Ordinance Dumping and Environmental Degradation

In addition to the loss of polar ice and rising sea levels, Finlayson cites other examples of environmental degradation that continue to plague the Pacific Islands. For example, during World War II, troops from Japan, the United States, and New Zealand all used islands in the Pacific. Guam, Hawaii, Fiji, and New Caledonia have been particularly affected by deforestation, ordnance dumping, and the introduction of invasive species, among other forms of environmental damage.

Figure 10.26 shows unexploded World War II ordnances found on the Peleliu Island of Palau. Residents of these islands still die from unexpected explosions from bombs buried underground.

After World War II, several countries used islands in the Pacific to test their nuclear weapons during the Cold War. For example, the United States detonated nuclear weapons in eastern Micronesia on the Bikini Atoll, which is part of the Marshall Islands. Radioactive fallout remains a concern there and in other areas where the United Kingdom and France tested nuclear weapons.