As the world grapples with the escalating threats of climate change, the stark reality of sinking nations flounders. Among these nations teetering on the edge of disappearance is Tuvalu, a low-lying island nation in the Pacific Ocean, increasingly imperiled by rising seas due to the melting of polar ice caps.
Tuvalu’s unique geography—a delicate chain of low-lying atolls and islands—places it at the forefront of calamity. For the nation’s 9,000 residents, the encroaching ocean is not a distant threat but an unfolding reality, the erasure of their entire homeland seeming inevitable. But more than a tragedy, Tuvalu serves as a warning: when the physical world submerges into the tides of the climate crisis, a final, digital resort may be the only sanctuary.
Dipping toes in deep waters
Aside from the rapid sea level elevation caused by climate change, sinking cities are plagued by other man-made factors. Conrado Vargas, an environmentalist and the executive director of the Prelature of Infanta Community Organization of the Philippines, posits that land subsidence—the sinking of the ground due to excessive groundwater extraction—is a major contributor. He also points out land reclamation projects as the culprit for the worsening effects of rising seas and loss of natural buffers like wetlands.
With climate change already at the precipice, Vargas connotes that the loss of fertile land only exacerbates the challenges farmers face in food production, where prolonged seasons ruin the momentum of crop planting and extraction. Meanwhile, urban expansion further destroys ecosystems while threatening native vegetation. Worse still, the contamination of freshwater resources with saltwater heightens the risk of waterborne diseases, severely impacting public health. These cascading effects contribute to food insecurity, he laments.
Other than land degradation, displacement also poses immediate risks. Entire populations are forced to relocate due to flooding or land loss, leading to the loss of homes and livelihoods. For indigenous communities, in particular, the loss of homes means losing their connection to the land. This is compounded by intensifying poverty, fueling social tensions, and widening inequalities to compete for limited resources.
In the political arena, the sinking of cities unveils challenges in governance. While disaster risk reduction policies exist, poor implementation often hinders effectiveness. “Ang nakikita kong isang [reason] (for ineffective policy implementation) ay ‘yung mayroong…‘mas prioritized’ ng government, profit rather than the protection of the environment and the protection of the community,” Vargas elucidates.
(One of the reasons for ineffective policy implementation is that the government seems to prioritize profit more, rather than the protection of the environment and the protection of the community.)
Toward a digital nation
With ongoing efforts to stay afloat, Tuvalu reconstructs its pristine landscapes with a digital nation. As thousands of Tuvaluans are relocated and migrated, these virtual spaces offer hope for the preservation of their cultural heritage and sovereignty.
Building a foundation for digital citizenship begins with transferring government systems and bodies to the cloud. The initiative extends to creating full virtual replicas of Tuvalu’s islands using satellite imagery, photos, and digital documentation, preserving the nation’s history while cultivating a digital identity. The island nation has since then completed a 3D scan of all 124 islands and seeks to capture more mapping and geographical data every two years.
With Tuvalu at the forefront of digital nation-building, the Philippines may one day have to explore the same path. Bearing similar vulnerabilities to rising sea levels and sinking cities, the country is teeming with coastal cities, including the City of Manila, that face land subsidence and extreme flooding. Vargas suggests that the Philippines could consider digital citizenship as a means of preserving the nation’s identity and continuity of governance.
However, the shift to virtual spaces to preserve rich cultural heritages introduces various challenges. Issues regarding autonomy, data sovereignty, and digital rights must first be addressed to ensure that a digital nation is more than a symbolic online archive. The digital initiative ought to continue the duties of empowering its people with a sense of belonging, participation, and governance.
This article was published in The LaSallian‘s June 2025 issue. To read more, visit bit.ly/TLSJune2025.
