Orissa government looks for ways to stall beach erosion, does not recognize climate change The rising sea level has alarmed the Orissa government. It has decided to combat it with geo-tubes. Orissa

MADURAI: Investments in existing natural capital such as forests should be enhanced to combat global warming, Chief Conservator of Forests S. Balaji said here on Sunday.

While 33 per cent of land should ideally be under forest cover, it was not possible in urban areas.

Hence green cover should be increased by planting trees as environmental benefits accrued will be similar, he said.

Vegetation changes point to rising sea levels

Abhishek Law
KOLKATA, Sept. 11: Is Kolkata under threat due to rising sea levels? Has there been an increase in land inundation because of global sea-level rise? It appears so with mangrove plants, that were previously restricted to the Sunderbans only, being found along the banks of river Hooghly.

And if environmentalists are to be believed, this phenomenon of generation of new vegetation along the riverbanks, is due to the increase in river salinity and hint at the city

Britain and Bangladesh will jointly hold a high-level conference on climate change on Wednesday in London to launch a possible Bangladesh-specific climate change action plan and trust fund in line with the Bali Declaration.

The Netherlands must spend nearly 2 billion euros (US$2.9 billion) annually in the coming decades to protect low-lying areas from coastal flooding, the Dutch government said on Wednesday.

With sea levels projected to climb as much as 1.3 metres (4 ft 3 in) this century and another 2 to 4 metres in the next, current flood and sea defences will not be enough to protect the country of 16 million people from surging tides, said the commission, led by former agriculture minister, Cees Veerman.

The poor countries and their poor people will be the worst sufferers of the climate change, experts said at a two-day media workshop on Saturday.

Quoting a recently published report they said there will be serious impact on rice, wheat and potato production, but maize production will be good due to the extreme natural events.

Participating in the workshop IUCN Country Representative Dr Ainun Nishat said there is a possibility of increasing temperature of earth by 0.2 percent in next two decades and sea level rise in from 0.19 metre to 0.59 metre by 2090 to 2099 due to climate change.