Pakistan, Oct. 27 -- Coastlines have traditionally been the starting and terminal points of trade corridors for centuries. Modern-day coastlines not only hold ports and fishing fleets but also energy terminals and, in most cases, large cities. Interlocked climatic and environmental changes have resulted in rising sea levels, hard-hitting coastal storms, eroding deltas and tsunamis, exponentially increasing the risk to the coastlines. The eventual loss does not remain restricted to the coasts; it creeps inland in the form of disrupted supply chains, inflated food prices and soaring public debt. The more is the infrastructural growth along the coastline, more are the stakes.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) released its Asia-Pacific Climat...