INDONESIA - may lose 2,000 islands due to climate change

eTN Asia, 5-2-2007

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.

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