"This is the time that big business must talk as one international voice to political leaders and we anticipate—for the first time—that it will be calling for both long- and mid-term targets for emissions cuts, and for money on the table to help developing countries adapt and pursue low-carbon futures," said Oxfam International executive director Jeremy Hobbs who will address the World Business Summit on Climate Change on Monday. "These are make-or-break issues. We could witness at this meeting the private sector wielding its power for the climate good. The outcome could not matter more to millions of poor people around the world who are already suffering first and worst from the impacts of climate change."
"It is crucial that the Summit's "Copenhagen Call" contains specific detail on these key issues and that it is not derailed by businesses that continue to resist the inevitability of a low-carbon future," Hobbs said. "At the moment, the private sector is a very mixed bag. There are companies providing world-class leadership, vision and action on climate change but others are just looking for loopholes and excuses."
"Companies have a powerful interest to tackle climate change because they have to secure their own markets and supply chains. And they must call for a fair and safe deal so that the future world economy is stable and sustainable," Hobbs said. "It is not only the future of business at stake, but that of human development."
Oxfam urged for the Summit's "Copenhagen Call" to specify at least 80 percent global emission cuts from 1990 levels by 2050 and acknowledge that emissions must peak by 2015 and fall to at least 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 in developed countries. Summit participants must also demand that rich countries commit the necessary resources for developing countries to adapt and mitigate, including at least $50 billion for adaptation on a yearly basis. Oxfam also warned participants to be wary of "red warning flags," such as voluntary sectoral agreements for target cuts—which could arise in discussions at the Summit.
A growing number of companies have recognized the business case for addressing the climate problem systematically, and they are now advocating for public policies that not only seek to curb dangerous greenhouse gas emissions, but also help developing countries prepare for and adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change. This includes companies who are part of the Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP), such as Gap Inc., eBay Inc., Symantec Corp., Levi Strauss & Co., Nike, Sun Microsystems, Starbucks and The Timberland Co., which have advocated for the passage of strong US climate and energy policies.
]]>The bill is historic as it commits to curbing global warming pollution, puts our nation and others on a clean energy development pathway, and addresses and finances the needs of vulnerable communities both at home and abroad who are on the front lines of climate change.
"Getting the Waxman-Markey bill out of the Energy and Commerce Committee is a history-making effort in enacting US climate and clean energy legislation," said Jim Lyons, vice-president of Oxfam America. "But while this bill is a giant leap in US climate change legislation, it is too small of a step towards what's needed for a global climate deal in Copenhagen this December."
Last minute attempts to eliminate important international provisions in the bill were rejected. If passed, these amendments would have seriously undermined the United States' leadership role in the international climate negotiations and would have shortchanged significant business opportunities abroad for America companies.
"Poor countries didn't create the problem, but they have to deal with the consequences. It's in America's best interest to help the most vulnerable adapt to global warming's consequences and cooperate with them to pursue clean energy pathways," said Lyons.
"Developing countries have made it crystal clear that without real cooperation and resources, there won't be a global climate deal," said Lyons. "A substantial increase in resources for the most vulnerable countries will be essential for the President to strike a global climate deal."
]]>With some champions in Congress and support from the White House, we're hoping to see domestic legislation that not only fines companies who pollute, but also uses some of these funds to help affected communities build their resilience. If we are successful domestically, we can lay the groundwork for a global deal at the UN Climate Change Conference this December—an agreement that will create a more hospitable climate for us all.
Also in this issue: A force of peace in Peru; Rebuilding in Bangladesh; Oxfam America's new role in Darfur.
]]>"We commend Chairmen Waxman and Markey for moving forward critically-needed comprehensive clean energy and climate change legislation. They should be recognized for their efforts to create momentum toward a clean energy and climate-resilient economy.
"We thank the Chairmen for including critically-needed financing to meet the needs of vulnerable communities worldwide to prepare for unavoidable impacts of climate change and move toward a clean energy development pathway. But we are disappointed that not nearly enough resources are provided for adaptation in the immediate term to address the serious impacts already occurring around the world.
"A substantial increase in resources for the most vulnerable countries will be essential for the President to make progress on fostering a global climate deal in Copenhagen this December. Without this commitment, a global agreement on climate will be in serious jeopardy.
"Immediate investments in climate-related disaster preparation will preempt much greater costs—as much as seven times greater—in future years and are key to avoiding global conflicts and instability. A recent report by Oxfam calculates that the number of people around the world affected by climate-related disasters annually will increase by more than 50 percent, to 375 million people by 2016.
