147 Rising seas are slowly swallowing the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu—and the country’s leaders are taking action. They are using a digital twin to understand impacts and preserve their culture. Nine islands make up Tuvalu, home to more than 10,000 people and situated halfway between Australia and Hawaii. The country— on the forefront of resilience—changed its constitution to declare it would always be a nation, even if its islands are no longer inhabitable. “We are looking at setting up the world’s first digital nation because we are facing the real risk of our land disappearing.” — Simon Kofe, foreign minister of Tuvalu Digital twins come to life with a combination of imagery and GIS technology. With the digital twin, decision-makers can analyze details about a place, its people, and the environment. The 3D model serves as both a record and a platform to navigate incidents and changes. It also provides a means to experience the place within virtual reality headsets. Kofe’s speech, and the country’s commitment to digitize itself in case it disappears, puts the world on alert about the vulnerability of island nations. Many others, including Grenada, have adopted similar reality-capture techniques to face a changing environment and record what makes them unique. Capturing the Whole of a Vulnerable Nation Tuvalu is experiencing many extreme weather hardships, including areas perpetually underwater, saltwater intrusion into drinking water, and coral bleaching. Because the depth Threatened by Sea Level Rise, Tuvalu Safeguards Its Sense of Place with a Digital Twin Mitigating Risk and Increasing Resilience
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