PLENARY: Overseas entities and climate change

7 July 2008 - 15:15
Session 2: Climate change and biodiversity in the ORs, OCTs and their regions








“Climate change is man-made and gaining momentum,” stated Marc Gillet, director, ONERC, using graphs and models to illustrate rising sea levels, increased precipitation, more drought, violent tropical cyclones and the acidification of the sea.

Climate change is also proving to influence population patterns, with increasing numbers shifting northwards in search of more conducive temperatures. If present trends continue, much of the southern regions, especially in Africa, will become unsustainable for human survival.

Those most affected by climate change included the absolute poor, those dependent upon a specific resource and those living within vulnerable zones, according to Rolph Payet, lead author of the IPCC chapter on small islands. He gave examples of the Comoros Island, with a subsistence economy relying on natural resources such as corals and fish and Marine tourism in the Maldives, which is worth $US 60 million per year.

Chris Thomas, University of York, focused on terrestrial biodiversity and ecosystems, outlining currently observed trends. Like their human counterparts, many species are moving northwards, in some places at a rate of 1-3kms per year on average. Those unable to move, such as species on the the OTs, OCTs and their regions, are most at risk from rising global temperatures.

Species are lagging behind climactic changes with more warmth-favouring species emerging and cold adapted species subsequently on the decline.

“This does not mean all will be extinct, but that they will be starting to decline in areas which are not climactically suitable to their long term survival,” said Thomas. “It demands swift action to mitigate these effects and a minimisation of other pressures – survival means that number of births is enough to counter deaths,” he continued.

Inge Thaulow, CAFF, reiterated the need to cooperate and share knowledge across borders, typified by the Reunion 2008 Conference.

She detailed the Arctic's global importance, with both its 14.8 million kms2 of land, much of which is wilderness, 13 million kms2 of ocean, the largest freshwater resources on earth and a unique and diverse indigenous culture. The effects of rising temperatures will lead to a dramatic reduction in sea ice, which has both local and global consequences.

The Artic Climate Impact Assessment report (ACIA) evaluates and synthesises knowledge on climate change and UV radiation in the Arctic territories. It is the first of its kind, showing the vulnerability of the arctic in many different ways and plays a significant role in global effects.

Strategies resulting include improved capacity to monitor and understand changes in the Arctic, Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) and the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program (CBMP).

“You cannot make one species more important than another,” said Charles Sheppard, Warwick University, during his presentation on eco systems. From the animal down to the microbial, each species deserves protection.

Coral reefs figured heavily in the talk, with the high temperatures of 1998 and 2005 causing widespread damage to these fragile eco systems. All of the shallow reef systems have now disappeared, and almost all of the reefs throughout the world are under threat from the rise in sea temperatures and other damaging activities.

Sheppard emphasised that eco systems would not return to their original state once damaged, and that a stressor will affect the whole eco system, not just one part.

The UN World Tourism Organisation (UN WTO) registered around 903 million tourist arrivals last year, making the tourism industry worth $US 856 billion in foreign earnings, said Eugenio Yunis Ahués, director of programme and coordination, UN WTO.

As the top international trade, tourism needs to both adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change. Ahués detailed the work of the UN WTO in working in parallel with both cultural heritage and climate change, and the need to reduce the CO2 emissions as a result of tourism.

Without this, Ahués warned that there would be a trebling of CO2 emissions by 2035 if nothing were done, and that the tourism sector should work towards energy reduction, improved efficiency and the use of more renewable energies.

The confusion over carbon offseting meant that most tourists remained unwilling to contribute to voluntary carbon compensation. “The producer responsibility is being turned into a consumer responsibility,” said Ahués.

The need to reduce the CO2 emissions as a result of flying required a balanced approach according to Oliver Hillel, programme officer, sustainable use, tourism and island biodiversity of the Convention on Biological Diversity. He stated that development needs of countries requiring long haul flights to visit them needed to be given equal priority.

Hillel pointed to the need for the tourism industry to be part of assessments and responses, including more environmentally friendly initiatives such as the now possible reduction of flight CO2 emissions by 40 percent.