From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Thu Dec 10 2009 - 15:46:43 EST
GLOBAL: How to get attention in Copenhagen
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Photo: <http://www.irinnews.org/photo.aspx> Tomas de Mul/IRIN
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Money and technology would make a big difference
COPENHAGEN, 10 December 2009 (IRIN) - Some of the world's poorest countries,
which also happen to be on the frontline of climate change, are finding
strategies to move the spotlight at the UN climate talks in Copenhagen to
helping them adapt to doing things differently.
There is strength in numbers: some countries, like Mali, have found donors
to help them afford more representatives in Copenhagen; Lesotho and Burkina
Faso have teamed up with countries experiencing similar problems. Or there
is narrowing your focus: other countries, like Eritrea, are selectively
attending sessions that could benefit them directly.
Most of these nations face dire shortfalls in food production and water
stresses in the next decade, and their main aim is accessing critical funds
and technology to help them adapt, as part of a deal made in Copenhagen.
IRIN caught up with the leaders of some government delegations from Least
Developed Countries (LDCs) and local NGOs to get a sense of how small
nations and organizations with little voices plan to make themselves heard.
Finding the money
Mali, a West African country caught in a vicious, often unpredictable cycle
of droughts and heavy rainfall that illustrates the unfolding impact of
climate change, sent a strong message to their government to send a big,
vociferous delegation to the UN climate change talks to ensure its voice
would carry weight.
"We had a series of workshops right down to the local government level for
an entire year, to prepare to engage the world at the climate change talks
to get finance and technology to help our people adapt," said Fatoumata
Diakite, Mali's ambassador to Denmark.
At an end-of-day briefing session with her country's team, she laughed as
she recalled the number of delegates Mali had been able to send to global
conferences. "There would be five people from the government, and the rest -
nine of us were from NGOs, but all women, I was one of them - sadly, we
don't have any women in the delegation now."
It had been hard to be present at all the sessions to state their case, but
the number of people representing her country at the UN climate change talks
in Copenhagen has mushroomed from five to almost 50. "It was political will,
and we found donors to support us ... there is a lot of public awareness now
about climate change."
It's about survival
Mali straddles the arid Sahel, on the edge of the Sahara Desert; in another
15 years it will be much hotter and drier, and "," Diakite commented.
Projections indicate that 68 percent of the population will be pushed into
hunger.
Each member of the delegation has to raise Mali's interests and concerns at
the sessions they attend and report back to team at the end of the day. The
feedback is discussed and strategies are framed to help focus their
approach.
Robert Farmer, the head of Third Planet, a US-based NGO promoting
sustainable energy development, noted that attending climate change
sessions, which can run well into the night, could be overwhelming for
anyone but more so for representatives from poorer countries, who often do
not have the capacity to attend all the sessions.
As the often lone representative of his organization, Farmer said he had
found useful counsel in <http://www.cckn.net/pdf/my_delegation_en.pdf> On
Behalf of My Delegation: A Guide for Developing Country Climate Negotiators,
a book written by Joyeeta Gupta, an author of the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change reports.
Gupta advises lone representatives to attend sessions with the greatest
relevance to their countries, or find negotiators from like-minded countries
and divide attending the sessions between them. Eritrea, Burkina Faso,
Lesotho and Nepal seem to have followed this advice.
"We are very focused in our approach - we are only attending sessions on
finance for adaptation and technology transfer, and we have eight experts
attending these sessions," said Seid Abdu Salih, Eritrea's national climate
change coordinator.
He noted that their team has grown from three to eight, and that the impact
of climate change had influenced the usually reclusive Eritrean government
to allow the officials to travel to the conference. "We are very grateful to
the government," he said.
Lesotho, a mountainous kingdom in southern Africa, is struggling with water
stress, droughts and severe deforestation. Bruno Sekoli, its chief
negotiator and chair of the LDC group, said in terms of climate change
impact and adaptation strategies, Lesotho had much more in common with the
Himalayan countries of Nepal and Bhutan than the rest of Africa.
They are considering teaming up. "Our communities live in similar
conditions, so our adaptation strategies will be very similar," he pointed
out.
On the other hand, countries like Burkina Faso are hoping to make themselves
heard through bigger collectives like the LDC group and the Africa group.
"If our voices and concerns are still not heard, then, as a last resort, we
will have to go it alone," said Mamdou Honadia, chief negotiator for Burkina
Faso.
"Money is critical," said Uday Sharma, environment secretary in the Nepalese
government. The LDCs have adopted one position and put their weight behind
it: that 75 percent of all adaptation money should go to the poorest
countries.
Some local NGOs, like Environmental Alert in Uganda, have struck up
strategic partnerships with their government to provide counsel, technical
support, and keep a check on government representatives to ensure that the
interests of constituencies are looked after.
Gupta suggested in her book that government officials ask NGOs from their
country for help. Environmental Alert's Christine Nantongo, who is also a
member of the government delegation, said she would be keeping tabs on
adaptation money and technology transfer.
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