Judy Lumb's
Africa Blog --- December 2011 - April 2012
23 January 2012 — I went with Gladys and Dave to
look at a cow and in the process learned about the mud-and-wattle building
method. Click here for details and photos.
23 January 2012 — Today was a big announcement in
the International Criminal Court (ICC) about cases pending from Kenya’s
post-election violence in 2008. Click here for
details.
20 January 2012 --- I have now been here in
Lumakanda for two weeks and I will share some of what I have observed about
life here --- Click here.
12 January 2012 --- A Peace of Africa is a new book (2011) written by David Zarembka,
Director of the African Great Lakes Initiative. I recommend it highly. Click here for my review.
9 January 2012 --- The last two days have been
travel days from South Africa to Kenya. I have now arrived where I will be
headquartered for the next three months. Here are
some details on travels.
Central and South African Yearly Meeting
8 January 2012 --- I was very excited to be able to
attend Central and Southern African Yearly Meeting (unprogrammed Friends). For more details, click here.
30 December 2011 --- I've managed to upload a few movies.
29 December 2011 --- As I prepare to leave Cape
Town, I am reflecting on my experiences of South Africa in comparison to the
U.S. Click here.
29 December 2011 --- Kelly and Brad, African
traditional healers who live just across the street in Oude Molen, invited me
to go along with them and their daughter, Isabella, on an excursion down the
peninsula around Cape Point to see the penguins
and beautiful views.
28 December 2011 --- Before I leave Cape Town, here are some more scenes.
28 December 2011 --- I finally got nerve enough to
face my bird photos and they were not as bad as I thought, but don't expect too
much of my little camera. Some are birds are barely discernible, but at least
you can get an idea of the variety of them here. Click here
26 December 2011 --- My first hop-off the
double-decker tour bus was at Kirstenbosch
Nationa Botanical Gardens on the slopes of Devils Peak.
Cape Town Celebrates Boxing Day
26 December 2011 --- I saw how Cape Town celebrated
Boxing Day from the "hop-on, hop-off" double-decker bus around the western Cape to Hout Bay and around
Cape Town.
25 December 2011 --- Merry Christmas, or, as they
say here, Happy Christmas. Last night was a Christmas Eve dinner at Lighthouse
Farm Lodge, which is in Oude Molen Eco-Village in the Cape Town suburb of
Pinelands. I feel so at home here --- I could be in Barranco, which is where I
usually am for Christmas. Click here for
more details and photos.
23 December 2011 --- Going through leftover COP-17
materials I find I have more to say that I didn't get to in the rush of the
Conference. Click here for more information
on new sources of funding for climate change responses.
21 December 2011 --- I went to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela and
other political prisoners were held for decades during the Apartheid days in
South Africa. Click here for more details and
photos.
20 December 2011 --- The area near Cape Town is ideal from growing fruits,
especially grapes, so there are many, many wine farms. We went to three
wineries and a rapter rehabilitation/cheetah outreach center. Click here for details and photos.
19 December 2011 --- I am now in Cape Town, staying in another backpacker
hostel, Lighthouse Farm Lodge in Oude Molen Eco-Village. My first sight-seeing
adventure was a ride up Table Mountain in a cable car. Click
here for views from the top.
16 December 2011 --- I am now in Chobe National Park, staying at Chobe
Game Lodge in the park. The Chobe National Park is home to approximately 45,000
elephants, 500 lions, countless impalas, other antelope species (waterbuck,
puku, lechwe, kudu), hippos, giraffes, African buffalo, baboons, vervet
monkeys, two species of mongoose, two species of monitor lizards, and many
more.Click here for more details and a
slideshow of animals.
14 December 2011 --- COP-17 is over and now I am a tourist for one week.
My first stop is Victoria Falls. My sons will not be surprised as I often took them
to waterfalls. This is the most impressive I have ever seen, not in height, but
in breadth, several kilometers wide. The Zambezi River spreads out like a delta
and falls into a gorge. Click here for a
slide show of the falls viewed from the ground and from the air in a
helicopter.
