Anote Tong: My country will be underwater soon -- unless we work together
Anote Tong: Mein Land wird bald im Meer versinken – außer wir kooperieren
Anote Tong has built worldwide awareness of the potentially devastating impacts of climate change. Full bio
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by just telling us about your country.
etwas über ihr Land erzählen.
Those dots are pretty huge.
Die Punkte sind ziemlich groß.
is about the size of California.
groß wie Kalifornien.
by saying how deeply grateful I am
zuerst sagen, wie dankbar ich
with people who do care.
interessierten Leuten zu erzählen.
a lot of people who don't care too much.
die sich nicht sehr dafür interessieren.
of three groups of islands:
drei Gruppen von Inseln:
is perhaps the only country
das einzige Land,
in the four corners of the world,
Ecken der Erde liegt.
in the Southern Hemisphere,
auf der südlichen Halbkugel,
of the International Date Line.
der internationalen Datumslinie.
made up of coral atolls,
aus Atollen von Korallen,
two meters above sea level.
zwei Meter über Meereshöhe.
than two kilometers in width.
zwei Kilometer in der Breite.
I've been asked by people,
wurde ich von Leuten gefragt:
why don't you move back?"
weichen Sie nicht zurück?"
of what it is that's involved.
um was es da alles geht.
"Well, you can move back."
"Nun, ihr könnt ja zurückweichen."
on the other side of the ocean. OK?
andere Seite des Ozeans herunter. Klar?
that people don't understand.
verstehen die Leute nicht.
just a picture of fragility there.
die fragile Situation auf.
impending peril for your country?
Gefahr für Ihr Land bevorsteht?
has been one that has been going on
at the United Nations General Assembly,
Vereinten Nationen über den Klimawandel,
this controversy among the scientists
unter den Wissenschaftlern gab,
whether it was real or it wasn't.
ob es real war oder nicht.
was fairly much concluded in 2007
war 2007 ziemlich beendet
Report of the IPCC,
that it is real, it's human-induced,
dass es real ist, menschgemacht,
some very serious scenarios
Szenarien werden gemacht,
the predictions came in 2007,
Vorhersagen in 2007 eintrafen,
I think, that by 2100,
ich glaube für 2100,
perhaps three feet.
etwa einen Meter steigt.
it's higher than that, for sure,
bei denen es noch höher ist,
to a skeptic who said,
six feet above sea level.
über dem Meer.
it's got to be understood
des Meeresspiegels
we are getting the swells at the moment.
den dauernden Wellengang.
that is happening in the future.
etwas ist, was in der Zukunft passiert.
bottom end of the spectrum.
Ende des Spektrums.
who already have been dislocated.
die bereits umgezogen wurden.
and every parliament session,
und in jeder Parlamentssitzung,
from different communities
aus den Gemeinden,
Meeresschutzwälle fragen,
about the freshwater lens
der Trinkwasserspeicher tun,
to the different islands,
auf den verschiedenen Inseln,
with the loss of food crops,
Vegetationsverlust beschäftigen,
perhaps leaving, having to relocate,
sind vielleicht gezwungen,
zehn Jahren umzuziehen.
suffered its first cyclone,
den ersten Wirbelsturm erdulden,
What happened here?
Was passierte hier?
that when you're on the equator,
dass man annimmt,
We're not supposed to get the cyclones.
Es gibt keine Wirbelstürme bei uns.
either north or south.
sie nach Norden oder Süden.
at the beginning of this year,
zerstörte, zum allerersten Mal,
which destroyed Vanuatu,
the very edges of it actually touched
when Hurricane Pam struck.
als der Hurrikan Pam zuschlug.
Hälfte der Insel Wellen,
from my own constituency,
eigenen Wahlbezirk zurück,
which had been there for decades,
die seit Jahrzehnten da waren,
about the rising sea level,
steigenden Meeresspiegel reden,
that happens gradually.
was graduell passiert.
it comes with the swells,
es kommt mit den Wellen,
is the change in the weather pattern,
Wetterveränderungen zu werden,
Herausforderung ist,
than perhaps the rising sea level.
als vielleicht den Meeresanstieg.
is already seeing effects now.
bereits die Effekte.
as a country, as a nation?
als Land, als Nation?
this story every year.
Geschichte jedes Jahr.
to try and get people to understand.
versuchte es den Leuten klarzumachen.
I think I spoke in Geneva
ich glaube ich sprach in Genf,
who was interviewing me
schwimmende Inseln nach,"
at floating islands,"
but somebody said,
aber jemand sagte:
These people are looking for solutions."
Leute suchen nach Lösungen."
at floating islands.
schwimmenden Inseln.
in building floating islands.
schwimmende Inseln zu bauen.
we have made a commitment
ein Bekenntnis abgegeben,
we will try as much as possible
wir alles versuchen,
als Nation zu existieren.
something quite significant,
schwimmenden Inseln,
to continue to stay out of the water
um weiter aus dem Wasser zu kommen,
and as the storms get more severe.
und die Stürme schwerer werden.
very, very difficult
sehr schwer werden,
that we would need.
Ressourcen zu bekommen.
is some form of forced migration.
eine Form von Zwangsmigration sein.
that nothing comes forward
Gemeinschaft kommt,
like what's happening in Europe.
wie es gerade in Europa passiert.
at some point in time.
in Massen auswandern.
to give the people the choice today,
heute die Wahl zu geben,
and want to do that, to migrate.
haben auszuwandern.
that they are forced to migrate
und sie gezwungen sind, auszuwandern,
ist sicher sehr anders,
our society is very different,
andere Umgebung auswandern,
into a different environment,
of adjustments that are required.
an Anpassungen erforderlich sein.
in your country's past,
in der Vergangenheit Ihres Landes,
or the day before yesterday,
I think somebody was asking
ich glaube, jemand fragte,
to visit that place.
a community of Kiribati people
eine Gemeinde von Kiribatern haben,
of the Solomon Islands,
der Salomoninseln leben,
from the Phoenix Islands, in fact,
1960ern von den Phoenix-Inseln
could not continue to live on the island,
konnten nicht weiter auf der Insel leben,
to live here in the Solomon Islands.
um hier auf den Salomoninseln zu leben.
to meet with these people.
diese Leute gestern zu treffen.
They hadn't heard of me.
hatten nie von mir gehört.
the opportunity to welcome me formally.
ganz formell willkommen heißen.
was very interesting
war sehr interessant,
they spoke back, they replied,
und sie antworteten mir,
not to be able to speak Kiribati properly.
Kiribati nicht richtig sprechen.
this lady with red teeth.
diese Frau mit roten Zähnen.
the local people here,
die lokale Bewohner geheiratet hat,
there are bound to be changes.
gibt es Veränderungen.
a certain loss of identity,
Verlust an Identität,
looking for in the future
just an extraordinarily emotional day
emotionaler Tag gewesen sein,
an emphasized sense of what they had lost.
starkes Gefühl, was sie verloren haben.
you're going to fight to the end
dass sie bis zum Ende kämpfen
the nation in a location.
an ihrem Platz zu erhalten.
a very difficult decision for me.
schwere Entscheidung für mich.
to leave your island, your home,
seine Insel zu verlassen, seine Heimat,
on a number of occasions,
Gelegenheiten gefragt:
and I've tried to live with it,
und ich versuchte, damit zu leben,
of not trying to solve the problem
das Problem nicht zu lösen,
to be done collectively.
gemacht werden.
and as I've often argued,
und wie ich oft vorbrachte,
when we come to the United Nations --
Vereinten Nationen geht, leider --
the Pacific Island Forum countries
Länder des Pazifischen Inselforums,
are also members,
Neuseeland sind Mitglieder,
that to cut emissions,
keine Emissionen reduzierten,
that they're unable to do
zu verstehen, was ich sage,
Emissionen nicht reduziert,
to weigh this, these moral issues.
diese moralische Frage abzuwägen.
the survival of a people.
das Leben von Menschen
what made you angry,
was sie wütend macht,
But then you paused.
Aber dann hielten sie inne.
statement at the United Nations.
bei den Vereinten Nationen.
and then depressed.
und dann niedergeschlagen.
that we have no hope of winning.
den wir nicht gewinnen können.
einem, der rational war,eher zuhören
to somebody who was rational,
whatever that is.
was auch immer das ist.
of your nation's identity is fishing.
ihres Landes ist Fischerei.
is involved in fishing in some way.
wie jeder mit Fischerei zu tun hat.
every day, every day,
wirklich jeden Tag Fisch,
that our rate of consumption of fish
both at the local level
sowohl auf lokaler Ebene,
that the country receives
die Umsätze ihres Landes
you took a very radical step.
einen sehr radikalen Schritt.
right here in the Phoenix Islands.
genau hier auf den Phönix-Inseln.
of what fish means for us.
was Fisch für uns bedeutet.
tuna fisheries remaining in the world.
Thunfisch-Industrien weltweit.
something like 60 percent
for some species, but not all.
für manche Arten, nicht für alle.
major resource owners,
percent of our revenue
schools and what have you.
Schulen und was auch immer.
and it was a very difficult decision.
Eine sehr schwere Entscheidung.
locally, it was not easy,
politisch, lokal, war das nicht leicht.
dass wir das tun mussten,
that the fishery remains sustainable.
dass die Fischerei nachhaltig blieb.
that some of the species,
dass einige der Arten,
was under serious threat.
ernsthaft gefährdet war.
war ebenso überfischt.
and so that was the reason I did that.
das war der Grund, warum ich es tat.
the international community
Gemeinschaft fragte,
in order to fight climate change,
und den Kampf gegen Klimawandel,
there has got to be commitment.
man muss sich bekennen.
to make a sacrifice,
Gemeinschaft nach einem Opfer fragte,
need to make that sacrifice.
wir etwas opfern mussten.
what that loss would be
at the beginning of this year,
des Jahres gestartet haben,
of the lost revenue.
playing into this.
it may prompt healthier fisheries.
gesünderen Fischfang geben.
to move the price up
have been very difficult,
waren sehr schwierig,
to raise the cost of a vessel day.
die Kosten eines Schiffstags zu erhöhen.
to come in to fish for a day,
it was $6,000 and $8,000,
von $6.000 und $8.000,
that significant increase.
signifikanten Anstieg.
what's important to note is,
wichtig zu verstehen,
in der Vergangenheit
and maybe catch 10 tons,
because they've become so efficient.
weil sie so effizient geworden sind.
ebenfalls berücksichtigen.
because the technology has so improved.
da sich die Technologie so verbessert hat.
moved from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Flotte vom Atlantik zum Pazifik zog
if they could, per se.
ob sie das überhaupt konnten.
and they've become so efficient.
und sie sind so effizient geworden.
wie es in diesen Verhandlungen ist?
of what it's like in those negotiations?
of dollars at stake, essentially.
