Tuvalu, the first purely digital, sovereign nation to exist in the metaverse?

In 2022, the Pacific state proposed it could become first digital nation, existing solely in the meta universe once its physical territory is no longer livable. The highly publicised announcement was made at COP27 by Tuvaluan Minister Simon Kofe, who featured in a video in which he was standing knee deep in the ocean. According to the Rising Nations Initiative, part of the Global Centre for Climate Mobility (GCCM), small island nations such as Tuvalu, Kiribati, and the Marshall Islands, are likely to be “completely uninhabitable in the next few decades, before complete submersion by the end of the 21st century”.

By December 2023, 26 countries had legally recognised Tuvalu’s digital statehood, including New Zealand and Australia. The goal is that this year, the nation would achieve recognition by 50 nations.

The world-first concept is to digitally map Tuvalu’s physical landscape, including all 124 islands and islets within Tuvalu’s borders, sentimental or symbolic artefacts, the sound of singing, spoken language, written language, elders’ stories, dances and artwork, in a digital form that enables the diaspora, and future generations, to recognise Tuvalu’s history and ongoing presence through memory and story.

While it would be easy to dismiss this campaign as a political protest against the global indifference towards climate change consequences for island nations particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels, that would be unjustified. That political message certainly forms part of this campaign, but Tuvalu is potentially also creating a blueprint for future nations to capture their own physical nation, along with their culture and language, in digital form as a means of protecting their sovereignty regardless of future environmental changes.

The Australian government has indicated it will offer residency to all displaced Tuvalu citizens, with 280 places offered each year (representing about 2.5 per cent of the total Tuvaluan population). New Zealand also has an arrangement in place to take in Tuvaluan migrants.

The Rising Tide Initiative, supported by U.N member states, is assisting Tuvalu to collect, digitise and preserve as a part of the Heritage Programme. This will include recognition of Tuvalu by the UNESCO World Heritage Convention as a means of ensuring Tuvaluans can maintain their identity and history, wherever their physical home.

To date, Tuvalu has amended its constitution to recognise the threat of rising sea levels and declared Tuvalu’s maritime zones and statehood as permanent irrespective of the impacts of climate change. It has also undertaken 3D light detection and ranging (LIDAR) scans of its physical territory to create a digital map. Tuvalu’s intention is also to ensure it can continue to exist with all the benefits of a sovereign nation once it becomes wholly digital. This includes issuing digital passports, conducting elections and referendums online, and enabling the registration of births, deaths, and marriages online.

Tuvalu is pioneering, despite being one of the smallest nations in the world, with a population of approximately 12,000. The nation’s average height above sea level is just two metres, making it enormously vulnerable. One of the lowest continents in the world, Australia is 330 metres above sea level on average, according to Geoscience Australia. The United States, one of the world’s largest contributors to climate change, is approximately 763 metres above sea level on average, while Africa is 600 metres above sea level on average, as is most of Europe. The average elevation of the Asian continent is between 900 and 1220 metres, according to National Geographic.

Special Envoy for the Future Now Project, Simon Kofe is also the Minister of Justice, Communications and Foreign Affairs of Tuvalu, and prior, a contributor to constitutional reform projects as Senior Magistrate. He distinguishes between Tuvalu as a digital nation with governmental, legislative and administrative legitimacy, and Tuvalu in the metaverse.

The metaverse would be the platform through which future Tuvaluans and the world can have an immersive experience, via a virtual copy of Tuvalu that would be maintained via uploaded data about the weather and conditions, projections on the impacts of climate change. The government could also track fishing activities in Tuvaluan waters, in regard to its maritime zones. Kofe also suggested the metaverse would provide a revenue opportunity for Tuvalu, supposedly through virtual tourism. Tuvalu is presently dependent on the fishing industry – primarily tuna – for revenue. Kofe says this is “a valuable sovereign asset that we want to retain our claims to”, which is why global recognition of Tuvalu’s sovereignty regardless of its physical presence, is fundamental to its existence.

In April last year, Kofe told the Harvard International Review (HIR) that scientists anticipated Tuvalu would be submerged completely within the next 50 to 100 years. He explained the nation is already experiencing stronger cyclones, longer and more severe drought, and can no longer grow plants for sustenance owing to the salination of the ground.

Kofe also confirmed that in 2019, Chinese companies offered to build artificial islands at a cost of $US400 million, as a means of providing an alternative physical territory for Tuvaluans. This was refused, Kofe explains, because the nation values its recognition of, and relationship with, Taiwan and any agreement to observe the One-China policy was anathema to the Tuvalu government. He told HIR, “I recognise that we are in the minority; very few countries in the world [are still aligned with] Taiwan. But the basis of our relationship is based on common values and principles that underpin democracy. Those are values that are very important to us, and in our foreign policy, our traditional cultural values, which emphasise loyalty, trust, and building authentic relationships, [are] at the forefront of everything we do. So that’s the government’s stance on that issue.”

Sarah Krause, PhD student at the ANU College of Law, explains “ unfortunately, as Tuvalu is the first state to attempt to digitise itself  – or exist in the Metaverse – we don’t yet have definitive answers about what this could mean legally. There are no laws specifically applying to ‘digital states’, as no such states currently exist.

“A strict reading of the existing legal frameworks would suggest that a state cannot exist without a permanent territory. Similarly, the law of the sea draws maritime boundaries in reference to a state’s land territory, meaning while states can hold land without sea, it was not intended to operate in the reverse.”

Krause adds, “Maritime zones are measured from baselines, with the specifics of these measurements set out under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Simply, as sea levels rise, technically these baselines would also shift, and this would have a flow-on effect to the amount of ocean territory able to be claimed by the impacted state.

“However, there has been a push from Pacific states in recent years, including Tuvalu, for their maritime zones and baselines to become permanent. This would mean they would not be susceptible to sea level rise and these states could continue to enjoy the same volume of ocean territory, irrespective of how much of their land territory remains.”

Australia has pledged its support for the continuation of Tuvaluan statehood in the treaty for the Falepili Union. This was signed at the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting in the Cook Islands in November, 2023, responding to Tuvalu’s request of Australia to help safeguard the future of Tuvalu. The Treaty covers three main areas of collaboration: climate cooperation, mobility with dignity, and shared security. As part of the agreement, Australia is obliged to respond when Tuvalu calls for assistance in the face of a major natural disaster, health pandemic or military aggression. Tuvalu, in turn, will mutually agree any new third-party engagement on defence and security-related matters with Australia.

At the time of signing the treaty, Prime Minister Feleti Teo said, “The Treaty is ground-breaking in Tuvalu’s foreign relations. For the first time, there is a country that has committed legally to come to the aid of Tuvalu, upon request, when Tuvalu encounters a major natural disaster, a health pandemic or military aggression.

“Again, for the first time there is a country that has committed legally to recognise the future statehood and sovereignty of Tuvalu despite the detrimental impact of climate changed-induced sea level rise. An objective that I will pursue tirelessly for more countries to provide the same legal assurances.”

Krause says, “there is a general principle of state continuity in international law. Once a state exists, it is presumed that its statehood will continue to endure. This could assist in Tuvalu’s endurance and/or its shift to the metaverse. There are also a number of principles from environmental law that could further bolster Tuvalu’s case here, given what we are seeing is caused by climate change that can be linked to high emitting states.”

Presently, in the case (“Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change”) before the UN’s international court of justice (ICJ), Vanuatu is leading a group of Pacific nations and developing states – including Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu – in arguing that developed countries have a legal responsibility beyond existing UN frameworks. Australia’s commitments to Tuvalu may set a precedent for its future obligations to Pacific nations, whether legally or politically.