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Anti-tobacco advocates demand probe into BAT dealings

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Anti-tobacco advocates demand probe into BAT dealings

As BAT celebrates another year of profits, anti-tobacco groups in Nigeria join global day of action to demand an investigation into grey areas

ERA/FoEN Deputy Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi
ERA/FoEN Deputy Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi

On the heels of allegations of questionable dealings in Africa by the British American Tobacco (BAT), the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) on Tuesday joined advocates in Africa, UK and Latin America to demand government action to hold the organisation accountable.

The call comes as BAT convenes its annual general meeting (AGM) in London after months of negative media and the launch of at least one national investigation.

In Lagos, ERA/FoEN organised a press briefing and petitioned the Ministry of Health to demand the Nigerian government to investigate BAT “systematic bribery and blackmail”, which the activists claim is not restricted to East Africa alone, but is widespread even in West Africa and other regions of the continent.

“It shouldn’t take 15 years to pass a law, so in the seven years it took to pass Kenya’s tobacco control act and the eight it took to pass implementing regulations, we have had many reasons to suspect BAT was engaging in illicit activities,” said Samuel Ochieng, Director of Consumer Information Network in Kenya. “Now that we have irrefutable evidence of bribery,” he added, “we will be proud when Kenya is the first country to investigate BAT and hold it accountable.”

Late last year, Paul Hopkins – an employee in BAT’s regional office in Kenya for 13 years – revealed the inner workings of BAT’s systematic bribery and espionage used to obstruct lifesaving laws. The bribes, he alleged, ranged from $3,000 to $20,000 and some were even sanctioned by a regional executive.

“Among the revelations was at least one bribe to a government representative from Burundi to represent BAT’s interests at a World Health Organisation global tobacco treaty meeting. There were multiple bribes to politicians and policymakers to gain access to and obstruct tobacco control policymaking,” ERA/FoEN disclosed in a statement.

In Nigeria BAT is said to be been involved in self-censorship, and not been entirely clear on how anti-tobacco legislations would hamper their business and lead to job and revenue losses.

In addition to Hopkins’ revelations, whistle-blowers in Uganda and South Africa have shed further light on BAT’s actions in those countries. Tens of thousands of people, dozens of organisations, and ten Members of U.S. Congress have already called for governments to investigate BAT and hold it accountable. Kenya’s Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission became the first to launch a formal investigation into BAT, with potential investigations in the UK and the US.

ERA/FoEN and allies on the platform of the Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA) are equally demanding that the Nigerians government opens investigations into infractions of BAT in the course of formulating anti-tobacco legislations like what happened in Uganda and Kenya.

ERA/FoEN Deputy Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi, said: “In the course of the torturous process of getting the National Tobacco Control Bill (now Tobacco Control Act) into law, tens of hurriedly-formed BAT front groups were deployed to fight taxation recommendations, ban on Tobacco Advertising Promotion and Sponsorships (TAPS) and other life-saving provisions from getting into the final document that was finally signed by the former president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan on May 25, 2015.

“While BAT’s executives toast to deadly profits and generations of addiction, people and governments around the world are organizing to hold them accountable for their abuses,” said John Stewart, Deputy Director at Corporate Accountability International, “Fortunately people and governments have the law on their side and the global tobacco treaty provides a proven roadmap to rein in this abusive industry at every turn.”

In November, over 180 countries will convene in New Delhi to expand support offered by the agreement to protect tobacco control and public health policy from tobacco industry interference. Additionally, a primary focus of the meetings will be to establish guidance to hold tobacco industry legally liable for its costs to society.

