affected peoples

The meeting was held in La Canoa del Bajo Lempa community which is in a region frequently affected by floods and droughts.

More than 100 environmental and community leaders from countries such as Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and Chile among others, discussed issues such as the seriousness of climate change from the social and economic impacts to the political causes.

One reason for the event was also to create partnerships with the various groups that attended the meeting. There were movements against mining, dam construction, groups working for food sovereignty and indigenous leaders looking to identify and learn from each others' struggles.

The Movement of Victims Affected by Climate Change (MOVIAC) is an initiative of Friends of the Earth International  and aims to give affected peoples a voice. This is of particular importance in Central American where each year the region is battered by hurricanes and floods displacing communities and resulting in many deaths and injuries.

El Salvador was on the receiving end of Hurricane Mitch in 1988 when 400 people lost their lives and more recently Hurricane Stan in 2005 when 32 people lost their lives. Tropical storms also cost many lives each year and the resulting floods can destroy whole communities.

change from above

Friends of the Earth El Salvador believes that in the last few years their government has not assumed responsibility to face environmental problems and has no policies to fight the phenomena produced by climate change.

The group is calling on the new Government to halt the execution of mega projects that destroy ecosystems and displace communities, creating more poverty and environmental vulnerability.

The government cite the global economic crisis for their inacction on climate change, in response to this Ricardo Navarro, President of Friends of the Earth El Salvador said:

"In the scheme of things the current economic crisis is not significant and can't be compared to the environmental crisis to come."

Photo: Ricardo Navarro, President of Friends of the Earth El Salvador/CESTA addresses attendees at the Movement of Victims Affected by Climate Change meeting.

australia: climate justice for pacific islanders - recognition of rights of climate refugees

The Pacific Region will be one of the worst affected by climate change due to their extreme geographic vulnerability. In November 2005, the 1000 residents of the Carteret atolls in the Pacific became the first people in the world to be officially evacuated due to climate change. Starting as soon as money is available to the Papuan New Guinean regional government, 10 families at a time will be moved to Bougainville, a larger island 62 miles away. Friends of the Earth Australia is activity campaigning for the culturally-sensitive relocation of Carteret Islanders, financed by regional historical polluters such as the Australian government.

malaysia: mangrove restoration for fisherfolk livelihood protection

SAM/Friends of the Earth Malaysia has a long-standing collaboration with fisherfolk in Penang working with them to protect marine areas and ensure their livelihoods. The impacts of climate change on marine resources and increase in extreme weather events has lead SAM to take practical action to support local Penang communities in mangrove restoration as well as undertake an education and awareness raising campaign on climate change causes and it´s projected impacts.

haiti: building resilience to water shortages and supporting food sovereignty

Haiti Survive/Friends of the Earth Haiti has been working on training and research on climate change impacts for a number of years and from this has been able to identify adaptation actions to help communities cope with the effects of climate changes. A priority project that Haiti Survive is currently implementing is a community rainwater harvesting adaptation project to collect and store water for the dry season. This project is reinforcing food sovereingty activities in the local communities, increasing their resiliance to impacts of climate change on food systems.

swaziland: education and resistance to vulnerability

Yonge Nawe/Friends of the Earth Swaziland runs a creative education and popular communication campaign to provide rural and urban communities in Swaziland with information about climate change and impacts. Yonge Nawe is also actively campaigning against inequitable development that threatens the resilience of those vulnerable to climate risks, such as timber plantations and processing plants that dry up the water resources of communities and the effluent has polluted the remaining rivers – destroying fisheries and increasing water stress.

'voices of the peoples affected by climate change'

Friends of the Earth International produced a testimonial publication with 9 case studies from communities from across the world documenting the way in which climate change is impacting on their lives and the resilience of communities to protect themselves from these impacts through co-operation and organisation. Download the publication in english, french and spanish.

ASOC’s website, www.asoc.org, contains all its documents since 2000.

The following Friends of the Earth groups are involved in Antarctic campaigns: Brazil, South Korea and Norway.

ASOC now includes over 100 organizations in 30 countries and leads the international campaign to protect the biological diversity and pristine wilderness of Antarctica, including its oceans and marine life. 

ASOC campaign teams attend all meetings of the Antarctic Treaty System as accredited expert observers, and are able to put on the table detailed proposals for change as well as commenting on all government proposals. ASOC also is an observer to the Agreement on Conservation of Albatross and Petrels (ACAP) and the International Whaling Convention (IWC), where we work to protect the integrity of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

asoc: foei paper before international maritime organization

Friends of the Earth International has submitted a joint paper before the International Maritime Organization, on behalf of the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition. ASOC'S Information Paper on Southern Ocean Vessel Issues discusses the desirability of the IMO establishing additional rules for vessels operating in the Southern Ocean, including:

1. Ice-strengthening standards
2. Banning use of heavier grade fuel oils
3. Preventing discharges of oily substances, sewage, graywater and waste
4. Preventing introduction of alien species, including via hull fouling
5. Establishment of a universal vessel traffic monitoring and information system for Antarctic vessels.
   

Download the paper

Key issues include:

1. stopping illegal “pirate” fishing in the Southern Ocean, which is harming the most valuable commercial species – Antarctic Toothfish, while killing hundreds of thousands of giant petrels and albatross over the past few years;
2. ensuring that fishing for krill, the base of the marine food chain, is managed on an ecosystem basis that ensures no harm to predators;
3. regulation of commercial tourism, which is growing exponentially in recent years and is presently self-regulated by an industry association;
4. regulation of bio-prospecting, which is growing rapidly without any controls;
5. ratifying Annex 6 to the Environmental Protocol on liability for harm to the environment;
6. securing protected status for Lake Vostok;
7. gaining political support for creation of the world's largest marine protected area – the Ross Sea;
8. regulating noise pollution from various types of sonars being used in the Southern Ocean;
9. obtaining appropriate standards and rules for vessels operating in the Southern Ocean;
10. ensuring the integrity of the Whale Sanctuary by stopping Japan’s ‘scientific’ whaling.

links

foe groups and affiliates

• FoE Brazil
• FoE South Korea
  
• FoE Norway.

other sites

• the antarctic and southern oceans coalition