LiDAR technology in Tuvalu (VIDEO)

With funding from the Green Climate Fund, the Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project is working to develop innovative coastal protection solutions in one of the world’s most vulnerable small island developing states.

Implemented by UNDP in partnership with the government, the project has worked with Fugro to leverage airborne ‘LiDAR’ (Light Detection and Ranging) technology to capture precise coastal data – supporting adaptation planning into the future.

Building resilience is an urgent priority for countries like Tuvalu, where most land, communities and infrastructure are located near the shore and on land barely above sea level.

One of the first and most fundamental tasks of the project has been to secure baseline data to elucidate the relationship between land elevation and sea level, to model future scenarios, and to inform design of coastal infrastructure, as well as development planning.