List of 175 signatories to Paris Agreement

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List of 175 signatories to Paris Agreement

During the 2016 Opening for Signature of the Paris Agreement, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York on 22 April, 175 Parties (174 countries and the European Union) signed the Agreement, and 15 States deposited instruments of ratification.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry holds his granddaughter Isabel Dobbs-Higginson as he signs the Paris Agreement on climate change, Friday, April 22, 2016
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry holds his granddaughter Isabel Dobbs-Higginson as he signs the Paris Agreement on climate change, Friday, April 22, 2016

Of the 175 Parties which participated in the Ceremony, 31 participated at the level of Head of State, two participated at the level of Vice President; 24 participated at the level of Head of Government; nine participated at the level of Deputy Prime Minister; 29 participated at the level of Minister for Foreign Affairs; 59 participated at the ministerial level; one participated at the level of former President; and 20 participated at the level of Permanent Representative.

Nigeria is not yet a signatory to the international treaty.

The official UN list below gives details of countries and signatories.

Of the 175 Parties which participated in the Ceremony, 31 participated at the level of Head of State
Of the 175 Parties which participated in the Ceremony, 31 participated at the level of Head of State
Of the 175 Parties which participated in the Ceremony, two participated at the level of Vice President
Of the 175 Parties which participated in the Ceremony, two participated at the level of Vice President
Of the 175 Parties which participated in the Ceremony, 24 participated at the level of Head of Government
Of the 175 Parties which participated in the Ceremony, 24 participated at the level of Head of Government
Of the 175 Parties which participated in the Ceremony, nine participated at the level of Deputy Prime Minister
Of the 175 Parties which participated in the Ceremony, nine participated at the level of Deputy Prime Minister
Of the 175 Parties which participated in the Ceremony, 59 participated at the ministerial level
Of the 175 Parties which participated in the Ceremony, 59 participated at the ministerial level
Of the 175 Parties which participated in the Ceremony, one participated at the level of former President and 20 participated at the level of Permanent Representative
Of the 175 Parties which participated in the Ceremony, one participated at the level of former President and 20 participated at the level of Permanent Representative

Cross River shuns stop-work order, clears forest ahead highway project

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Cross River shuns stop-work order, clears forest ahead highway project

The controversy surrounding the construction of the $3.5 billion super highway has deepened as the Cross River State Government has dared the Federal Government, claiming ownership of its forest.

Bulldozers at work clearing the Super Highway's route passing through parts of Boki
Bulldozers at work clearing the Super Highway’s route passing through parts of Boki

Consequently, the state government despite the stop work order by the Federal Government and protests from impacted communities, national and international organisations including the British government pending the completion of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), has continued bulldozing the forest for the 260 kilometre super highway around Etara and old Ekuri axis.

The state government had without an approved EIA revoked land 10 kilometres on both sides of the highway and moved caterpillars to sites in Ekuri, Okokori, and others which led to massive protests from affected communities and Environmentalists within and outside the country.

The Federal Government is already contemplating a court order on the state government to enforce the stop-work order even as foreign investors and Financial Institutions that indicated interest in the project have deferred interest on the super highway supposed to take off from the Sea port at Essighi in Bakassi and terminate at Gakem in Bekwara Local Government Area the boundary with Vandykkia in

But, not pleased with the position of the Federal Government and other organisations, Governor Ben Ayade, in a statement to a team of UN-REDD consultants in Calabar on the facts and fiction of the superhighway last week, said, “Essentially as a state, it is such a sad thing that people just forget where we are coming from. Cross River State as a sub-national took an institutional policy to preserve and conserve our forest because we want to stay natural.

“By the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, environment falls under concurrent legislation. Therefore, we have exclusive right to manage our environment the way we choose to. As a Government we made a policy to preserve all our forests and therefore dislocated our people from their dependence on our forests.

“That dislocation has caused them pains and agony and it is our responsibility to manage it. REDD+ as currently constituted has in the last three years been more of training, educating people in understanding measurement analysis baselines, safe guards and all of that. It is appreciated, but time has come when you must reflect it on the needs of the people.”

