.97 Sustainable Development and Climate Change
In July 2010, Pakistan experienced severe flooding from monsoon rains. Approximately one-fifth of the country was underwater (WFP, 2010), with more than 20 million people directly affected and a death toll of almost 2,000 (Asian Development Bank, 2010). The total economic impact has been estimated a...
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| Language: | English |
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| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.391.1204 http://www.jfs.tku.edu.tw/16-4/R01.pdf |
| Summary: | In July 2010, Pakistan experienced severe flooding from monsoon rains. Approximately one-fifth of the country was underwater (WFP, 2010), with more than 20 million people directly affected and a death toll of almost 2,000 (Asian Development Bank, 2010). The total economic impact has been estimated at 9 to 11 billion USD (Asian Development Bank, 2010). This type of event is consistent with climate change projections, which see a temporary increase in water availability due to melting of glaciers in the Himalayas, followed by a gradual decline in water availability (Cruz et al., 2007). If these projections are accurate, flooding is the short-term problem but water security will be the long-term problem for South Asia. Australia also experienced severe flooding in late 2010 and early 2011 in Queensland and Victoria. The Queensland floods killed at least 37 people (Queensland Reconstruction Authority, 2011). Three-quarters of the state was declared a disaster zone (Queensland Reconstruction Authority, 2011) and the cost to the Australian economy is estimated at more than $5 billion (Queensland Government, 2011). Again, more intense rainfall in Australia is consistent with climate change projections, even though total water availability is likely to decline (CSIRO, 2007). Across Asia and Oceania, a warming world is expected to deliver more floods, more droughts and inundation of coastal land, with likely negative impacts on food production (Cruz et al., 2007; CSIRO, 2007). Coral reefs throughout much of the region are under threat from warming waters, ocean acidification and other anthropogenic impacts. This will have negative impacts on food production, biodiversity and tourism (Hoegh-Guldberg et al., 2007). According to figures compiled by Australia’s Garnaut Review (Garnaut, 2008), the Asia and Oceania region includes half of the top 20 emitters in the world (when the EU is taken as a single emitter). China is the world’s largest emitter in absolute terms, whereas Australia is one of the world’s largest emitters ... |
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