The Pacific's threatened islands

While the UN Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa, concluded with agreement for further talks on a new climate change agreement with 'legal force' by 2015, to be ratified by 2020, for low-lying Pacific islands such as Kiribati and Tuvalu, that may be too late. The reason is that climate extremes are already threatening their land, cultures and socio-economic survival, reports Asia Sentinal.

“There is no time to waste,” declared Pelenise Alofa, a member of the Kiribati Climate Action Network. “We need funds to build more seawalls and work on water projects. The biggest threat to Kiribati is coastal erosion and water salination. We need to address these problems before 2020. The Green Climate Fund should be made available today.”

For the Solomon Islands government, climate change is the most serious environmental threat to sustainable development. Caspar Supa emphasised the urgency of international assistance. “Time is limited as many coastal communities and low lying atolls have been severely affected by the impact of climate change on their food production and food security,” he said, “There is a need to upscale activities on the ground and expand adaptation activities across the country."