According to a report released by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the Himalayas and the Sunderbans are facing gradual destruction owing to acute climate change.
NEW DELHI: Alarm bells are ringing over India as the country is one of the worst affected by global warming. According to a report released by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the Himalayas and the Sunderbans are facing gradual destruction owing to acute climate change. In its report called Saving the world’s natural wonders from climate change, it explains how some of the world’s greatest natural wonders are slowly moving towards extinction.
Other natural wonders facing similar fate are the Amazon, the Great Barrier Reef and other coral reefs, Chihuahua Desert in Mexico and the US, Hawksbill turtles in the Caribbean, Valdivian temperate rainforests in Chile, Upper Yangtze River in China, wild salmon in the Bering Sea and the East African coastal forests.
“While we continue to pressure the governments for 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,” said Lara Hansen, chief scientist of WWF’s Global Climate Change Programme.
The Sunderban islands, home to the largest population of tigers in Bengal, have already started showing signs of denigration, experts warned. “If current trends continue, by 2020 almost 15 per cent of the area is likely to be submerged under water. The projections are based on satellite images of the area. Two islands in the area have submerged due to increasing sea level,” said Prakash Rao, senior coordinator, climate change, WWF, India.
Anurag Danda, coordinator of the WWF-India Sunderbans programme, said: “Out of the 100 islands, 12 have been identified as vulnerable. And out of the 12, five have human habitation.One island has lost 40 per cent land mass since 1969. So far, there has been no assessment of any damage to the tigers. Once the latest census report is out, we would have a better picture.”
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