Australia, New Zealand back Tuvalu land reclamation

The Governments of Australia and New Zealand are funding a second phase of the successful Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project (TCAP-II) to scale up climate resilient coastal protection efforts to combat climate change.

Construction works, be undertaken by Hall Contracting, will start this month.

TCAP-II aims to reduce Tuvalu’s vulnerability to the adverse impacts of flooding, shoreline erosion, and rising sea levels along the southern lagoon shoreline of Fogafale Island, housing around half of Tuvalu’s 12,000 population.

The project aims to protect 800 metres of vulnerable shoreline on the capital, as well as reclaim approximately eight hectares of new, safe, raised land.

Also, the work is set to strengthen the capacity of the Government of Tuvalu and civil society organisations to effectively plan and implement environmentally-sound coastal protection work.

According to the United Nations Development Program, the scheme will further demonstrate the feasibility of land reclamation work on atoll nations like Tuvalu, to inform similar efforts to beat sea level rise threats elsewhere.