28 Apr 2014

Kiribati says land problem is unprecedented

9:16 am on 28 April 2014

The President of Kiribati says the country has never faced the problem of land security like it is presently.

Anote Tong hosted the New Zealand foreign minister Murray McCully, as well as representatives from the European Union, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the International Renewable Energy Agency last week, who all had the chance to see the dilapidated state of roads and housing, due to rising sea levels.

An official from the Secretariat of the Pacific Community says in some places on Tarawa Atoll, the density can be compared with Hong Kong, but there is scarce food and water supply.

Anote Tong says he is grateful for the support of donors, but the country is still finding its way in dealing with climate change problems.

"The freshwater lens underground has been affected, food crops have been affected, so people are screaming. And so for the first time this challenge is coming. We've never had to face this previously. And so we are trying to find our way to addressing this."

Anote Tong.