Global General

Climate change brings disasters to Pacific region

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-05-19 13:06

SUVA - Pacific islands region is continuously exposed to a range of hazards - floods, drought, earthquakes, cyclones, volcanoes and tsunamis, Fiji's news websites reported here Thursday.

The climate change caused estimated total damages and losses of $756 million between 2001 and 2009, Inoke Ratukalou, acting director of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC)' s Land Resource Division, was quoted as saying.

Ratukalou made the remarks at a two-week workshop in Nadi, Fiji on agro-meteorological applications for climate change impact assessment, which was hosted by the South Pacific Regional Environment Program (SPREP) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) with the support from Fiji's Nadi Meteorological Service.

Many of these disasters and their increased severity are an effect of climate change, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) data analysis provides a basis for scientists to predict that the intensity of this phenomenon will increase in the future, Ratukalou told the workshop.

Talking about international consensus under the Mauritius Strategy notes that small island developing states around the world face common concerns, such as climate change trends that threaten traditional ways of life and economies, Ratukalou said, " The agricultural sector is especially significant for our islands, .. but now we are increasingly witnessing the negative impacts of climate change in this sector."

Ratukalou said given the urgent need to protect our food security and livelihoods and ensure a modest yet dignified existence for our peoples, it is critical that we understand and manage these climate change impacts on our agriculture, and adjust our practices accordingly. If we correct the way we do things now, I am sure we will be in a better position to survive severe climate effects in the future.

He encouraged the participants to take full advantage of the unique opportunity presented by the workshop to advance collective scientific knowledge in order to improve the lives of people across the Pacific.