2008-06-05Staff Report 2 "By Staff Reporter WINDHOEK Climate change is a worldwide phenomenon but the effects and risks are only being fully understood now. Despite producing only a negligible amount of greenhouse gas emissions compared to the rest of the world, Namibia is one of the countries that will feel the effects the soonest and severely. Namibia, together with the rest of the world is celebrating World Environment Day today. Namibia's national theme for the day will be: ""Namibia and Climate Change: Local Action with a Global Impact"". The greenhouse effect will result in an increase in temperature and changes in the weather patterns, rainfall will become more variable and evaporation rates increase leading to water scarcity and droughts. ""Changes in environment will affect our crops, our fish stocks and our wildlife. It will have a great impact on all of our lives. Our first priority must be to learn how to adapt to this new environment to best protect ourselves and future generations,"" a statement issued by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism stated. One of the most evident places where the effects of global climate change can be observed in Namibia is along its fragile coast. The sea level is rising to such an extent that Namibia will have to recognise this as a fact and act upon it seriously. Unfortunately, no local statistics are available to indicate the real increase. However, the effects of the rising sea levels can be noticed at the coastal towns and the various campsites along the coast. With the rise of sea levels, coastal erosion will be more aggressive, which will impact seriously on the environment and consequently the country's economy. Sea level rise can be a product of global warming due to thermal expansion of the seawater and widespread melting of land ice. It is predicted that global warming could cause significant rises in sea level over the course of the 21st century. The Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem along Namibia's coast of 1?" 2008-06-05Staff Report 2
