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South Pacific allies seek help to deal with rising seas

Taiwan's South Pacific allies, at risk from rising sea levels, are seeking help from Taiwan, the Chinese-language China Times reported yesterday.

The daily said ministers from five South Pacific nations raised the issue at the Taiwan-South Pacific allies' environmental ministers' conference, which opened in Taipei on Thursday.

The islands face many environmental problems threatening their development and survival, but their biggest one is rising sea levels caused by global warming.

Nauruan Industrial Resources Minister Byran Star complained that his country was shrinking because rising sea water was eating away at the coastline.

The encroaching sea water has also intruded into Nauru's ground water, threatening the islanders' water supply.

Whitten Philippo, minister in assistance to the president of the Marshall Islands, said his country's most urgent problem is the loss of land. The highest elevation in the Marshalls is only 2m above sea level. If the sea level rises higher, much of the island chain will be submerged.

Palau, which depends on tourism for income, is also threatened by global warming.

The influx of tourists into Palau has led to an imbalance in its ecology because tourists are using too much water and electricity, and the islanders are catching too many fish to feed them, Minister of Resources and Development Fritz Koshiba said.

Kiribati -- the smallest of the five allies -- faces problems because it has no place to bury its garbage and waste because it is too small.

The Solomon Islands is worried about encroaching seashore. Farmers can no longer plant crops near the sea shore and must move inland.

Environmental Protection Administration Minister Winston Dang (陳重信) told the meeting that Taiwan had successful experiences with recycling and other efforts to export to them.
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