By Anietie Akpan, Calabar (The Guardian)

Saudi Arabia targets life-without-oil from 2020

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Saudi Arabia targets life-without-oil from 2020

As cabinet approves sweeping economic reforms, prince Mohammed bin Salman says Saudi Arabia will reduce reliance on hydrocarbons

Deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman is driving reforms. Photo credit: Flickr/Ash Carter/Senior Master Sgt. Adrian Cadiz
Deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman is driving reforms. Photo credit: Flickr/Ash Carter/Senior Master Sgt. Adrian Cadiz

Saudi Arabia’s cabinet approved Vision 2030 on Monday, a package of economic reforms designed to reduce dependence on oil revenues.

Under the proposal, the Middle Eastern kingdom will float part of national oil firm Saudi Aramco on the stock exchange and diversify its investments.

Mohammed bin Salman, the deputy crown prince behind the reforms, said this would make the economy more resilient to commodity fluctuations.

“I think by 2020, if oil stops we can survive,” he said in an interview on national television. “We need it, we need it, but I think in 2020 we can live without oil.”

Historically, oil has accounted for 90% of national revenue. A crash in the oil price since mid-2014 has blown a hole in Riyadh’s budget, forcing it to draw on reserves.

The prince plans to increase the share of the national investment fund holdings overseas from 5% to 50% by 2020, broadening its sources of income.

Generous state welfare provision is also set to be slashed, including consumer fuel subsidies.

In its submission to the UN climate deal signed in New York last Friday, the Gulf state said its economic diversification plans would cut 130 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent a year by 2030.

Middle Eastern analyst Glada Lahn told Climate Home that was a conservative estimate and Saudi Arabia could double the savings by curbing wasteful consumption.

Full details of the plan are expected to be published in four to six weeks.

By Megan Darby, Climate Home

Nigeria, Cameroon asked to dialogue over Benue River flow

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Nigeria, Cameroon asked to dialogue over Benue River flow

Civil society organisations (CSOs) based in Adamawa State in North East Nigeria have urged the Federal Government to dialogue with the Cameroonian government on how the two countries could mutually benefit from the River Benue.

River Benue in Jimeta, Yola, Adamawa State
River Benue in Jimeta, Yola, Adamawa State

Rising from a three-day capacity building workshop that ended 22 April, the CSOs, in a communique, lamented that the construction of the Lagdo Dam on the River Benue in Cameroon has almost dried up water flow into Nigeria, particularly affecting raw water intake by the Adamawa State Water Board (ASWB).

The ASWB abstracts water from River Benue through its water treatment plant in Jimeta, Yola and services residents of the state.

However, during heavy rainfall several years ago, water released from the dam was said to have been responsible for the extensive and devastating flooding experienced in Nigeria, prompting the call for the nation to build a corresponding dam that will receive the shock and cushion the flow of such release of water into Nigeria in the future.

In the communique, participants at the capacity building WASH advocacy workshop organised by the Adamawa State Ministry of Water Resources with the support of the European Union Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Reform Programme Phase III (WSSSRP III) came up with the other far-reaching decisions on the way forward to develop the Water Supply and Sanitation sector in the state.

These include:

  1. Water Supply and Sanitation laws in the state are outdated and need to be reviewed to strengthen the operations of the WASH service providers, regulators, and policy formulators for optimal performance.
  2. Several challenges facing the sector are best resolved by the state government. We therefore call on the government to prioritise the WASH sector through increased funding, and programme implementation.
  3. The Adamawa State Water Board needs to be adequately funded and granted increased administrative and financial autonomy to enable it effectively deliver its mandate.
  4. The Adamawa State Government as well as Local Governments in the state are requested to create a budget line for financing sanitation programmes.
  5. Regulatory structures should be established for monitoring service standards particularly water quality.
  6. There should be increased synergy between the civil society and state actors for effective development of the WASH sector.
  7. The WSSSRP III should launch the CSO grant component of the programme without further delay.
  8. Adamawa State Water Board should introduce Water Safety Plans to ensure the consumers have access to safe drinking water.

