The Asia Pacific region is home to more than half of the world's population, the majority of whom are poor and among the most disadvantaged in the world. Some 600 million women, men and children in the region live below the USD 1 a day poverty line, while 1.8 billion survive on less than USD 2 a day. Compounding the situation, the region is also highly disaster-prone. The diversity, scale and frequency of natural disasters across the region are daunting. Set along numerous fault lines, many countries in the region are often hit by major earthquakes

Trade negotiations between Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Pacific leaders at the Pacific Islands Forum in Cairns this week must not plunge Pacific people already hit by the economic crisis, food crisis and climate change further into poverty, says leading international aid agency Oxfam.

With overall growth in the Pacific expected to slow, and falls in tourism, remittances and exports resulting from the global financial crisis likely to hit hard, any new trade arrangements

This is just one of the multiple impacts of climate change taking their toll on the world's poorest people, according to the Oxfam report 'Suffering the Science - Climate Change, People and Poverty'.

The report's release comes ahead of the

Dhaka, May 27 2009

Disaster Title: Landslides

Date of onset: 24.05.2009

Location: South-West Papua New Guinea

Women and children were believed to be among those buried in the collapse, which hit Zongefifi village in Morobe province, on PNG's northwestern coast, in the early hours of Sunday morning, Australian Associated Press reported.

A youth from a nearby village walked for hours to alert authorities to the landslide, which reportedly buried the entire village, AAP said.

Heavy rains, floods and thick cloud prevented