Singapore. Photo source: ©© Bill Rosgen
Excerpts;
A team of researchers led by Associate Professor Edward L. Webb of the National University of Singapore (NUS) is calling for the global adoption of a method to identify areas that are vulnerable to sea-level rise. The method, which utilises a simple, low-cost tool, is financially and technically accessible to every country with coastal wetlands. The team seeks to establish a network to coordinate the standardisation and management of the data, as well as to provide a platform for collaboration.
Sea levels worldwide have been rising, and existing models suggest that up to 20 per cent of global coastal wetlands may disappear as a result of sea-level rise by the 2080s, effectively drowned by rising ocean levels. The trend, linked to global warming, could lead to massive economic and societal costs through increased vulnerability to extreme events, such as cyclones and tsunamis. It could also put millions of coastal inhabitants at greater risk from the loss of direct and indirect ecosystem services that support livelihoods, as well as protect and stabilise shorelines…
