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DannyB [soylentnews.org] writes:

Tuvalu looking at legal ways to be a state if it is submerged [reuters.com]

Tuvalu is looking at legal ways to keep its ownership of its maritime zones and recognition as a state even if the Pacific island nation is completely submerged due to climate change, its foreign minister said on Tuesday.

"We're actually imagining a worst-case scenario where we are forced to relocate or our lands are submerged," the minister, Simon Kofe, told Reuters in an interview.

[....] Tuvalu is an island with a population of around 11,000 people and its highest point is just 4.5m (15 ft) above sea level. Since 1993, sea levels have risen about 0.5cm (0.2 inches) per year, according to a 2011 Australian government report.

[....] When asked what Tuvalu's people think about the rising sea levels, Kofe said some of the older generation say they are happy to go down with the land, while others are leaving.

This is an interesting situation to ponder. A nation loses it's island to climate change. What if one day sea levels were to fall. Could the descendants of the island nation reclaim their land and nation? Or would the US decide to annex it for the good of all humanity?

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