Gorillas are in danger of extinction, conservationists warn

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Gorillas are in danger of extinction, conservationists warn

The Grauer’s gorilla, the world’s largest primate, has been a source of continual worry for conservationists for more than two decades. Longstanding conflict in the deep jungles of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo left experts with no choice but to guess at how that gorilla subspecies may be faring.

Gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Photo credit: Christophe Courteau / NPL, via Minden Pictures
Gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Photo credit: Christophe Courteau / NPL, via Minden Pictures

Now, with tensions abating somewhat, researchers finally have an updated gorilla head count — one that confirms their fears. According to findings compiled by an international team of conservationists, Grauer’s gorilla populations have plummeted 77 percent over the last 20 years, with fewer than 3,800 of the animals remaining.

“We suspected that the Grauer’s gorilla had declined because of all the insecurity in the region, but no one had an idea of how much they’d declined by,” said Andrew Plumptre, director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Albertine Rift Programme in Central and Eastern Africa. “It turns out that the rate of collapse pushes this subspecies to the verge of extinction.”

Grauer’s gorillas — named after Rudolf Grauer, an Austrian explorer and zoologist who first recognized the apes as a separate subspecies — resemble their close relative, the mountain gorilla, save for their longer limbs and shorter hair. Although Grauer’s and mountain gorilla populations were once connected, years of isolation have left them genetically distinct enough to warrant separate designations as eastern gorilla subspecies.

In 1994, the Wildlife Conservation Society conducted surveys in and around Kahuzi-Biega National Park, in what was then eastern Zaire. Researchers estimated that 17,000 Grauer’s gorillas remained. But the Rwandan genocide that year led to the gorillas’ precipitous decline.

An estimated 800,000 Rwandans were killed over a three-month period, while hundreds of thousands more fled to neighbouring Zaire. Some of those refugees formed militias such as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, and the forest served as their stronghold and hide-out.

Instability soon spread, leading to the overthrow of President Mobutu Sese Sekoand civil war in the newly formed Democratic Republic of Congo. From 1996 to 2003, that conflict cost the lives of an estimated five million people, and also brought the formation of more armed groups, 69 of which continue to operate in the eastern part of the country.

By Rachel Nuwer, the New York Times

Americans say global warming may influence their vote

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Americans say global warming may influence their vote

Increasing numbers of American voters think global warming is happening, and many say the issue will influence how they vote in November, according to a nationally-representative survey (Climate Change in the American Mind) conducted last month by the Yale Programme on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Centre for Climate Change Communication

AmerVoters who say global warming is happening – now at 73% – have increased 7% since Spring 2014. Nearly all liberal Democrats (95%) think global warming is happening, as do about three in four moderate/conservative Democrats (80%), Independents (74%, up 15 points since Spring 2014) and liberal/moderate Republicans (71%, up 10 points). While only about half of conservative Republicans (47%) think global warming is happening, they have experienced the largest upward shift of any group, an increase of 19 percentage points over the past two years.

The COP21 agreement, the record-warm winter, and media coverage have likely contributed to growing public awareness. Our studies also find that Pope Francis, with his call for climate action, had an impact on the American climate change conversation.

Global warming is also a factor in the presidential election. Candidates supporting climate action will earn votes, while candidates opposing climate action risk losing votes. Two in three Democrats and half of Independents say global warming will be among the important issues determining their vote for President in the fall.

Other key findings include:

  • American voters are more likely to vote for a presidential candidate who strongly supports taking action to reduce global warming. Registered voters are three times more likely to vote for (43%, up 7 percentage points since October, 2015) than against (14%) such a candidate.
  • American voters are less likely to vote for a presidential candidate who strongly opposes taking action to reduce global warming. Registered voters are four times more likely to vote against such a candidate, than to vote for them (45% vs. 11%, respectively).
  • Two thirds of Democrats (67%; 78% of liberals and 55% of moderates/ conservatives) and half of Independents (49%) say global warming will be among several important issues they consider when determining their vote for president this year.

