On Sikaiana Atoll, a tiny islet in the Solomon Islands home to 300 people, rising sea levels are anything but a distant projection. High tides regularly wash into areas that used to stay dry year round, and the freshwater reservoir beneath the atoll is increasingly contaminated by sea water pushing up from below, compromising not only the soil in which villagers grow traditional root crops like taro, but also the wells they rely on for drinking water. It’s a similar story across the Pacific, where small island nations like Tonga, Fiji and Samoa are suffering some of the worst impacts of climate change. Rising seas and intensifying storms are already having a devastating effect on people’s livelihoods, health and well-being. In some cases, the threat is truly existential. Tuvalu, comprising nine low-lying islands halfway between Hawaii and Australia, could be almost completely submerged at high tide by the end of the century, according to some estimates. Many Pacific Islanders are being forced to leave. But across the region, others are attempting to secure their future …