From BBC learning english com. Hello.
This is 6 min English from BBC Learning English.
I'm Sam, and I'm Rob. What do Britain, greenland, australia, hawaii and Cuba all have in
common? Rob Are you planning your summer holiday?
Sam? Or is it that they're all islands, right?
Rob They are all islands, but that's about all they have in common.
This is much variety in the world's islands, as in the people who live there.
In tourist holiday magazines, pacific islands like Fiji, tonga and Tahiti look like paradise, with tropical rain forests, white sandy beaches and turquoise blue sea.
But in reality, life is far from paradise for these island communities.
In 2022, the island of Tonga suffered a tsunami, a huge wave caused by an earthquake that flowed in land, killing people and causing large scale damage.
The destruction was terrible and added to the continuing crisis of rising sea levels threatening the island survival.
In this program, will be hearing some Pacific Island of voices, and, as usual, learning some new vocabulary too.
But 1st, I have a question for you, rob.
We already named some islands, large and small, but how much of the world's population do you think lives on an island?
Is it a 11 %? Be 15 %, or see 20 %?
Oh, that's a tricky question. Uh, it can't be that many, so I'll guess 11 %.
K ROB I'll reveal the correct answer at the end of the program.
The South Pacific is home to thousands of low lying islands dosted across miles of Pacific Ocean with rising sea levels.
It's predicted that many of these islands will simply disappear in coming years.
And if that wasn't bad enough, the effects of climate change are making life difficult for these island communities.
Right now, the tsunami that hit Hunger left the main island Toanga Taboo in Ruins.
One of those leading the cleanup was offer Maasi, cassami, manager of the Pacific Climate Change Center.
She told BBC World Service program Business Daily the extent of the problem, the projective impacts of climate change on agriculture and fisheries will undermine food production systems in the Pacific.
Our Pacific people are also dependent on crops, livestock, agriculture, fisheries, handicrafts for food security and income, and these sectors are also highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
The economy of many islands like Tonna depends on tourism, farming or fishing, and on handicrafts, skillfully making traditional objects like jewelry, textiles or pottery by hand.
These are usually sold to tourists, but when Tsunamis keep the tourists away, local jobs become vulnerable, unprotected and open to damage.
This affects not only handicrafts but tongue as ability to produce enough food to feed its population, something known as food security.
As the effects of climate change hit the local economy, young people are leaving Toner to find work elsewhere.
Tanga Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship is a project working with local organizations to help young people start businesses and find jobs.
Here's project director Lucia Latu Jones, speaking with BBC World Services Business Daily.
So, you know it, UM, it can be emotional, very emotional, heartbreaking to see, UM, what's what's happening in our island.
But, um, it's even hard when you see young people coming through, just looking, looking for a chance, looking for a chance to, UM, to help their families, you know, for them to get on their their feet again.
So the question we ask ourselves as an organization is, how can we address these challenges, to better support our people so that they can get back on their feet in our feed their families?
We can hear the emotion in lucia's voice when she describes the situation facing young tongins as heartbreaking, causing strong feelings of sadness.
She says her role is to help people get back on their feet.
An idiom, which means be able to function again after having difficulties in life.
The many problems tongueens face are made worse by perhaps the biggest problem of all, the fact that poverty, hunger and the loss of their traditional culture.
It's being caused by the carbon emissions of larger countries halfway around the world.
If we all learn to adapt our lifestyle just as specific Islanders have done, it may not yet be too late to change the fate of their island paradise and the fate of the millions living on other islands too.
of my question Rob, 11% of us are Islanders, which works out
as over 730000000 people. OK, let's recapt the vocabulary from this program, starting with tsunami, a
very large wave that flows inland, causing death and destruction.
Many Islanders produce handicrafts, handmade traditional objects, like jewelry, textiles and pottery.
Someone who is vulnerable is weak or unprotected.
The phrase food security refers to a countrys ability to produce enough food to feed its population.
When something is heartbreaking, it makes you feel very sad.
And finally, to get back on your feet means to be OK again after having difficulties in life Once again.
Our 6 min are up. Goodbye for now.
Bye. 6 min English from the BBC.
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