Project News

The program coordination committee meeting was held on the 23rd of March 2011. There was a possibility that the meeting would be cancelled, because many experts and their family suffered from the Tohoku earth quake and tsunami and they had to cancel the trip to Tuvalu.

However, our project leader decided to come to Tuvalu to convey a message to the Tuvaluan people based on our country's unprecedented disaster.

He explained the creation of Tuvalu's land based on a lesson learned from the experience of the Tohoku earth quake and tsunami. When the Tohoku earth quake occurred, even in Tuvalu, people evacuated reacting to the tsunami warning. Anxious and scared for a tsunami to reach a peak. Although they didn't have any damage luckily, their heart ached for the misery. Everybody feared that Tuvalu would be washed out in a moment in such terrible tsunami. Furthermore, their thoughts, inevitably, went to the high concrete seawalls.

Dr.Kayanne explained how this earthquake and tsunami occurred, if this kind of tsunami can occur in Tuvalu or not and what was the outcome at the town which relayed on only for the hard measure, closely using more than 60 pictures and data.

He insisted the projects repeated principle: reclamation of natural land formation system. Encouragement of this activity is also important for a disaster-proof country. Following the foram culture experiment, the water quality research result and assessment reported to open-cut the causeway.

Although the presentation continued over one hour, participants listened intently and questions were flying one after another. Ambassador Yoshizawa from Japan embassy in Fiji also attended the meeting directly from his official duty and asked questions with interest.

I hope many people will think about the creation of Tuvalu's land with the correct knowledge against tsunami because of this meeting.

By the way, 23rd of March was also the World Water day. We exhibited the result of water quality research at the Maniapa,:a community hall next to the airport. Students from primary and secondary schools visited to look around. These exhibition was moved to the entrance hall of the government building after this event so that everybody can look around easily.

Wording responsible: Fumiko Matsudate (Project Coordinator)