STOCKHOLM, Aug 17, 2007 (AFP) - Rising sea levels, melting glaciers, floods and hurricanes: global warming means urban planners need to rethink how and where to build cities, water experts warned at a conference in Stockholm this week.

Almost 80 percent of the world's population lives less than 50 kilometers (30 miles) from a coastline, a jarring fact given that one of the effects of global warming is rising sea levels, according to the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI).