Anote Tong: My country will be underwater soon -- unless we work together
Anote Tong: O meu país ficará em breve debaixo de água — a não ser que trabalhemos em conjunto
Anote Tong has built worldwide awareness of the potentially devastating impacts of climate change. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
by just telling us about your country.
por falarmos do seu país.
Those dots are pretty huge.
Estes pontos são enormes.
is about the size of California.
é do tamanho da Califórnia.
by saying how deeply grateful I am
como estou agradecido
with people who do care.
de partilhar a minha história
a lot of people who don't care too much.
a partilhar a minha história
que não se importam muito.
of three groups of islands:
por três grupos de ilhas:
is perhaps the only country
é talvez o único país
in the four corners of the world,
in the Southern Hemisphere,
no hemisfério sul,
da Linha internacional de Data.
of the International Date Line.
made up of coral atolls,
por atóis de coral.
two meters above sea level.
acima do nível do mar.
than two kilometers in width.
de dois quilómetros de largura.
I've been asked by people,
why don't you move back?"
porque é que não se mudam?"
of what it is that's involved.
"Well, you can move back."
on the other side of the ocean. OK?
do outro lado do oceano".
that people don't understand.
o que as pessoas não percebem.
just a picture of fragility there.
um quadro de fragilidade.
impending peril for your country?
para o vosso país?
has been one that has been going on
at the United Nations General Assembly,
na Assembleia Geral das Nações Unidas,
this controversy among the scientists
muita controvérsia entre os cientistas
whether it was real or it wasn't.
se era real ou não.
was fairly much concluded in 2007
Report of the IPCC,
de Avaliação do IPCC,
that it is real, it's human-induced,
de que era real,
some very serious scenarios
a ser muito empenhado.
the predictions came in 2007,
os cenários e as previsões em 2007,
I think, that by 2100,
segundo julgo, que, em 2100,
perhaps three feet.
it's higher than that, for sure,
to a skeptic who said,
a um cético que afirmasse:
six feet above sea level.
acima do nível do mar.
it's got to be understood
we are getting the swells at the moment.
neste momento temos as ondas.
that is happening in the future.
vai acontecer no futuro.
bottom end of the spectrum.
who already have been dislocated.
and every parliament session,
em todas as sessões do parlamento.
from different communities
molhes de proteção,
about the freshwater lens
quanto aos lençóis de água doce
to the different islands,
with the loss of food crops,
a perda de culturas,
perhaps leaving, having to relocate,
terão que se deslocar
suffered its first cyclone,
sofreu um primeiro ciclone.
What happened here?
O que é que aconteceu?
that when you're on the equator,
quando estamos no Equador,
não temos ciclones.
We're not supposed to get the cyclones.
para o norte ou para o sul.
either north or south.
eles não voltam para trás.
at the beginning of this year,
which destroyed Vanuatu,
the very edges of it actually touched
when Hurricane Pam struck.
quando o Furacão Pam passou.
from my own constituency,
which had been there for decades,
que ali estavam há décadas,
about the rising sea level,
da subida do nível do mar,
that happens gradually.
que acontece gradualmente.
it comes with the swells,
vem com as ondas,
is the change in the weather pattern,
é a mudança no padrão do clima,
than perhaps the rising sea level.
do que a subida do nível do mar.
is already seeing effects now.
enquanto país, enquanto nação?
as a country, as a nation?
this story every year.
a mesma história.
que as pessoas percebam.
to try and get people to understand.
achamos que temos um plano.
