Worldwide, coastal river deltas are home to more than half a billion people, supporting fisheries, agriculture, cities, and fertile ecosystems.
Worldwide, coastal river deltas are home to more than half a billion people, supporting fisheries, agriculture, cities, and fertile ecosystems. In a unique study covering 49 deltas globally, researchers from Lund University and Utrecht University have identified the most critical risks to deltas in the future. The research shows that deltas face multiple risks, and that population growth and poor environmental governance might pose bigger threats than climate change to the sustainability of Asian and African deltas, in particular.
“We can clearly show that many risks are not linked to climate. While climate change is a global problem, other important risk factors like land subsidence, population density and ineffective governance are local problems. Risks to deltas will only increase over time, so now is the time for governments to take action”, says Murray Scown, associate senior lecturer, Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies, and lead author.
Read more at: Lund University
Photo Credit: EllenChan via Pixabay
