Before They're Gone: Landscapes Affected by Climate Change

Before They're Gone: Landscapes Affected by Climate Change

Climate change is taking an unprecedented toll on the world’s heritage sites and natural wonders. Below we take a look at some of the worst affected landscapes

With the surprising news this week that Donald Trump will become the next president of the United States, it would be easy to overlook the fact that this news poses one of the biggest threats to the historic climate agreement reached in Paris earlier this year.

Trump has previously called climate change "fictional" and "created by the Chinese" and vowed to "terminate" the Paris Climate Agreement entirely. Domestically, he also plans to repeal all federal spending on clean energy, including research and development for wind, solar, nuclear and electric vehicles.

Like many others, I was shocked when I woke up to the news that the United States had elected Trump as its next president. I approach the result pragmatically as far as people are concerned. In my opinion, people deserve the government they elect. Time will tell whether this will be a success.

However, wildlife, the environment and our planet had no say in the election. They do not deserve the government we elected. My greatest fear is that if Trump keeps his word, the environment and the millions of animals across our beautiful globe will suffer the most as a result.

With this in mind, I take a look at World Heritage and Tourism in a Changing Climate – a 108-page paper compiled by UNESCO, the United Nations Environment Program and the Union of Concerned Scientists – to learn more about some of the world's most famous and beautiful landscapes affected by climate change.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda

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Almost half of the world's 880 endangered mountain gorillas live in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park in southwestern Uganda. Temperatures in most parts of Africa have risen by at least 0.5°C over the last 50 to 100 years. Warmer temperatures will alter mountain gorillas' habitat and, in the long term, will likely reduce the amount of mountain forest available to them. A study suggests that up to 75% of their current habitat could be lost due to severe climate change.

Lake Malawi National Park, Malawi

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Lake Malawi has the world's largest diversity of freshwater fish, with over 1,000 species, of which more than 350 are endemic. Fish and ecosystems are increasingly at risk from a combination of climate change, population pressure and deforestation. Lake levels have fallen rapidly in recent years, in part due to increased temperatures leading to faster evaporation. Rainfall will become less reliable as extended dry periods are interspersed with unpredictable extreme cloudbursts.

Djenné Mosque, Mali

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Traditional earthen buildings such as the Djenné Mosque in Mali are particularly vulnerable to fluctuations in temperature and humidity. Luckily, people from the town of Djenné take an active role in maintaining the mosque through a rather unique annual festival.

The celebrations include music and food, but their main aim is to repair the damage done to the mosque over the past year. However, as the climate becomes more capricious every year, it becomes increasingly difficult for the local community to keep up with the damage caused.

Snow on Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

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One of the most obvious landscapes affected by climate change is Tanzania's iconic mountain and its shrinking glaciers. According to a 2012 NASA report, about 85% of glacial ice on Mount Kilimanjaro disappeared between 1912 and 2011.

Researchers say it's no longer a question of if the ice will disappear, but when. Estimates vary, but several scientists predict it will be completely gone by 2060. Rising air temperatures starve the mountain of new snow, and drier air reduces cloud cover, allowing more solar energy to warm the ice.

Wadi Rum Protected Area, Jordan

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Wadi Rum contains more than 45,000 rock carvings and inscriptions from over 12,000 years ago. These help to explain the development of pastoral societies and the development of the modern alphabet. Wadi Rum is also an important refuge for desert wildlife, including endangered sooty hawks, Arabian oryx and Nubian ibex. Warmer and drier conditions with more extreme weather, including drought, are making access to water more difficult and endangering the wildlife that depends on it.

Great Barrier Reef, Australia

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The world's largest reef system off Australia's northeast coast has been severely affected by rising water temperatures. Warmer water temperatures caused by climate change are putting strain on corals because they are very sensitive to temperature changes.

This leads to coral bleaching, a process in which corals expel the symbiotic algae living in their tissues, turning them completely white. A recent study found that about 35% of the corals in the northern and central sections of the reef are dead or dying.

Southern Lagoon of the Rock Islands, Palau

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This western Pacific archipelago is made up of more than 400 limestone islands, many of which are surrounded by aquamarine lagoons and coral reefs. The Rock Islands contain the world's highest concentration of marine lakes. The atolls are also home to nearly 400 species of coral, many of which are endemic.

Rising sea temperatures, particularly in tropical and subtropical waters, have pushed many corals to the limits of their thermal tolerance. Palau's southern lagoon experienced significant coral bleaching in 1998, 2010 and again in 2015.

