An environmental group said some of the world's greatestnatural treasures are threatened with destruction because of global warming —from the
On the sidelines of a climate change conference in
"What we are talking about are the faces of the impacts of climatechange," said Lara Hansen, WWF's chief scientist on climate issues.
The group said coral reefs around the world, including the Great BarrierReef in
Environmentalists project the temperature of the
In the
In the Valdivian rain forest in Chile and Argentina, the Alerce tree — whichcan live for 3,000 years — is threatened by forest fires and decliningrainfall. Melting glaciers mean groundwater in the region will also become morescarce.
The
Many of the regions at risk were singled out in a report by theIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an authoritative body of 2,500scientists. The report, which is undergoing governmental review at the five-dayconference in
Some damage at the 10 areas listed by WWF is irreversible, such as shrinkingglaciers, Hansen said. Certain types of coral reefs, however, can recover.
The WWF listing also said:
_Six of seven species of
_Some Himalayan glaciers are receding by 33 to 49 feet per year, causingfloods now and threatening summer drought in the future.
_Glaciers in the Tibetan plateau that feed China's Yangtze river are alsoshrinking, adding to water flows now but threatening shortages of water, foodand electricity to 450 million people as they reach a critical point.
_The Bay of Bengal is rising and increasingly violent rainstorms in Indiacould inundate coastal islands, destroy mangrove forests and affect India'sSunderbans, home to the largest wild population of Bengal tigers and to 1million people.
_Scientists predict East African coastal forests and the offshore ecosystemwill also be vulnerable to more frequent and intense storms that will damageagriculture, shoreline mangroves and coral reefs.
Güncelleme Tarihi: 20 Eylül 2018, 18:16