Experts at the Climate Institute concur.
This appeared in June in DR1 Travel News after speaking to an expert from the Climate Institute during the CMEx tourism exchange seminar in St. Lucia.
Climate Institute alerts Caribbean
The Caribbean?s islands stand to lose half a meter of land to rising sea levels in the next 50 years, and at least one meter in the next 100 years, said the Climate Institute?s Tom Roper during the recently held Caribbean Media Exchange in St. Lucia. Because the expanding sea level will have a definite impact on beach developments, it is an issue that needs to be taken into consideration now. Roper urged the international community to reinforce its commitments to curtail greenhouse gas emissions in order to slowdown the pace of erosion. But meanwhile he said island countries will have to take measures to adapt to the changes.
A UN report indicates that the global average sea level has risen about 10 times faster over the past 100 years than in the previous 3,000. Roper, as the project leader for the Global Sustainable Energy Islands Initiative of the Climate Institute, also said that the Caribbean will experience higher temperatures as a result of global warming.
The frequency and intensity of hurricanes is expected to increase, while hurricanes are expected to shift slightly to the north. The greater frequency and magnitude of tropical storm cycles is a major concern for small island states, as they in turn intensify the risk of flooding, accelerate existing rates of beach erosion and could cause displacement of settlements and infrastructure, according to the United Nations.
According to the United Nations report released during CMEx, ?Most countries are already experiencing disruptive changes consistent with many of the anticipated consequences of global change, including extensive coastal erosion, droughts, coral bleaching, more widespread and frequent occurrence of mosquito-borne disease and high sea levels, which in addition to affecting valuable beach property is also making some soils too saline for cultivation of traditional crops.?
Roper said that small islands have caused the least amount of damage, but will suffer the greatest effects of global warming. He then spoke of the pressure for Caribbean leaders not to speak out on the issues.
The CMEx conference focused on how small islands with fragile resources are facing a challenge to bring in tourism and all the associated economic benefits without destroying the very product tourists have come to experience.
For more information, see
http://www.climate.org
(From
http://dr1.com/travelnews/archive/2004/tnews062904.html)
Actually Tom Roper told us that unfortunately big hurricanes hitting the US would be necessary for the US to awaken and take steps to contribute to reduce global warming as had been agreed during the Clinton administration.