Evening of biodiversity

We held our 'evening of biodiversity' last night. Our little program featured some bits of the dance we will be performing in Bonn, the presentation of the statement we have crafted, and a long night of feasting and drinking. The Environment Minister of the Bavarian State graced our event, together with the Director of the Bavarian Forest National Park, and other locals. We handed them out 'ecological footprint' plaques for souvenirs.

Today is our last day here in the Bavarian Forest. We are going to the dance studio in a little while for our last rehearsal here in Bavaria. Tomorrow we will head off to Bonn.

Taking shape

We spent our day yesterday to shape things up- for our dance lessons and statement the UN Convention on Biodiversity. In the evening, some went for torch-lit hiking while the rest chose to stay cozy and warm by playing music.

Today will be another long day of dancing and statement-polishing!

Climbing the Summit

Yesterday se started our dance lessons with professional instructors all the way from Essen. We will perform this interpretative dance next week here in the Wilderness Camp.

In the afternoon we traveled to another part of the Bavarian Forest that is being managed "by doing nothing." This means that the forest is left on its own as much as possible, except for some trees that are cut for the safety of visitors. Somewhere in the forest we had a small program with music from traditional percussions- bongos, maraca, and anything you hit that makes sound! We put our memoirs in a giant glass ark donated by the Poschinger glass factory- the oldest in the world. This ark is held by a wooden hand that came from the Czechs. Czech Republic is only a few kilometers away from this part of Bavaria, and the country actually shares the forest with Germany.

We further hiked and reached one of the summits of the mountain. Despite the freezing weather all of us managed to reach the top! Up there we got our reward of a really filling typical German dinner!

Suffice it to say that I am now feeling sore and still tired even after 7 hours of sleep from all the physical activity yesterday. But we have just begun!

Ecological footprint

It is 7a.m. and I am here outside the just outside the main hall to reach the wiffi signal emanating from the "international hut" a hundre meters away. It is still raining, like how it did the whole day yesterday. The weather should be weather today as what, Barbara Kus, one of the organizers, told us yesterday.

We finished doing our "flying footprint," and learned that the USA and Germany has one of the highest ecological footprints. Among the participants in the youth summit, Benin and Namibia have one of the lowest. To cap off the long day, we danced our worries away to the tune of music from Latin America, Africa and Asia. Benin and Namibia participants, respectively, left us their cultural footprint as they taught us some of their traditional dance steps!

This afternoon, we are scheduled to visit a glass factory, which is one of the local industries here in Bavaria.

Preserving biodiversity

As I write this, people around me are getting busy preparing the 'flying footprint.' This is an encased exhibition of different materials found all over the globe. The participants of the youth summit had to hurdle the customs section to bring in seeds, crops, and food products to put in this time capsule. Some brought colorful cloths, stones, and what-nots.

Earlier, we had our lecture on access and benefits sharing, forests, and environmental governance. Later we will be presenting this flying footprint to the whole group, and next week, to Bonn for the whole UN CBD delegates to see.

Meeting the world

After traveling the wholeday- from Freiburg to Frankfurt Main to the Bavarian Forest- the whole troop of about 50 participants from all over the globe finally met.

We are now on our second day, and have done discussing biodiversity and development cooperation. We have also done a bit of hiking in the forest, and got a feel of challenges in this protected area. These mainly include management issues and bark beetles that feast on the trees.

In a little while we will be presenting our respective countries in an activity called- my environment and me. Photos and more updates soon!

Bound for biodiversity

By the time this entry gets published, I will be on a train en route to Frankfurt. From there, I will meet my other co-participants in the Go4Biodiv International Youth Summit. I hope to update still this blog regularly, and even give a blow-by-blow account of the Convention on Biodiversity when I arrive in Bonn!

Until then!

Urban facts

To my numerate readers, these figures from Grist magazine might be of interest to you!

Organic expense

Organic food is usually more expensive than 'normal' food that we buy in the groceries. The Environmental Blog reports that price of organic food is following the footsteps of the rising food prices all over the world. It is indeed logical. This makes it more difficult for middle class citizens to buy organic food, especially those for some who consider a few cents of price increase a make or break deal. This may form a negative feedback for organic farmers who might lose a potential 'middle class' market.

Earthquake in China

After the cyclone in Burma which killed thousands comes the earthquake in China. As of latest reports from CNN and BBC, at least 8,500 people are declared dead.

