Source: The Associated PressPublished: August 30, 2008, South Asia cooperation urged on climate change - International Herald Tribune
South Asia cooperation urged on climate change
DHAKA, Bangladesh: Regional cooperation to promote the sharing of weather information, improved technologies and increased financial support are needed to combat the impacts of climate change in South Asia, experts said.
The recommendations came Saturday at the end of a six-day international conference on global warming and food security in South Asia.
Results of global climate change, such as melting Himalayan glaciers, rising sea levels and frequent natural disasters are threatening food production and economic development in the South Asia region, the experts said.
The region which includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives is home to nearly a fifth of the world's people, and 40 percent of its poor.
The region is prone to natural extremities like floods, drought, heat waves, frost freezes, desertification and soil salinization, which experts attribute to climate change.
Bangladesh's interim leader, Fakhruddin Ahmed, said reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, particularly by industrialized nations, and more funds to tackle climate change in poorer countries were critical.
"Countries like Bangladesh will otherwise suffer the most from a problem to which we have contributed little," Ahmed said. He also urged more research on new crop varieties that can withstand natural hazards like droughts and floods.
Iceland's President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson urged the formation of a "Himalayan Council," similar to the Arctic Council, to address the adverse effects of melting Himalayan glaciers.
Glaciers in the Himalayas the source of major South Asian river systems are disappearing fast, experts say. Bangladesh, a low-lying delta nation, is crisscrossed by several rivers that originate in the Himalayas.
Grimsson said melting ice sheets in the Arctic, a result of global warming, was contributing to rising sea levels that are likely to submerge coastal areas as far away as Bangladesh, harm the livelihoods of farmers and fishermen, and cause millions of people to lose their homes.
A conference declaration called for the creation of a regional network to promote increased research and cooperation among institutes within the region, provide technical and financial support and encourage development of sustainable technologies and alternative fuels.