News roundup. The crisis in full swing.

The last couple of months have seen a few momentous happenings, here in South America, and in other parts of the world. I have worked some of them into the presentations I've been giving here in Bolivia and thought I'd give a round up here:

First ever planned evacuation of an island community due to sea-level rise

Firstly, May saw the beginning of a truly momentous event. For the first time in the history of humanity, a whole community of people are being forced to leave their homes, livelihoods and history due to the lost battle against rising sea-levels. This is the start of what is likely to be the largest displacement of people in the history of humanity. As low-lying nations become smaller and smaller, deserts spread leaving land unproductive for crops and animals, glaciers melt and droughts become more frequent, more and more people will earn the title 'climate change refugee' and be forced to join the burgeoning masses of people with nowhere to go. Who will take them in? And, the majority of them will be the poorest people of the world; those who have done the least to cause the problem in the first place.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/05/first-climate-change-refugees-evacuate.php

Bolivia's highest glacier has gone

Another symbolic occurance has passed recently. Chacaltaya, not long ago the world's highest ski resort, has officially disappeared. It's predicted that most of the Andes Glaciers will have melted over the next 20 years, leaving tens of millions without water. Conflict is already on the rise between mountain communities, as vital water supplies dwindle, and communities positioned higher up attempt to divert water, leaving those below with reduced supplies.

http://solveclimate.com/blog/20090506/bolivias-chacaltaya-glacier-melts-nothing-6-years-early

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/24/andes-tribe-threat-bolivia-climate-change

Climate change responsible for 300,000 deaths per year
A compehensive study by Kofi Annan's Global Humanitarian Forum has looked at the human cost of climate change. This is the first time a study has saught to quantify climate change-related death rates and the number of those whose lives are being seriously affected.

http://www.ghf-geneva.org/index.cfm?uNewsID=157

Peru's indigenous fight for the their survival and for the survival of planet earth

The indigenous people living in Peru's Amazonian jungle have been mobilized for 7 weeks in response to the Peruvian governments attempts to drive them from their ancesterol homes and open the forest up to foreign corporations for logging and oil extraction. This is part of the NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), the same trade agreement that initiated the Zapatista uprising in Mexico at the beginning of this century. When people are pushed and pushed until they face the potential elimination of their culture and way of life, they are often left with little choice but to resist and stand up for their rights. A wave of peaceful direct action such as road blockades and the occupation of foreign oil refineries was finaly met with government-backed violence just over a week ago, when helicopter gunships opened fire onto the thousands of unarmed indigenous people below, killing up to 50. The Peruvian Amazon is the largest swathe of Amazon rainforest outside of Peru and Garcia's goverment are intenet on opening up 70% of it to destructive resource extraction. Not only are these brave people fighting for their own survival, but they're unwittingly fighting for the survival of all of humanity at a time of climate crisis. If we loose the remaining rainforests of the world, we loose the battle against catastrophic climate change.

http://www.takepart.com/blog/2009/05/21/indigenous-peoples-fight-to-protect-peruvian-amazon-from-big-oil/

http://www.amazonwatch.org/newsroom/view_news.php?id=1843

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/13/forests-environment-oil-companies

Down with tha Cochabambinos

There's so much to like about Cochabamba. Firstly, despite being a city, it really doesn't seem like one. Everything we need is a few blocks walk away, and there's a nice sense of community. Then there's the climate - we have just entered autumn, and the leaves are falling, yet everyday the sun shines from start to finish, and it's warm enough to wear shorts and vest. The people are friendly and there is a strong presence of indigenous campesinos who have migrated here from the countryside, or who travel here daily to sell their wares. The city sits nestled in a valley surrounded by impressive green hills, with old Christy keeping watch above.

I began a placement with a local environmental education organisation called Gaia Pacha, and Colette has been working for an orphanage for mentally handicapped children. I have been working on two main projects; the creation of a package of environmental education activities and games for local school children, and the creation of a 'sensory' garden for the youth at a centre for blind children/youth. The latter has been the more challenging of the two. I've been teaching two sessions per week with my group of five students. Usually, I can get by with my combination of bad spanish and hand signals, but obviously in this case the hand signals don't go very far. It's been vey enjoyable though, and together we've managed to transform a corner of scrap land at the centre into a lovely garden, complete with lot's of touchy-feely plants, smelly herbs and flowers, and even a few veggies.

I've also been giving some presentations. Gaia Pacha invited me to give one about my experiences in environmental education. It was to be my first presentation in spanish, and quite frankly I was shitting myself. But in the end, it went well. I dedicated about half of it to the amazing Camp for Climate Action, and the audiance seemed pretty impressed by the organisation and determination of the growing movement of climate change activism. A few weeks later, I gave another at a climate change afternoon I organised at our house, this time focussing on recent developments in climate change and a more detailed look at climate camp, running through the whole process of last year's camp at Kingsnorth. At least three people came to ask me for contact details for the camps due to take place in their countries this year, which was pleasing. This has definately been a big step forward for my presentation giving confidence - as many of my friends know, giving presentations has always been a fear of mine. But I'll always remember the vital tip from that seminal text 'How to give successful presentations' - "Never wear an ostentatious belt buckle while giving a presentation, as this could be seen as a ploy to direct the audiences' attention away from your face". This is truly the key. (Thanks again for that one Pinsey!!!).

I've also been involved in the translation of script for the creation of English subtitles for a locally made film about climate change and it's affects on the people of Bolivia. This was both fascinating and sad, hearing first hand how poor, mountain communities are struggling to hold it together in the face of the climatic change which they have done the least to create.

Just by chance, my birthday fell on the first friday of the month, which meant that it was the Q'owa; a ritual that is part of the millennial Andean tradition of Bolivia. Today it is practiced in the valleys and in the eastern part of Bolivia. It involves the presentation of gifts to Pacha Mamma (mother nature in the native Quechua language) including the burning of coca leaves and the the consumption of Chicha - an alcoholic drink made from fermented corn. Small amounts of the drink are poured onto the ground for her to absorb. This offering is given with the purpose of receiving protection and blessing from the gods. It is a reciprocal process; the people nourish Pachamama and she protects them and helps with families, work, and business. On the first friday, the air of the city is full of smoke from people making offerings from the front door steps of their homes and shops, and there's a really nice vibe around the place. There was a bonfire, and a local band, but unfortunately we missed the 'burning of the llama feotus'. Shame.

The day after, we went to the annual Cochabamba fair. It was the strangest fair I've ever been to. It had all the usuals - candy floss, hot drinks, fair rides, but then it also seemed to double up as a huge commercial fair, with whole areas dedicated to the sale of new tractors and the latest in dentist chair design. In fact there werte two dentist chair strongholds, and we tried out some superb new models, which were slightly more exciting than the rides on offer.

Next week I should be doing another radio interview, and hopefully I'll also be going on a trip with 'Energetica', an organisation that fits solar panels for the small mountain communites not reached by the energy grid. So, we've been keeping busy here in Cochabamba, and have made many good friends and acquaintances along the way. It's nice to feel a part of the community again, and I'll be a little sad when we move on in a week or so. But then again, I am getting the itch again, and the promise of new adventure is beginning to bubble once more.