"We will all be drowning in our own backyards if leaders of developed nations do not take swift action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," Federated States of Micronesia President Emanuel Mori said.

He was speaking at a meeting of presidents and governors from United States-affiliated islands in the north Pacific at a summit held in the Marshall Islands capital of Majuro that ends Friday.

Although the summit had a broad agenda -- including tourism, health, energy and telecommunications -- the pressing issue of climate change and its potentially devastating impact took centre stage.

The mood reflected the recent World Ocean Conference in Indonesia where island countries expressed fears that entire nations could be wiped off the map.

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted in 2007 that up to 150 million people could be displaced by the effects of climate change by 2050.

Those effects include sea level rises of as much as 59 centimetres (23 inches).

Mori urged summit leaders to back the Micronesia Challenge, a regional conservation program, as a first step towards continued survival.

"How do we explain to the world (we need action) if we don't protect our oceans and lands" (through the Micronesia Challenge), he said.

The summit involves leaders from the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.

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