Majorities of American voters support policies to reduce carbon pollution and dependence on fossil fuels, and to promote clean energy. For example, more than two in three voters support requiring fossil fuel companies to pay a carbon tax and using the money to reduce other taxes such as income taxes by an equal amount (68% of all registered voters, 86% of Democrats, 66% of Independents, and 47% of Republicans).

Deforestation: Palm oil firm ordered to stop work in Peruvian Amazon

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Deforestation: Palm oil firm ordered to stop work in Peruvian Amazon

On the 25th April the complaints panel of the RSPO (Round table on Sustainable Palm Oil) issued a preliminary “Stop work order” to Plantaciones de Pucallpa, one of its Peruvian members, whose operations are affecting the territory of the Shipibo community of Santa Clara de Uchunya in the Ucayali region of the Peruvian Amazon.

Deforestation in Peru
Deforestation in Peru

The order was issued after the community of Santa Clara de Uchunya filed a formal complaint in December 2015 against Plantaciones de Pucallpa for the destruction of over 5,000 hectares of their ancestral forest lands. The complaint cites the devastating impacts on the rivers and forest ecology on which their subsistence livelihood depends, the destruction of community dwellings and the restrictions on community members who wish to access the forest.

The complaints panel focused on five key areas where RSPO principles may have been contravened. These include the failure to respect customary land rights which it notes is a legal obligation in Peru and under international law, the clearance of primary forest that is strictly prohibited by both Peruvian law and RSPO procedures, and deforestation without any of the permits required by Peruvian law.

Furthermore, the complaints panel also highlighted that Plantaciones de Pucallpa has clearly violated its New Planting Procedure (NPP) which requires notification prior to the development of new plantations. The NPP’s also require that companies conduct assessments of Environmental Impact and High Conservation Value (HCV) areas as well as initiate FPIC processes with affected communities. The complaint makes very clear that no attempt was made by Plantaciones de Pucallpa to secure the Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) of Santa Clara de Uchunya.

The complaints panel also issued a reminder to Plantaciones de Pucallpa that the intimidation of communities is strictly prohibited. This final point is welcome given that community leaders are facing multiple and unfounded legal denunciations by Plantaciones de Pucallpa. Meanwhile, other local activists have been issued with anonymous death threats in recent months for their outspoken opposition to the operations.

The complaints panel gave Plantaciones de Pucallpa a 14-day time frame in which to demonstrate that it has complied with these obligations including:

  1. Demonstrate that it has satisfied all legal requirements in the acquisition, clearance and planting of the concession area, and
  2. Demonstrate that in establishing the plantation it has not cleared any primary forest or any other HCV area…In the meantime, the Panel prohibits Plantaciones from carrying out any further land clearance and planting activities pending the resolution of this complaint.

Just a few days earlier, in a further letter to the RSPO, the community authorities of Santa Clara had reiterated the substance of their complaint and explained: “Since we filed the complaint, the company Plantaciones de Pucallpa SAC continue to occupy the area in question which is now encircled by a barbed wire fence and watched over by a control post thereby preventing the entry of our community members in our territory. …In addition, our own authorities and community members are being legally denounced by the operators of this company for simply opposing the deforestation and defending our territory. In no way will we renounce our rights to life and territory.”

Community leaders were in the field conducting patrols of their territory when the decision was released by the RSPO. Mr Robert Guimaraes, President of FECONAU, said: “We welcome this initial decision of the RSPO but we will be vigilant to ensure that the RSPO conducts adequate follow up. Only in September last year the Ministry of Agriculture also ordered the suspension of operations in yet the company continues to operate. It is also clear to us that the Peruvian state has failed to comply with its international human rights obligations.

“Not only has it failed to title and secure these lands but it has continued in corrupt fashion to sell and hand over community lands to third parties. It is this defective land allocation system that is generating these conflicts, not only in Santa Clara but throughout the Peruvian Amazon where there are more than 1200 communities whose lands remain untitled. We are demanding that the Peruvian state meet this obligation and title the community’s territory of over 38,000 hectares.”

