The Carteret’s Atoll
looks set to become the first island chain in the world
to completely disappear because of rising sea levels.
The Islands are situated 80km north east of
Bougainville, the autonomous region of Papua New Guinea.
The people of the Carteret's and
Bougainville are much darker in complexion and are often
mistaken for Africans. They are strong bright
people who live life to the fullest.
Sadly the people of the Carteret
Islands know that their idyllic life on their little
islands are coming to an end. Soon they will have to
move, making them the first Climate Change refugees.
Below is a small example of pictures I have taken on
the Carteret’s while traveling with an Australian
documentary team.
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Young
girls wait for night to fall before going out
to collect sea cucumbers. |
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Huni
island, which has now split in to two islands
due to constant sea erosion. |
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The
island begins to flood at high tide and local
children rush to collect their stores. |
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A
mother takes her young family to drier ground. |
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A
woman retrieves dry firewood for cooking. |
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Gardens
are flooded with salt water. |
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The
rising sea turns the island into a swamp. |
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A local man boards the island hopper Sunkomup to take him home to the Carteret's.
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Sleepy
passengers wake up at dawn as the Sunkomup arrives
at the Carteret's. |
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A
local girl see's her home for the first time in
3 months. |
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Passengers
and their goods are ferried to the mainland on
the banana boats. |
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Banana
boats chase the local island hopper 'Sunkomup'
(as it drifts in open sea) to receive food relief. |
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Local
boys during initiation. |
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Initiation
requires the boys to live together and learn skills
for six months. |
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Coconut
palms fall in to the sea as the rising sea levels
erode the land holding them. |
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Iolassa’s beach with palm trees falling into the sea, and the split island of Huni in the background.
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A
disappearing paradise. |
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A
young girl collects sea cumbers to sell to traders
in order to pay for her school fees. |
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A
local fisherman paddles across the lagoon during sunset. |
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Local
corral shows the effect of bleaching. |
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