Education Overview

Learn more about the cultural and historical significance of the Pacific Islands and the effects of rising sea levels.

Overview of the Pacific Islands

The Pacific Islands are a vast and diverse region of thousands of islands spread across the Pacific Ocean, home to millions of people who share a rich indigenous culture that has thrived for centuries. The Pacific Islands are divided into three subregions: Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia. They also comprise 15 sovereign island nations that possess their own unique cultural and historical values.

Pacific Island communities share deep spiritual and cultural connections to the ocean and the land, which shape their traditions, livelihoods, and way of life. Many Pacific Islands are low-lying, and communities often depend upon coastal ecosystems for food, freshwater, and protection from flooding and storms.

Today, Pacific Island communities are among the most vulnerable regions to climate change, as many nations are experiencing the early forms of it through rising sea levels. Rising sea levels, flooding, soil erosion, saltwater intrusion, and many other climate factors threaten the infrastructure, homes, freshwater resources, and the overall way of life for many Pacific coastal communities. Despite contributing little to global greenhouse gas emissions, the Pacific Islands are experiencing some of the most severe immediate impacts of climate change.

If we want change, we have to Start Now!

Micronesia

Location

  • Western Central Pacific Ocean, north of the equator

  • Islands are mostly low-lying coral atolls

Nations

  • FS. Micronesia, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, Guam, and Northern Mariana Islands

  • Population ~ 528,000

Rising Sea Level Impacts

  • Chronic flooding and coastal erosion

  • Saltwater intrusion contaminating freshwater supplies

  • Have experienced loss of arable land, threatening displacement

Tropical beach with palm trees, shallow clear water, small islands, and an overcast sky at sunset.

Melanesia

Location

  • Southwestern Pacific Ocean

  • Consists of more mountainous islands

Nations

  • Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Fiji, and New Caledonia

  • Population ~ 13,160,000

Rising Sea Level Impacts

  • Coastal erosion, damaging villages and infrastructure

  • Increased flooding from storm surges

  • Loss of mangroves and coral reefs that protect coastal communities

A tropical scene with a tall palm tree in the foreground, lush green forest, and a blue ocean with a few boats, distant islands, and mountains under a partly cloudy sky.

Polynesia

Location

  • Central and Southern Pacific Ocean

  • A mixture of mountainous and low-lying islands

Nations

  • Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, American Samoa, French Polynesia, Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau, and Hawai'i

  • Population ~ 690,000

Rising Sea Level Impacts

  • Permanent inundation of land

  • Displacement of coastal communities

  • Threatens sovereignty, the survival of culture, and human rights concerns

Aerial view of a lush green mountain with rocky peaks overlooking clear blue ocean waters and an island with sandy beaches in the distance under a partly cloudy sky.