The event is the first official confirmation of what the
future could be under climate change, researchers say
Published on May 10, 2016 by Commondreams.org
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Rates of sea level rise in the Solomons are almost three times higher than the global average. (Photo: ILO in Asia and the Pacific/flickr/cc) |
By Nadia Prupis,
Five Pacific Islands have been swallowed by rising seas and
coastal erosion, in what Australian researchers say is the first confirmation
of what climate change will bring.
The submerged region, which was part of the Solomon Islands
archipelago and was above water as recently as 2014, was not inhabited by
humans.
However, a further six islands are also experiencing
"severe shoreline recession," which is forcing the populations in
those settlements—some of which have existed since at least 1935—to flee,
according to a study published
last week in Environmental Research Letters.
Researchers used aerial and satellite images dating back to
1947 to track coastal erosion across 33 islands. At least 11 islands across the
northern region of the archipelago "have either totally disappeared over
recent decades or are currently experiencing severe erosion," the study
found.
"This is the first scientific evidence...that confirms
the numerous anecdotal accounts from across the Pacific of the dramatic impacts
of climate change on coastlines and people," the researchers wrote at Scientific
American on Monday. Lead author Dr. Simon Albert, a senior research fellow at
the University of Queensland, told Agence
France-Presse that rates of sea level rise in the Solomons are almost
three times higher than the global average.
The five that sank ranged in size from one to five hectares
(roughly two to 12 acres) and supported "dense tropical vegetation that
was at least 300 years old," the researchers wrote for Scientific
American, calling the event "a warning for the world."
Rates of sea level rise were substantially greater in areas
exposed to high wave energy, the researchers found, "indicating a
synergistic interaction between sea-level rise and waves."
That means islands exposed to higher wave energy in addition
to sea level rise face faster and more widespread loss than sheltered islands.
They wrote: These higher rates are in line with what we can expect
across much of the Pacific in the second half of this century as a
result of human-induced sea-level rise. Many areas will experience long-term
rates of sea-level rise similar to that already experienced in Solomon Islands
in all but the very
lowest-emission scenarios.
Understanding the factors that put certain regions at
greater risk for coastal erosion is vital to help frontline communities adapt,
the study concluded.
The families that have already been forced
to relocate did so using their own limited resources and received
little to no assistance from their government or international climate funds,
the researchers noted. The exodus had the additional impact of fragmenting
established communities of hundreds of people.
Melchior Mataki, who chairs the Solomon Islands' Natural
Disaster Council, told the researchers, "This ultimately calls for support
from development partners and international financial mechanisms such as the
Green Climate Fund. This support should include nationally driven scientific
studies to inform adaptation planning to address the impacts of climate change
in Solomon Islands."
The Solomon Islands were among the 175 nations that signed the
Paris climate agreement in New York last month.
