Scientists: Rising Seas Pose Serious Threat for Island Nations

From: Voice of America News

By Solenn Honorine
Manado, Indonesia
13 May 2009

A boat is seen against condominiums in the waters off the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, 13 May 2009

Small island nations and coastal states are on the frontlines of global warming: as temperatures and sea levels rise, some countries could be lost entirely. Scientists and politicians have gathered in the Indonesian city of Manado for the World Ocean Conference to discuss ways to reduce the damage from climate change.
Life and death issue
For the inhabitants of small islands, climate change may be a matter of life or death. Rolph Payet, an advisor to the president of the Seychelles, says that in his country, rising sea levels will be catastrophic.
"In the Seychelles for example we have 90 percent of the people who live on the coastline. This is where all the infrastructure is, where the housing are, all the communication, shipping, the airport is there. So it's as if you have to start the whole community from scratch, and that's going to cost a lot of money. We're always the ones losing out, and it's always the same people winning," said Payet.
What role do seas play in global warming?
Scientists and government officials from around the world are meeting this week in Manado, Indonesia, at the World Ocean Conference. They hope to work together to better understand the role of the seas in global warming, and reducing its effects.
For small island nations, the problem is called the climate divide. Rich countries emit the most greenhouse gases, which are thought to contribute to global warming. But it is mostly poor, developing countries that will pay the heaviest cost of global warming.
Dessima Williams, president of an association that represents 44 small island nations, says that rich countries should not turn a blind eye to their fate.
"We are on the frontline, as small island states, we are going to get the brunt of it first .... But everybody is getting some of it. So we are not taking a high moral ground, we are simply taking a practical position that is: 'we are first [to suffer from global warming], but yours is coming. So you address ours, you reduce yours.' It's common sense," said Williams.

Environmental refugees could be huge concern
Rolph Payet says that the world should be wary of the creation of millions of potential "environmental refugees" - people who will have to flee as the seas rise above their homes.
"Climate change will have a huge impact on world security," said Payet. "I mean, you can just imagine: most of the world's cities and capital are built along the coast! So what we're dealing with today in Iran or Afghanistan may be peanuts compared with what will happen from a great mobilization and a great migration of thousands of people who live by the coast."
Small island nations are asking that stricter carbon emission caps be in the agreement that will replace the Kyoto protocol on climate change. But it is not clear that larger nations will agree to cut enough to slow global warming. They hope to find common ground in December in Copenhagen where the world will discuss the future policies on climate.

Las pequeñas islas Estado están en proceso de desaparecer bajo el mar

Océanos-conferencia 

 

From: Terra Noticias

Las Maldivas, Seychelles, y otras paradisíacas islas Estado desaparecerán bajo el agua este siglo y sus ciudadanos se convertirán en apátridas, a menos que se consiga frenar pronto la subida del nivel del mar, denunció hoy el colectivo de naciones afectadas por este fenómeno propiciado por el cambio climático.

'Estamos ante una grave amenaza: hablamos de personas que van a convertirse en refugiados, de Estados que pueden desaparecer completamente', aseguró hoy a Efe Rolph Payet, presidente de la Fundación contra la Subida del Nivel de los Mares.

Payet expuso el serio problema que se cierne sobre estas pequeñas naciones, en el marco de la Conferencia Mundial de los Océanos, que se celebra desde el pasado lunes en la localidad de Manado, al norte de las isla Célebes, en el archipiélago de Indonesia

'Hay que empezar a actuar ya, cuando aún queda algo de esperanza para algunos de los países afectados. Pero se nos está acabando el tiempo', advirtió Payet, quien a su vez es consejero especial del presidente de la República de las Seychelles, un grupo de 155 islas ubicadas en el Océano Índico, al noreste de Madagascar, y con una superficie total de 455 kilómetros cuadrados.

El presidente de la Fundación señaló que algunas islas han alcanzado 'el punto de no retorno' y alertó de que 'desaparecerán completamente' en unas décadas, como ha ocurrido ya con varias de ellas pertenecientes a Papúa Nueva Guinea, Maldivas y Seychelles, que han tenido que ser evacuadas.

En Indonesia, el mayor archipiélago del mundo, han desaparecido durante la última década más de una veintena de islotes, y los científicos prevén que pierda alrededor de un centenar de sus más de 17.000 islas a finales de este siglo.

'El problema va a ser cuando algunos países desaparezcan completamente. Esos ciudadanos no van a ser simplemente desplazados internos, van a ser apátridas', explicó Fayet.

Entre las naciones especialmente amenazadas por la devastadora subida del nivel de los mares se encuentran algunas de las que forman parte de la Federación de Estados de Micronesia, además de Tuvalu, Fiji y Kiribati, y de las turísticas Maldivas y Seychelles.

'Nosotros ya hemos planteado este problema en distintos foros internacionales, pero hay muchos obstáculos legales y políticos. ¿Vamos a comprar tierras en otro país para asentar a nuestros refugiados? Es muy complejo', argumentó.

En este sentido, el presidente de las Maldivas, Mohamed Nasheed, hace varios meses que examina esa posibilidad de adquirir territorio, y al parecer, ha mantenido negociaciones con India.

Para exponer y denunciar la situación, Fayet se reúne con las delegaciones de algunas de las 64 naciones que participan en la conferencia, una iniciativa indonesia que persigue llamar la atención sobre los efectos medioambientales, sociales y económicos del cambio climático en los océanos.

Este foro hará pública mañana la Declaración de los Océanos de Manado (MOD) con la que se quiere incluir la protección de los océanos en la agenda medioambiental de Naciones Unidas e influir sobre la conferencia de Copenhague de diciembre, en la que se acordará un protocolo que sustituya al de Kioto, que expira en 2012.