"The bill also places a mandatory limit on global warming pollution, the cause of increasing climate-related harm for vulnerable communities. While the long-term emission targets are robust, the short term targets fall short of what's needed. The bill only aims to reduce US emissions by roughly 3 percent below 1990 levels by 2020, despite recommendations by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that industrialized countries together reduce their global warming emissions by 25-40 percent below 1990 levels by 2020. The more ambitious the emissions cuts, the less the damage vulnerable communities will face.
"There is considerable momentum in Congress right now to address the threats of climate change and transition our economy to clean energy, thereby creating new clean energy jobs and opportunities for US businesses.
"We look forward to working with members of Congress to strengthen the bill and ensure that the President has the necessary tools to broker an equitable and effective global climate agreement in Copenhagen this year. We also look to the White House to help Congress forge an aggressive energy and climate bill that gets the job done and protects those in need."
]]>More than 200 participants, including government officials, academics, and representatives from UN agencies and non-governmental organizations attended the panel discussion on climate change. Featuring panelists from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the international Livestock Research Institute, and the African Union, among others, the talk touched on a broad array of topics including population, health, gender, adaptation and mitigation, upcoming negotiations, and Ethiopia’s current position on climate change.
Participants were invited to join the Green Generation—a movement to help build solutions to the problems of climate change through activities that will help conserve the environment.
"For the first time I realized the urgency of this issue, and the magnitude of the problem," said Misrak Aklilu, project coordinator for Facilitator for Change Ethiopia, following a question-and-answer session on accountability and the pros and cons of urbanization and commercialization. "It is very relevant we all join this campaign realizing this issue requires our individual commitment."
But it was Dawit Basayee, a herder from the Borena zone in the southern part of the country, who gave the problem of climate change a human face. He talked about his day-to-day struggle he faced to keep his family and animals alive during the recent drought. He shared his story about the shortage of food and water that killed most of his livestock; his inability to send his children to school due to the fact that his resources had been depleted; the increasing number of health problems because of scarce water; and the threats of conflict caused by limited water and feed in the area. An exhibition that tells his story was prepared by DanChurch Aid and viewed by the participants.
]]>"Ready or Not? A Conference on Issues and Solutions for Adapting to Climate Change," focuses on ideas to help people cope with the human consequences of the crisis, which include droughts, food shortages, health crises, and mass migrations. Panelists will discuss the proactive solutions—like drought-resistant seeds or flood-proof homes—that communities can use to build their resilience to these effects, and identify ways for the US government and international community to support adaptation efforts here and abroad.
Nancy Sutley, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, will deliver the keynote address at the conference. Additional speakers include Saleemul Huq, co-author of the third assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); Xuan Nguyen, executive director of Women's Environment and Development Organization (WEDO); Mazoe Gondwe, a farm leader and women's rights activist from Malawi; as well as climate experts and advocates from the US and abroad.
Over 30 environmental, faith, public health, and women's organizations lent their support to the conference, which comes at a moment of critical opportunity to influence a new US climate bill. Oxfam is calling on US leaders to make sure that global warming legislation not only curbs our greenhouse gas emissions, but also provides financial assistance that helps poor communities here and around the world withstand the current and future impacts of climate change.
]]>The rise in numbers—from the current 250 million per year to 375 million by 2015—is due to the increasing threat of climate change-induced severe weather events and inability of millions of people worldwide to prepare to deal with such catastrophes. In the report, The Right to Survive, Oxfam America recommends adequate and urgent investments in climate change adaptation and an overhaul of the current system of humanitarian assistance in order to meet the challenge of more frequent and devastating disasters.
"Entrenched poverty in many parts of the world makes people more vulnerable to disasters," said Raymond C. Offenheiser, President of Oxfam America. "Climate change is already threatening our work to overcome poverty, and now it is increasing the pressure on our relief work. It is crucial that we tackle global warming head on by cutting dangerous greenhouse gas emissions, but we must also invest in community preparedness to cope with climate-related disasters."
According to the report, the international humanitarian system must change the way it delivers aid, with a focus on helping build countries’ ability to prepare and withstand future shocks. The report recommends increased humanitarian aid to ensure there is adequate funding to support timely, effective, and good-quality humanitarian action. In addition, Oxfam urged aid providers—including the US government—to act impartially after a disaster, investing money and effort to commensurate with the levels of need.
