The Rising Tide: Among the Islands and Atolls of the Pacific Ocean by Tom Bamforth
English | June 1st, 2019 | ISBN: 1743585993 | 272 pages | EPUB | 1.79 MB
Vanuatu. The Cook Islands. Fiji. The names evoke white-sand beaches, swaying palms and lazy holidays. But in reality, these idyllic places are tropical maelstroms of global realpolitik, caught between the world's superpowers, former colonial masters and tin-pot despots. Collectively the Pacific nations, which form one third of the globe's surface area, are one of the most strategically important regions in the world – for military might, for energy security and geopolitical borders. Even more importantly, these nations are at the frontline of climate change, as rising sea levels, salinity, cyclones and pollution put their very existence at stake.