Saving the Oceans - Part One

Saving the Ocean looks at the impact of climate change, overfishing and pollution - and examines the scientific solutions to some of those issues. In the first programme Joel Werner visits Kiribati – an isolated Pacific island group threatened by rising sea levels. They are also facing a range of more immediate problems - a high human population and a shortage of land puts pressure on natural resources. Joel meets the scientists working to keep the population afloat on these tiny coral atolls. He finds out about how this island group is threatened by sea level rise and changing weather patterns - and how in some cases, poor sea defence management is making the erosion of the islands worse.

(Image: Low tide reveals the detritus of 50,000 people on South Tarawa, Kiribati, BBC copyright)