As climate-related disasters increase, aid must be more focused on preparing communities, working with local NGOs and governments to create relief that works in the long-term, and helping make vulnerable communities stronger in the face of climate change.
"Communities around the world have the knowledge and experience to craft their response to the negative impacts of climate change, but they need adequate funding to make it happen," said Offenheiser. "Investing in community resilience, especially for the most vulnerable, must be a cornerstone of any American effort on climate change."
The report is released right as important climate change legislation is moving through the Energy and Commerce Committee of the House of Representatives and as the White House prepares to host a high-level meeting of developed countries in Washington on climate change.
"Now is the time for bold action on climate," said Offenheiser. "We must not only improve our response to disasters, but also fund measures that help communities adapt to climate change. After all, it is poverty and failure to recognize everyone’s right to survive that turn a storm into a disaster."
]]>
UPDATE: April 2011
This note is to briefly explain why Oxfam has revised its view of its 2009 forecast of a likely rise in the number of people affected by climate-related disasters.
Two years ago Oxfam did an analysis of the number of people affected by past climate-related events. From this analysis we made a forecast that by 2015 it was likely that the average annual number of people affected by climate-related disasters would be 375 million and this represented an increase of 54 per cent compared with the average figure of the decade 1998-2007.
Having reviewed the data and the method we used to analyse the data we are no longer confident in the specific approach we used, given the nature of the data, as described below, and so we are no longer confident of this specific forecast.
Our concerns are essentially two-fold: the limitations of the data and the limitations of the way we analysed the data.
The limitations of the data: The data we used was from EM-DAT, the international disaster database managed by CRED, the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters. This is a respected set of data which captures, amongst other things, the number of disasters that has happened and the number of people affected.
Like most sets of data it has its limitations. In EM-DAT’s case one of the key limitations is that the more recent data is more reliable. This was well known to us and we dealt with this in our analysis by using double exponential smoothing on the data (see the explanation of how we carried out the analysis and catered for the data’s limitation).
However one limitation we did not know at the time and have only recently discovered is that the number of people affected by climate-related disasters in China is unusually low in first half of the 1980s when compared with subsequent years. It is highly likely that this is the result of under reporting from China. Given the size of China’s population its disaster figures are significant when considering the global picture. The likely impact of this on our forecast may mean that we started our analysis with data from 1980 that was likely to be unreasonably low and therefore made our projected increase in the number of people affected artificially high.
We now know that there has been a significant increase in reporting from many other countries over the same period due to better information and communication.
Limitations of our analysis: Though we were clear in our explanation of the way we came to our conclusion that “different forecasting models could lead to different results,” what we should have done, particularly given the high volatility of the data especially in 2002, was run these different models to help determine the degree of confidence in the conclusion we came to.
It does not mean though that there will not be an increase in the numbers of people affected by disasters in the future. There is evidence to point to this likelihood.
According to EM-DAT the number of climate-related disasters has increased by 35 per cent from the 1990s to the 2000s. Floods have increased by 50 per cent over the same period. Munich Re’s database of global disasters also shows an increasing trend in climate-related events. It is not possible to know how much of this is an increase in events or better reporting of events and neither can we assume that an increase in events will lead to an equal increase in numbers affected.
Population growth means that there is a likelihood of more people being affected by climate-related events.
The number of people exposed to some climate-related events is also on the increase. According to the forthcoming United Nations Global Assessment Report 2011 the number of people exposed to floods and cyclones has doubled between 1970 and 2010. It is likely that many people who are ‘exposed’ to hazards are not affected due to measures that protect them, such as flood defences for example. However in many vulnerable countries investment and efforts to reduce significantly the risk of disasters is sorely lacking leaving millions exposed and likely to be affected by disasters.
Finally as the effects of climate change become more apparent there are more frequent and more intense climate-related events according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report.
Oxfam is in the process of further research into the number of people affected by climate-related events and will be publishing the results of this research in due course.
]]>
We have been hearing a lot about the mangroves on this trip to the Pacific coast where countless families are struggling against a poverty that forces them to live where no one else will: in low-lying areas prone to flooding and along the sides of dirt roads that become hard to negotiate during heavy rains.
South of here, in a town called Metalío, we have just met with Francisco Calzadilla, a member of the technical team for Caritas, which, together with Oxfam America and three other donor groups, as well as six local non-governmental organizations, has joined a consortium called PRVAS—or Programa Reducción de Vulnerabilidades Ahuachapán-Sonsonate. One of its goals is to help communities carry out mitigation projects to reduce their risk in disasters. And that's where the mangroves come in.