Dr Tom Griffiths, Coordinator of FPP’s Responsible Finance Programme, welcomed the decision by the Complaints panel but highlighted: “It is vital that the ruling of the RSPO complaints panel is fully complied with by the company and properly monitored. Crucially, there must be sustained follow up by the RSPO to ensure effective sanction for company violations. Voluntary certification schemes have a role to play, but there needs to be much more robust regulatory control of palm oil supply chains at the local, national and global levels. In the case of Peru, without effective state regulation, law enforcement and reform of unjust land allocation systems in the Amazon, Peru’s ambitious commitments to protect forests and secure indigenous land rights are likely to fail.”

Lead poisoning: Government urged to declare Shikira emergency zone

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Lead poisoning: Government urged to declare Shikira emergency zone

The Federal Government of Nigeria has been asked to declare Shikira, a small rural mining community in Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State, a national emergency zone.

Local mining activities in Shakira has led to large scale lead poisoning
Local mining activities in Shakira has led to large scale lead poisoning

The Abuja-based non-governmental organisation (NGO), Connected Development (CODE), made the call in a statement released on Tuesday, urging the trio of President Muhammadu Buhari, Senate President Bukola Saraki and House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara to declare the state of emergency in order to address the lead outbreak epidemic that recorded 65 cases in May, 2015 due to negligence.

CODE officials say the call to save Shikira is to reinforce the assessment plan released by the Response Planning Development Committee on Outbreak of Lead Poisoning in Niger State established in May, 2015.

Chief Executive of CODE, Hamzat Lawal, was quoted in the statement thus: “It is sad to note that nothing meaningful has been done about the crisis since the submission of the Committee’s report which stated that N500 million should as a matter of urgently be approved to clean-up the community contaminated by lead poison due to improper mining activities which had claimed the lives of 28 children, mostly those below five years of age. Laboratory testing confirmed high levels of lead in the blood of the over hundreds of surviving children, livestock and water reserves.

“To CODE, this kind of attitude is even more worrisome and shocking as the outbreak left other children with many anomalies such as fever, pallor, abdominal pain, vomiting, convulsion, altered level of consciousness and nervous breakdown. If nothing is done urgently, these children would be deformed for life.

“Dear Mr. President, Senate President and Mr. Speaker, this situation may look bad when assessed outwardly but, inwardly, there are sustainable solutions. It may interest you to know that Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders – MSF) are presently on ground to provide free medical services: Chelation therapy, but are arm-twisted because they need government to first clean-up the contaminated areas for them to intervene.

“President Buhari, please approve the needed intervention funds from the Ecological Funds Office for urgent remediation to help save Shikira. Senate President Saraki and Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, we urge you to urgently debate lead poison on the floor of the Senate and the House respectively, to help save Shikira by declaring this a national emergency and compel the Executive arm to speedily approve and release the needed funds for intervention while you ensure oversight for speedy implementations.

“It is important to note that the raining season is almost here and might contaminate neighbouring communities and villages surrounding Rafi LGA putting more children at risk and degrading our environment at large. We strongly blame this onslaught on human lives on administrative recklessness and lack of ‘will’ by institutions and political actors to tackle the plights of the citizenry in local communities.

“As part of our contributions to address the crisis, we will host a stakeholders’ dialogue in the state which will bring together participants from ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) at the state and federal levels such as Environment, Health, Mines and Solid Minerals, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, CSOs & CBOs, development partners as well as locals in the community.

“Also, our Follow The Money Team is keen in ensuring transparency and accountability in tracking and visualising funds released for this local community as we have done in the case of Bagega, where we successfully tracked over N850 million that helped saved the lives of 1,500 children in Zamfara State.

“Lastly, are using this medium to call on the Federal Government to review the 2007 Mining Act to reflect present realities in the sector as it affects local communities and artisanal miners. Government should also consider sanctions for culprits responsible for this menace to avert similar occurrence elsewhere in the country.”

