UN study: Indonesia may lose 2,000 islands due to climate change
By Yusof Sulaiman
A study by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes has warned Indonesia may lose as many as 2,000 lower-lying islands by 2030 as a result of climate change.
Rising sea levels of between 8-30 centimeters (3-12 inches) by 2030 is having an impact to an extent it could be a “harbinger” for far more extreme things to come, said top UN climate official Yvo de Boer, secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC).
Floods in the Southeast Asian region, most notably in Indonesia and Malaysia, killed dozens of people.
Authorities in Malaysia had to evacuate up to about 100,000 people in the southern states when flood waters rose up to roof levels. Unofficial figures estimated economic losses at US$425 million.
The region is expected to experience and see higher rainfall in the coming wet seasons.
"Everybody in this world is experiencing directly the effects of climate change, whether it is floods, droughts. The phenomena is impending development, more so in developing countries which can least afford it," said Indonesian Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar.
"Thousands of acres of agricultural lands in Indonesia and Malaysia were affected by severe weather changes, with rice not planted on schedule in Indonesia."
A UN study shows weather-related disasters killed almost 3,000 people and caused up to US$27 billion in damages in China last year.
"The retreat of Himalayan glaciers is affecting water supplies in India and China. Drought in some countries is leading to lower crop yields," added de Boer.
"Climate change used to be a purely environmental issue. It's now becoming as much an economic, trade and political concern."
De Boer said industrialized and developing countries need to cooperate on climate change that would allow developing countries to meet their economic growth and poverty eradication goals, while also helping ensure a cleaner energy future.
"The Bali conference in December will address fears in developed countries about climate changes, concerns by developing countries about growth, the worries of small island nations hit by climate change, and the concerns of oil-producing countries," said de Boer.
"It will also design a long-term approach to go beyond the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, which governs actions by industrialized countries to 2012," he added.
Up to 10,000 participants from 100 countries are expected in the Indonesian resort island of Bali for the 13th UN Climate Change Conference in December.
Source: eTN Asia