Saving the world from global warming

One quarter of women under the age of 25 have engaged in "transactional sex,"according to the World Health Organization. 70% of women have experienced abuse by a partner. The number of women reported to have died in childbirth rose dramatically in 2012 (from 1 in 2011 to 6 in 2012). There are high rates of sexually transmissible infections…up to 15% among antenatal mothers.

"Children and young women roaming around kava bars and night clubs…at night is becoming a normal sight…Either parental control has loosened or the parents are not at home, and are most likely to be found in Church maneabas playing bingo or in kava gatherings."

President Tong wants to do something about it. "I would love to have dictatorship powers for six months,"he says. "But on the issue of settlement on the lens, we are kicking those people out. They've been given eviction notices". He said the process of removing people has been going on for 20 years.

The OTB reports: "The population of South Tarawa grew by almost 10,000 people between 2005 and 2010, an annual population growth of 4.4%... by 2030 South Tarawa's population will double to about 107,000 people…As South Tarawa is the hub of central government administration and of the commercial sector, it is rational that new migrants will continue to move to the urban areas in search of better employment opportunities and higher incomes for themselves and their families.

"Developments and the growing population have both put a lot of pressure on the environment…because of the over extraction of sand, gravel and rocks, removal of trees from shoreline for firewood or building, and poor waste disposal habits… Disposal of wastes…directly into the ground or along the shoreline is a big threat to the freshness and cleanliness of water lens.

"Sanitation is inadequate…sewage collected is discharged to the sea…Leaking pipes in the reticulated saltwater system…injecting a lot of seawater into the water lens, making groundwater repulsively brackish and contaminated.

"The beach is still being used as toilet by many people… Many of the flush toilets and pit latrines are poorly maintained…they leak into the water lens and many are offensive…The habit of disposing of rubbish anyhow, especially into the sea, is polluting the beaches, coastal waters and the lagoon."

Islands in the South Pacific are living organisms, they adapt to changes in sea level.. In a recent study, researchers compared aerial photographs and high-resolution satellite images of 27 islands taken since the 1950s. Only four islands had decreased in area despite local sea level rises of almost 120mm in that time, while 23 stayed the same or grew.

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology's Sea Level & Climate Monitoring Project found that between 1992 and 2012 the mean sea level at Tarawa varied between about 1570mm and 1680mm .The most highly populated islands in South Tarawa have grown by 12.5% to 30%.

Serious questions have been asked of President Tong and his government.

When Ban Ki-Moon visited Kiribati, former President Teburoro Tito, commented that people are more concerned about the rising cost of living and government corruption, than the impact of climate change. "They've gone too far... Of course, we had the Secretary General coming... they're overplaying it, and there's a danger in bluffing the world."

In 2011 Australia provided some $32,000,000 in aid , much in scholarships. Kiribati barred Australian officials from meetings determining the allocation of these scholarships, leading to accusations of nepotism.