The people of Kiribati grow up with the sea, and most everyone can swim and dive well. The photo shows a three-kilometer-long bridge, built in the mid-1980s by Japan, linking the capital of South Tarawa with the island of Betio, where the main port is. (Chuang Kung-ju)

Kiribati is the largest atoll country in the world. With territory straddling both the equator and the International Date Line, it has been called the place where the world begins, since it is where the light of the dawn of a new calendar day for the planet first shines. Since independence, Kiribati has displayed a spirit far beyond its size, and the people, though poor, are generally upbeat. However, the country has, through no fault of its own, become a victim of global climate change. At the same time, there have been internal errors in environmental management. The result is that the country faces an all-encompassing threat to its survival. How can a small country that is still working its way up the learning curve deal with such an enormous challenge?

When you emerge from the airport at the capital of South Tarawa, you are greeted by the intense equatorial sun and by the radiant smiles on the dark brown faces of the Austronesian people. As your vehicle advances along the island's one and only road, a stream of fleeting images passes by on both sides: typical island flora including coconut, breadfruit, and screwpine trees; barefoot residents strolling casually in small groups; simple homes with makeshift thatch roofs, with perhaps a small garden or fenced-in pigsty at the side. Government, economy, and commerce, meanwhile, are mainly concentrated at the western end of the island, along a stretch less than 10 kilometers long, taking only 15 minutes to get around by car.