The clock is ticking for this tiny Australian island
As sea levels rise, time is running out for Masig Island — a remote coral cay in the Torres Strait between Australia’s Cape York Peninsula and Papua New Guinea.
Areas once safely inland such as burial sites, playgrounds, roads and family gardens are receding before its residents’ eyes.
However, there is some optimism thanks to the establishment of an Indigenous Protected Area.
The world-leading initiative led by Australia’s federal government now protects a quarter of the continent’s land mass, giving control back to First Nations people.
Indigenous communities around the world, including those in Canada and parts of Central America, have looked to Australia’s IPA model as inspiration for how conservation and Indigenous self-determination can work together.
This story was produced in collaboration with Frankie Adkins with support from Pulitzer Center.
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