Climate change is forcing the inhabitants of a Panamanian island to flee. Around 300 families are facing a drastic change in their lives.
On the island of Gardi Sugdub, about 300 families are preparing to evacuate as rising sea levels force them to leave their homes. According to NBC News, residents are faced with the challenge of abandoning their sea- and tourism-based lifestyle and moving to dry land.
The inhabitants of the island, which is just 366 meters long and 137 meters wide and is called Gunas, are the first of a total of 63 communities along Panama’s Caribbean and Pacific coasts to be forced to relocate to the mainland by rising sea levels. “We are a little sad because we have to leave behind the houses we have known all our lives, the contact with the sea, where we fish, where we swim and where the tourists come,” said Nadín Morales, 24, who is preparing to move with her mother, uncle and boyfriend.
Climate change is not only causing sea levels to rise, but is also warming the oceans, causing stronger storms. Nevertheless, some residents have decided to stay on the island, even though it is no longer safe. However, as NBC News reports, the authorities will not force them to leave.
Steven Paton, director of the Smithsonian Institution’s physical monitoring program in Panama, explained that the impending move is “a direct result of climate change through sea level rise.” By the end of the century, or even sooner, the Gunas will most likely have to leave all the islands.
A recent study by the Panamanian Ministry of Environment estimates that Panama will lose about 2.01 percent of its coastal area due to sea level rise by 2050. It is estimated that relocating the approximately 38,000 residents who will be affected by sea level rise in the near and medium term will cost about $1.2 billion.
Thanks to climate change, the inhabitants of German islands are also facing rising sea levels and increasingly frequent and stronger storms. In 2022, the North Sea island of Wangerooge suffered severe storm surges that washed away 90 percent of the beach sand.
There are numerous measures to protect against erosion, but they are rarely sufficient. Mayor Fangohr of Wangerooge spoke of a “fight against windmills”. Additional structures, such as protective dunes and buffer structures, are intended to protect the hinterland, but these are repeatedly threatened by new storms.
Even the state government of Lower Saxony, which provides financial support for coastal protection, can only provide temporary relief. Although climate expert Laurens Bouwer says that the North Sea islands are not in danger of extinction any time soon, the question remains whether the island communities will be able to afford such protective measures in the long term.
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