Synopsis
The people of the Carteret Islands are about to make history. They will soon begin abandoning their small chain of islands, as rising seas make them increasingly uninhabitable. These islands are a group of coral atolls, just north of Papua New Guinea. The people will be re-locating to Bougainville, which is a move fraught with cultural and political problems. They will be the first people in the world to make such a move, but they will not be the last.
‘The First Wave’ is a documentary about the first climate change refugees. It questions what the response of first world countries should be to this issue and looks at the implications of sea level rise for our whole region. In ‘The First Wave’ we meet the Islanders for the first time and see their island home. We experience their traditional life-style and hear their hopes and fears for the future. There are differing opinions amongst the Islanders about what they want. But their fear is that no-one is listening.
