SUVA, Fiji (Pacific Daily News): May 17, 2002 - Hot climate topics for Pacific Islands countries - rising sea-levels, temperature increases and volatile weather conditions - will be the focus of the region's second Climate Change Roundtable.

The meeting is to be held at the Tanoa International Hotel in Nadi this Friday and Saturday, a University of the South Pacific news release said. The meeting will be hosted by the University of the South Pacific.

It is part of the Pacific Islands Framework for Action on Climate Change, Climate Variability, and Sea-Level Rise, the news release said. This was developed during a regional climate meeting held in Cook Islands in April 2000.

Meeting Coordinator Professor Kanayathu Koshy said changes in climate would impact in four major areas:

• agriculture and fisheries,
• human health,
• coastal,
• and water resources.

Professor Koshy is director of the recently established Pacific Centre for Environment and Sustainable Development at the university's Laucala Campus.