Himalayas and Sunderbans face destruction, warns WWF

Brussels, Apr 5 (UNI) The Himalayas and Sunderbans are among ten of the world's natural wonders which face destruction if global warming continues at the same pace, warns the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) A WWF briefing released ahead of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Second Working Group Report says that only ''drastic action'' by governments to reduce emissions can hope to stop the complete destruction of these natural wonders.

''While adaptation to changing climate can save some, only drastic action by governments to reduce emissions can hope to stop their complete destruction,'' Dr Lara Hansen, Chief Scientist of WWF's Global Climate Change Programme, said.

The wonders include the Amazon, Great Barrier Reef and other coral reefs, Chihuahua Desert in Mexico and the US, hawksbill turtles in the Caribbean, Valdivian temperate rainforests in Chile, tigers and people in the Indian Sundarbans, Upper Yangtze River in China, wild salmon in the Bering Sea, melting glaciers in the Himalayas, and East African coastal forests.

''While we continue to pressure governments to make meaningful cuts in heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions, we are also working on adaptation strategies to offer protection to some of the world's natural wonders as well as the livelihoods of the people who live there,'' Dr Hansen said.

''We are trying to buy people and nature time, as actions to stop the root cause of climate change are taken,'' he said.

Faced with water shortages along the Yangtze River, the WWF is working in China with the government and local authorities to help communities best adapt to climate change impacts. This includes developing a climate witness project in the Yangtze River basin so that people affected by climate change can speak for themselves.

In the Valdivian forests of Chile and Argentina, the global conservation organisation is working with local partners to reduce forest fires and adjust conservation plans to ensure that resistant forests -- where 3,000-year-old trees are found -- can be protected.

''From turtles to tigers, from the desert of Chihuahua to the great Amazon, all these wonders of nature are at risk from warming temperatures,'' Dr Hansen asserted.

''While adaptation to changing climate can save some, only drastic action by governments to reduce emissions can hope to stop their complete destruction UNI XC YA ND1625