Call to save wonders of world that face climate catastrophe

Published on Monday 10 July 2006 00:20

SOME of the world's greatest natural wonders are at risk from global warming, intensive development and neglect, according to an international coalition of lawyers and environmentalists, which yesterday called for immediate action to protect them.

Mount Everest, the Great Barrier Reef and the Peruvian Andes are among the sites singled out by the coalition as being at risk.

Gathering at an annual meeting in Lithuania, the campaigners urged UNESCO's World Heritage Committee to include the five sites on a danger list because of the potentially devastating effects of rising temperatures.

The move, which has the support of eminent figures including Everest conqueror Sir Edmund Hillary, spells out the need for the Mount Everest National Park, the Peruvian Andes, the Waterton-Glacier Peace Park and the Great Barrier and Belize Barrier coral reefs to be placed under special protection from international institutions.

Campaigners believe adding sites to the list of places at risk from rising temperatures would send a powerful political signal about the impact of climate change. Recent studies show rising ocean temperatures are endangering coral reefs and warming air is melting glaciers.

The World Heritage Convention, which was set up in 1972 to "preserve the world's natural and scenic areas", requires all countries to pass listed sites intact to future generations. But environmentalists argue that this will not happen unless urgent action is taken on climate change and governments including the US administration agree to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

They have now called on the World Heritage Committee to urge governments to cut their emissions as part of their duty to protect and hand on World Heritage Sites to future generations.

They also want countries which signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change or the Kyoto Protocol to take the requirements of the treaties into account when negotiating on issues.

A third proviso requires qualified observers to visit each petition site to evaluate the nature and extent of the threats, and to propose the measures to be taken.

The co-director of the Climate Justice Programme, Peter Roderick, said: "The World Heritage Committee has a vital role to play in protecting the planet's best parts from climate change.

"The dangers are clear, and the main cause of the problem is known. The committee has a duty to protect these sites. It must uphold the World Heritage Convention as an effective international agreement and recognise the legal need for significant cuts in climate pollution."

Friends of the Earth climate campaigner Catherine Pearce said: "Climate change is already having a terrible impact on some of the world's most spectacular natural heritage sites. But the World Heritage Committee can play a crucial role in trying to protect these sites.

"It must pledge immediate action to try and mitigate the threat these sites face and make it clear to the international community that cuts in carbon dioxide emissions are urgently needed."

ANDES

MILLIONS of people in the Peruvian Andes live under threat from catastrophic floods caused by global warming.

Scientists estimate that more than 20 per cent of the glaciers in Huascaran National Park (HNP) in Peru have been lost since 1967, with most of the loss occurring during the past five years.

A study by the Ecological Forum of Peru estimates that in less than 50 years there could be no glaciers in the HNP and water will be scarce. Studies by NASA also show that the glaciers are disappearing - the Peruvian ice formations having lost almost a quarter of their area in the last 30 years.

The Andes are home to many rare species. The mountains are populated by llamas which can be found living at high altitudes, predominantly in Peru and Bolivia.

The South American condor, the largest bird of its kind in the Western hemisphere, is also found here as are pumas, camelids, partridges, parinas, huallatas (geese) and coots.

CENTRAL AMERICA

HURRICANES and bleaching are the most serious threats to the Belize Barrier Reefs. Made up of seven protected marine areas, Belize is home to the longest coral reef in the western hemisphere and the second largest after the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

Between 1997 and 1999 about half the live coral was lost due to a combination of bleaching and damage from Hurricane Mitch, with at least one reef inside the site losing more than 90 per cent of its coral.

There are more than 500 species of fish and 350 types of molluscs living in the tropical waters and over 200 plants growing in coastal Belize. But much native vegetation on the islands on the reef has either been eliminated or disturbed for coconut plantations, and coastal forests were cleared to make way for urban developments.

Bird fauna is also at particular risk as much of the critical forest habitat lies on private land.

Despite its enormous value to the overall economy of Belize - tourism alone generates nearly 50 million every year - the ecosystem is threatened by over-exploitation of reef resources by the fishing and tourist industries. The reefs within the Hol Chan area near San Pedro Town are showing signs of stress caused by over- collecting and damage from boats' anchors.

A UNESCO World Heritage report says other major disturbances include habitat alteration caused by hotel and marina construction, heavy use of agrochemicals and sewage pollution from tourist resorts and urban centres. Erosion of the shoreline by removal of vegetation including mangroves and seagrass areas are also a major threat.

EVEREST

SAGARMATHA National Park - home to the elusive snow leopard and the lesser panda - contains parts of the Himalayas and the southern half of Mount Everest.

The park in the north-eastern region of Nepal was created in 1976 and includes seven peaks over 7,000m. The park is populated by approximately 3,000 Sherpas.

Studies show snow and ice- cover in the eastern Himalayas has shrunk by about 30 per cent since the 1970s. Melting glaciers have created lakes in the mountains which could burst and cause widespread flooding.

Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to climb Everest with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, has supported the move to add the mountain to the danger list, which would compel the UN to take action to drain the lakes.

BARRIER REEF

AUSTRALIA'S Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral formation, stretching more than 2,000 km in length off the continent's north-eastern coast. It includes about 900 islands and more than 3,000 reefs.

Due to its vast biodiversity, warm, clear waters and accessibility, the reef is a paradise for tourists and scuba divers. But its beauty and natural wealth are also subjected to destruction and pollution.

Scientists say the most significant threat to the status of the Great Barrier Reef, and of the planet's other tropical reef ecosystems, are rising temperatures and The El Nio effect. Recent studies show that many of the corals of the Great Barrier Reef are currently living at the upper edge of their temperature tolerance.

NORTH AMERICA

GLACIERS forming the iconic Waterton International Peace Park straddling the US-Canadian border may vanish by 2030, causing irreparable damage to the ecosystem, scientists say.

Declared Biosphere Reserves by UNESCO, the two sites - the US Glacier National Park and the Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada - were united in 1932 to symbolise friendship between the two countries.

The US side of the Park once had more than 150 glaciers. Today only 27 remain.

Scientists say at the current rate of global warming, these glaciers may disappear by 2030. Environmentalists from both sides are fighting to reverse the potentially catastrophic trend, urging the US and Canada to cut greenhouse emissions.

The US is the world's leading greenhouse gas polluter, responsible for one-quarter of all emissions.

The park contains an unusual diversity of terrain ranging from windswept peaks, to rolling grasslands, to forested hillsides, to alpine tundra.