The waters are already rising (From Bournemouth Echo)

The waters are already rising

9:00am Saturday 15th August 2009 in

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RE: HENGISTBURY Head could disappear over the next century (Daily Echo, August 13, page 6).

The beaches between Studland and Hengistbury Head have constantly changed over the years; we accept this natural process, so I was not surprised to read the above headline. But when climate change came up later in the article I thought of the recent catastrophic typhoon in Taiwan.

Mike Hodges says “Why wait for disaster? Why not spend some sensible money now...” in order to save huge amounts later on.

Climate change has already affected the lives of millions of the poorest people on the planet: in African countries the increasing occurrence of drought is often the reason that crops fail and animals die: in Bangladesh rivers are swollen by unprecedented rainfall and homes and livelihoods are swept away. People need protection.

Latest thinking suggests that micro-insurance could be a vital tool to help poor people survive “natural” disasters. Just as microcredit has lifted 100 million families out of poverty in the last 11 years, so small insurance payments, with extra funds from wealthy countries who contribute most to global warming, would save millions. When times are hard poor farmers typically sell their productive assets; they become destitute before qualifying for aid handouts. With micro-insurance people will be better able to look after their environment.

Hengistbury Head might disappear in the next 200 years, but there are poor people dying from the effects of climate change now.

HELEN DAVIS, Whitefield Road, Parkstone, Poole