Tuvalu is about to test the resilience of its islands in a way that has never been seen before. In the next year or two there will be 4 new projects that will in one way or another alter the natural flows of sand and water that are part of the island’s natural defence and…
For the first time in history the Tuvaluan people now have the capability to be able to make large-scale changes to their atolls and islands. With that capability comes a lot of potential for building resilience, but also the potential for serious damage. How it works out depends on the choices we make and how…
Tuvalu Atoll Formation It all begins, at least from the human perspective, with Darwin’s 1842 theory on atoll formation. Charles Darwin was the first to hypothesise (put up the idea for investigation) that atolls formed on the top of submerged volcanoes. Darwin envisaged that as volcanic activity ceased and the volcano slowly submerged into the…
Atolls just aren’t like large continental countries where engineering grew up. We need a new set of engineering solutions specifically for the unique conditions on atolls. Atoll Engineering should build our resilience, reversing the broad-scale damage the ‘old engineering’ has caused in the past. And we need it now – the islands have run out…