Komodo National Park, Indonesia

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The islands of Komodo National Park are home to diverse ecosystems, including mangroves, coral reefs, dry savannas and tropical forests and, most famously, the Komodo dragon. The Komodo dragon, the largest living species of lizard, is found nowhere else on Earth.

Increased rainfall linked to climate change in the very dry Komodo Islands could lead to overpopulation of lizard colonies. Additionally, ocean acidification and warming temperatures pose a threat to the islands' stunning coral reefs.

Rice terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras, Philippines

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The Ifugao indigenous people of the Philippine Cordillera developed their rice terraces over a period of over 2,000 years. Warming temperatures and an increase in extreme precipitation events are major concerns. More intense rainstorms increase the instability of rice terraces built on the steep mountain slopes, causing landslides and soil erosion.

Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal

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The Himalayan National Park is home to the highest point on earth - the summit of Mount Everest at 8,848 m (29,029 feet) - as well as unique wildlife such as the endangered snow leopard and red panda. There is also a vibrant Sherpa culture in the park, combining traditional agricultural practices with a deep reverence for nature. Warming temperatures and changes in precipitation are causing glaciers to retreat and alter water runoff patterns. This also destabilizes the surrounding slopes and causes catastrophic landslides and flash floods.

Yellowstone National Park, USA

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Yellowstone was the world's first national park and was famously called "America's Best Idea." The iconic Old Faithful geyser, as well as more than half of the world's geothermal features—hot springs, mud pots, steam vents, and geysers—are located in Yellowstone.

Temperatures in the Rocky Mountain states surrounding Yellowstone have risen 1.17°C since 1895. Warming means that winter in the park is becoming shorter and there is less snowfall. This affects the park's rivers, streams, wetlands and lakes and impacts almost all wildlife in the park. Finally, shorter winters are helping to lengthen the fire season—from five months in the 1970s to seven months today—and leading to an increase in large fires.

Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

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Made famous by Charles Darwin's visit in 1835, the Galápagos Islands are known worldwide for their role in helping Darwin formulate his theory of evolution through natural selection. Darwin described the Galápagos Islands as “a little world unto itself” and marveled at the diversity of species found there.

Now sea level rise, warming oceans and atmosphere, ocean acidification and changes in rainfall are damaging the islands' ecosystems. In addition, severe El Niño events, such as those experienced in 1982-1983 and 1997-1998, have devastating effects on Galápagos species by disrupting food supplies.

Rapa Nui National Park (Easter Island), Chile

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Famous for its iconic carved Moai statues, Rapa Nui is one of the most remote inhabited islands on earth. The main impacts of climate change on Rapa Nui are expected to be water shortages due to reduced summer rainfall, rising sea levels and coastal erosion. The majority of Moai statues are located directly on the coast, where several archaeological sites have reportedly already been affected by significant coastal erosion.

Ilulissat Icefjord, Greenland

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400 km north of the Arctic Circle, the massive Jakobshavn glacier meets the sea in Disko Bay. The glacier embodies the climatic problem of the polar regions as a whole. It has been studied by scientists for more than 150 years and has contributed significantly to the understanding of glaciology. As in all polar regions, the ice sheets are becoming thinner as the melting of polar ice accelerates. The Antarctic and Arctic ice sheets hold enough water to raise global sea levels by about 65 m (213 feet).

The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the global average. Higher temperatures mean summer sea ice has declined to its lowest extent recorded in satellite time. Across the Arctic, permafrost is thawing and the region's glaciers are also shrinking. All of this extra water flows directly into the sea, causing water levels to rise worldwide.

Venice and its lagoon, Italy

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Venice is one of the world heritage sites most threatened by rising sea levels. The city's extraordinary architectural collection is under immediate threat. Venice's water has risen about 30 cm since the end of the 19th century. The increasingly frequent flood events that the city has experienced over the last 60 years are of great concern. The worst flooding in recent history occurred in November 1966, when a massive storm system hit Italy, causing catastrophic damage to art and heritage in Venice.

Island states

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Recently, the Guardian reported that five Pacific islands in the Solomon Islands had simply disappeared due to rising seas caused by climate change. In 1999, the Pacific Regional Environment Program reported that two small uninhabited Kiribati islands, Tebua Tarawa and Abanuea, had also disappeared underwater. This prompted the government of Kiribati to explore options for relocating the island nation's entire population of 103,500 to the neighboring Pacific nation of Fiji.

Thousands of islands, home to millions of people, are threatened by rising sea levels. These include, among others, the Maldives in the Indian Ocean as well as the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Nauru.

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