05 Apr 2007 - Brussels,
Belgium – From the Amazon to the Himalayas,
ten of the world’s greatest natural wonders
face destruction if the climate continues
to warm at the current rate, warns WWF.
Released ahead of the International Panel
on Climate Change’s (IPCC’s) Second Working
Group Report, a WWF briefing — Saving the
world's natural wonders from climate change
— reports on how the devastating impacts
of global warming are damaging some of the
world’s greatest natural wonders.
They include the: Amazon; Great Barrier
Reef and other coral reefs; Chihuahua Desert
in Mexico and the US; hawksbill turtles
in the Caribbean; Valdivian temperate rainforests
in Chile; tigers and people in the Indian
Sundarbans; Upper Yangtze River in China;
wild salmon in the Bering Sea; melting glaciers
in the Himalayas; and East African coastal
forests.
“While we continue to pressure governments
to make meaningful cuts in heat-trapping
greenhouse gas emissions, we are also working
on adaptation strategies to offer protection
to some of the world’s natural wonders as
well as the livelihoods of the people who
live there,” said Dr Lara Hansen, Chief
Scientist of WWF’s Global Climate Change
Programme.
“We are trying to buy people and nature
time, as actions to stop the root cause
of climate change are taken.”
Faced with water shortages along the Yangtze
River, WWF is working in China with the
government and local authorities to help
communities best adapt to climate change
impacts. This includes developing a climate
witness project in the Yangtze River basin
so that people affected by climate change
can speak for themselves.
In the Valdivian forests of Chile and Argentina,
the global conservation organization is
working with local partners to reduce forest
fires and adjust conservation plans to ensure
that resistant forests — where 3,000-year-old
trees are found — can be protected.
“From turtles to tigers, from the desert
of Chihuahua to the great Amazon – all these
wonders of nature are at risk from warming
temperatures,” stressed Dr Hansen.
“While adaptation to changing climate can
save some, only drastic action by governments
to reduce emissions can hope to stop their
complete destruction.”
END NOTES:
• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) was established by the United
Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and
the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
in 1988 to assess the scientific, technical
and socio-economic information relevant
for the understanding of climate change.
• On 2 February, the IPCC issued the first
of three working group reports of its Fourth
Assessment Report on the underlying science
of climate change in Paris. According to
the IPCC’s Working Group I, humans are the
primary cause of the build up of greenhouse
gases in the atmosphere. These greenhouse
gases are causing global climate change.
• The report of Working Group II, to be
released in Brussels on 6 April 2007, will
assess impacts, adaptation and vulnerability
of the Earth to climate change. It will
look at consequences for the environment
and nature, for agriculture, forestry and
fisheries, health and disaster prevention.
Martin Hiller, Communications Manager
WWF Global Climate Change Programme
Brian Thomson, Press Officer
WWF International
Claudia Delpero, Communications Manager
WWF European Policy Office