"They serve as a natural barrier—to the waves and the wind off the ocean," says Calzadilla. "They also provide a food source. They serve as an ecosystem for shellfish."
The strip of mangroves Calzadilla is particularly concerned with, stretches for about 20 kilometers around Metalío. He estimates that about 50 percent of that stretch has been deforested as people cut down the trees for both construction material and firewood.
But in August, with support from PRVAS, community members took steps to recover some of those losses, said Calzadilla. They collected, sorted, and planted 20,000 mangrove seeds—they look like long, slender pods—along a two-kilometer deforested strip.
It will be a while—10 years predicted Calzadilla—before the seedlings mature enough to serve as a barrier against the onslaught of Mother Nature. In areas where the mangroves have disappeared and there is nothing to break the force of winds, small houses have blown away, Calzadilla said.
In some neighborhoods around Acajutla, El Salvador's largest port, mangrove forests have been severely reduced—replaced by fill and the simple homes of some of the country's poorest residents.
Further east in the department of Usulután, preservation efforts are underway for some of the mangrove forests in Jiquilisco Bay, where Oxfam America is helping local fishermen organize themselves to improve their production and protect their livelihoods. They depend on the resources that flourish in the dense tangle of roots, mud, and tidal water.
Deep in the pre-dawn gloom of one protected area in the bay, we can just make out a platform where watchmen keep round-the-clock guard over this watery haven supported by funds from the United Nations. Here, mollusks can get a solid start and help to increase the catch that local fishermen need to feed their families.
Later, after the sun is up and the tide has receded, the mangrove forests in Jiquilisco Bay come alive with the chirping and scrambling of wildlife. Herons pick their way over the mud flats. A raccoon darts through the exposed roots. A vulture studies us from his perch on a branch.
Juan Larín Rojas, a 54-year-old fisherman, eyes each one of them with delight. He knows many of their scientific names. This is his turf, and despite the challenges of making a living from these mangroves and the sea around them, he wouldn't give up this life for anything.
"I love fishing. I love the sea. I love feeling free," he says.
]]>The house is gone now, and Canjura, her husband, and their four boys have moved to a new cinder block house—with a tile floor and a composting latrine—built by an aid group a short distance away. But for many poor people settled in this mangrove swamp, all the problems remain of living on marginal land, made more hazardous by the increased flooding climate change seems to be triggering.
And that's why Canjura, with the help of Oxfam America and a consortium of aid groups, is now rallying with other local activists to bring their problems to the attention of the Salvadoran government and push for help.
The consortium, made up of five donor groups and six local non-governmental organizations, started two years ago with a program called PRVAS—or Programa Reducción de Vulnerabilidades Ahuachapán-Sonsonate. The program helps communities in the area organize themselves to better prepare for disasters, carry out small mitigation projects, and win the ear of local governments. The idea behind the PRVAS is to help people help themselves—and find ways to make a new civil protection law, passed in 2005, work for them.
"If we just continue from an emergency response perspective, all we'll do year after year is help rescue people," says Henry Giovani Magaña the coordinator for PRVAS. "We won't help people overcome their vulnerabilities—which is what we want."
We are sitting in a small community center, a low-slung ocean-front structure on loan to residents in this coastal region from a Salvadoran living in the US. Other buildings—some less substantial than this one—line both sides of the street. And further back, amid pools of murky water, stretch what's left of the mangroves in this area. The construction of a railroad down to the coast in the 1930s marked the beginning of their end.
Magaña explains that when the railroad came, landless families, in search of jobs and a place to live, settled here, and slowly the swampland began to get developed. Nearby, the Sensunapan River, now reportedly one of the most polluted in this tiny country, drains into the sea, its water silted and brown. The river serves as both a source of income—shirtless diggers scoop boatloads of sand from its floor—and dread: During heavy rains, the Sensunapan spills from its channel and floods the surrounding homes.
Though fill and levees have altered the landscape in these coastal neighborhoods, the basic topography has not changed—with consequences that have proved dire in the decades since for poor people clinging to this strip of land along the Pacific.
"Nature doesn't make mistakes," says Magaña. "It wants this to be wet. There are floods here all the time."
And now, compounding the trouble, are changing weather patterns that are making life even more challenging for the families struggling here.
