An abandoned building on Tebunginako, used as a combination church and community hall. Saltwater erosion is visible on the building's concrete foundation.

Tebunginako is a village on Abaiang atoll in Kiribati; to its west is Ubanteman, and to its south are Borotiam and Koinawa.[1]

The settlement had been dealing with seawater inundation and coastal instability since the 1970s,[2] and is being abandoned.[3] A report by the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission determined that natural erosion was the primary factor, as the village was located close to the site of a blocked ocean/lagoon channel,[4] The Kiribati government[5][6] has blamed sea level rise caused by global warming.[7]

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.[8] 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.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 "4. Abaiang" (PDF). Office of Te Beretitent - Republic of Kiribati Island Report Series. 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  2. ↑ "In Kiribati, a way of life is being washed away". The Age. 2009-11-20.
  3. ↑ "A Kiribati Village Slowly Succumbs To The Sea Around It". NPR. 2012-12-01.
  4. ↑ Webb, Arthur (2006-03-22). "Technical report, analysis of coastal change and erosion - Tebunginako village, Abaiang, Kiribati" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016.
  5. ↑ "Tebunginako Village : Climate Change". Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  6. ↑ "Rising Seas Not the Only Culprit Behind Kiribati's Woes". Inter Press Service. 2013-08-20.
  7. ↑ "11 Islands That Will Vanish When Sea Levels Rise". Business Insider.
  8. ↑ "Tebunginako Village". Office of Te Beretitent - Republic of Kiribati. Retrieved 28 April 2015.

1°55′00″N 172°56′45″E / 01.91657°N 172.94588°E / 01.91657; 172.94588


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