The World

Rights of Sinking Nations

Rising sea levels, expected to increase due to climate change, force small-island nations into new legal territory.

Rising sea levels are forcing some small-island states into new legal territory. Climate change talks, so far, have yielded no guarantees that entire countries won’t become uninhabitable, and legal scholars and representatives of low-lying nations are beginning to think about what rights a country has if it’s washed away by water. Living on Earth’s Mitra Taj reports.