What will happen when the small Pacific states disappear under the sea?

WHAT happens when climate change meets the 21st-century version of the Great Game? The destiny of the tiny Pacific nation of Tuvalu may hold some clues. This country has a population of just 10,643 at last count and is located midway between Hawaii and Australia. 

Tuvalu is an archipelago of six coral atolls and three islands with an area of just 26 sq km. To say that the islands are low-lying – most inhabited places being just four to five metres above sea level – is to belabour the point. There are no rivers. Rain and wells provide the fresh water.

The islands used to be a British colony but became independent in 1978 and a member of the United Nations on Sep 5, 2000. And it has a functioning government answerable to an elected parliament.