Jakarta - An international environmental group warned Wednesday that the impact of global warming is already evident in Indonesia and would likely worsen. The combination of its high population density and high levels of biodiversity together with a staggering 80,000 kilometres of coastline and 17,500 islands makes Indonesia one of the countries most vulnerable to the impact of climate change, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said.
The review from the global conservation organization highlighted that annual rainfall in the world's fourth most populous nation had fallen 2 to 3 per cent in the past century and the seasons are changing.
"As rainfall decreases during critical times of the year, this translates into higher drought risk, consequently a decrease in crop yields, economic instability and drastically more undernourished people," said Fitrian Ardiansyah, director of WWF Indonesia's Climate and Energy Programme. "This will undo Indonesia's progress against poverty and food insecurity,"
Indonesia could also suffer from too much rain, the WWF review warned, as climate change increases rainfall at wet times of the year, leading to a higher incidence of floods, such as the Jakarta floods in February, which killed 69 people, inundated 70,000 houses, displaced nearly half a million people and resulted in losses of 4.1 trillion rupiah (450 million dollars).
Climate change impacts were noticeable throughout the Asia-Pacific region and more frequent and severe heat waves, floods, extreme weather and prolonged droughts would continue to lead to increased injury, illness and death, the WWF predicted.
Continued warming temperatures would increase the number of malaria and dengue fever cases and lead to an increase in other infectious diseases as a result of poor nutrition because of food production disruption.
Mubariq Ahmed, executive director and chief executive of WWF Indonesia, said the government of Indonesia, a nation of staggering biodiversity, must take its role seriously and lead the way in the fight against global climate change.
"Indonesia has to take up the challenge of climate change, putting climate adaptation into the development agenda, promoting sustainable land use as well as demanding support from industrialized nations," Ahmed said.
Indonesia is already a significant emitter of greenhouse gases because of deforestation and land-use change, estimated at 2 million hectares per year and accounting for 85 per cent of the country's annual greenhouse gas emissions, the WWF said. It is also a top coal producer and user in the region, it said.
"The government of Indonesia knows how important action against climate change is for their own country and people, and it has put a lot of work into steering the Bali negotiations," said Hans Verolme, director of the WWF's Global Climate Change Programme, referring to a UN-sponsored meeting December 3-14.
"The UN's climate summit on the island paradise of Bali is no walk on the beach - ministers from 190 countries must get down to some serious work and agree to drastic cuts in CO2 [carbon dioxide] emissions," Verolme said.
Indonesia is the host of the Bali meeting, where negotiators are to begin work on mapping out a future global climate treaty and decide how to intensify cuts in carbon emissions beyond 2012, when the Kyoto Protocol expires.