I think I spoke in Geneva
who was interviewing me
que estava a entrevistar-me
at floating islands,"
but somebody said,
mas alguém disse:
These people are looking for solutions."
esta gente está à procura de soluções".
at floating islands.
de ilhas flutuantes.
in building floating islands.
em construir ilhas flutuantes.
we have made a commitment
fizemos um compromisso
we will try as much as possible
tentaremos tudo o que for possível
a existir como uma nação.
something quite significant,
to continue to stay out of the water
a manter-nos fora de água
and as the storms get more severe.
e quando as tempestades forem mais fortes.
very, very difficult
that we would need.
de que precisaremos.
is some form of forced migration.
qualquer forma de migração forçada.
that nothing comes forward
like what's happening in Europe.
como o que está a acontecer na Europa.
at some point in time.
to give the people the choice today,
hoje, às pessoas,
and want to do that, to migrate.
that they are forced to migrate
forçados a emigrar
our society is very different,
a nossa sociedade é muito diferente,
into a different environment,
para um ambiente diferente
of adjustments that are required.
in your country's past,
no passado do vosso país.
or the day before yesterday,
I think somebody was asking
penso que alguém perguntou
to visit that place.
a bisbilhotar, a visitar esse local.
a community of Kiribati people
uma comunidade de pessoas de Quiribáti
of the Solomon Islands,
from the Phoenix Islands, in fact,
das Ilhas Fénix,
could not continue to live on the island,
não podiam continuar a viver na ilha,
to live here in the Solomon Islands.
para as Ilhas Salomão.
to meet with these people.
encontrar-me com essas pessoas.
They hadn't heard of me.
nunca tinham ouvido falar de mim.
the opportunity to welcome me formally.
que queriam ter a oportunidade
was very interesting
foi muito interessante
they spoke back, they replied,
e, claro, responderam-me,
not to be able to speak Kiribati properly.
a não saber falar quiribáti como deve ser.
this lady with red teeth.
com dentes vermelhos.
the local people here,
que se tinha casado com pessoas daqui.
there are bound to be changes.
é fatal haver mudanças.
a certain loss of identity,
perda de identidade,
looking for in the future
se e quando emigrarmos.
extraordinariamente emotivo
just an extraordinarily emotional day
um sentimento avivado do que perderam.
an emphasized sense of what they had lost.
que vão lutar até ao fim
you're going to fight to the end
the nation in a location.
muito difícil para mim.
a very difficult decision for me.
to leave your island, your home,
para sair da sua ilha, da sua terra.
on a number of occasions,
e tenho tentado viver com ela.
and I've tried to live with it,
de não tentar resolver o problema,
of not trying to solve the problem
to be done collectively.
que ser feita coletivamente.
and as I've often argued,
como tenho argumentado muitas vezes.
when we come to the United Nations --
às Nações Unidas...
do Fórum das Ilhas do Pacífico,
the Pacific Island Forum countries
também são membros,
are also members,
that to cut emissions,
que cortar as emissões
that they're unable to do
que está ameaçada.
to weigh this, these moral issues.
isso em conta, é uma questão moral.
à sobrevivência de um povo".
the survival of a people.
o que é que o fazia zangar
what made you angry,
But then you paused.
com que se zangasse.
statement at the United Nations.
intervenção nas Nações Unidas.
and then depressed.
muito frustrado e depois deprimido.
that we have no hope of winning.
que não temos hipótese de ganhar.
escutariam alguém mais racional
to somebody who was rational,
seja lá o que isso for.
whatever that is.
of your nation's identity is fishing.
da identidade da sua nação é a pesca.
toda a gente está ligada à pesca.
is involved in fishing in some way.
every day, every day,
de que o nosso consumo de peixe
that our rate of consumption of fish
tanto a nível local,
both at the local level
that the country receives
deram um passo muito radical.
you took a very radical step.
right here in the Phoenix Islands.
aqui nas Ilhas Fénix.
of what fish means for us.
do que o peixe significa para nós.
tuna fisheries remaining in the world.
que ainda restam no mundo.
something like 60 percent
for some species, but not all.
para algumas espécies, embora nem todas.
major resource owners,
donos dos recursos,
cerca de 80 a 90% das nossas receitas
percent of our revenue
schools and what have you.
e foi uma decisão muito difícil,
and it was a very difficult decision.
