The grassroots environmental network, Friends of the Earth International, released a report today on the current repercussions of climate change. With 40 pages of testimony from 9 countries, it is a must read for anyone who does not believe that this is the greatest threat to our survival and the biggest issue of our time. From floods in Bangladesh to rising sea levels in the Pacific, melting glaciers in the Andes to droughts in Africa, the more closely a culture and its livelihood is tied to the land and water, the more deeply threatened it is by climate change, leaving the people of the global south and many indigenous cultures at greatest risk. Yet we rarely hear the voices of people living on the front lines of the climate crisis. This report brings those to us from Honduras, Peru and Brazil, Mali and Swaziland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Malaysia and Tuvalu, in the starkest of terms. And it also serves as a call to the activist community to “challenge the prevailing political and economic system that drives climate change and unsustainable production and consumption” in order to solve the climate crisis. I have excerpted some of their stories and experiences.

Australia has the unique position as the world’s driest inhabited continent, making it particularly vulnerable to climate change. Ironically, it also has the highest per capita greenhouse gas emissions in the industrialized world, gets 85% of its electricity from coal and has (had?) a government that refuses to address the climate crisis. While droughts and bushfires have always been a fact of life in Australia, they are now in a seven year drought and experiencing more severe fires and a longer fire season. According to the IPCC report, Australia has rising temperatures (by 1.3°C by 2020, and 6.7 °C by 2080) and further water insecurity to look forward to in its future. Major crops like fruits, nuts and grains will suffer as a result, as will livestock. Coastal towns will experience flooding and hurricanes and many of Australia’s unique animal and plant species will be at risk of extinction. This has a direct economic impact, as well, with large amounts of tourism revolving around the Great Barrier Reef and other areas of natural beauty.

In the report, Polly Buchhorn, 45-year-old father of three from Scamander, state of Tasmania talks about the bushfires that devastated his community with “an uncontrollable inferno” from eucalyptus trees, dry and dead from the drought. At highest risk are the Aboriginal Australians, living in low lying coastal lands and islands, sometimes less than a meter above sea level. High tides, strong winds and heavy rains already caused severe damage in more than half of the region's Torres Strait Islands, home to more than 8000 people. And according to Yorke Island chairperson, Donald Mosby, with meters of beach disappearing each week, “you don’t have to be a scientist” to believe that the cause is global warming.

Bush fires in Australia

Despite its government’s lack of action, the Australian people have a high level of consciousness about the issue of climate change and its effects. According to the report, farmers are already looking at drought resistant crops and water saving measures to try to contend with changing conditions, as well as moving away from the use of pesticides. Coastal towns are taking planning and regulation measures to try to contend with changing coastlines. And while much of Australian society can adapt to these changes, for Aboriginal populations, the risk and repercussions of climate change remain high.

Southern Brazil experienced its first recorded hurricane in March, 2004. Terezinah da Rocha Quirino of Santa Catarina described the horror of not knowing what was happening or what they should do. Her husband was killed and she was injured by a tree that fell on their car as they tried to get back to their house during the seeming calm as the eye of the hurricane was passing. Other Aranguá residents talk about growing concerns over clean water and issues of heat and drought. Like Australia, according to the IPCC, Latin America is likely to experience rising temperatures, decreased water and increased salinisation in the soil, and the possibility of more Atlantic hurricanes. In Brazil, there are few systems in place to track and monitor climate change, making it difficult for people to plan. Activist groups, however, have been holding regional and local forums and workshops to discuss climate issues and the measures needed to adapt.

Elsewhere in Latin America, Maritza Arévalo Amador of Tegucigalpa, Honduras has noticed a change in both the climate and the seasons, along with water shortages caused by deforestation, along with skin and lung ilnesses. Candida Rosa Maradiaga has also noticed an increase in illness, dehydration and poverty with hotter climate in Honduras and less arable land. The IPCC predicts an increase in temperatures in Latin America of 6.6 degrees by 2080 and dry extremes. Honduras also may continue to have extreme hurricanes, like that in 1998 that killed thousands of people and set back the infrastructure and health services by decades. In the meantime, mining and industrial farming increase, creating competition for dwindling land and water resources, while poverty increases and malnourishment among indigenous populations has reached 80%.

