Tuvalu Begins World’s First Planned Climate Migration
Why in the news
Tuvalu has begun what is described as the world’s first planned migration of a nation’s people, driven by climate-linked sea-level rise, under its Falepili Union arrangement with Australia.
Key facts
- Australia will take 280 Tuvaluans a year as permanent residents.
- Places are allotted through a ballot, under a climate visa scheme starting in 2025.
- Migrants get equal access to healthcare, education, housing and employment.
- Average land height is only 2 metres above sea level; NASA expects most land to be under water by 2050.
About Tuvalu
- Nine islands: four reef islands and five coral atolls, in the South Pacific between Hawaii and Australia.
- Capital Funafuti; formerly the Ellice Islands; independent from the UK in October 1978.
- Population is about 11,000, one of the world’s smallest; it is a Least Developed Country.
- The Tuvalu Trust Fund was set up with contributions from Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Japan and South Korea.
Exam angle
- Know the 280 per year figure, the ballot system and the Falepili Union link with Australia.
- Static GK: Tuvalu, capital Funafuti, independence 1978.
- Climate migration is a recurring international-affairs theme.