"Creeping Tsunami" of Sea Level Rise

By: Counterpart
Published: Jan 10, 2005
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Last month’s tsunami disaster in the Western Pacific and Indian oceans is a stark reminder of the vulnerability of small island developing states (SIDS) to natural and man-made disasters.

President of Counterpart International, a Washington-based development organisation, Mr. Lelei LeLaulu, said small island states are constantly facing the "creeping tsunami" of sea level rise.

This "creeping tsunami", he said, is man-made by carbon emissions produced from fossil fuels which produce global climate change and rising sea levels.

"The south Asian tsunami is a reminder of how vulnerable life is on small islands. The waves swept over many of them in the Indian Ocean, destroying all infrastructure and cutting off communications. There were no airstrips for relief planes to land, no jetties for ships to dock," said LeLaulu, who is also chairman of the Foundation of the Peoples of the South Pacific.

Just as with the ever-increasing hurricanes, global warming and sea level rise put islanders at even greater risk. Sea water encroaches on the water tables even without tidal waves washing over low-lying islands.

"Small island states need access to the tools needed to build protection for themselves to mitigate deadly damage caused by natural and man-made disasters. The Mauritius conference is a wonderful place for the richer countries to show their care for the well-being of small islanders," said LeLaulu.

LeLaulu's comments come as the international community prepares for the "International Meeting for the 10-Year Review of the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of the Small Island Developing States", to begin in Mauritius next week.

In the wake of the deadly tsunami which killed more than 150,000 people, Counterpart International in partnership with SkyLink Aviation Inc of Canada, and Medicines for Humanity is assisting survivors in India, Indonesia, Maldives and Sri Lanka with a distribution of pharmaceuticals worth more than US$2 million.

Counterpart has been encouraged by the outpouring of support from the Canadian Red Cross, Cathay Pacific Airways, Ernst & Young, Fauna & Flora International, Freight Link International, The Great Oaks Church of Christ, Healing Hands, JS Connor, National Cancer Coalition, Singapore Airlines, Sister Cities International, SriLankan Airlines, United Jewish Appeal, United States Agency for International Development and World Concern who have each helped Counterpart's massive "out-of-the-box" relief operation.

Counterpart is looking for cash and support to send water purifiers and more medicines.

To contribute to the Asian tsunami relief effort and/or future shipments to rehabilitate south Asia's long-term health, please visit http://www.counterpart.org/tsunamirelief .

Secretary-General of the United Nations International Meeting on SIDS, Anwarul K. Chowdhury, said the destruction of life and property to the low lying coastal areas, once again highlights the vulnerability of the small island developing states. He cited the example of SIDS nation, Maldives, which has shown remarkable economic progress in the past, but now faces a serious setback.

A few months ago, four major hurricanes and tropical storms – Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne – struck the Caribbean islands (and southeastern United States), causing thousands of casualties in Haiti and devastating Grenada and Grand Cayman. This worst Caribbean hurricane season in living memory, along with other extreme weather events that took place in 2004 in both the Pacific and Indian Oceans, are seen by many as empirical evidence of impacts that are harbingers of the expected effects of climate change.