The focus group mentioned in the report, with 9 women-headed households in Honduras recovering from Hurricane Mitch, are worth reading. Knowing how my own wealthy country has continued to leave Hurricane Katrina survivors living in trailers two years later, it is not surprising that Hondurans have had a difficult time recovering from Mitch. Further, the hopelessness that many of the participants expressed is mirrored in the bleak report from the IPCC on predicted conditions in Latin America should climate, resource and social conditions continue to be relegated to the back burner. Still, like in Brazil, local communities are organizing to confront issues of poverty and disease, as well as environment and agriculture. Local groups took control of the rebuilding process after Mitch, completing the work more quickly than the government had expected. The report suggests that these local groups take a “holobiohealth” approach to their communities, taking into consideration the health of all species as they adapt to changing conditions and try to prevent further extreme weather events.

In Malaysia, December 2006 brought extreme floods following typhoon season, causing the government to finally confront the reality of climate change. Still, Malaysia’s emissions levels remain high and full understanding of the causes of climate change remain murky. Rousli Ibrahim, an inshore fisherman and former president of the Penang Inshore Fishermen’s Welfare Association, talks about the threat to his livelihood due to mangrove forest clearing causing the depletion of marine stocks. The mangroves not only provide for healthy fish stocks, but also protected Penang from the tsunami in 2004. His group has taken it upon themselves to replant the mangroves, without any government support.

Malaysia’s agricultural sector is also at risk, with paddy farmers complaining of more and stronger pests thriving in the heat and heavy downpours. The report posits that “from 1968 to 2000, Malaysia’s average temperature rose 1°C; for each further 1°C rise, 9–10 percent of Malaysia’s grain yield will be lost.” Rising temperatures affect the diversity of crops, as well. Logging has also caused a decrease in biodiversity and storm protection. Some local groups are organizing and reverting to older, organic methods of agriculture in order to combat changing conditions, but forest conservation continues to be slow, though there has been some progress at the local level. Malaysia’s coastal regions will continue to be at risk for floods and storm surges, however, as well as rising sea levels. Nonetheless, coastal building continues due to the demand for coastal property, causing erosion and further risk. Malaysia’s government will need to begin to act more quickly and definitively in order to confront these issues.

Soil Erosion in Mali

In the African country of Mali, agriculture is the primary way of life. Climate change is causing severe droughts and resulting famines, as well as desertification of the land. At the same time, population growth is leading to more intensely farmed regions, according to cotton farmer, Zoumana Dembélé, resulting in logging, chemical pesticide use and soil degradation. The cotton monoculture in Mali has meant that 85% of the land is being used for this one crop, leaving farmers at further risk. With temperature increases from climate change, Mali’s growing season is expected to be shortened by 20% by 2050 and the desert, already increasing, will expand further. Already, rains that used to begin in April are delayed until the end of May, according to Siaka Coulibaly, Chair of the Union of Cooperatives in Tao District. The government is trying to help with more in-depth weather information and by encouraging the planting of drought resistant crops with shorter growing seasons. Water management will also continue to be vitally important.

Although Peru contributes only .4% of the worlds greenhouse gas emissions, it is considered to be the third most vulnerable country to climate change. Because of the diversity of its terrain, stronger El Niño winds, melting glaciers and extreme weather are already taking a toll. And with 40% of Peru’s power from hydroelectric, loss of water supply will have double the impact. Eulogio Capitan Coleto, president of the Environment Committee for the Vicos community has seen more frequent frost and hail, receding snows and a decrease in the quality of crops. Crops have become more susceptible to pests, diseases and fungus, as well as frost damage. An unprecedented February frost also destroyed large amounts of crops in Quebrada Honda this past year, and unpredictable weather continues to leave farmers like Aurelia Luria Ceferina concerned about food supplies.

