Tuvalu is a tiny island nation in the Pacific probably best known for its Internet suffix: .tv. Now it’s an eco-failure poster child—due to global warming, Tuvalu is sinking into an ever-rising ocean.
The nation, which is comprised of nine low-lying coral atolls, suffers from an increasing number of cyclones and droughts yearly, causing the coral to die and the fish stocks to drop.
In 2003, the prime minister of Tuvalu addressed the United Nations: “We live in constant fear of the adverse impacts of climate change….The threat is real and serious and is of no difference to a slow and insidious form of terrorism against us.”
To deal with the issue, the previous Tuvaluan government threatened to sue the United States and Australia for damages. In 2005, the new government dropped the case. In the meantime, average Tuvaluans must decide between leaving their homeland now or after it disappears.
The Australian government predicts that Tuvalu will be under water in 50 years. Some sources say sooner. In the last 10 years, 3,000 inhabitants—nearly 25 percent—have already left. New Zealand, which has received many fleeing Tuvaluans, allows 75 people from the island to enter each year as “climate change refugees.” In June, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon noted the moral imperative of the wealthier nations who pollute more and have the resources to adapt to climate changes: “An African farmer, losing crops or herds to drought and dust storms, or a Tuvalu islander worried his village might soon be under water, is infinitely more vulnerable.”
Last summer 2007, Zimbabwean president-cum-dictator Robert Mugabe tried to force merchants to lower prices on all products to mid-June levels, approximately 50 percent, as police and pro-government militia threatened arrest or shop eizure. Some shopkeepers who refused were attacked by militia. People rushed to buy staples, but because the Zimbabwean currency is worth less each day, shopkeepers cannot afford to restock goods that sell below market value. To make up for all the economic losses the government will print more money— creating, in turn, more inflation. Already inflation is rampant. In May it was reported to be 4,500 percent, but some believe the figure to be more than 10,000 percent. By comparison, the U.S. inflation from May 2006 to May 2007 was roughly 2.7 percent.
The southern African nation has been embroiled in economic crisis since 1998 and political instability since Mugabe encouraged the often-violent seizure of white-owned farms in 2000. Two years later, the finance minister acknowledged the troubles, noting foreign reserves were depleted and food shortages
loomed, but most international aid donors refused to help because of the land seizures. Deepening the roblems are power cuts, severe limitations on media, and brutality against opposition leaders and protesters. At one point last year, union leaders were taken into custody and allegedly tortured to the point of hospitalization. Mugabe, who came into power with the first postindependence elections in 1980, is up for reelection next year. Despite growing discontent and desperation, Mugabe is expected to use violence and intimidation to squash any real contender.
After a scandal involving a job and salary increase for his girlfriend, Paul Wolfowitz was forced out as president of the World Bank. The World Bank was created after the end of World War II to rebuild Europe. It expanded its mandate to eradicate poverty by lending money and support for projects such as road construction, microfinance and education. Today the Bank lends nearly $23 billion each year. By tradition, its president is a U.S. citizen.
Wolfowitz had made fighting corruption one of his top issues, and the scandal tarnished the Bank’s ability
to demand better governance. To restore credibility and stability to the antipoverty institution, the United States nominated Robert Zoellick, a seasoned diplomat, to replace Wolfowitz.
Zoellick was George W. Bush’s U.S. trade representative and deputy secretary of state. He also served Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
Before his five-year term began in July, Zoellick took a tour of Africa, Europe and Latin America to listen to World Bank contributors and clients. He also met with the board to go over key issues and held a town hall-style meeting with employees at headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Among the challenges Zoellick and the Bank face are addressing climate change while fighting poverty, particularly in Africa, and securing $26 billion to finance interest-free loans to the world’s poorest countries.
As normalcy returns at the Bank, analysts and the 185 member nations of the Bank will be watching Zoellick to see if he can make the Bank a source of true poverty-reduction rather than dependence.
A Tuvaluan man on the shores of his country,
where climate change poses an imminent threat.
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