Located in the Atlantic Ocean, lies the Bahamas. This archipelago is a popular tourist destination that attracts millions of tourists every year. It’s known for its beautiful beaches, turquoise waters, and warm tropical climate, making it a go-to choice for beach lovers, water sports enthusiasts and those simply looking for relaxation.
Unfortunately, what to many outsiders looks like a dream destination, is a nation dealing with warming oceans. The Bahamas faces a serious and potentially existential threat from climate change. The country’s low-lying geography, reliance on tourism, and porous limestone geology make it highly vulnerable to rising sea levels, increased hurricane intensity, and coastal erosion. Last month, ITV News Correspondent Rachel Younger ventured out to the Islands to speak with locals about how rising sea levels are having a direct impact on their lives, and the surrounding natural habitats.
Rachel met with Shervin Tate and his son Shervin Jr, who come from generations of fishermen. They explained how the warming temperatures of the ocean force them to travel further out to sea.
“You can see the decline – because you’re not seeing a bunch of fish running up along the coast anymore. You got to go far out,” said Shervin Senior. “And it costs you twice as much, because where you were going to spend $100 for fuel, now you spend it $200.”
Coral reefs, along with mangroves, lined the shores as nature’s own barrier against extreme weather events like storms and hurricanes, so when Hurricane Dorian hit in 2019, the strongest ever witnessed there, it destroyed more than a third of the mangrove forests on their island of Grand Bahama.
This left the coral reefs and mangroves bleached and destroyed, leaving them susceptible to disease. The reefs and mangroves were also home to a wide range of fish species, making it all the less surprising that fishing communities there are being hit hard.
Unfortunately, warming seas aren’t the only threat from the ocean. Melting glacier ice in the Antarctic, a world away from these islands, is contributing to global sea levels rising, with the Bahamas being one of the countries predicted to be hit the hardest.
Rachel explained: “almost a third of the land lies less than half a metre above sea level and that’s where a quarter of its population lives.”
“Over the next 25 years that level is predicted to rise by 32cm and by a whopping 82cm by the end of the century.” she said. These chilling figures are the reality many on the islands are going to have to face. But though they remain vulnerable, its people refuse to be.
At Coral Vita, the world’s first land based commercial coral farm, they are restoring the islands‘ damaged reefs. Scientists divide tiny fragments of coral, accelerating its growth by 50 times normal rates, finding strains more resilient to warming seas. But the reality is this is not just about sustainability but survival.
Rachel spoke with one of their young workers, Abigail Alain, and asked her whether she plans to stay in the Bahamas: “I don’t think so,” she said.
“I’m willing to stay to the end but at the same time I’m not waiting to be killed.”
Like Abigail many face a growing risk of displacement due to climate change, with rising sea levels and extreme weather events.
Research from Zurich insurance predicts that 1.2 billion people could be displaced globally by 2050, and with an already tense global population over the growing refugee crisis many fear what will happen to them if nowhere will take them in.