Expert view
6 December 2012
Postcard from Doha: It’s now or never
Photo: The sweeping landscape of Ethiopia’s Bonga forest
By Michelle Winthrop
The ministers are all here, the speechifying is under way in earnest. My cue to get out of here. There are more people here now, and the schedule of so-called ‘side events’ has become busier. More and more interesting people with good experiences to share, desperately trying to influence decision-makers.
Unfortunately, right now those decision-makers are locked in negotiations, trying to remove brackets from text or distinguish between use of the words ‘shall’ and ‘should’. One member of the UK delegation told me he had spent 28 straight hours in negotiations. Hard enough going when English is your first language, let alone for most of the delegates.
My last day at the COP included some fascinating sessions on the economics of adaptation, as well as grasslands management experiences in Mongolia. As we get a project going helping pastoralists in Afar to manage their rangelands better, I emerged very excited about our chances of getting funding for protecting soil carbon in Ethiopia.
There was a particularly inspirational presentation from a ‘real’ pastoralist from Kenya, giving us all simple tips for how to manage your herds better to conserve the landscape and stimulate regrowth. Useful tips indeed, but not sure when I’ll be able to put them to use.
It was very fitting that my day ended with a celebration of women’s role in combating climate change. I’ve come away from this COP full of ideas and energy on how our work can do even better on empowering women.
So that’s it for me, now on my way back home to Addis. It’s crunch-time in Doha. Nobody of any significance will be getting any sleep tonight, it looks like it’ll go down to the wire. Fingers crossed the COP18 can advance things forward. I did omit to mention anything about all our reflections on Qatar… But that’s another story for another day….
– Michelle is our country director in Ethiopia. She has been writing from the UN Climate Change Conference in Doha, Qatar.
Read all Michelle’s postcards from Doha:
