The Pacific island nation of Tuvalu is facing an existential threat due to rising sea levels, caused by climate change. According to NASA, the sea level in Tuvalu has risen nearly 6 inches in the past 30 years and is expected to rise further in the coming decades, potentially inundating large parts of the country during high tides. At the current rate of global sea level rise, the entire country will be submerged in a matter of decades.
Rather than be erased by the rising waters, Tuvalu is attempting to become the “First Digital Nation,” by digitally recording its land, archiving its culture, and digitizing its government, so that Tuvalu can exist as a nation even after its land is no more.
In 2022, Tuvaluan Minister Simon Kofe announced the First Digital Nation plan. Since then they have:
- Completed a comprehensive three-dimensional LIDAR scan of all 124 islands and islets, laying the foundation for its digital nation and helping redefine its territory in the eyes of international law.
- Begun upgrading its national communications infrastructure with the installation of two submarine cables, ensuring sufficient bandwidth for the transition to the cloud.
Started exploring a digital ID system, which will use the blockchain to connect the Tuvaluan diaspora and allow them to participate in Tuvaluan life, wherever they are. - Begun building a living archive of Tuvaluan culture, curated by its people. Citizens will be invited to contribute their most treasured personal items for digital preservation, creating a living record of Tuvaluan values.
- Amended its constitution to reflect a new definition of statehood – the first of its kind in the world. The amendment pronounces that the State of Tuvalu within its historical, cultural, and legal framework shall remain in perpetuity in the future, notwithstanding the impacts of climate change or other causes resulting in loss to the physical territory of Tuvalu.
- Tuvalu has also formalized this in agreements with other countries, having now signed 12 joint communiques acknowledging Tuvalu’s permanent sovereignty with The Bahamas, Cook Islands, Gabon, Republic of Kosovo, Marshall Islands, Niue, Palau, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Taiwan, Vanuatu, and Venezuela.
The First Digital Nation plan seeks to preserve what can be saved of the people and their culture but to also fundamentally redefine what it means to be a nation.
Last year, Minister Kofe provided an update: