Tuvalu
what?
Tuvalu
is a South Pacific nation, comprising nine islands and home to about 11,000
people. You can find more information on Wikipedia or similar sources, so I
won’t bother you with the basics here. Instead, I will comment on my visit,
which took place in May 2007. 
Like
the majority of visitors to Tuvalu,
I came with Air Fiji
from Suva and headed back there
after one week. The scheduled bi-weekly flights with Air Fiji
have made Tuvalu
very easy to reach, provided you have the money (the 2 ½ hour flight on the turbo-prop
doesn’t come cheap, at 1500FJD round trip). I can provide first-hand comments
for Funafuti only, the main atoll and centre in Tuvalu.
The other islands can only be reached by ship. A regular service exists, but
runs only every fortnight so it’s not an easily available option for tourists.
You can check out a number of pictures from my trip
(with comments). I do not earn anything from this web site, and I have not been
supported in anyway by anyone for my trip, so I feel free to express my
opinions based on my real experience. I hope this does not cause offence to
anyone, and that it might be useful for other travellers. On the other hand,
they are only my opinions, so be advised to double-check somewhere else.
Worth a visit?
This depends on your expectations. Tuvalu
is a peculiar, small, mostly unknown nation (however see also my comments
further down). As such, it will provide an 
exotic
stamp in your passport – though not especially flashy or colorful, see picture.
It will also provide a nice conversation subject, sure to make you an
adventurous traveller. Most importantly, it will give you a nice experience of
life in a typical small place in the South Pacific. It seems that a lot of the
recent interest in Tuvalu
is actually connected with the subject of global warming, and the prospect that
Tuvalu may be
one of the first nations to go if the ocean levels will rise according to the
worst predictions. More about this further down in this page.
However, do not come to Tuvalu
if you are looking for an unspoiled, pristine tropical paradise. I don’t know
if any such place still exists, at least on a sizeable scale, anywhere in the
South Pacific, but Tuvalu
ain’t that. In terms of wildlife, either under the sea or above, Tuvalu
is in fact quite impoverished. Also, do not think of finding a one-of-a-kind
place, far from the world, with a unique character. Tuvalu
is nothing more and nothing less than a lot of other places in the South
Pacific. It’s got satellite TV, it’s got long-distance calls, it’s got
internet, it’s got cars and air-conditioning. And it’s got a rather large,
long, paved airport runway. So much for isolation.
Funafuti, a crowded place
Statistics on the Funafuti population
are not very exhaustive, to say the least. First of all, the last census is
several years old. Secondly, people that move to Funafuti
from one of the outer islands in Tuvalu
will often stay with some relative, without necessarily registering with the
authorities. After asking local people, including some well positioned ones, it
was obvious that nobody has much of a clue. My guess is that Funafuti
has more than the 4,000-6,000 people that seems to be the official figure. Add
to that a small but non-negligible number of foreigners with permanent or
semi-permanent residency. Since the available land on Funafuti
is tiny indeed, this makes for a rather crowded situation. One thing that
strikes the visitor to Funafuti is the large number of
vehicles, be it private cars or motorbikes or scooters. There is also a
surprisingly high number of taxis (at affordable prices), a public bus, and of
course all kinds of trucks, tractors, trailers, and similar work vehicles. As a
result, the traffic is impressive for such a small place. Remember that the
only road is about a dozen km long (plus a few paved alleys in the main village
of Vaiaku). On the good side,
people drive mostly very cautiously and slow.
It was my impression that Tuvaluans don’t like much walking
or cycling. This is surprising, when you consider that the climate is very
favorable at least to the second activity (some might argue that it’s a bit hot
and humid for walking, but actually most places are only a block away). On the
other hand, one has to consider that the average physical size of Tuvaluans
does not seem to encourage physical exercise (though the connection might
actually be more in the reverse). I don’t know the cost of gasoline and if it
is subsided by the Government, but certainly driving seems to be an easily
available and very much liked option.
Global warming or global fishing?
I argued above that Tuvalu,
or at least Funafuti, is actually quite average among
the Pacific islands. However, it has recently featured in the media much more
than one would have guessed just from the size of its surface, economy, or
touristic attractions. The reason is connected to global warming: the highest
point in the whole country is a mere 4 meters above sea leveal, and most of it
is actually even lower. In the public imagination, the whole nation could soon
disappear as a modern Atlantis, if global warming will indeed rise the ocean
levels. This scenario is a possibility which scientists will keep debating for
some more time, but meanwhile it comes as a blessing for Tuvalu (in addition to
the much coveted .tv internet domain). It provides an increase in the flux of
tourists, but more importantly the interest (and partly the sense of guilt) of
industrialized nations is fuelling a flow of aid through both government and
non-government organizations.
If one walks around Funafuti, it is
frequent to see a large number of buildings and facilities which are provided
by this or that country. The hospital, the air terminal, the fisheries, the
wharf, the government building, the hotel, to name a few. It is also striking
to see the number of aid agencies which have a presence of one sort or the
other. For a country which is endangered, if at all, in several tens of years
in the future, this is quite impressive. The more cynical may ask why Tuvalu
seems to receive much more aid pro capita than other countries, which are faced
by much more real and urgent emergencies. One possible answer, as cynical as
the question, is that Tuvalu
extends its territorial waters over an amazingly vast area of the South
Pacific Ocean. The fishing permits are certainly highly coveted by
the fishing fleets of several countries. Also not to be forgotten is that Tuvalu
is a full member of the United Nations, and its vote on some matters can be of
interest to some.
Submerged…?
Whether
the ocean levels will rise enough to submerge Tuvalu
in the foreseeable future is a hot question, but a brief look around Funafuti
shows that a more concrete threat could be represented by the rising levels of
garbage. A number of open-air dumps are found along the few km of road on the
atoll. Especially the one at the northern end is impressive for its size.
Trucks come several times in a day, and all sorts of garbage are thrown in
indiscriminately: food remains, house garbage in plastic bags, soda cans, plastic
bottles, along with old air-conditioners, televisions, computers, fridges,
furniture. A few small fires can be seen, black smoke rising slowly. Some of
the dumps are actually in between family houses.
I don’t know how this compares to the garbage dumping
practices of other countries, and I would not want to pass a hasty
condemnation. However, it’s clear that with the tiny land size on Funafuti,
there is a definite risk of disappearing under a tide of garbage well before
than under the ocean.