Member countries of the Association of Small Island States Wednesday passed a declaration that global warming threatens the fundamental right to a safe secure and sustainable environment. They were meeting ahead of next month's climate change summit, and chair of the conference, Dr. Angus Friday of Grenada, said the declaration is aimed at focusing on the human dimension of climate change. He said the intention of the declaration is to put the human face back at the centre of the debate. "At the end of the day, this is having very real impact on the livelihoods of people today in small island states," Friday said. He cited the 2004/2005 hurricane devastation in Grenada, which lies outside the traditional Atlantic storm path, as one example of changing weather patterns. But the 26 low-lying nations failed to agree on a resolution backing a human rights agenda at a United Nations climate change summit in Bali, Indonesia next month. The Bali meeting will try to secure an agreement to negotiate a new regime to combat climate change when the current phase of Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012. Reprinted from radioja.com