Para las islas Estado el principal problema que se deriva del cambio climático es la elevación del nivel de los mares, que según Naciones Unidas será de al menos un metro en el año 2100, y que redibujará las costas de estos países y anegará para siempre decenas de miles de hogares.

Pero de ese fenómeno tampoco escaparán otras naciones mucho mayores y más pobladas.

'Decenas de millones de personas en Bangladesh, el delta del Mekong, las costas del Sudeste Asiático y algunas partes de África se quedarán sin hogar', apuntó el presidente de la Fundación.

Naciones Unidas estima que una subida de un metro en el nivel de los mares hará que hasta 145 millones personas se conviertan en 'refugiados medioambientales'

'Solventar el problema de los refugiados tendrá un impacto muchísimo mayor en la economía y la seguridad global que todas las guerras que ha sufrido este planeta', aseguró Payet, quien precisó que a pesar de que el problema es alarmante, aún éste no se ha abordado en Naciones Unidas.

Además, destacó que las medidas de 'adaptación y mitigación' que se están planteando en la conferencia de Manado llegan 'demasiado tarde' para muchas islas y que la única solución es estabilizar en una primera fase, las emisiones de dióxido de carbono (CO2) para a continuación proceder a recortarlas.

Comprometidas con la lucha contra el cambio climático y el cumplimiento del Protocolo de Kioto, el colectivo de islas Estado apuesta por reducir en un 85 por ciento para 2050 las emisiones de CO2 y otros gases que provocan el

Ocean Policy Day at World Ocean Conference

Freddy Numberi, Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Indonesia

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Highlights for Wednesday, 13 May 2009

On Wednesday, 13 May 2009, the World Ocean Conference 2009 entered its third day in Manado, Indonesia. At the Grand Kawanua Centre, participants attended Global Ocean Policy Day, which included four panels on issues surrounding oceans and climate change adaptation, mitigation, and financing of related activities, and the future agenda for oceans and climate change. Meanwhile, at the Manado Convention Centre, participants gathered for the second day of the International Symposium on Ocean Science, Technology and Policy.

Participants waiting for the opening ceremony to begin

Gellwynn Jusuf, Ministry of Marine Affairs, Indonesia, highlighted the urgency of WOC2009

Biliana Cicin-Sain, Global Forum on Oceans, Coasts and Island opened Global Ocean Policy Day

Participants during the session

- To the top of the page -

Speakers from the Opening Ceremony applauded the proceedings

Freddy Numberi, Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Indonesia, considered the indispensable environmental and economic role of the oceans

- To the top of the page -

Angela Cropper, UNEP, introduced topics for consideration

Jaqueline Alder, UNEP, introduced the keynote presentations

Van Duc Nguyen, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Viet Nam spoke about climate change impacts and adaptation

Ambassador Dessima Williams, Permanent Representative of Grenada to the UN and Chair, AOSIS, presented on the perspectives of SIDS in climate change

Participants listened to various presentations

L-R: Angela Cropper, UNEP, Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, University of Queensland, Australia, Patricio Bernal, UNESCO, Tony Haymet, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, US, Roberto Calcagno, Oceanographic Institute Prince Albert Ier, Monaco, Bernard Giraud, Danone Group, France, Christophe Lefebvre, IUCN, Jeff Price, WWF, US, Duncan Currie, Greenpeace International, New Zealand

The Grand Kawanua Novotel Convention Centre

Military police

L-R: Mary Glackin, NOAA, US; Laurent Stefanini, France and Raphael Lotilla, PEMSEA, Philippines

Nicole Glineur, GEF; Thabit Zahran Al Abdessaalaam, UAE and Poh Poh Wong, National University of Singapore

Camera crews waited for the President of Indonesia to arrive

The limousine of the President of Indonesia

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President of Indonesia, signed a commemorative plaque

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President of Indonesia planted a tree while the media watched

Disaster looms with rising sea levels: islands

From: AFP

Posted Tue May 12, 2009 4:07am PDT

Buzz up!

The Funafuti Atoll, part of the South Pacific island nation of Tuvalu, pictured in 2004. Rising sea levels that could wipe whole nations off the map and displace scores of millions of people are being overlooked in global climate change talks, island countries including Tuvalu said Tuesday.(AFP/File/Torsten Blackwood)

MANADO, Indonesia (AFP) - Rising sea levels that could wipe whole nations off the map and displace scores of millions of people are being overlooked in global climate change talks, island countries said Tuesday.

Major emitters are pushing for greenhouse gas emissions cuts that are too low to prevent devastating sea rises, representatives said at the World Ocean Conference in Indonesia's Manado city.

"Dealing with environmental refugees will have a much more serious impact on the global economy and global security in fact than what wars have ever done to this planet," said Rolph Payet, a presidential adviser from the African island nation of the Seychelles.

Other nations under threat from even small rises in sea levels include the Pacific island states of Kiribati and Tuvalu, while heavily populated low-lying areas such as Bangladesh's coastline would also go under.

The five-day conference has attracted hundreds of officials and experts from 70 countries and is being billed as a prelude to December talks on a successor to the expiring Kyoto Protocol.

Payet said there had been "zero" serious discussions in top international forums on how to deal with massive flows of "climate refugees" from low-lying and drought-prone areas.

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted in 2007 that up to 150 million people could be displaced by the effects of climate change by 2050, which include sea level rises of as much as 59 centimetres (23 inches).

The Alliance of Small Island States is pushing for 85 percent cuts in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

But Payet said the December talks in the Danish capital Copenhagen look set to produce an emissions cut target that would be too low to avert disaster.

The European Union has promised to reduce its emissions by 80 percent by mid-century and US President Barack Obama has proposed his country make an 83 percent cut.

But the details of any global agreement that would include major developing nation emitters such as China remain unknown.

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