Question

Problems faced by islands

Answer 1

The Pacific island states are roughly divided into states that have volcanoes, and the low-lying islands which are reefs, and I guess it’s the low islands that face the real challenge from climate change?

That is true, although the challenges of development are much larger than the challenges of geography. One of the things that we cannot change is geography. So, the islands which are low-lying have problems which are very specific to them, and the problems of climate change are the most severe for the low-lying islands, but for those that are volcanic have unique challenges in terms of transportation, and in terms of access. So, for example, if you think of a country like Papua New Guinea, around which the sea is extremely choppy, then providing basic services in that kind of a context is difficult, if not also very, very expensive.