Conference
of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-17)
Durban, South Africa, November 28 - December 9, 2010: Working together to save
tomorrow today
11 December 2011 --- I had to leave before it
finished, but I can see the direction it is heading. Click
here for my take on the outcome.
10 December 2011 --- We are all waiting for the
resumption of the last session of the COP, time to be announced. Undoubtedly
you will get many reports of the outcome here in Durban. I will add my version
after the final is announced. But what I can provide at this point is a
description of what it is like to be here. Click here
for that.
9 December 2011 --- We thought it was going to be
the last night, but after gaveling the few decisions that have already been
made, all from the first week, they suspended the COP until tomorrow morning at
10 am. It seems that the developing countries are blocking that bad agreement
that was proposed. For more on the issues and rumors,
click here.
9 December 2011 --- Climate Justice Now had a Press
Conference at 6:30 pm tonight that was webcast
on the UNFCCC website. <unfccc.int>. It may still be there. Look for
"on-demand." They were deploring the proposed agreement that came out
this morning. There will be no second period of the Kyoto Protocol at Durban,
but negotiations are to go on all year with the approval at COP-18 in Qatar.
CJN speakers recommended that developing countries block this agreement. For more detail click here.
8 December 2011 --- I have been to most of the
Country Reports. While the Ministers are negotiating in closed sessions, the
open sessions involve each country giving their statement. It was my favorite
part in Cancun, so I went to most of them. It took three days for all 193 countries
plus Palestine to report.
Each country described their individual experiences
with the effects of climate change. The only countries that didn't mention
serious problems were the industrialized countries that emit most of the
greenhouse gases. Click here for more details,
including transcripts of the Belize, U.S. and Venezuela reports.
During the country reports there were two
demonstrations, "Turn your back on Canada," and a woman shouting a
speech against the U.S. All were led out of the room by police. Click here for more details on these and other
demonstrations inside the Conference.
6 December 2011 --- The Ministers have arrived and
today was the opening ceremony for the high level segment of COP-17. The
dignitaries spoke, the Executive Director of the UNFCCC, President of COP-17,
President of South Africa, and UN Secretary General. Then several Heads of
State spoke, most of whom were representing groups of countries. They were
speaking to the Ministers, explaining their group’s agenda, so the issues
became a little clearer. All were very compelling and several represented the
most vulnerable countries, so the urgency and importance of a positive result
from Durban was emphasized. As usual, click
here for more details if you aren’t too tired of reading this and have the
time.
6 December 2011 --- Summary of
the major issues: Basically the industrial countries that have
caused the problem do not experience so much adverse effects from climate change
now, and what they do experience they have the resources to address, so they do
not feel so much urgency. In contrast, developing countries that did not cause
the problem are experiencing serious adverse effects and do not have the
resources to adapt, so they feel a great urgency for action. The major issues
involve the question of a second commitment period for the Kyoto Protocol,
which ends at the end of 2012, goals for emissions reductions, carbon offsets,
and financing of developing country needs. Click
here for more detail.
5 December 2011 ---My summary of the first week: a
few agreements are finalized on minor issues, and much negotiating work has
been done. But there doesn’t seem to be much progress on the major issues.
Everyone awaits the results of the high level meetings with Ministers this
week. Today’s detail includes an explanation of the structure and function of
each part of the UNFCCC, and some of the minor agreements completed. Click here for COP-17 Structure and Function.
4 December 2011 --- It is now midnight on Saturday
night that finishes the first week, so it is a marathon night which will go
until the work is done. The first week involves decisions on technical,
organizational, and financial issues, as well as preliminary negotiations on
political issues. More detail later today on what came out of the first week.
The second week is the high level negotiations at the ministerial level. Some
heads of state will be here.
4 December 2011 --- World Day of Action was a march
through the streets of Durban of many, many people, the 99% expressing
themselves. I positioned myself on a balcony so I could get an overview and
then joined the march. Click
here for a slideshow.
