Under a cooperation agreement between Palau, Japan and the United States, an International Coral Reef Centre was set up in Palau in 1995 to help repair the damage. As a prelude to The Hague conference last year, the World Bank released a report warning of dire consequences to the Pacific Island states from climate changes in the world. It said that among the impacts of global warming would be the loss of low-lying coastal areas, more intense cyclones and droughts, failure of subsistence crops and coastal fisheries, losses in coral reefs, and the spread of diseases like malaria and dengue fever. The Bank argued that for the Pacific, climatic change should be considered one of the most important challenges of the 21 st century and a priority area for immediate action. Reflecting on the failed conference at The Hague, Dumaru says that one thing was clear - money talks.
Rich countries don t really care whether our islands sink, float or fly.
That s our little problem, he observed. Of course, we can expect adaptation funds from them. After all, it s a cheaper way of dealing with a problem of their making, added Dumaru. He argues that the challenge facing people s organisations in the Pacific, such as his, is to make the impact of climate change on Pacific Island communities an international human rights issue.