Tiempo Climate Newswatch

Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations, has called for "decisive measures" on climate change and a global tsunami early warning system. "It is no longer so hard to imagine what might happen from the rising sea levels that the world's top scientists are telling us will accompany global warming," he said. "Who can claim that we are doing enough?" Kofi Annan was speaking at the International Meeting to review the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States held in Port Louis, Mauritius, 10-14th January 2005.

The International Meeting resulted in recognition of small island concerns regarding climate change. The international community was urged to cut greenhouse gas emissions and prioritize renewable energy. No progress was made, however, on trade preferences. The elimination of trade quotas has had a severe effect on island economies, which lack the means of diversification and are isolated from world markets. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the World Meteorological Organization announced, during the conference, the establishment of a global hazards warning system.

To mark the Mauritius meeting, Tiempo Climate Newswatch interviewed Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury and has made available a series of related articles and documentaries.

• Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury discusses the current status of Small Island Developing States and his hopes for the meeting
• Kanayathu Koshy discusses Pacific preparations for the review of the Barbados Programme of Action
• Tom Roper describes the innovative Global Sustainable Energy Islands Initiative, intended to assist Small Island States develop renewable energy and energy efficiency projects
• The documentary Regional CHARM Guidelines for Pacific Island Countries, presented as streaming video, describes the Comprehensive Hazard And Risk Management process for the Pacific islands.
• The documentary Islands and Climate Change, presented as streaming video, describes the threat posed to the Pacific island nations by climate change and unsustainable development
• Ashmita Gosai, Penehuro Lefale and Jim Salinger describe the content and application of the Island Climate Update, a highly successful seasonal climate bulletin
• Finally, Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury presents a personal perspective on the role of his office

More information

From the conference

• Xinhua
• Reuters
• Terra Daily
• Sydney Morning Herald

• Press releases, UN-OHRLLS
• Backgrounder, UN-OHRLLS
• Webcast, UN
• Daily reports and summary, ENB

The tsunami disaster has highlighted the protection afforded by coral reefs and the mangrove ecosystem, according to coastal zone experts. "Places that had healthy coral reefs and intact mangroves were far less badly hit than places where the reefs had been damaged and the mangroves ripped out and replaced by beachfront hotels and prawn farms," said Simon Cripps of WWF International. "Coral reefs act as a natural breakwater and mangroves are a natural shock absorber, and this applies to floods and cyclones as well as tsunamis."

According to Alfredo Quarto of the Mangrove Action Project, "it is the destruction of mangroves for coastal resort and urban development which leads to an increase in susceptibility to wave action - whether the waves are caused by hurricanes or tsunamis." He urges that a protective mangrove buffer zone be re-established along coastlines at risk where mangroves have been mistakenly destroyed or degraded. Human settlements and enterprises such as tourism or aquaculture developments should not be located, or re-located, within the inter-tidal zone where the mangrove ecosystem is found, but inland, well behind mangrove or other coastal wetlands.

More information

• Terra Daily
• YubaNet
• Yahoo

Changes in the Earth's shape have been linked to climate variability by Minkang Cheng and Byron D. Tapley, researchers at the University of Texas at Austin. The shape alters as the mass of water stored in the oceans, landmasses and atmosphere shifts. The Earth bulges at the equator during strong El Niño-Southern Oscillation events as the Pacific ocean currents change in strength and weather patterns respond.

The research was based on satellite-based laser ranging observations of the distance of the Earth's surface that are accurate to a millimetre. The scientists also detected a long-term change in the Earth's shape over the period 1978-2001, but the cause of this trend is not clear. "The main idea, however, is that the Earth’s large scale transport of mass is related to the long-term global climate changes," concludes Cheng.

More information

• Science Daily