FAO Forestry country profiles - forest management

Issues and concerns

The overriding environmental concern in Tuvalu is global warming and associated rising sea levels that threaten the islands¿ underground water tables and eventually may result in inundation of these low-lying atolls. Coastal erosion is already seriously affecting shorelines, and seawater has seeped into the groundwater, killing coconut trees and flooding taro pits. In terms of forests, a key concern is excessive clearance of forest undergrowth for use as fuel. On Funafuti the situation is particularly serious, with increasing costs and dependency on fossil fuels also driving demand for alternative fuel sources, notably wood. A variety of other concerns, including overgrazing of the very limited arable land, standardization of garden and agricultural crops, and indiscriminate use of pesticides, all have impacts on forest areas.