Davos Diary Day 5: Tess on Ecosystems, Coca-Cola and the secret lives of the Swiss
Having spent the last week in and out of different sessions, ranging from highly technical to more soft topics, I have been surprised and in fact shocked, at the general inability of high positioned DRR professionals to present in manner that should be equated to their standing. That said, the way the conference was organised, with competing sessions and many presenters having very limited time to present was certainly to their disadvantage.
Yet a few stood out from the muddle. The Environment Day key note speeches by Anders Wijkman (MEP) and Reid Basher (UNISDR secretariat) and subsequent plenary were impressive and thought provoking, the primary message being that we in the DRR community must make DRR our primary concern (I think we buy into that already don’t we fellow ECBers?). I have reams of notes from this session and some marvellous quotes which I was going to use here but it seems I can’t understand most of them – they need time and consideration, which I don’t have given the pressure to get this blog whisked off right this minute!
I can say however that the ‘Millennium Ecosystem Assessment’ was brought to my attention during this session, this document being quoted as a ‘stark warning regarding human behaviour and the environment. According to this document, more than half the developing worlds population will be at risk of serious flood by 2025. With statistics such as this can we afford not to relate these disasters to climate change and can we afford not to direct research into the relationship between DRR, Climate Change and appropriate adaptation strategies? I had not heard of this document before (should I have? have I had my head in the sand? – quite possibly – but hey – I can’t know everything!!!) and it’s a document that I will certainly be seeking out.
On a different note – what do others think of the Red Cross (in whatever form) linking with organisations such as Coca Cola and Walmart? I have some serious reservations about this – not helped by that ridiculous presentation from the guy from Coke during the IFRC plenary. Who is advising Coke that bottling plastic water and sending it to camps (such as those in Pakistan) is an appropriate response activity? What about the cost/benefit ratio, the environmental impact of thousands of plastic bottles, let alone the fact is just a pure PR stunt and all the other reasons I just can’t be bothered to list. Perhaps theys should bottle water and give it to all the Indian farmers whose wells have run dry because of the Coke bottling plant near to their villages. I was bordering on fuming listening to him and almost laughed out loud in a hysterical manner when he patted himself on the back for having such marvellous logistics that coke could be found in the most far flung places of thee world…… rant rant rant grrrrrrr. Am I over reacting? I would like to know others thoughts on this.
Anyway – apart from the serious, work side of the week, there are some memorable moments/observations that I would like to immortalise on paper:1. Erynn’s sheer joy and excitement over a self-clean, revolving toilet seat. She was so overjoyed that she now has it on video – to the confusion and slight dismay of one conference goer – who entered to toilet to find much giggling. I – on the other hand - looked at it in a different light and think I might leave the humanitarian sector to make my millions through the invention of one that actually dries the seat, saving you that slightly disconcerting moment when you sit down!2. Maurice playing with Warners utensils could have been a wonderful moment – but he hardly noticed - shame3. Paul now has a distinct interest in strange English expressions, examples of which I will not put here, however I do have a mission now to train him in the art of cockney rhyming slang…. Watch this space4. Gunawan’s passion for photographs is outstanding5. Never trust Swiss maps and estimated times for walking routes when you are up a mountain and have to catch a train later that day. Running full pelt downhill for 2 miles makes you seize up quite nicely the following day……6. Never get in a taxi in Zurich with two American girls (Erynn and Charlie) when you don’t speak German and have no idea where you want to go….. it can be expensive7. You can get interesting plastic granny pants in sex shops in Zurich (no we didn’t go in – they were in the window). I didn’t think the Swiss were like that?8. How does Heidi write those minutes in such a quick and orderly manner?
I’m sure there’s more but that’s it for now……..Thanks to all for making the week very enjoyable both in professional and silliness terms.Take care
Tess Williams, Oxfam
Yet a few stood out from the muddle. The Environment Day key note speeches by Anders Wijkman (MEP) and Reid Basher (UNISDR secretariat) and subsequent plenary were impressive and thought provoking, the primary message being that we in the DRR community must make DRR our primary concern (I think we buy into that already don’t we fellow ECBers?). I have reams of notes from this session and some marvellous quotes which I was going to use here but it seems I can’t understand most of them – they need time and consideration, which I don’t have given the pressure to get this blog whisked off right this minute!
I can say however that the ‘Millennium Ecosystem Assessment’ was brought to my attention during this session, this document being quoted as a ‘stark warning regarding human behaviour and the environment. According to this document, more than half the developing worlds population will be at risk of serious flood by 2025. With statistics such as this can we afford not to relate these disasters to climate change and can we afford not to direct research into the relationship between DRR, Climate Change and appropriate adaptation strategies? I had not heard of this document before (should I have? have I had my head in the sand? – quite possibly – but hey – I can’t know everything!!!) and it’s a document that I will certainly be seeking out.
On a different note – what do others think of the Red Cross (in whatever form) linking with organisations such as Coca Cola and Walmart? I have some serious reservations about this – not helped by that ridiculous presentation from the guy from Coke during the IFRC plenary. Who is advising Coke that bottling plastic water and sending it to camps (such as those in Pakistan) is an appropriate response activity? What about the cost/benefit ratio, the environmental impact of thousands of plastic bottles, let alone the fact is just a pure PR stunt and all the other reasons I just can’t be bothered to list. Perhaps theys should bottle water and give it to all the Indian farmers whose wells have run dry because of the Coke bottling plant near to their villages. I was bordering on fuming listening to him and almost laughed out loud in a hysterical manner when he patted himself on the back for having such marvellous logistics that coke could be found in the most far flung places of thee world…… rant rant rant grrrrrrr. Am I over reacting? I would like to know others thoughts on this.
Anyway – apart from the serious, work side of the week, there are some memorable moments/observations that I would like to immortalise on paper:1. Erynn’s sheer joy and excitement over a self-clean, revolving toilet seat. She was so overjoyed that she now has it on video – to the confusion and slight dismay of one conference goer – who entered to toilet to find much giggling. I – on the other hand - looked at it in a different light and think I might leave the humanitarian sector to make my millions through the invention of one that actually dries the seat, saving you that slightly disconcerting moment when you sit down!2. Maurice playing with Warners utensils could have been a wonderful moment – but he hardly noticed - shame3. Paul now has a distinct interest in strange English expressions, examples of which I will not put here, however I do have a mission now to train him in the art of cockney rhyming slang…. Watch this space4. Gunawan’s passion for photographs is outstanding5. Never trust Swiss maps and estimated times for walking routes when you are up a mountain and have to catch a train later that day. Running full pelt downhill for 2 miles makes you seize up quite nicely the following day……6. Never get in a taxi in Zurich with two American girls (Erynn and Charlie) when you don’t speak German and have no idea where you want to go….. it can be expensive7. You can get interesting plastic granny pants in sex shops in Zurich (no we didn’t go in – they were in the window). I didn’t think the Swiss were like that?8. How does Heidi write those minutes in such a quick and orderly manner?
I’m sure there’s more but that’s it for now……..Thanks to all for making the week very enjoyable both in professional and silliness terms.Take care
Tess Williams, Oxfam
posted by Emergency Capacity Building Project Team Blog at 7:27 AM
1 Comments:
Did I really say "bottling plastic water"?
Sorry chaps - wrote the blog in a rush. Don't think Coke, with all their faults, go so far as bottling plastic water... I think you know what I meant!
Tess
Post a Comment
<< Home