Climate change to hit Pacific islands’ food security
Date: 08/12/2009
Introduction:
Rising sea levels, ocean warming, cyclones and droughts caused by climate change is set to hit hard food security in the Pacific islands, the FAO said, urging governments to take immediate actions. Climate change is expected to act as a "threat multiplier" in the Pacific region, home to 14 Pacific island countries and five territories (PICT), the FAO said in a special report issued ahead of U.N. climate change talks in Copenhagen coming December. Despite the fact that PICTs make negligible contributions to global greenhouse gas emissions rates (0.03 percent), they find themselves -- unfairly -- facing the frontline of climate change impacts. The region which relies on imported fuel and food and is susceptible to natural disasters, faces more frequent tropical cyclones and droughts, degradation of land and marine ecosystems and rising risks to local food production. The region's vital fishing industry was under pressure from climate-triggered changes and the forests which provide important staple crops in the region, such as breadfruit, mangoes, citrus fruits and coconuts, are also threatened by climate change and overexploitation. (Source: Reuters, 26 November 2009)
