MANADO, Indonesia (May 14, 2009)--Government representatives from around the world say there must be an urgent effort to protect oceans from global warming.

Participants in the World Ocean's Conference in Indonesia are trying to include concerns about the risk of rising seas, warmer waters and spiraling acidity in a new U.N. climate treaty.

Governments say that the lives of tens of millions of people could be affected.

Scientists have long warned that higher temperatures will melt polar ice and cause sea levels to rise, wiping out island communities and coastal ecosystems.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in recorded remarks that the effects of climate change are clear.

She said they can be seen not only in "melting glaciers and dying coral reefs, but also in damaged homes, falling wages, rising poverty, diminished opportunities."