The black pearl of Tahiti is at the heart of French Polynesia’s economy but is now highly vulnerable to climate change, and its fragile existence underlines – in a small but exquisite way – what is at stake in the United Nations climate talks starting in Paris this month. The Tahitian pearl – its proper name is Pinctada margaritifera — is more commonly referred to as the silver-lipped pearl oyster after the species from which it is harvested. Officially about 1,300 people toil in farms to unearth this freshwater beauty, but the sector actually counts between 5,000 and 8,000 workers, which allows remote atolls to maintain their population.

Tahiti pearls endangered by climate change. (2015, November 26). Manila Bulletin, p. B8.