Coastal Defenses in Tonga and Tuvalu

One of the main reasons I wanted to visit the Kingdom of Tonga was because of climate change. For the past few years I've been studying security in general and the way in which environmental change could lead to conflict, known as environmental security. Although a small field, it interests me because it allows me to look at both the environment and security studies. It also allows me to delve into climate change and its affects worldwide.

That primarily is what brought us to Tonga and later Tuvalu. As a large small island state, Tonga has a rather influential position within the region. It is also one of the bigger countries involved in the UN group representing small island countries. As a group they are largely concerned with rising sea levels and the affect this could have on their countries, especially if the polar ice caps melt as predicted. Tonga also has one of the more advanced countries, in terms of protective measures taken to guard against destruction due to sea rise. I wanted to see for myself what that entailed.

Tongan lagoon -



When we arrived in Tonga, both my husband and I were surprised at the laid back attitude of the islanders. This went way beyond a laissez-faire approach to work. Instead it meant that when we asked directions, for instance, we often got blank stares and quizzical looks. Everyone wanted to help, but seemed not to know the answers. Even when asking location questions, no one seemed to know directions. When asked about this, one local explained that it was most likely because Tongans generally do not know much about the world outside of their country. But we persisted and attempted to ask a few people about climate change. Locals seemed unaware of the topic, until we mentioned coastal erosion. Then they were happy to discuss their concerns.

On our island tour we were shown the defenses, which consist of about a meter high coral wall around only about a third of the main island Tongatapu.


From what I could gather, the best defenses were on the island of 'Eua, which rises about 20 meters from the ocean.


This gave me concern for the rest of the region. If Tonga only had a coral wall, what were the rest of the countries likely to have?

Nothing. Probably.

This is exactly what I found in Tuvalu. Although a personal accident kept me from visiting the lagoon at a closer range, I was able to see that there are no defenses. No disaster planning or preparation either, which leaves the country in a dire state if seas were to rise. At least Tonga has a contingency plan to move its people to Australia. I don't know if there is such a plan on Tuvalu. We attempted to speak to government officials while there; but as parliament was in session all members were meeting in the tent outside the airport. We did get a peak inside the Ministry of the Environment, which was strewn with pamphlets from the UN regarding climate change.

Although beautiful, there is no protection for Funafuti, Tuvalu:


In contrast to Tonga, Tuvalu is an extremely small nation, with only about 8,000 citizens. With so few people, and a small government, its no wonder they have nothing to protect their land.

As far as our trip went, I was able to take back with me a concern for the region and a better understanding of general malaise surrounding the issue. Hopefully I'll be able to do something in a future career regarding disaster planning. Perhaps create something better than a meter high sea wall.