Children play on a rusty shipwreck in Betio on South Tarawa, Kiribati. The ship was lifted by king tides and crashed into a seawall in February 2015.
See How Pacific Islanders Are Living With Climate Change
For indigenous communities in the Pacific, adapting to the impacts of rising seas, fierce storms, and other challenges has become a necessity.
Global temperatures hit record highs the past three years in a row—and the people of the Pacific have been feeling the effects.
The Pacific region has experienced devastating cyclones, storm surges, coral bleaching, and irregular rainfall patterns. Sea level rise threatens low-lying islands, where salt water infiltrates drinking water wells and kills staple food crops, as well as damaging property.
Photographer Vlad Sokhin has been documenting environmental changes in Pacific communities since 2013. Sokhin focuses on indigenous communities who are adapting to challenges created primarily by carbon emissions from developed countries, he says.
“In every country I’ve seen effects of global warming and climate change,” he says. “Different countries face different effects. For example, in Guam, the biggest challenge is coral
