Rising sea levels are threatening the future of an overcrowded island in northern Panama, with its residents forced to move to the mainland.
Carti Sugtupu, also known as Gardi Sugdub or ‘Crab Island’, is the focus of a short Youtube videowhere locals reveal how their livelihoods are being severely affected by global warming.
The small outcrop, measuring about 1,300 feet by 500 feet, is home to around 2,000 people and in one scene the camera pans to show how many houses are built on stilts due to constant flooding.
Magdalena Martínez, a long-time resident of Cartí Sugtupu, reveals in another scene how ‘we think we are going to sink (and) we know it is going to happen… in several years’.
“That’s why we, as parents, think about our children,” he adds.
Carti Sugtupu, also known as Gardi Sugdub or ‘Crab Island’, is the focus of a short YouTube video, where locals reveal how their livelihoods are being severely affected by global warming.
The small outcrop, measuring about 1,300 feet by 500 feet, is home to around 2,000 people and in one scene the camera pans to show how many houses are built on stilts due to constant flooding.
Magdalena Martínez, who is a long-time resident of Carti Sugtupu, reveals in another scene how ‘we think we are going to sink (and) we know it is going to happen… in several years’ time’
Currently the main form of income in Carti Sugtupu, populated by the Guna indigenous community, is fishing.
Magdalena is one of around 300 residents hoping to move into a government-funded home on the mainland.
The elderly islander explains that while she feels “good” about the move, she is sad to leave her home and has left “many dreams (and) many tears there.”
Unlike the Carti Sugtupu houses, the new purpose-built community on the mainland known as Isber Yala, will have electricity, drinking water and sanitation systems.
Towards the end of the documentary, Magdalena shows the camera crew the interiors of her new house, with the kitchen area yet to be installed.
The islander explains to the spectators while taking a tour: ‘I’m going to put my refrigerator and my kitchen here, but as you can see it’s very small.
‘I’m going to make it a little bigger outside… because I like to cook and I’m good at it.’
Currently, the main form of income in Carti Sugtupu, populated by the Guna indigenous community, is fishing.
Locals also depend on the mainland’s cultivation of cassava and banana along with traditional textile production.
Another resident who appears in the documentary is elementary school teacher, Braulio Navarro. He explains that changing Carti Sugtupu for the mainland is a “no brainer”
Locals also depend on the mainland’s cassava and banana harvest along with traditional textile production.
Magdalena is one of around 300 residents hoping to move into a government-funded home on the mainland. Above, a view of what the purpose-built community looks like.
Another resident who appears in the documentary is elementary school teacher, Braulio Navarro.
He explains that swapping Carti Sugtupu for the mainland is a “no brainer” and in one scene he is seen sweating in the extreme heat while telling the students “it’s hot, too hot, too hot.”
Referring to what the future holds, he reflects: ‘Moving to school on the mainland is going to be very pleasant because we have electricity there 24 hours a day and all the classrooms are ready.
‘We will have two fans there that we don’t have here due to lack of electricity. I know we’re all going to be better there.
‘At first I know it will be a little difficult, but little by little we will get used to it. That’s what I think… I’m happy.”
After years of delays, the Panamanian government says most families will be relocated from Carti Sugtupu to the mainland in 2024.
Currently, the island is only 3.2 feet above sea level, so it is at high risk of flooding.
Steven Paton, a researcher at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, reveals in the film that Carti Sugtupu is part of an archipelago of 365 islands, most of which face similar problems.
Focusing on the future of Carti Sungtupu, he says: ‘That island, with the sea level rise we have today, will not last more than 20 or 30 years at most.
‘Each island will have to decide for itself when it will have to relocate.
“But the fact is, with sea levels rising as a direct result of climate change, almost all islands will be abandoned by the end of this century.”
According to a 2021 World Bank study, 216 million people in six regions of the world will have to migrate by 2050 due to climate change.
