UN Acknowledges Climate Change as Security Threat
By Haifa Jedea
UNITED NATIONS, Jun 9 (IPS) -- After a yearlong campaign by a coalition of Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS), the General Assembly has acknowledged the international security implications of climate change. To the PSIDS, climate change poses a serious threat and many of them have already seen the beginnings of a major security threat. The issue of climate change as a security issue is particularly significant to the PSIDS because many of them are low-lying nations faced with issues like drought, famine, and displacement due to rising sea levels.
Mark Jariabka, acting director of the non-governmental organization Islands First told IPS that most of the islands are already experiencing the effects of climate change. "A number of the islands are already experiencing problems with their ground water supplies being contaminated by salt water" Clean, drinkable water is a major concern for these islands because they lack natural resources like reserves of surface water or mountain glaciers. The rising sea levels pose a threat to the little water they already have.
"The salt water basically intrudes in the ground water reservoirs and after time it becomes basically undrinkable and unusable for agriculture," he added. He also said that climate change has affected the marine ecosystems that the PSIDS rely on for their food supply. This is especially important since importing food is extremely expensive given their locations. "These coral reefs are one of the pillars of their food supply so any damage to these ecosystems would be very dangerous for the islands."
In countries like Tuvalu, soil erosion has already forced the evacuation of many people inland due to damaged infrastructure and dangerous buildings. Jariabka says relocating whole communities is never easy, especially when there aren't enough resources or funding to conduct the move. He also said that communities in the past have resisted to such projects as they are being asked to leave their homes.
Leaders of the PSIDS are emphasizing to the international community that this is not only an environmental issue but also a humanitarian and security issue. They also highlighted and portrayed the sense of urgency attached to this matter. "The adoption of the resolution will not only prove that we are seriously concerned about the global environment but more importantly that we are seriously concerned about the survival of whole populations and the existence of their lands from which they derive their sense of belonging and identity." said Ambassador Marlene Moses, permanent representative of Nauru to the U.N., and current chair of the PSIDS.
"As the rest of the world continues to debate the security implications of climate change, for our people the problem is astoundingly real. And while some countries may have resources to mitigate and transfer people to safety during times of natural disaster- we don't not have this luxury. Our citizens literally have no where to run." Joan Yang, the deputy permanent representative of Palau compared the natural threat to the threats of war.
"When we are told by scientists to prepare for humanitarian crises, including exodus, in our lifetimes, how can it be different than preparing for a threat like war?" The General Assembly resolution that was presented and initiated by the PSIDS directs all U.N. agencies to actively work on this issue.. The PSIDS includes Cook Islands, Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshal Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
Nicaragua Can't Afford to Cut Poverty Rate
MANAGUA, Jun 9 (IPS) - The global recession, internal economic contraction and loss of vital international aid are further distancing Nicaragua, one of the poorest countries in the Americas, from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In late 2008 the president of the Central Bank, Antenor Rosales, forecast three percent GDP growth for 2009. In January he revised the estimate downward, to between one and two percent.
The non-governmental Nicaraguan Foundation for Economic and Social Development (FUNIDES) predicted in March that GDP would shrink by between 0.4 and 1.7 percent. It also estimated that between 30,000 and 50,000 people would lose their jobs, and between 33,000 and 64,000 people would sink into poverty this year. In this Central American country of 5.7 million, 47 percent of the populations live on less than two dollars a day, according to the United Nations. This month the Central Bank confirmed a fall in exports in the first quarter of the year.