ZEKE Fall 2019

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By Tammy Danan “We used to be able to catch fish right from under our houses,” says Rogelio Alburo, a local fisherman from Davao City. Photos, L to R: Arka Dutta, from Evanescing Waters, Whisking Water. Lauren Owens Lambert, from Along the Waters Edge David Verberckt, from Source of Life Saud A. Faisal, from Water Prisoners RISINGTIDES Located on the southern part of the Philippines, most houses in the country’s coastal communities are on wooden stilts. I was sitting outside his neighbor’s house joined by other fisherfolks and their wives, and as Rogelio reminisced about the 1970s when the sea was still rich, he also noted how today’s conditions are hurting fishermen. “I don’t remember exactly when the water started rising, but there was a time when we were getting fewer and fewer fish,” he said. Today, coastal road development in the city that swept away hundreds of houses adds to the burden. Now, fishermen like Rogelio juggle multiple jobs to provide basic needs for their families. And for a country with over 7,000 islands, Rogelio and his neighbors are not the only ones changing their livelihood as the country’s coastal communities experience the rising waters. Clear As Can Be A report published by NASA in 2018 shows that the rate of global sea level rise has been accelerating in recent decades. The melting of sea ice in Antarctica and Greenland due to climate change is among the culprits. Dr. Simon Engelhart, an associate professor at the University of Rhode Island Geosciences Department, said that the distribution of water on the surface of the earth also plays a part. “Features such as ocean currents (e.g. the Gulf Stream) and multi-year to decadal variability within the system (e.g., El Niño/La Niña) can change the distribution of water and cause increasing or decreasing sea levels.” That said, if the Gulf Stream off the coast of the US slows down, then more water flows towards the US East Coast and there will be faster rising sea levels. And during El Niño/La Niña, water levels in the Pacific can change in the space of months to years by nearly a foot. Land, Water, and Climate Refugees As a result, many countries in the Pacific region are now feeling the impact. And those in coastal communities are the first to take the heat. Lawrence Nodua is a 38 / ZEKE FALL 2019
esident of Reef Islands in the Solomon Islands. “Life in the coastal communities are more [reliant] on fishing and few on gardening,” he shared. But because of the water’s rising temperatures, the fish could hardly survive as hot water holds less oxygen. Add to that the fact that the current has become more confusing than ever, fishermen can no longer predict the best time to set sail. As a result, they spend more time in the sea than ever before. Coral reefs in Solomon Islands are also affected, and as corals die, the fish lose their breeding ground. In a 2010 study conducted by Nodua, it appeared that internal migration in Solomon Islands has increased in the past two decades. Residents from smaller islands such as Tikopia and Duff move to larger islands like Utupua, Santa Cruz, and Vanikoro. But even this is not a permanent solution. Nodua’s research revealed that the Solomon Islands has a much bigger problem — a problem shared by other nations like Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Tuvalu, and Maldives — coastal erosion. Dr. Engelhart has an explanation for this. He says, “when we talk about rising water levels, we use the term ‘relative sea level’ because we can change the level of the sea that people experience by either changing the volume/distribution of water or by changing the elevation of the land with respect to the ocean. Therefore, if the land is subsiding, sea level will rise in the eyes of an observer on that subsiding land even if the ocean volume isn’t changing.” And while most people think coastal erosion is simply caused by waves and tides washing away the land, Dr. Engelhart highlighted the role of tectonics, saying it’s one of the long-term processes that can alter the land level. “Earth’s tectonic plates moving past each other and getting stuck and then releasing make the land elevation change. These land-level changes can be slow and happen over hundreds to thousands of years but also can happen quickly where as much as a couple of meters elevation change can happen in seconds to minutes when a large earthquake occurs such as occurred in Sumatra in 2004 or Japan in 2011.” Health at Risk While conducting his study, Nodua found out that the climate crisis does have massive effects on food security. Residents of the Tuo village in Reef Islands have seen how the prolonged dry weather causes root crops and fruit trees to bear less. In late 2004 to early 2005, Reef Islanders’ staple food ran low. The rising waters cause swamps to become more saline, making it difficult to grow swamp taro, a common food in most countries in Southeast Asia. As a domino effect, this problem further affects the health of islanders not only in Solomon Islands but coastal communities in Southeast Asia and globally. The challenge of harvesting fruits due to unstable weather patterns, and the decline of food sources puts children at risk of health and nutritional problems. Today, We Think. And Think Better. Islanders from different parts of the globe may have historically learned to embrace their environment. They may have learned how to understand the waters and everything it brings and takes. But now it seems the rising waters and the global climate have changed its language. Crosses and bones are being washed away, leaving people in Solomon Islands with no decent place to bury their dead. Nodua, who now works closely with Oceans Watch Solomon Islands, also found that the rising sea is affecting the access to fresh water in villages like Tuo; their well water started tasting saltier in the early 1990s. In the Philippines, the wives of fisherfolks have their own battle. Jenelyn Caro Quintalla comes from a family of 16. Her parents raised them all through fishing. Today, Jenelyn is a mother to six and her husband is also a fisherman. But as coastal road development eats through their community, and the waters continue to change temperature, Jenelyn sometimes finds herself wide awake at night. “It’s not easy. I feel like our life is in limbo. We can’t fish anymore so my husband works part-time at a construction site; budgeting is always a challenge,” she shared. RESOURCES Oceans Watch Solomon Islands www.oceanswatch.org/oceanswatchsolomon-islands Mother Nature Cambodia www.mothernaturecambodia.org Pacific Climate Warriors www.350pacific.org/pacific-climate-warriors Greenpeace www.greenpeace.org Pacific Community www.spc.int National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration https://coast.noaa.gov ZEKE FALL 2019/ 39
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ZEKE Fall 2019

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