Abaiang
Abaiang, also known as Apaiang, Apia, and in the past, Charlotte Island, in the Northern Gilbert Islands, is a coral atoll of Kiribati, located in the west-central Pacific Ocean. Abaiang was the island of the first missionary to arrive in the G ...
atoll
An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can gr ...
in
Kiribati
Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),Kiribati ''The Wor ...
; to its west is
Ubanteman Ubanteman is a village on Abaiang, atoll in Kiribati. There are 126 residents of the village (2010 census). To its north is Takarano, and to its east is Tebunginako.
Ubwanteman presently does not suffer from coastal erosion
Coastal erosio ...
, and to its south are
Borotiam Borotiam is a village on Abaiang, atoll in Kiribati. There are 375 residents of the village (2010 census). The nearest villages, to the north, are Tebunginako and Koinawa. Aonobuaka is to the east.
The village has a medical clinic that is staffed ...
and
Koinawa
Koinawa is a village on Abaiang atoll in Kiribati
Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),
The settlement had been dealing with seawater inundation and coastal instability since the 1970s, and is being abandoned. A report by the
South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission
The Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) was an inter-governmental regional organisation dedicated to providing services to promote sustainable development in the countries it serves. In 2010, its functions had been transferred to ...
determined that natural erosion was the primary factor, as the village was located close to the site of a blocked ocean/lagoon channel, however many, including the
Kiribati
Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),Kiribati ''The Wor ...
government, suggest that this was due to
sea level rise
Globally, sea levels are rising due to human-caused climate change. Between 1901 and 2018, the globally averaged sea level rose by , or 1–2 mm per year on average.IPCC, 2019Summary for Policymakers InIPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cry ...
caused by
global warming
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
.
As storm surges becoming more frequent and spring tides more forceful, eventually the erosion was so great that the village had to be abandoned. The remains of about 100 thatched homes and a maneabe (community meeting hall) are now up to 30 metres offshore. The villagers relocated themselves further inland, with the new village retaining the same name. The sea reaches what was the fishpond creating a peninsula with the Roman Catholic church standing on one side of the bay and the village on the other side.