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ARP On the Go: A Trip to Tuvalu
22 May 2025

ARP On the Go: A Trip to Tuvalu

Students and Alumni of the Master in International and Development Studies (MINT) recently embarked on a trip to Tuvalu for their Applied Research Project (ARP). In February 2025, three students – Amanda Saima Johansson, Zhixu Liu and Emma Maingot – travelled to Tuvalu, an island country in the west-central Pacific Ocean, for their fieldwork experience. They were accompanied by alumni Michelle DeFreese and supervised by Dr. Sandeep Sengupta – their faculty lead.

Sandeep SENGUPTA
Sandeep SENGUPTA
Visiting Lecturer, Interdisciplinary Masters
Faculty Lead, Applied Research Projects (Environment and Sustainability)

Their ARP, conducted in partnership with an international organisation based in the Pacific, focuses on loss and damage caused by climate change. More specifically, they examined how a certain subtype of (non-economic) loss and damage – loss and damage to biodiversity and ecosystem services – impacts communities in Tuvalu, which comprises nine small islands scattered across 500’000 square kilometres of the Pacific, with a total land area of just approximately 26 square kilometres and an average elevation of less than 2 metres. Consequently, they analysed the repercussions of the loss of marine, coastal and terrestrial biodiversity, which have far-reaching effects on the way of life of the Tuvaluan people – from the erosion of traditional knowledge to the loss of culture, health, food security, safety, and much more.

Their research and fieldwork have allowed them to discover the many ways in which climate change affects the communities and how these communities are responding, as well as to explore the cultural country’s cultural dynamics.

Amanda, Emma, and Zhixu Outline the Experience: 

Last December, after reviewing our literature review for the applied research project, the partner organisation contacted us to express their interest in having us undertake the data collection for this study in Tuvalu. As such, this February, the three of us travelled to this Pacific Island country located two and a half hours north of Fiji by plane, where, alongside our supervisor from the partner organisation, we spent just over a week in Funafuti, the country’s capital. During this hands-on fieldwork experience, we immersed ourselves in the research topic and gained a deeper understanding of Tuvalu, far beyond what we had read or heard about this country, which stands at the forefront of the climate crisis. 

The people of Tuvalu were incredibly generous in sharing their time and knowledge, and their insights shaped our understanding of how climate change manifests itself in deeply human dimensions, reshaping the everyday lives of communities.

Beyond conducting interviews, visiting conservation areas and discovering projects aimed at addressing climate change – such as the construction of seawalls to protect against the impacts of sea level rise, for instance – it was the evenings we spent with locals who showed us around the island, the church services we attended where we met and interacted with many people and the lunches we shared with families, that truly shaped our experience. It was through these conversations that we began to better understand the country, the realities it faces, as well as the deep sense of community and rich culture that sustain it.  

We feel very fortunate to have had this experience, which enriched our applied research project, notably by underscoring the multifaceted impacts of the climate crisis on people’s everyday lives, underlining the urgent need for climate justice.