Islanders on South Uist demand action to tackle the impacts of climate change.

Local residents gathered in Daliburgh, South Uist to voice their concerns about the impacts of climate change on the Western Isles and to demand action to prevent further loss of land, livelihoods and life.

Chaired by Oxfam Scotland, the Western Isles Climate Hearing heard testimonies from local people about how costal erosion, rising sea levels and more severe weather events were affecting the future of the islands and the ability of islanders to fish, croft and crop.

They put their concerns to a panel of agencies, including representatives from CoastAdapt, Scottish National Heritage and academics looking into the impacts of climate change on the Western Isles.

Residents on South Uist told the hearing that they were already feeling the effects of climate change and more needed to be done to help them to cope and adapt.

They said that due to increased winter rainfall and more severe weather events, the low-lying islands were now more vulnerable to flooding. They warned that unless better drainage and defence systems were installed, South Uist could eventually split, making much of it uninhabitable.

Many also referred back to the storm of 2005 in which three generations of one family were tragically washed off the causeway by a freak wave caused by a storm surge. They expressed concern that despite this, progress on installing better defences had not been made. They also demanded the development of early warning systems for dangerous areas to prevent future loss of life, as winter weather conditions are set to get worse.

Donald Campbell, a local resident and ghillie (loch fisherman), said:

"In my industry, we use nature as our barometer. We are out in it all the time and observe the changes. We are getting a lot more rain through winter into spring. Then last summer, we had ten weeks without any rain at all. This is affecting cropping and crofting. These are things that we cannot change. All we can do is prepare for them."

Seumas MacDonald, local resident, said:

"The 2005 storm broke onto the Machair at Kilphedar. We see the land going and nothing has been spent to stop it. If money had been spent on the land, there could be quite a good defence system in place now. With the next storm that comes, the Machair will disappear all together."

Donald MacKinnon, chairman of Lochboisdale Community Council, added:

"We have already had loss of life here. We can't get much worse than that."

Judith Robertson, Head of Oxfam Scotland, who chaired the Climate Hearing, said:

"In all the countries Oxfam is working in across the world, we see climate change devastating people's lives. But this isn't just happening in developing countries. It is happening here in Scotland as well.

"Why we have come to South Uist is that we want to understand the impacts of climate change from the perspectives of people who are living with it every day. This isn't something that is happening in 20 or 30 years time. This is happening here and now, in Scotland, and we need to take action, before it's too late."

Climate Predictions for South Uist:
By 2030, South Uist will experience warmer and wetter winters, wetter springs and autumns, warmer and drier summers, and a decrease in cloud coverage in all seasons except summer. By 2080, sea levels will have risen by at least 37cm. (from SEPA)

See BBC iPlayer for Newsnight Scotland report.