What motivated Kiribati to set aside the largest marine reserve in history?
President Anote Tong: Earlier at the United Nations I was bitter at the international community for not listening [on climate change]. But then it became clear that if we made a contribution this large, it was also a statement on our part. So, this was a significant contribution to the world community in the hope they would also act. Kiribati was the first nation to greet the new millennium [because of its location on the international dateline], but it may not be around to greet the next century, because of rising sea levels. This is exactly right, and this is the challenge for the global community to act. I went to [the 2009 global climate negotiations in] Copenhagen and I was extremely disappointed. There was not what we’d have liked to see there. Where will our people go [if our land is submerged]? No one has come forward with an offer [for relocating Kiribati’s population]. We would take what’s available. The former president of Zambia told me “we have plenty of room,” and we coul
