Stemming The Tide?

The unremarkable photo at the top of this post is of Kimbe Bay in West New Britain Province in Papua New Guinea. I took this picture last year while visiting our conservation project sites in PNG. While you wouldn't know from the picture, you're looking at one of the most species rich places on the planet. Behind me was a dense tropical rainforest that rose up the steep coastal terrain to volcanic pinnacles. The waters of Kimbe Bay in front of me are home to 60 percent of the coral species of the entire Indo-Pacific region, and an astounding diversity of vertebrates and invertebrates packed into every conceivable nook and cranny.

The incredible diversity in forest and sea is mirrored in the cultural diversity of Kimbe Bay's people. There are seven major tribes, the Nakanai, Bakovi, Kove, Unea, Maleu, Kaulong and Arowe, speaking a total of about 25 languages. I had the good fortune of meeting community members from some of Kimbe Bay's coastal communities during my trip last year. I was there to discuss coral reef conservation, but many of the villagers were more interested in talking to me, a stranger and newcomer, about a more pressing concern on their minds: sea level rise.

I was asked how long before rising seas might threaten low-lying villages and what scientists are doing to help. While doing my best to help people understand, I'm no climate scientist or civil engineer. Villagers concerns were sincere and palpable and I felt remarkably inadequate in offering any peace of mind for their worries. Now, a little over 12 months later, representatives from Kimbe Bay and other PNG communities are taking their fears to Bali in hopes of finding answers at the Climate Conference beginning this week.

Regional temperatures and atmospheric conditions, currents, undersea and shoreline topography are all factors contributing to sea levels. On some islands and atolls, which are the above-water remnants of ancient volcanoes, the coral underpinnings are subsiding and adding to the sinking effect.