I am feeling slightly apprehensive. A global forum of 8000 environmentalists and conservationists is not familiar territory for a human rights activist like me - but here I am, at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) forum in Barcelona. For many years there was a clear divide – they were seen to be on one side saving the planet and we on the other protecting humans. In recent years the gap has narrowed and the dominance of climate change on the international political agenda has seen a coming together of activists from all sides. Now even the UN sees climate change as an environmental, development and human rights issue at the same time.
The human rights angle is now undeniable. The organization I work for – Minority Rights Group International (MRG) – recently published research that shows that because of their close relationship to nature small indigenous and minority communities are worst affected by climate change. Changing weather patterns are destroying these communities and threatening to wipe out their cultures and traditions. This will undoubtedly be one of the main topics of discussion at
After a drenched weekend in London I am tempted to soak up the Barcelona sun, enjoy the art and feast on tapas; but alas duty calls. I am here to promote MRG’s Show of Hands campaign that seeks a better deal for small communities struggling against climate change. We keep hearing bits and pieces in the news of how countries are trying to hammer out a climate change deal with new carbon emission targets. We know the US is being difficult and India and China want the West to make bigger cuts. But with just months to go before the penultimate round of talks in Poznan, Poland, in December and the final round in Copenhagen in February next year, what we aren't hearing are the views of those most affected. Where are the voices of the pastoralists in Uganda who are suffering from erratic droughts, or the Sami Reindeer herders in the arctic whose daily life is affected by melting ice caps? For them climate change is not something of the future: it is real, and a part of their everyday lives. Their voices must be reflected in any eventual international climate change deal.
So I am apprehensive, but also excited. Here in Barcelona I have meetings scheduled with Arctic Inuit leaders and tribal elders from the Amazon. I hope to expand our support base and gather more stories on how climate change is affecting communities. I am also keen to see how many others here share my anxiety that time is running out for these communities.
As a first timer to the IUCN forum I am unsure how it will all come together. With so many people pursuing different agendas, I suspect it will be quite chaotic, but then again so is the climate. Perhaps that will be the common agenda. Over the next three days, we will find out.
Farah Mihlar is MRG’s campaigns and media officer and is working on the Show of Hands campaign
