New Delhi: Nauru, officially known as the Republic of Nauru, is an island country and microstate in Micronesia. It is a part of the Central Pacific’s Oceania region. The Banaba of Kiribati is its nearest neighbour and it is about 300 kilometres away. The country covers an area of only 21 square kilometres and is the third smallest country in the world, ahead of Vatican City and Monaco. It is the smallest republic and island nation and also the smaller member state among the Commonwealth of Nations in terms of area.
The island of Nauru is oval shaped, and is located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. Fringing coral reef surround the island and is exposed at low tide and dotted with pinnacles. While no seaport has been established due to the reef, channels in the reef allow small boats access to the island.
Nauru, climate change and citizenships
To help meet the cost of moving about 10,000 residents from low-lying homes menaced by rising sea levels and floods, Nauru is aiming to sell citizenships for the island which is threatened by climate changed and global warming. As per President David Adeang’s plan, he is looking to raise an initial $65 million to transform the barren interior which has become uninhabitable due to prolonged phosphate mining to a new township, farms and workplaces. Under the plan, around 90 per cent of the population would be relocated to the new place.
Nauru is threatened by floods, and years of phosphate mining have made the inland area unsuitable for agriculture. So, in all likelihood, foreigners paying over $140,500 will never visit the island or stay there. However, perks include visa-free access to 89 countries, including the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore.
At present, the island nation is threatened by flooding endangering local homes, government buildings, and its only airport located beside the ocean. Hence, Nauru is aiming to relocate its residents to higher ground. To this end, the country has launched the Nauru Economic and Climate Resilience Citizenship Program, allowing foreigners to obtain a second citizenship after the acquire the Nauru passport.
The move comes amid the looming threat of climate change which is increasing sea levels, with Nauru in danger of being submerged. Nauru is following the footsteps of Dominica in using money from citizenship sales to protect its people from increasing impacts of climate change. It shows the challenges that the small nations face in securing funding to deploy on initiatives to boost resilience. As per NASA’s Sea Level Change Team, in the coming decades, Nauru faces significant increases in extreme flooding.
Faced with imminent threats from rising sea levels and the devastating effects of climate change, Nauru is implementing a bold plan: selling citizenships to fund the relocation of its population to higher ground. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
