Seas threaten Pacific islands

Press, 24 August 1988, Page 26

Seas threaten Pacific islands

NZPA-AAP Sydney Rising sea levels would have “catastrophic” effects on many small Pacific islands, an international geographical congress has been told. A spokesman for the New South Wales Geological Survey, Dr Peter Roy, said it had been estimated that the build-up of manmade gases in the atmosphere would cause sea levels to rise about one metre over the next century and would increase storm activity. As many low coral islands in the south-west Pacific (such as the Marshall Islands) were only a few metres above sea level, “the experience will be catastrophic for some people,” Dr Roy said. Not only would there be

very little higher ground for the population to retreat to, but fresh water on the islands was likely to dry up, destroying the ecology, he said. Dr John Connell, also from the N.S.W. Geological Survey, told the congress the tenuous lifestyles on these islands was “a long way from the idyllic South Pacific.’’ The islands already faced difficulties with their limited natural resources and water supplies, he said. Dr Connell said food and drink made up 40 per cent of the islands’ imports and extensive migration already was occurring. “Self-reliance has gone for ever,” he said.