3 December 2011 --- Before heading out to the march
I want to share a bit on the controversy on the decision-making process of the
COP-17. Click here to read more.
2 December 2011 --- Tomorrow (Saturday, Dec 3) is
the big march, so today there were several actions to build the momentum for
it. It was all very uplifting for me. Click here
for more details and photos.
But then I went to the briefing by the U.S. Head
Negotiator, Jonathan Pershing. He was very slick, almost manic. He has it all
worked out in his head how the U.S. can make a positive contribution despite
the restrictions placed on the team due to the political realities. I came out
of there depressed because it all seems so impossible, so unfair.
2 December 2011 --- Mitigation: In contrast to
Adaptation, Mitigation refers to avoiding the effects of climate change
altogether, reducing carbon emissions so that the change is averted. The pledge
in Copenhagen was vaguely stated as a range of 25 to 40% reduction by 2020, but
that was not legally binding. Developing countries are calling for 40%
reduction by 2017 and 95% by 2050. According to current science, this is what
is required to keep the global temperature increase well below 2 degrees C. Click here for more on Mitigation.
1 December 2011 --- A new emphasis on Adaptation to
the effects of climate change was important in Cancun because many developing
countries are feeling serious effects of climate change already. They need help
adapting to the new reality from the developed countries that owe them a debt
from historical benefits from carbon emissions.
I am going to the Adaptation sessions and reporting
back to the Climate Justice Now group at the morning meetings. Last night I
went to a side event for the Adaptation Fund because it included a presentation
by Sharon Ramclam, Director of the Protected Areas Conservation Trust (PACT) of
Belize because PACT is accredited as a National Implementation Entity. Click here for more on Adaptation.
My Internet is back, so I can upload photos from
Occupy Earth. I have heard Quakers are involved and got another hint. The People's
Assembly yesterday began with an explanation of hand signals and the first was
the Quaker alternative to clapping as a signal of approval. Click here for more details and photos.
30 November 2011 --- I am keeping up with the
Climate Justice Now (CJN) coalition, which involves many organizations. We meet
each morning and someone is assigned to go to each official meeting and report
back the next morning, so that is very helpful. There are a very few
opportunities for Civil Society to make "interventions" (give
statements) at plenaries. There are no "actions" going on in the
meeting space as security is very tight. Some delegates who participated in
actions in the past were denied badges this time. The Occupy Earth space is
just across the street. I went to their assembly this afternoon and have some
photos, but can't upload now. I hope all Occupy movements are holding COP-17 in
the Light! Click here for a beginning list of
issues arising.
28 November 2011 --- Today COP-17 was officially
opened with the outgoing President Patricia Espinosa, Foreign Minister of
Mexico, turning over the reins to incoming President of COP-17, H.E. Ms.Maitte
Nkoana-Mashabane, who is also the Foreign Minister of her country, South
Africa. As in Cancun, we have a woman in charge and again she emphasized that
the process would be inclusive and open. Click
here for more details.
27 November 2011 --- I spent the most of the day at
the stadium where there was a free concert and rally sponsored by a coalition
of all the Faith groups, featuring Bishop Desmond Tutu. It made me even more
conscious how important is the U.S.'s stubborn resistance. I'm going to send
emails to U.S. media asking them to cover COP-17, and to the White House. Click here for more details.
26 November 2011 --- It took six planes and three
days of flying, but I am now in Durban, South Africa. Click here for details and photos.
31 October 2011 --- My leading is to go to Africa
for five months bracketed by two events, COP-17 in
Durban, South Africa in Dec, and World Gathering of Friends in Kenya in April,
2012
Jan 2012 - Mar 2012 I am volunteering with the African Great Lakes Initiative (AGLI). AGLI
requires that all volunteers raise funds. If you are led to contribute to this
effort, put my name in the memo line and send a check to AGLI/FPT, 1001 Park
Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63104. Thanks!