Earth Day 2016: UN plants American dogwood tree

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Earth Day 2016: UN plants American dogwood tree

As world leaders and ministers lined up in their droves to sign the landmark Paris Climate Change Agreement in New York last Friday, a group of senior UN officials slipped out for a few minutes in the sunshine into a very special place for a small but unique event.

The flowering dogwood tree
The flowering dogwood tree

The group, including UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson; the President of the General Assembly Mogens Lykketoft and UN Climate Change Secretariat (UNFCCC) Deputy-Executive Secretary Richard Kinley, came to roll up their sleeves to dig in a native American flowering dogwood tree at the new UN Food Garden.

The flowering dogwood (or cornus florida) is a species of flowering plant in the family Cornaceae native to eastern North America and northern Mexico.  The tree is commonly planted as an ornamental in residential and public areas because of its showy flowers and interesting bark structure bracts.

Mr Kinley said: “I was delighted to be there. Planting a tree is a very simple but powerful expression of solidarity with people, the earth… indeed life itself.  It is also a symbol of a fundamental reality – that in order to meet the Paris Agreement’s goals, especially achieving climate neutrality in the second half of this century, forests, soils and other ecosystems are our natural allies given their ability to remove and store carbon from the atmosphere alongside the myriad of other services they provide for humanity, including food.”

They were joined by a few curious birds, a hive of bees that have recently set up home in international territory and the charming Catherine Zanev, Associate Expert for Climate Change in the UN System Chief Executives Board but more importantly on that day Coordinator of the Garden.

Some weeks ago UNFCCC launched with the Earth Day Network a campaign linking 22 April, the signing of the Paris agreement, with the theme of Earth Day 2016 – Trees4Earth.

When it comes to climate change, there is a lot of focus on renewable energy, energy efficiency and ‘hard infrastructure’ but without trees and other ecosystems the world will struggle to meet not only the climate goals but those under the Sustainable Development Goals.

So when Catherine saw our campaign via social media, she thought it was a cool idea to organize a planting at the UN HQ on the key day.

“Wouldn’t it be nice if Christiana Figueres, the SG and others planted a fruit tree in the UN Food Garden on 22 April? We’d be happy to help make this happen, if you are interested,” she wrote on 8 April, and naturally I said yes!

In the end the UN Secretary-General was super busy with signing as was Ms Figueres, but Friday’s line up was still impressive and the pretty, white-flowered, tree was given an impressive bedding-in.

According to Wikipedia, the new tree is from the genus Cornus of which there are “about 30–60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods, which can generally be distinguished by their blossoms, berries, and distinctive bark”.

Not sure who writes these entries, but they must have a sense of humour. The idea of a tree called dogwood with “…a distinctive bark” surely can’t have gone unnoticed by the Wiki authors!

Later I found time to chat to Catherine about the Garden.

The UN Food Gardens is an initiative of staff volunteers from various UN system entities and Permanent Missions to the UN. It aims to transform unused land at the UN Headquarters into sustainable food gardens.

By integrating small-scale food production into its own landscape, the UN translates global priorities related to increased biodiversity, good land stewardship, sustainable food systems and greener cities into action and leads by example.

The first garden was officially opened by the Secretary-General in July 2015. A wide variety of edible plants from around the world have since been grown in the garden. UNICEF’s and the UN Secretariat’s caterers have turned some of the garden produce into super-local, healthy food for UN staff.

As the sun was making its descent later in the day, I popped by to ask Catherine my only nagging query – why did we not plant a fruit tree?

It seems Facilities Management, the UN people who keep the HQ running, were a little concerned that a fruit tree might – er well – produce fruit which in turn could make the surrounding walkways sullied and perhaps slippery.

But Catherine explained that the dogwood does produce berries, which can make jam and are a great source of food for birds who have to eat too – clearly a lot to tweet about for all species on Earth on a very special day!

By Nick Nuttall (UNFCCC Spokesperson)

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