Message-ID: <3D608323711@hq.unu.edu> Date: Tue, 24 Oct 1995 13:16:37 +0900 From: "E-L Foo, UN Univ, Tokyo" <mailto:FOO@HQ.UNU.EDU> Subject: electronic seminar: William C Burns To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L <mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU>
Subject: electronic seminar: William C Burns, PCIS
Announcement of UNU/SIN Electronic Seminar
Title: Global Warming And The Ramifications For Small Island States Date: 13-26 Nov 1995 By: William C. Burns, Pacific Center For Intl Studies, USA =================================================
ABSTRACT
Virtually every nation in the world will ultimately have to face the implications of climatic change related to global warming. However, none so soon, and with as a great a level of foreboding as those nations classified by the United Nations as "small island states."
Global warming trends projected over the next century may result in sea level rises of one meter or more. This could result in several small island states, many of which are only 1.5-2 meters above sea level, being wholly submerged within the next century. These nations include the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, Tokelau and the Maldives. Additionally, rising ocean levels could severely denigrate fresh water supplies in such nations, devastate agriculture, and threaten coral reef habitats which provide a home for many species of fish critical to the subsistence of inhabitants in many small island states. Finally, climatic change may substantially increase the incidence and severity of hurricanes and tropical storms, wreaking havoc on the economic infrastructure of many of these nations.
This seminar will discuss the latest studies related to global warming, and more specifically assess the likely impact of global warming on small island states. The author will also discuss the potential for small island states to invoke relevant principles of treaty and customary international law to compel the major producers of greenhouse gases to fundamentally transform their policies so as to avert this potential catastrophe.
About the Author
William C. Burns is Director of the Pacific Center For International Studies in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. The Center is a policy research organization which focuses on international environmental law & policy issues, including preservation of biodiversity, desertification and global warming. The Center is also active in public education activities, especially in the context of endangered species. The presentation here is an outgrowth of an article that Mr. Burns is preparing for the Ocean & Coastal Law Journal.
Seminar Material
The text for the seminar will be available on 13th Nov via the mailing list mailto:UNU.CONF-ROOM.KANNON@CAREN.NET.
Mailing List
The seminar will be conducted at the UN Univ electronic conference room called UNU.CONF-ROOM.KANNON; to join pls email mailto:listproc@caren.net and write the message: SUBSCRIBE UNU.CONF-ROOM.KANNON yourfirstname yourlastname e.g. subscribe unu.conf-room.kannon Wil Burns, PCIS
If personal assistance is needed, please contact: mailto:paoletto@hq.unu.edu