Salinisation in the arid coastal plains, flooding along the coasts and decreases in fish stocks from warmer El Niño events are also expected to become a problem. Already, nearly a quarter of Peru’s glaciers have disappeared during the last 35 years, leading to a 12% reduction in fresh water to the coastal zone. In addition, since 1941, there have been 30 glacial floods, causing more than 30,000 deaths in Peru. Carlos Silvestri, former president of state-owned water company Sedapal, says that Lima is particularly vulnerable as the only South American city with less than a year’s worth of water reserves. Peru’s government is looking at new irrigation and water conservation methods in order to address the coming water and agricultural crisis as a result of shrinking glaciers, some of which have receded by as much as 21% in just 4 years. As one of the lowest global emitters, however, they have little control over the root causes.

Swaziland in Africa has such low greenhouse gas emissions that the country is essentially carbon neutral. Still, Swazis, like many in Africa are likely to be most at risk of hotter temperatures, droughts, and extreme weather cause by global warming. Drought this year already led the government to declare a state of natural disaster and caused severe crop failures. According to Emmanuel Dlamini, Director of Swaziland Meteorological Services, they have seen a 12 percent increase in temperatures over 35 degrees Celsius and up to 50% less precipitation during the start of the rainy season over the last 15 years. Weather is more extreme and many areas are experiencing water shortages, leading to the sharing of water sources with livestock and an increase in water borne diseases. Poverty and lack of preparation for natural disasters exacerbate these problems. The government has promised assistance to the 40% of the population (400,000 people) that are at risk of hunger due to crop failures this last April.

Like much of Africa, Swaziland is on the frontlines of the climate crisis, already suffering as a result, yet they bear no responsibility for its causes and have little control over its abatement. At the same time, the government remains quiet about climate change and has done little to help people prepare for its repercussions.

King Tides in Tuvalu

The atolls and coral reefs that form Tuvalu is the first country forced to evacuate due to rising sea levels. In 2006, one of the islands near the main island capital completely disappeared. Tuvalu’s largest atoll has already lost a meter’s width of land, and recent years have brought record levels of flooding and spring tide peaks. King tides, the year's highest tides are rising on these islands, compromising shore lines and the ability to grow food. Salt water intrusion has lead to soil degradation and droughts, cyclones and tornadoes have become more frequent. The need to import food has lead to new diseases like diabetes and floods are causing malaria and dengue fever. People on the islands live in constant fear of becoming climate refugees and having to leave their native land and culture as the islands are consumed by the sea. And despite the fact that they may lose their homeland to climate change, Pacific Islanders, .12% of the world’s population, contribute only .03% of the greenhouse gas emissions. The Tuvalu government has been working to set up migration options for its residents and has had some success with New Zealand but little with Australia. They have also been pleading their case at the UN, trying to get the countries most responsible for climate change to address the issue.

Sea wall damage in Selsey, U.K.

In the UK, the historic coastal town of Selsey is under constant threat of flooding. A 2006 storm broke through the sea wall and the government has not allocated funds for its repair. According to Blanche Butlin, a fairground owner, the UK government has all but abandoned Selsey to rising sea levels and storm surges, calling for a “managed retreat” of those at risk, more than a quarter of the towns 12,000 residents. With 1600 year’s of history, its residents are looking for other options, such as building an artificial reef, to help quell rising tides and storm surges. They are also undertaking conservation methods and looking at opportunities to build wind farms.

These places, of diverse habitats, cultures and socio-economic conditions share the commonality of being among the first places that are susceptible to the effects of climate change. Without strong and immediate international action, they will be joined by many others. I could not help reading and thinking about my own country, the biggest contributor, but also a place with many climate victims including the residents on the Gulf Coast displaced by Hurricane Katrina and those in Southern California that have lost their homes to record strong fires. With every personal testimony I read, something my mother, a nuclear weapons freeze activist, used to say kept coming back to me; don’t mourn, organize. The time to act is now.