25 million people will be on the move in the coming decades as a result of climate change according to the UN . The Tulun Atoll (also known as Kilinailau or Carteret islands/atoll) in Melanesia is one of the first sources. Within few generations the sea is expected to have submerged the six tiny islands forcing the 1000 islanders to search for new land. 400 years of peaceful existence for the Tulun community is seeing an end and a new life in the money driven world awaits them. Still pictures from Tulun are found in the portfolio.
Published in
Berlingske Tidende (DK)
Information (DK)
Ekstra Bladet (DK)
Screenings / cinematic presentations
2009 “Tulun: A Case Study”, Bright Green/COP15, Forum, Copenhagen
Exhibitions
2009 “Tulun: A Case Study”, Postcards distributed via GoCard at 400 cafés in Denmark
The Tulun people have come to a cross road where fear that their islands will sink and fear of the outside world have split the population in two between the ones who want to move and the ones who want to stay. Food shortage, malnutrition, overpopulation, flooding, malaria and the prospect of a new life with electricity and modern commodities all make good reasons to leave. Culture, tribal traditions, land ownership and a peaceful existence far from their mountainous neighbor, Bougainville – which is still struggling to maintain law and order after a civil war that ended ten years ago – are all strong arguments in favor of staying. The tribe has lived isolated in the Solomon Sea for 400 years and communication with the outside world is limited to a two-way radio. The people live a simple life without stable electricity and use wooden canoes to travel between the islands on top of the Tulun Atoll’s 61 km (37.9 miles) long reef. Like many communities from low lying pacific islands, the Tulun people fear that the sea will submerge their island within few generations and they have begun the quest for new land. The majority of the old people are reluctant to leave and will stay behind as the younger generations start to move away. Each of the six islands on the atoll can be crossed on foot in a few minutes and stands few feet above sea level at the highest point. Tulun is situated 80 km (49.7 miles) northeast of Bougainville in the South Pacific Sea. In December 2008 the islanders experienced a flooding unprecedented in their living memory. It left their food gardens barren and took away the only staple crops they had. It also convinced a lot of islanders that it is time to start the search for new land. They are unable to transport themselves to safety and have had no luck finding new land until this day. On November 25, 2003, the Papua New Guinean government authorized the government-funded total evacuation of the islands, 10 families at a time; the evacuation was expected to be completed by 2007, but access to funding caused numerous delays. Around 1000 people live on the islands.
