PLACES TO REMEMBER
BEFORE THEY DISAPPEAR
world
Pastoral life on the Mongolian plains
The nomads of
Mongolia have roamed
the plains of central
Asia for the last 3,000
years. They lead a
pastoral way of life,
moving around in
search of pasture for
their livestock and sites
for their gers (a round,
moveable dwelling).
The herdsmen raise
cows, yaks, sheep and
goats and, in the Gobi
desert, they breed
camels. The cattle
supply them with
essential meat, milk,
yoghurt and cheese,
the sheep with wool for
clothing and felt for the
gers.
During the next 80-90
years, rainfall patterns
and temperature rises
will have a negative
impact on the
production of grass and
herbaceous vegetation.
The harsh semi-desert
of the Gobi will move
further north, and it will
become more difficult
to find enough fodder
for the livestock,
cutting meat, milk and
wool.
Caracas, Venezuela
Around 4.3 million people
live in Caracas, some 2
million in poorly built shanty
towns or barrios on the
slopes that surround the
city, where landslides
caused by heavy rain are a
chronic problem.
It is not only those living in
the shanty towns who face a
hazardous future. Floods
and landslides pose a
serious threat to the centre
of Caracas as well,
potentially dealing a
massive blow to the
infrastructure of the
Venezuelan capital and its
suburbs.
In 1999, 30,000 people
were killed in one of the
Americas’ worst natural
disasters, when several
days of rainstorms triggered
flash floods, landslides and
flows of debris just north of
Caracas.
Extreme weather events like
hurricanes and heavy
rainstorms are projected to
hit the region more
frequently in future, and
with much greater force.
Kakadu wetlands, Australia
Kakadu national park is
famous for its unique
interaction between
culture and nature,
exemplified by the
10,000-year-old stone
paintings and remarkable
variety of wildlife made
possible by the diversity
of its tropical climate.
The lush, green wetlands
of Kakadu support more
than 60 species of native
water bird 30 migratory
species.
Climate change now
presents a serious
challenge, both to the
livelihood of the
Aboriginal people and to
the rich natural
environment. Rising sea
levels are causing salt-
water intrusion that
threatens to destroy the
paperbark forest - vital to
the Aborigines - and turn
a major part of the fertile
wetlands into salty
mudlands.
If this happens, tourism
will decline and many of
the distinctive birds will
abandon the park, with a
devastating effect on the
wildlife of the wetlands.
Chicago, Illinois, US
Chicago has been the
midwest’s centre of
transportation, industry,
finance and
entertainment ever
since it was founded in
the 1830s on the south-
eastern shore of the
great Lake Michigan,
close to the Mississippi
river.
Throughout the rest of
the 21st century,
Chicago could
experience a gradual,
dramatic increase in
heatwaves and flooding
due to global warming.
An increase in hot
summer days with
temperatures rising
above 43C, combined
with unpredictable
heavy rain and flooding,
could cause more heat-
related health problems
and damage Chicago’s
tourism industry.
By the end of the
century, the climate in
Chicago could be similar
to that of southern
states like Texas and
Lake Baikal, southern Siberia
Lake Baikal in southern
Siberia is the world’s
deepest lake, and the
largest freshwater one
by volume. It contains
more water than all of
North America’s Great
Lakes combined,
equivalent to 20% of
the world’s surface
fresh water.
But the lake will not
escape the impact of
global warming. The
biodiversity of Lake
Baikal is adapted to
cold, long winters
during which its waters
freeze for five months.
In the last 60 years,
Baikal’s waters have
warmed by 1C, and the
winters have become
shorter.
If temperatures rise as
they are projected to
do, it will have severe
consequences for the
entire ecosystem.
Western Hudson Bay, Canada
The polar bear roams
the Arctic Ocean and
surrounding seas,
including Canada’s
Hudson Bay to the
south. As the top of
the food chain in the
Arctic, the polar bear
spends most of the
year on the frozen sea,
hunting for seals.
In Western Hudson
Bay, the ice now
breaks up three weeks
earlier than it did in
the early 1970s.
Starvation has already
reduced the survival
rate of cubs and young
bears, and made bears
of all ages less
healthy.
Within the next 35 to
50 years, a decline in
the overall polar bear
population of more
than 30% is expected,
and within 100 years
they may become
extirpated from most
of their geographic
rang.
Tokyo, Japan
Japan is one of the
great economies of the
world, and Tokyo one
of its great
metropolises. In the
last 100 years,
temperatures in Tokyo
have increased five
times faster than
global warming.
Tokyo suffers from a
phenomenon known as
'heat islands', a
characteristic of
megacities where
artificial heat from car
exhausts and factory
emissions create a
local greenhouse
effect.
A century ago, Tokyo
experienced five
tropical nights a year
at most. The figure is
now 40, while
temperatures on
winter nights rarely fall
below 0C. Leaves now
start changing colour
in mid-December
instead of late
November, and cherry
blossoms start to
bloom earlier every
year.
Mount al-Makmal, Lebanon
Today, the heavily
reduced remains of the
immense forests are
found on the high
slopes of Mount al-
Makmal in northern
Lebanon. They are
known as the Cedars of
God. Among the
cedars, 12 trees are
more than 1,000 years
old, and the rest are at
least 100.
In the years to come,
the last ancient cedars
face a severe threat
from climate change.
During the next 70
years the temperature
in Lebanon is expected
to rise, while the
precipitation will drop,
making the climate
significantly more arid
than today, and
affecting the
conservation of the
cedar trees. In the
future, the ancient
cedars might only exist
as part of a
mythological past,
leaving the Lebanese
landscape barren.