locally, it was not easy,
localmente, não foi fácil,
que tínhamos que fazer isso
that the fishery remains sustainable.
se mantinha sustentável.
de que algumas das espécies,
that some of the species,
was under serious threat.
estavam seriamente ameaçadas.
a ser pescado em demasia.
and so that was the reason I did that.
foi essa a razão porque fiz isso.
the international community
a pedir à comunidade internacional
para lutar contra a alteração climática,
in order to fight climate change,
tinha que haver empenho.
there has got to be commitment.
internacional para fazer sacrifícios,
to make a sacrifice,
need to make that sacrifice.
tínhamos que fazer sacrifícios,
what that loss would be
que perda será essa
at the beginning of this year,
no início deste ano,
of the lost revenue.
em termos de receitas perdidas.
playing into this.
pescas mais sãs,
it may prompt healthier fisheries.
é que poderão aumentar o preço
to move the price up
have been very difficult,
o custo diário do navio.
to raise the cost of a vessel day.
que venha pescar durante um dia,
to come in to fish for a day,
it was $6,000 and $8,000,
— que eram de 6000 e 8000 dólares —
diários por navio.
that significant increase.
é importante que se note,
what's important to note is,
e apanhar umas 10 toneladas,
and maybe catch 10 tons,
porque estão muito mais eficazes.
because they've become so efficient.
de acordo com isso.
because the technology has so improved.
porque a tecnologia evoluiu muito.
moved from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
passou do Atlântico para o Pacífico
if they could, per se.
e estão muito eficazes.
and they've become so efficient.
de como são essas negociações?
of what it's like in those negotiations?
de dólares em jogo.
of dollars at stake, essentially.
com as mesmas empresas
with the same companies
the most for your country,
too often on licensing
demasiado no licenciamento
from license fees
dos encargos com as licenças
of the landed value of the catch
not in the retail shops.
não pelo lado da venda a retalho.
ao longo dos anos
to do over the years
our participation in the industry,
na indústria,
we have to become more involved.
de retorno, temos que nos envolver mais.
that the world has changed.
que o mundo mudou.
for your local fishermen,
para os vossos pescadores locais,
Are the waters depleted?
As águas estão esgotadas?
on a sustainable basis?
numa base sustentável?
in the commercial fishing activity
da pesca comercial
do mercado interno.
entirely for the foreign market,
para o mercado estrangeiro,
na Europa e no Japão.
to be able to catch yellowfin
um atum-amarelo
às centenas de toneladas
out of the water by the hundreds of tons
of beautiful girls from your country.
raparigas do seu país.
would you have for the world?
that we really have to do something
que temos que fazer qualquer coisa
the future of these children.
do futuro destas crianças.
a minha mulher é que sabe.
about the same age as these young girls,
com a mesma idade destas raparigas,
their own national interest,
regrettably, unfortunately,
infelizmente,
como um problema nacional, mas não é.
as a national problem. It's not.
we got into recently with our partners,
há tempos com os nossos parceiros,
"We can't cut any more."
"Não podemos cortar mais".
o líder australiano,
the Australian leader, said,
estamos a cortar".
we are cutting back.
Why don't you keep it?
Porque é que não ficam com elas?
the rest of your emissions
das vossas emissões,
within your borders,
you're sending it our way,
para o nosso lado.
the future of our children.
o futuro dos nossos filhos".
of the problem of climate change today.
do problema da alteração climática.
at the end of this year,
como um fenómeno global.
as a global phenomenon,
individually, as nations,
individualmente, enquanto nações,
to do anything about it,
a fazer o que quer que seja,
um problema nacional,
dealt with collectively.
at responding to graphs and numbers,
a gráficos e números
at responding to that sometimes.
a reagir a pessoas.
very possible that your nation,
the intense problems you face,
to the world that shines most visibly,
que brilhe mais visivelmente,
I'm sure, on behalf of all of us,
and for being here.
e por ter vindo aqui
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