Secretary-General Ban makes historic visit to Antarctica

Today 9th November 2007, Ban Ki-moon became the first United Nations Secretary-General to make an official visit to Antarctica as he travelled to the frozen continent to see first-hand the effects of climate change on its melting glaciers.

Mr. Ban, who has made the climate change a priority issue during his term as Secretary-General, received a briefing from scientists at a Chilean Air Force base in Antarctica before visiting the Collins Glaciers and then the Sejong Research Centre.

"I am here today to observe the impact of Global Warming. To see for myself and learn all I can. We joke amoung ourselves that we are on an “Eco-tour”, but I am not here as a tourist but as a messenger of early warning."

"What we saw today was extraordinarily beautiful. These dramatic landscapes are rare and wonderful, but it is deeply disturbing as well. We can clearly see this world changing. The ice is melting far faster that we think.
All this may be gone, and not in the distant future, unless we act, together, now
Look about us. We have seen it with our own eyes. Antarctica is on the verge of a catastrophe – for the world. The glaciers here on King George Island have shrunk by 10%. Some in Admirality Bay have retreated by 25 kilometers. You know how the Larsen B ice sheet collapsed several years ago and disappeared within weeks – the size of Rhode Island, 87 kilometers.
What alarms me is not the melting snow and glaciers, alone. It is that the Larsen phenomenon could repeat itself on a vastly greater scale. Scientists here have told me that the entire Western Antarctic Ice Shelf – the WAIS – is at risk. It is all floating ice, one fifth of the entire continent. If it broke up, sea levels could rise by 6 meters or 18 feet. Think of that. And it could happen quickly, almost overnight in geological terms.
This is not scare-mongering. I am not trying to frighten you. According to recent studies, 138 tons of ice are now being lost every year, mostly from the Western Ice Shelf.
You know, also that deep blue water absorbs more heat that sea covered with ice. The sea ice around Antarctica is vanishing too.
There are other deeply worrying signs. The penguin population of Chabrier Rock, a main breeding ground, has declined by 57% in the last 25 years. It is the same elsewhere. What will happen to the annual march of the penguins in the future? Will there even be one?
Grass is growing for the first time ever here on King George Island – including a grass used on American golf courses. It rains, increasingly often in the summer rather than snows.
These things should alarm us all. Antarctica is a natural lab that helps us understand what is happening to our world. We must save this precious earth, including all that is here. It is a natural wonder, but above all, it is our common home.
It is here where our work, together, comes into focus. We see Antarctica's beauty – and the danger global warming represents, and the urgency that we do something about it. I am determined that we shall" said Ban.

A night before, he addressed the Ibero-American Summit in Santiago, the Chilean capital, where he told the audience that the UN’s work is “intimately linked” with the need to promote social cohesion worldwide.
“Our very mission for peace, development and human rights depends on fostering inclusive societies that are stable, safe, just and tolerant – societies that respect diversity, equality of opportunity and participation of all,” Mr. Ban said.
He stressed the importance of building and strengthening social cohesion to tackling several key challenges and issues faced by the UN, from climate change to migration to upholding indigenous rights and those of peoples with disabilities.

Notes:

Fatimid Heritage Foundation supports heritage, education and peace activities to enhance knowledge, interfaith harmony and global pluralism. The FATIMID works to promote a more secure, equitable and prosperous world in conformity with the vision of His Highness Aga Khan. It is an expression of love and devotion Ismaili Muslims have for Aga Khan Fatimid Imam Caliph, 49th direct lineal descendant of Prophet Muhammad through his cousin and son-in-law, Aly, the first Imam-Caliph, and his wife Fatima, the Prophet's daughter. Aga Khan is the rope of love, wisdom and unity among interpretations of the Faith, and also bridge of confidence between West and Muslims. This year, the world is celebrating Golden Jubilee of the Imamat Caliphate of His Highness the Aga Khan. Year 2007 is also the Diamond Jubilee of the creation of Pakistan.Geneva Peace Development Centre (Geneva Peace) and Mountain Girls Education Development Program (MGEDP) are other development initiatives of The FATIMID.

Fatimid Heritage Foundation is the Cooperating Organization with Development Gateway.

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