Naukluft park, Namibia
The Namibian desert
is believed to be the
oldest desert in the
world. Straddling the
Atlantic coast of south-
west Africa, it is home
to the biggest
migrating dunes in the
world. Shaped by the
west wind from the
Atlantic, they reach
heights of 300m.
Climate change is
expected to increase
the strength of the
Atlantic winds and
induce more frequent
droughts in the
Namibian desert. This
will lead to a dramatic
increase in the number
of migrating dunes,
which will travel
eastwards across the
land at a faster rate,
threatening the
vegetation, wildlife
and traditional way of
life of the nomads.
North Slope, Alaska, US
The North Slope region
consists of a huge
expanse of permafrost
in the most northerly
part of Alaska. Forest
and tundra cover the
region, with winding
rivers running from the
Brooks Ranges to the
Beaufort Sea in the
Arctic Ocean.
The thawing of the
permafrost now poses a
serious threat. The
‘active’ layer of
permafrost – the part
that freezes in winter,
thaws in summer and
sustains vegetation –
ranges from a few
inches to a few feet
deep. In the last
quarter of a century,
rising temperatures
have made the active
layer deeper. It now
encroaches into the
permanently frozen
deposits of ice, soil,
stones and organic
material that form the
foundation for the
physical stability of the
whole area.
Saint Louis, Senegal
French traders founded
Saint-Louis on the
uninhabited island of
Ndar in 1659. Named
after King Louis XIV, it
served as the capital of
French West Africa for
nearly three centuries,
exporting slaves, ivory,
gold, hides, gum Arabic
and later ground nuts to
Atlantic merchants.
Saint Louis is extremely
exposed to flooding from
the river, high tides and
periodic heavy rainfall.
Rapid urbanisation has
forced many poor people
to set up home on long
dried-out riverbeds –
virtually uninhabitable
due to the risk of floods
and landslides.
Poor infrastructure and
inadequate drainage
networks are also
problems. With the sea
level rising and more
intense rainfall events
predicted, flooding is
expected to occur more
frequently.
The Okavango delta, Botswana
A labyrinth of lakes,
lagoons and hidden
channels covering an
area of over 15,000
km sq, make the
Okavango the largest
inland delta in the
world. Trapped in the
parched Kalahari
desert with no
permanent outlet to
the sea, it is a magnet
for the wildlife that
depends on the delta
and its seasonal
flooding.
Precipitation is
expected to decrease
because of climate
change, while the
temperature is
projected to rise. This
will cause the delta’s
enormous peat bogs to
dry out, with a risk
that the peat will catch
fire, releasing massive
amounts of
greenhouse gases.
The tribes who live
around the delta could
be forced to find new
homes elsewhere.
The Maldives
Famous for its 1,200
tropical islands, snow-white
beaches, swaying palm
trees and richly coloured
coral reefs, the Maldives has
become a tourist paradise.
This island nation, officially
called the Republic of
Maldives, consists of 22
atolls with many small
islands scattered in circles.
It stretches almost 1,000km
from north to south in the
Indian Ocean.
With 80% of the country
less than 1m above sea
level, climate change poses
a serious threat to the
Maldives, especially since
almost all of the human
settlements, vital
infrastructure and industries
are located in the close
proximity of coast.
In the last 15 years, the sea
level in the ocean
surrounding the Maldives
has risen by 4.5cm.
Estimates suggest a further
rise of 20-60cm by the end
of the century. The area
could also see an increase
in the intensity of tropical
storms. This would threaten
both the tourist industry and
the Republic of Maldives as
a nation.
Cahors, Lot valley, France
Winemaking along the
River Lot near the town
of Cahors in the south of
France dates back to
Roman Empire. The first
vines were planted here
in about 50BC, and the
area has been known for
its red wine ever since.
Today, the Cahors grape
fields cover 4,200
hectares, which are
shared by several wine
producers.
The grapes are extremely
sensitive to climate
change, and a rise in
temperature exceeding
1-2C could force
production to move to
cooler areas. Summer
temperatures are
projected to rise by more
than 6C in the south of
France by 2070-2099,
which could put an end to
traditional wine
production in Cahors and
many other parts of the
country.
Bordering the Sahara desert in
Timbuktu, Mali
the west African nation of Mali,
Timbuktu was once an
economic and cultural hub,
enjoying a privileged position
in the middle of the trans-
Saharan trade routes.
The great Djingareyber,
Sankoré and Sidi Yahia
mosques, built during
Timbuktu’s golden age from
the 14th-16th centuries, still
stand today and all three are
on Unesco’s world heritage list.
Built mainly of mud, the
mosques are highly vulnerable
to climate change. Sand
encroachment, believed to be
a result of land cultivation and
grazing, represents a constant
and increasing threat to the
mosques. Global warming is
also projected to raise
temperatures still further in the
region, and extreme
precipitation events are
expected to become more
frequent and even more
extreme.
This combination of climate
conditions will cause damage
to the mosques and threatens
to consign Timbuktu’s
magnificent past to the realms
of mythology.
Land of the thunder dragon
The small kingdom of
Bhutan, squeezed
between Tibet and India
on the southern slopes of
the Himalayas, covers
some 38,000 km sq of
rugged mountainside,
deep valleys and snow-
covered peaks. The locals
call it Druk Yu, meaning
“land of the thunder
dragon”.
The rapidly increasing flow
of water into the glacial
lakes high in the
mountains is posing a
serious threat to the
Bhutanese who live in the
valleys. There is a danger
of the banks of the lakes
bursting, causing
landslides and floods, and
damaging farmland,
housing, infrastructure
and the ancient dzongs
(fortress monasteries). At
some point, the glaciers
on the holy mountain of
Chomo Lhari and other
Himalayan peaks may
disappear altogether.
