100 Places To Remember: Vavau Tonga
Geschreven op 15-5-2010 - Erik van Erne. Geplaatst in Natuur
Come and See Whales in the Wild. Vavau is a chain of islands that makes up the northern part of the Kingdom of Tonga in the South Pacific Ocean. It has one large island and about 50 smaller ones, many of them tiny, uninhabited coral islets with beautiful beaches of soft white sand.
While the rest of Tonga depends mainly on agriculture and income from Tongans living abroad, tourism is the greatest asset of the sparsely populated Vavau islands. Vavau has become a major player in the South Pacific tourism market, attracting large numbers of charter yachts to more than 40 remote anchorages off uninhabited islands protected by coral reefs.
This is the best place on Earth to see whales in the wild, and offers some of the worlds best big game fishing. Its untouched tropical islands are ideal for diving, swimming and snorkelling.
Though spared most of the storms and hurricanes that have damaged many other Pacific islands, global climate change may take its toll on Vavau in the future, especially the small coral islands.
With sea levels and sea surface temperatures projected to rise, these islands could see an acceleration in coral bleaching, leading to a slow extinction of the coral reefs and the plentiful marine life that depends on them.
Another serious threat to the coral is the increasing acidity of the ocean, caused by growing emissions of CO2. When seawater absorbs CO2, its pH level decreases and its acidity increases. This is extremely dangerous for the worlds coral reefs, all of which could reach a critical state by 2070, further eroding the reefs off Vavau and threatening their ability to protect the islands coastal areas.
