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气候变化损害东南亚农业 Economic damage from climate change will hit Southeast Asia harder than other regions and seriously jeopardize production of rice, the world's most important food crop, according to a report by the Asian Development Bank. The report, released Monday in Bangkok, found that the total cost of lost agricultural production and other negative impacts from climate change would be equivalent to as much as 6.7% of gross domestic product in major Southeast Asian countries by the end of this century, more than double the 2.6% loss estimated for the world as a whole. It also found that rice yields would decline by as much as 34% in Indonesia and 75% in the Philippines, while Thailand and Vietnam, among the world's biggest exporters of the food, would also experience declines. Southeast Asia 'will have to do something' to offset those losses, including making new investments to maintain agricultural production, says Juzhong Zhuang, an economist at the ADB. The vulnerability of Southeast Asia stems largely from its geography, which includes the vast archipelago of Indonesia and other low-lying nations such as Thailand and Vietnam with long coastlines. Some 80% of the region's population and much of its economic activity are within 100 kilometers of the coast, the ADB said. Southeast Asia's economy also relies heavily on agriculture and forestry, both of which may be affected significantly by changing weather patterns. | 
