Asia on notice of global warming disasters
LONDON: The International Institution for the Environment and Development (IIED) has pinpointed Thailand as being among 10 countries currently most at risk from natural disasters as a result of world climate change.
The report sends a strong warning not only to urban communities but also to the many island resorts that attract tourists to destinations under threat from global warming.
The research shows that 634 million people — one tenth of the global population — live in coastal areas that lie within ten metres above sea level.
Ten countries were declared to be within the natural disaster danger zone which would be most affected because of the percentage of the population living in coastal areas.
Eight Asian countries – Thailand, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Japan – were most at risk according to the IIED. The US and Egypt are also vulnerable.
IIED noted that many of the countries with the most people in the 0-10 metre zone are large Asian nations with densely populated river deltas, while many nations with the greatest proportion of their people in the zone are small island states.
“Climate change is not a natural disaster but has largely been caused by wealthy countries emitting greenhouse gases during their industrialisation,” says one of the report’s authors, Gordon McGranahan.
“Yet the poorest countries that have contributed least to the problem are most vulnerable to its effects. It is therefore incumbent on rich nations to help poorer ones to adapt to the changes ahead.”
Asia has already suffered a disproportionate number of casualties from flooding. The IIED maintained that between the years 1994 and 2004, 33 per cent of the flood disasters occurred in Asia with 60,000 fatalities and almost two million people affected.
“People are running towards risk, particularly in China but also in other parts of the world such as Bangladesh, where more than 40 per cent of the land area is within ten metres above sea level,” said McGranahan.
“China’s economic boom has been driven by policies that promote coastal development and which have encouraged one of the largest coastward migrations ever.”
The study says that unless action is taken that China’s economic success will be placed at risk.
The study will be published on April 14 along with papers that focus on specific cities, including Cotonou (Benin), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Mumbai (India) and Shanghai
Ian Jarrett
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