Environment Conventions and agreements

Posted March 1998

Potential impacts of sea-level rise
on populations and agriculture
by R. Gommes, J. du Guerny, F. Nachtergaele and R. Brinkman
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Appendix: Some indicators pertaining to the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) countries

Cover page | 1. Introduction / setting | 2. Effects of sea-level rise | 3. Lessons from the past | 4. Vulnerability index | 5. Conclusions, references | 6. Appendix table: AOSIS countries

Appendix table. Some indicators pertaining to the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) countries
Country Insularity Index Vulnerability Index Pop. density pers/km2 Pop. growth rate * Arable land % GDP per capita (1995 US$) Protection cost in % of GNP ** Extreme events
Cape Verde 0.239 22 96-214 2.48-0.64 9 1040 0.15 VO
Sao Tome and Principe 0.218 33 150 2.00-1.26 1 1000 1.46
Bahamas 0.352 11 20-31 1.59-0.22 1 18700 2.67 CY
Cuba 0.034 3 99-102 0.43-(0.37) 23 1300 0.13 CY DR
Dominica 0.197 21 111 0.05-0.48 9 2450 0.17 CY
Antigua and Barbuda 0.348 52 149 0.65-0.48 18 6600 1.01 CY DR
Saint Kitts and Nevis 0.502 77 154 (0.09)-0.48 22 5380 2.33 CY
Dominican Republic 0.027 4 161-270 1.65-0.43 23 3400 0.04 cy
Jamaica 0.094 21 225-354 0.94-0.32 19 3200 0.19 CY
Haiti 0.064 16 257-632 1.86-1.01 20 1000 0.07 CY EQ DR
Trinidad and Tobago 0.071 18 251-370 0.82-0.30 14 12100 0.21
Saint Lucia 0.259 67 259 1.28-0.48 8 4080 0.82 CY VO
Grenada 0.356 99 279 0.41-0.48 15 3000 0.67 cy
Saint Vincent & Grenadines 0.247 86 348 0.89-0.48 38 2060 0.55 CY VO
Barbados 0.226 137 606-712 0.29-(0.01) 77 9800 0.27 CY
Seychelles 1.079 183 170 1.03-0.32 4 6000 5.51
Comoros 0.157 42 274-839 3.07-1.11 35 700 0.13 CY TS
Mauritius 0.096 52 547-811 1.08-0.32 54 9600 0.15 CY
Maldives 2.147 1833 854-2785 3.44-1.16 10 1560 34.33
Cyprus 0.070 6 81-111 1.25-0.25 40 11000 *** 0.08 eq
Malta 0.438 507 1160-1400 0.63-0.16 38 12000 0.15
Vanuatu 0.171 2 14-37 2.49-1.02 1 1220 0.26 CY eq
Solomon Islands 0.193 3 13-41 3.21-1.12 1 2590 0.20 cy VO
Palau 3.317 123 37 1.91-0.79 NA 5000 0.69 CY
Fiji 0.062 3 43-76 1.56-0.51 8 6100 1.53 cy
Western Samoa 0.141 8 58-113 1.88-0.50 **** 19 1900 0.59 cy VO
Cook Islands 0.500 41 82 0.90-0.58 4 3000 1.03 CY
Kiribati 1.594 180 113 1.90-0.79 0 860 18.79 CY
Tonga 0.584 83 148 0.38-0.58 25 2160 1.14 CY EQ VO
Micronesia 8.707 1358 156-355 2.75-0.94 NA 1700 0.73 CY
Marshall Islands 2.043 658 322 3.51-0.97 0 1680 7.24 CY
Tuvalu 0.923 360 390 1.34-0.48 0 800 14.14 cy
Nauru 1.429 698 489 2.16-0.91 0 10000 1.25 DR

* 1995-2000 values, and projected 2045-2050 values; medium variant of UN 1996a and UN 1996b if available. Data not available from the mentioned sources were taken from Factbook, 1997. Negative growth rates between brackets. ** From Annex D of CZMS, 1990. Includes, cities, harbors, etc.
*** Weighted average of Greek and Turkish parts of the Island.
**** The data correspond to French Polynesia which is somehow intermediate between the other islands of American Samoa (2.81-0.58) and Wallis and Futuna (1.05-0.58).
For population density the current (1995-2000) and projected (2045-50) values are given. Extreme events are volcanoes (VO), cyclones (CY), drought (DR), earthquakes (EQ) and tsunamis (TS). Strong incidence is indicated by capitals (CY) while small letters stand for a minor impact (cy). Data stem from Factbook (1997); UN 1996a, 1996b and 1997; CZMS 1990 and OFDA 1996.

To: Cover page | 1. Introduction / setting | 2. Effects of sea-level rise | 3. Lessons from the past | 4. Vulnerability index | 5. Conclusions, references | 6. Appendix table: AOSIS countries

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