Dollars auf dem Spiel stehen.
Oberhäuptern einen Rat geben,
with the same companies
the most for your country,
too often on licensing
uns zu oft auf die Lizenzen,
from license fees
aus Lizenzkosten erhalten,
of the landed value of the catch
not in the retail shops.
nicht in den Handelsläden.
to do over the years
our participation in the industry,
in der Industrie zu vergrößern,
dem Marketing.
sich zu verbessern.
we have to become more involved.
müssen wir mehr einbezogen werden.
that the world has changed.
dass die Welt sich verändert hat.
selber produzieren.
for your local fishermen,
können Ihre eigenen Fischer
Sind die Gewässer leergefischt?
Are the waters depleted?
on a sustainable basis?
in the commercial fishing activity
Markt zu bedienen.
entirely for the foreign market,
ganz für den ausländischen Markt.
den USA, Europa, Japan.
Gelbflossen-Thun zu fischen.
to be able to catch yellowfin
Gelbflossen-Thun zu fangen,
out of the water by the hundreds of tons
von diesen Schleppnetzfischern
of beautiful girls from your country.
Mädchen aus Ihrem Land.
would you have for the world?
haben Sie für die Welt?
that we really have to do something
dass wir wirklich etwas
the future of these children.
unserer Kinder geht.
meine Frau weiß es.
about the same age as these young girls,
in dem Alter wie diese jungen Mädchen,
their own national interest,
nationale Interesse geht,
regrettably, unfortunately,
leider, unglücklicherweise,
as a national problem. It's not.
Problem gesehen wird. Es aber nicht ist.
we got into recently with our partners,
mit unseren Partnern besprachen,
"We can't cut any more."
nichts mehr reduzieren."
the Australian leader, said,
der Vertreter Australiens,
we are cutting back.
geleistet und reduziert.
Why don't you keep it?
Warum behaltet ihr ihn nicht?
the rest of your emissions
Emissionen behalten könntet,
within your borders,
you're sending it our way,
the future of our children.
of the problem of climate change today.
das Grundproblem des Klimawandels ist,
at the end of this year,
des Jahres in Paris treffen,
as a global phenomenon,
Phänomen verstehen,
individually, as nations,
Nationen verursachen,
to do anything about it,
um nichts tun zu müssen,
als nationales Problem,
es ist globales Thema,
dealt with collectively.
at responding to graphs and numbers,
im Umgang mit Diagrammen und Zahlen,
at responding to that sometimes.
etwas besser auf Menschen.
very possible that your nation,
gerade Ihre Nation,
the intense problems you face,
Probleme, vor denen Sie stehen,
to the world that shines most visibly,
das die Welt am sichtbarsten erleuchtet,
I'm sure, on behalf of all of us,
sicher für uns alle,
und dass Sie hier sind.
and for being here.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Anote Tong - President of the Republic of KiribatiAnote Tong has built worldwide awareness of the potentially devastating impacts of climate change.
Why you should listen
His Excellency Anote Tong is the fourth President of the Republic of Kiribati. He was first elected as President on 10 July 2003 and subsequently won two more elections in 2007 and in 2012. He is now serving his last term, which will end in mid-2015. Under his leadership, President Anote Tong also holds the portfolio of Head of State and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration.
Anote Tong was born in 1952 on Fanning Island (also known as Tabuaeran) in the Line Islands and is a member of the Kiribati House of Parliament from the constituency of Maiana Island in the central Kiribati group.
Educated in New Zealand and in England at the University of Canterbury and the London School of Economics respectively, President Tong holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Economics under his belt.
Since the beginning of his presidency, President Anote Tong has become a strong climate change advocate and has built worldwide awareness of the potentially devastating impacts of climate change.
He has stated on many occasions that Kiribati may cease to exist altogether and that its entire population may need to be resettled not as climate change refugees but as citizens who migrate on merit and with dignity.
With one of the lowest carbon-emission footprints in the world, Tong has often described Kiribati as a “frontline country” that has been among the first to experience dramatic climate change impacts.
As an extraordinary measure to set an example for the rest of the world, President Tong created the Phoenix Islands Protected Area, one of the largest marine protected areas in the world with a size of 408,250 square kilometers which was inscribed as a United Nations World Heritage site in 2008.
President Tong has won a number of awards and recognition that acknowledges his contribution and leadership on climate change and ocean conservation.
Anote Tong | Speaker | TED.com