10-07-2018 02:47 PM - edited 10-07-2018 05:07 PM
I had the chance to work on a project helping rural coastal villages throughout the Pacific to prepare for future climate change impacts. Each community mapped their infrastructure and prepared a plan on how to adapt to the forecasted impacts like cyclones, storm surge, flooding, drought and coastal degradation. Using Google maps, the communities plotted the impacts they had already been facing like in the map below, where rain induced flooding is represented in yellow and coastal high tide flooding in light blue. The community leaders also took scientific projections and plotted where high tide would be in 2100 as shown by the red line. Click on the embedded map to see the legend for all the features mapped for the village of Vunisavisavi. With this information, the village leadership decided that preparing their homes and community buildings for cyclone related impacts was the most important and that homes needed to be protected or moved. They chose the most vulnerable and asked Habitat for Humanity to help build new climate proof homes. The remaining homes were cyclone proofed with new roofing and straps. You can see the different houses in the embedded Street View images below. The top image shows the traditional homes and the next Street View image shows the improved climate proof homes. The last embedded tour gives you the opportunity to walk around the village and learn more about the potential impacts that they will face. This is a reminder to all of us that we all have a part to play in reducing the impacts of climate change around the world.
The village map using Google My Maps
Street View of Vunisavisavi coastal village with traditional homes
The new Habitat for Humanity climate proofed homes
A multimedia educational tour of Vunisavisavi village highlighting climate challenges
10-07-2018 07:50 PM
Hi, @Nick-Hobgood Wow, awesome photos and place!
Thanks a lot for sharing your story and nice job.
Toyo
10-07-2018 11:57 PM
Good job @Nick-Hobgood and thanks for sharing this beautiful pictures.
10-08-2018 07:25 AM - edited 10-08-2018 07:26 AM
10-08-2018 10:29 AM
@Nick-Hobgood This is a wonderful post here, I would like to invite to an ongoing programme with myself and
@ermest Clean The world Global Meet up Here and our My map Here and our Step-1 General Education
10-08-2018 10:58 AM
Interesting project @Nick-Hobgood! Well documented!
10-08-2018 11:24 AM
Thanks @LucioV, it was rough being the bearer of bad news when having to discuss the increasing speed with which climate change impacts were coming but rewarding when the communities were able to visualize and plan for the effects using Google maps.