The Digital Sovereign
A Pacific island nation claims that it is sinking! That may not be true.
Reckless exploitation of the natural world has time and again, led to devastation. A few weeks back, Joshimath, a town nestled in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, was reported to be ‘sinking’. “Beams had been dislodged in many houses” and “723 houses in all of the nine wards in the town developed major or minor cracks on the floors, ceilings, and walls.”1 The cause of such a calamity is under scrutiny. However, experts suggest that “unplanned construction, overpopulation, obstruction of the natural flow of water, and hydel power activities” - gave way to such an extremity.2
While the true causes of this scenario are yet to emerge - a much more radical reality scares me than sinking towns. Sinking countries!
In November 2022, island nation Tuvalu’s foreign minister Simon Kofe made an ominous declaration to the COP-27 summit.3
“As our land disappears, we have no choice but to become the world’s first digital nation. Our land, our ocean, our culture are the most precious assets of our people. And to keep them from harm, no matter what happens in the physical world, we’ll move them to the cloud. Islands like this one won’t survive rapid temperature increases, rising sea levels, and droughts. So we’ll recreate them virtually - piece by piece, we’ll preserve our country, provide solace to our people and remind our children and our grandchildren what our home once was.
Only a concerted global effort can ensure that Tuvalu does not move permanently online and disappear forever from the physical plane. Without a global conscience, and a global commitment to our shared well-being - we may soon find the rest of the world joining us online as the islands disappear.”
The island nation decided to move online into the metaverse - “an online realm that uses augmented and virtual reality (VR) to help users interact” - was unexpected news.4 An online world, created by the company that owns Facebook would now be used by an entire nation not only to conserve its culture and heritage but also to keep its representation at the United Nations (UN) and claim the territorial waters.5
When the gravity of this decision set in my mind - one, I wanted to book a ticket to Tuvalu immediately; and two, wonder whatever happened to the effort of finding other planets for humanity to thrive on. As cynical as that may sound - the idea of putting the sovereignty of a nation on the metaverse is just unpalatable to me. To set matters worse, “Kofe said seven governments have agreed to continual recognition but there were challenges if Tuvalu goes under as it is a new area of international law.”6
Nation-states agreeing to continual recognition of digitizing sovereignty is yet another blow. It is almost ratifying to the idea that neither the developed nor the developing world would be able to engineer a better path to preserve the planet.
However, flip to the opposite side of this coin to witness this perspective of “modern-day Atlantises” stretched out for almost two decades.7
A closer look at Tuvalu’s current state would go to show that such ‘exaggerations’ (for the lack of a better word) have made rounds in the past. Centered around Paul Kench’s work on the geomorphic evolution of reef islands in the Indian and Pacific oceans, a National Geographic article (2015) titled, “ Will Pacific Island Nations Disappear as Seas Rise? Maybe Not.” is a terrific read.
“Yes, islands erode, Kench says, and that's often what people focus on: broad beaches where they used to play soccer as kids now reduced to a narrow patch of sand. Or perhaps the edge of a property crumbling into the sea. Or a family grave undermined by the tide.
"But they often forget to look at the other sides of the islands, where beaches are growing," Kench adds.”
Drawing on the evolving shorelines (or “island adjustment”) of Tepuka, an island in Tuvalu, Kennedy Warne writes that the formation of this island “runs counter to the idea that reef islands can form only when falling sea levels trigger the process of island building.”8
"If sea-level rise does ramp up to the levels they're talking about," Kench says, "I would expect islands to start showing increased rates of change. The faster sea level goes up, the more dynamic these islands are going to appear."
To my mind, this evidence sets the whole ‘moving-into-the-metaverse’ decision as a tad bit extravagant - and sets quite a risky precedent. While I do not deny the immense responsibility that both the developed and developing worlds must work on for mitigating the current climate crisis - island nations such as Tuvalu could pick up on crisis mitigation strategy rather than investing in national efforts to shift sovereignty online.
As Kench argues, "If these nations had land-planning units dedicated to collecting data on changing island morphology, they'd have a basis to say, 'These islands over here seem to be growing,' or 'These seem to be eroding on this side but accreting on the other.' They could make informed decisions about where to develop — which islands to use for agriculture, which ones to mine for aggregate."9
This exercise of data analysis - as Kench also argues - could see much more than nine nations stepping up to cooperate. Something that would make for a rationale, sound example for the rest of the world to understand their own lands better - and develop informed decisions.
Upadhyay, Kavita. “Explained | Why Is the Land Sinking in Joshimath?” The Hindu, January 11, 2023, sec. Science. https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/explained-why-is-the-land-sinking-in-joshimath/article66364329.ece.
The Indian Express. “Satellite Images Show Joshimath Sank 5.4cm in Just 12 Days: Why It Might Have Happened,” January 13, 2023. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-climate/satellite-images-show-joshimath-sank-5-4cm-in-just-12-days-8380250/.
Craymer, Lucy. “Tuvalu Turns to the Metaverse as Rising Seas Threaten Existence.” Reuters, November 15, 2022, sec. COP27. https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/tuvalu-turns-metaverse-rising-seas-threaten-existence-2022-11-15/
Ibid 3.
“Tuvalu to Rebuild in the Metaverse - BBC Sounds.” Accessed January 27, 2023. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0dsnqnx.
Ibid 3.
Science. “Will Pacific Island Nations Disappear as Seas Rise? Maybe Not,” February 13, 2015. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/150213-tuvalu-sopoaga-kench-kiribati-maldives-cyclone-marshall-islands.
Science. “Will Pacific Island Nations Disappear as Seas Rise? Maybe Not,” February 13, 2015. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/150213-tuvalu-sopoaga-kench-kiribati-maldives-cyclone-marshall-islands.
Ibid 7.
It is a basic question, "Sovereignity of country" , what it is? You agued rightly Sovereignity of a country can't exist without it's phisical boundaries... whatever stored in ,"Cloud" is relevant only when there are people to use that information in specific time and space....Congratulations keep it up.
Very nice