sea walls. (Carly Learson/UNFPA)

There's also a plan to dredge up millions of tons of sand from the lagoon and move it to a section of the island that can be built up to three metres in height, in theory providing space for 35,000 people to live.
In the meantime, people are living with the everyday reality that their land is disappearing.
"The President doesn't want us to move, and the only place we could go would be Ocean Island (a remote island only accessible by ship), but that won't work," says Teakamatang, a community leader in Tebikenikora, or Golden Beach.

"We need a sea wall that will last at least 20 years... Hopefully by then we'll have a better idea about what we can do."

Young people are bringing in cement and rocks to build up new walls that will stop the tides from reaching their houses. (Carly Learson/UNFPA)

'The water came all the way into the hospital'
For younger people, who can't remember the way the island used to be, there's a greater degree of complacency.
Christina, from Tebikenikora, says that while young people build sea walls, they're mostly doing it because they're told to by their elders.

Christina says she can't see a future for her and her husband in Kiribati. (Carly Learson/UNFPA)

The 28-year-old adds that she can't see a future for her and her husband in Kiribati, although she doesn't know where else she would go.

"The sea wall will protect us, but everyone will only work hard when there's an emergency — it's really hard work," she said.

"It's the elderly people who are angry — they can remember a time when they could live off the land."
For those that have felt the effects of the growing crisis, however, the need for action cannot be understated.
After Betio hospital — which handles up to 60 births each month — found itself at the mercy of the elements four years ago, the concrete sea wall proved a lifeline.

Midwife Makita recalls a storm flooding the hospital, sending women running. (Carly Learson/UNFPA)

"We had a storm and the water came all the way into the hospital. We had women giving birth, or recovering with their newborns, and they all just had to run," says midwife Makita.

"There were three new mums asleep in the clinic when a massive wave bashed against the window. It was really frightening for them."

'If nothing is done, we will disappear'
With finite land on Kiribati, the country's woes demonstrate the challenging nexus of climate change and overpopulation.
And it's not a problem likely to end anytime soon.

Teakamatang has witnessed the water in Kiribati rising over the past 30 years. (Carly Learson/UNFPA)

According to the World Meteorological Organisation and climate scientists globally, extreme weather events are becoming much more frequent.
For Kiribati, this means extreme storms and droughts. Storms cause flooding, and on such flat land, floods can devastate thousands of homes very quickly.
There have already been two floods this year.
Teakamatang, who has witnessed the waters rising over the past 30 years, does not mince words.

"If nothing is done, we will disappear."

With finite land on Kiribati, the country's woes demonstrate the challenging nexus of climate change and overpopulation. (Carly Learson/UNFPA)

Links

• 'Return serve': Fiji leader slams Liberal MP John Alexander's Pacific climate comments
• It's hard to fathom Australia's recklessness while our homes are disappearing
• Don't leave your climate evacuation plan too late, scientists say
• Kiribati cuts ties with Taiwan to switch to China, days after Solomon Islands
• 'My home is touched by the sea': Climate change displacing one person every two seconds, Oxfam says