[Music] it's getting closer to the road and it's getting closer to our homes and slowly being destroyed by this cause of climate change Max te lives in kirbas a South Pacific nation whose very existence is under threat rising sea levels mean the entire country could soon become uninhabitable we're not going to run from the problems we're going to face it there are countries in the world who have islands and they've built their Islands because they have the two things they have the technology and they have the funds the 120,000 residents of Kira buus want to stay here and protect themselves as best as they can but how long can that [Music] last when we were kids the high tide usually stops maybe from here here it stops here and now then as we are grow growing up the high tide just moved moved and now it's hitting the the land it's hitting the edge and it's getting it's corrupting everything as you can see trees are falling down not enough sand to hold them and it's getting close to the road and I think this not um it's just the beginning maybe it will keep on going yeah it was not always like that it's getting closer to our homes and it's a big deal for us slowly being destroyed by this course of climate change kabas is made up of 33 small Islands spread across the Pacific in some areas the ground is 3 m above the water but almost everywhere else it's only 1 M rising sea levels are causing land to disappear the number of storms is increasing and drinking water is becoming salty Max's grandfather kirana has been living here since he was a child scientists started noting a rapid rise in sea levels in the 1990s if the water continues to rise it will erode our land the sea is drawing closer and closer and will make our lives unpleasant don't you think what should we do maybe this is climate change but what can we do about it nothing we can't do anything and we urgently need help not everyone in kiras thinks the situation is hopeless Peli alofa is a climate activist and founder of kiraan a local climate Protection Organization she and other campaigners bought this plot of land when it was completely flooded together they work to build a wall and drain the land they want to show others that they are a resilient nation and they don't want to leave this is our resilient Village we're always underwat when it's high tight we will not here water will be right in the main road residents are braving the encroach in Sea waterer they're teaching others how to grow food in constantly salinized soil pel's nephew Ralph spring is the gardener here and he knows how cultivation can work in these conditions a growing food um uh on raised beds over the ground if you if your place is salt salt water in Ed and um we also make our own soil and that's a skill that every household should should uh should know to plant their own food to be healthy we collect a lot of our Browns these are chips made from uh all sorts of we have some leaves inside that are brown now some some as you can see some of the sticks from brushes and all this one will stay at the bottom because we know this will take time to decompose and then we'll put good soil on top that's what we'll use for planting his services are a vital contribution in a country where an increasing number of crops are dying because of the salt water but Peli and her colleague Maris Peter know that this won't fix everything they need more resources you know kilas our government wanted to raise Islands here and maybe we we do not have the means to do that but there are countries in the world who have islands and they've built their Islands because they have the two things they have the technology and they have the funds they have money those are the two things to help us to stop the problem that we're facing we're not going to run from the problems we're going to face it but we do not have those two things it's not yet clear exactly how the main island of teraa will be elevated the problem is that the island is densely populated residential buildings government buildings and hospitals would need to be demolished before the island could be raised up and then rebuilt another possibility is filling in a kind of replacement Island the government has remained tight lipped on these costly ideas and so far nobody has responded to our requests for an interview China is one possible donor because it works closely with kirbas but the West fears new Chinese military bases in the Pacific as yet there's no information on the kirbas government's plan in this area CLA and tangaroa and Tera say the same thing they live with their 10-year-old daughter in a small house on teraa the main island of kabas they say information about climate change is only reaching the other Islands very slowly despite the visible changes so because the the term climate change for our people it's really a new words but they they can aware they are aware of the changes that occur in their Island so by answering that I think uh it's definitely confusing but our people are facing the the the severe impact and yeah I think we experience it in in so many ways the water already plish of course we have a a very narrow Island but why now you know people used to have good water but why now that we we have a a salty water right now water is the biggest problem rising sea level are pushing salt water further in land making groundwater unusable importing bottle drinking water is too expensive and rain water is the only option for many people tangaroa says you can no longer distinguish between the rainy and dry seasons sometimes it rains all the time sometimes not for years making the water supply inconsistent uh because this one is full yeah and I have to collect uh extra water uh that we can use for for our needs because we drink green water Claire and tangaroa also have a well in their Garden their water isn't salty because they live in the middle of the island but that also means they have a lot of responsibility not only do they drink from the well their neighbors also come here to get water that's why tangaroa cleans it once a month and the neighbors help out just to make sure that our our water inside this this one is clean every every day yeah yeah you know when we start building a house we don't have a we don't have a water tank we don't have rain water we use this this well to drink water we used to drink this water and we really need to take care of this W this water that's in case no no rain no rain this is our water yeah this is our drinking [Music] water kirbas is full of solidarity tangaroa is on his way to see his friend Tabo araa OA who lives right by the Sea like the other Coastal residents he's built a wall in front of his house for protection it has been standing for 40 years and has made Seaside living possible on the overcrowded Island but that's gradually changing when they built their the wall that time yeah they don't have a problem with the the sea the the sea and by that time things happen to the SE War they start uh the war the W start uh uh broken during the the king's ties I get scared when the king ties come especially when it's windy my wall is always on the verge of breaking the next morning they survey the damage from the night before it wasn't as bad as Tabo had feared but he still has to repair his wall a stone has come loose it's only a small repair needed today but it has to be done quickly if I don't fix this now the next flood this afternoon will cause even more damage stones will break loose and the land beneath it will just get washed away it can still be saved however researchers predict that the rate at which sea levels are rising will only accelerate more conservative calculations predict a rise of 1.1 M compared to today should that occur kassa's fate would be uncertain but judging by the impact that the climate crisis is already having on this small country it's reasonable to assume that land will continue to shrink in the future and that drinking water will become even more scarce without International Aid residents could become climate refugees if our islands is disappear uh from this Earth then um we we will not we will be nothing because what is important for me is my culture my language my my people so I request to the world that they will be they need to sacrifice and have compassion on the lowly islands like talu Marshall Island mivs and and kipus who already affected by the climate change impact the residents are committed but they need developed countries to invest money and resources to save kirbas there's even a song hear about climate change every child knows the words just like they know what climate change means for kirbas tangar roa's niece Cindy bonato sings it in the choir myself searching for my refuge as the world is getting worse day and night my people in my future my country on my own stand firm and staying strong Until the End of Time climate change is growing strong the rising wave will kill a soul and we cry yeah we cry to the Lord to help me through