I-Kiribati People
The I-Kiribati (approximately 120,000) inhabit 33 coral atolls with average elevation just 2 meters above sea level, straddling the equator across 3.5 million km² of Pacific Ocean. They face severe king tides flooding homes, saltwater intrusion destroying crops, coastal erosion, and existential submersion threat. The government purchased land in Fiji as potential relocation site. Extreme isolation, climate vulnerability, and traditional navigation expertise define this equatorial atoll nation literally disappearing beneath rising seas while maintaining Micronesian cultural identity.