A JOURNALISM and Media student of the Solomon Islands National University (SINU), Elron Dokese, has posted disturbing images of sea-level rise which continues to destroy his village of Ughele on South Rendova in the Western Province.
In posting the images, Dokese called for urgent action such as the building of sea-walls and wave-breakers to mitigate this onslaught of climate change.
The images show where his family and close relatives have lived decades ago but had to relocate from, due to rising sea-level.
He said rising sea-level ate into the coastline and they had to evacuate themselves from their coastal home to higher grounds.
“My grandmother’s house is the only house that is left at our old home.
“When it is high-tide, the intrusion of the sea reaches far into her kitchen. It is a sad scenario,” he told Solomon Star in an interview.
He said his grandmother’s still lives in her coastal home but she will have to make the decision to relocate because in two or three years, her home will be submerged.
Dokese’s family and close relatives are not the only ones affected by rising sea-levels. Many coastal dwellers across the country find themselves in similar situation. Sea-level rise is also affecting infrastructures like bridges and public roads.
Dokese said sea-level rise has changed the course of the road at his old family village and it is getting closer to his grandmother’s house.
He said the sea-level is continuing to rise and it is bound to destroy properties and eat further into the coastline of the old village where his grandmother still resides.
Dokese is concerned about this state of affair and calls on responsible authorities to take decisive actions to protect the country’s coastlines from being destroyed by rising sea-level.
One solution that Dokese highlighted is the protection of the coastline by the building of gigantic sea-walls and wave-breakers.
He said this can be an expensive undertaking but it is one of the only few solutions available for the country as land is becoming scarce, hampering any relocation efforts.
“Sea-walls can offer the best solution so that the roads and bridges can also be protected, whilst people can walk and travel freely and make their living comfortable in this time of climate change adversity,” Dokese added.
By LACHLAN EDDIE HOE
Solomon Star, Honiara