It is these "large-scale" natural disasters that catch us off-guard, despite all the forecasts and high-tech equipment we invent to predict our planet's movements. This uncertainty is one of the loopholes of development management, as these are considered as assumptions that "should not happen" to achieve desired goals.

Let us just hope that this disaster would be the last one, even if we know it won't be.

Thought for food

World Bank's president predicted political tremors in developing countries due to the food crisis. Soaring food prices directly affect the people, and except for the resignation of Haiti's prime minister, other countries have been keeping their cool. People are not silent, however, as demonstrations continue.

The Economist article points out UN's and developed countries need for a harmonized response plan to the food crisis.

Biodiversity-for-rent

This Green.view article may be a jumble of topics and lose its focus. Just look at the better parts of the article which tackles topics on invasive species as threat to biodiversity, mechanisms for financing environmental initatives, and a reality check on eco-tourism!

After reading the article, go out, get a life, and save the planet!

Blaming climate change

It seems some people are quick to blame climate change for whatever troubles we are facing these times. Just read this article from the Philippine Daily Inqurer, where a government official puts the blame on lack of irrigation water from climate change, and not the project they implemented.

I won't be surprised if we will soon blame climate change for flat tires and flunking that Maths exam!

Corporate Governance 2

I am officially finished with my Corporate Governance module. After the lengthy discussions on Corporate Social Responsibility, social entrepreneurship, and social and environmental standards, my module culminated with an oral exam (where I did good enough, I hope!).

My final verdict with our discussions is, so long as a voluntary approach to social responsibility of organizations is employed, especially businesses, these regulations and standards have no "teeth" for enforcement,thus their incremental value to development management is questionable.

Burma's bane

The cyclone that hit Burma left 22,000 dead. BBC reports that the lack of mangrove exacerbated the impact of the cyclone. Mangroves have been proven to absorb the force of waves, and could help in mitigating effects of tsunami. Moreover, mangroves are spawning grounds of marine animals.

The destruction of mangrove areas is a double-edged sword. Unfortunately, one edge has proven to be fatal in Burma's case.

Ideology and environment: socialism

After yesterday's communistic view on nature, let's look have a "social" look at things. Can socialism save the planet? is an essay on the role of socialism in 'saving (socializing?) the planet... for the people, by the people, and with the people.

Ideology and environment: communism

What have our ideologies got to do with the environment? A lot! With our ideologies, we are driven to subjugate or manage our environment. Our actions are guided by our ideologies, be it communism, socialism, or other isms. Take a look at what Marx and Engels interpreters have to say in 'Nature and the Communist Manifesto.'

Wind-wind solution?

Green.view in the Economist tackles the nuances of wind energy. Those white protruding towers with blades lazily turning around doesn't look as harmless and The probability of the blades getting dismantled and spin around and cause destruction maybe nil, but it causes major noise pollution. When I was in Zaragoza, Spain, I got the chance to visit a wind farm. The wind turbines up close and personal were intimidating. They dwarfed everything on their site. The whirring sound of the turbines filled the air, I could almost feel the electricity! One other major issue is the high cost of initial capital for infrastructure to transport the energy.

Read the article and don't miss the comments in The Economist online.

How green are you?

It seems all the 'how green is your (fill in what ever you'd like)?' question is popping up, from your car, weddings, and now, emails! Sustainablog reports on carbon emission IT produces.

This green computing will seem to be the next big thing for accountants and bookkeepers! I wonder how green will their paycheck be?

Delayed global warming

It seems we could afford some dilly-dallying in curbing our CO2 emissions. German researchers' forecast that the we will have a respite from global warming- at least for the next decade. If ever this were true, scientists assert the preparation we could make like buying less tank tops and flip flops, and its other economic impacts. The question remains on the certainty of these projections. Will this give us a window time to 'prepare' for further global warming, as the BBC article suggests?

For now, I would like the sunny days ahead, and enjoy spring.

Nuclear findings

Is nuclear energy a source of sustainable form of energy? BBC reports that the mining itself of uranium already contributes loads of CO2 emissions. Do proponents of renewable energy trace the CO2 produced in the manufacturing of solar panels, wind turbines, and biofuels?

Shall we all start calculating our CO2 footprint and adapt the least CO2-producing lifestyle?

Life-long losses

Click on this link to read a full report from the CBD headquarters on the foregone benefits of biodiversity that we have lost. I wrote on this topic on this blog entry a few days ago.