"About five years ago we started to notice that the sea is coming in further, and when there are very high tides it's slowly eroding houses along the shore," says Hilton Alcir Aguilar, a volunteer coordinator for the five coastal neighborhoods participating in the PRVAS program in Acajutla. "And the rains are heavier. Before, it would take two hours of rain for water to rise high enough to flood. Now, it happens in one hour."
Canjura has spent all of her 30 years right here in the La Playa neighborhood. And in that time she has begun to see changes that are having serious implications for her family.
"When we have these temporales—the storms that rain for several days—the water rises. But with climate change, we're seeing more flooding and we're also seeing it in areas that didn't flood before," she says. "Here most of the men are fishermen and they used to be able to haul in a lot but because of climate change, the fish seemed to have migrated away from here. It's really affected their ability to support their families. Some are looking for work as bricklayers. Some have opened bike repair shops. And some continue to fish."
Her husband is one of those—a fisherman.
"It has affected us," says Canjura. "He's getting less fish. If we used to eat two tortillas at a meal, now we're eating one." Sometimes, she says, her children go hungry.
"When you talk to people about climate change here, they're much more concerned," said Magaña. "They know storms are going to get worse, and if they're already living in vulnerable positions, it will make them more vulnerable."
What are the answers?
One solution, says Canjura, is the construction of a levee system on the Sensunapan River that would protect the densely populated community along one of its banks. But the price tag is steep, and no one has agreed to fund it, she adds. Nevertheless, other smaller projects proposed by locals and supported by PRVAS members are now moving ahead.
"We're trying to organize community councils so we can put together project proposals and seek support," says Canjura. She points to the recent construction of a seawall in La Playa as proof of what's possible when enough people get behind an idea. Designed to keep high tides from slopping onto the coastal road and into the homes of people along it, the seawall was built with help from Caritas, the mayor's office, and plenty of manual labor provided by the community.
"All of us felt very proud," says Canjura. "We were very happy we were able to achieve that."
Other projects in the works include the paving of a dirt evacuation route in the community of El Milagro. All it takes is two hours of heavy rain before the neighborhood floods with water up to people's knees, says José Vidal Aguillón, chairman of a local community council. A paved evacuation route will allow them to get out fast—without vehicles getting stuck in the mud. A broad drainage ditch, also under construction, will help the floodwaters to drain away more quickly—and prevent possible contaminants in the water from lingering.
But construction projects aren't all that's needed to help poor people in coastal Acajutla weather the increasing challenges they face. They need a voice and they need influence—both of which PRVAS is slowly helping them muster.
"From the training in disaster risk reduction we've gone through with the PRVAS program, we've built our skills to advocate for greater aid from the government—and we're also getting more involved in working with the government," says Aguilar, the community coordinator. "The biggest achievement is the unity in the five communities—that we're united behind the same goal—and the influence we're starting to have in different government institutions."
With that influence, perhaps the communities will be able to lobby successfully for more opportunities for advanced schooling or vocational training in Acajutla—both critical if people are to become competitive in the job market. With fishing drying up, many of the Acajutla's breadwinners are going to have to find other means of making a living.
Canjura seems to be keenly aware of that. She has only a sixth-grade education, and her husband stopped his schooling after the third grade. But all four of their children are steadily moving up through the grades, even as finding the resources to buy the necessary school supplies is a constant worry for Canjura and her husband. Their oldest son will soon be entering eighth grade.
Would she like to see them go on to high school?
Canjura sighs deeply at the question, and is silent for a moment.
"That's my goal," she says finally. "I really want them to get ahead. But the way things are now, it's pretty hard."
]]>Introduced last week by Congresswomen Barbara Lee (D-CA), Betty McCollum (D-MN) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA), House Concurrent Resolution 98 affirms the commitment of Congress to support women globally to prepare for, build resilience for, and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
"The efforts of Congresswomen Lee, McCollum, and Eshoo will help raise awareness about the impacts of global warming on women. The resolution is timely, especially as Congress undertakes legislative action on global warming," said Vicky Rateau, manager of Oxfam America's climate change campaign.
When natural disasters strike, they hit poor communities first and worst, according to Oxfam. Since women make up an estimated 70 percent of those living below the poverty line, they are most likely to bear the heaviest burdens. At the same time, women are often left out of the conversation about adapting to climate change, even though they are sometimes in the best position to provide solutions.
The resolution affirms the commitment of Congress to empower women to have a voice in the planning and implementation of strategies to address climate change so that their roles and resources are taken into account. The resolution also encourages President Obama to consider the impacts of climate change on women while developing policies and programs to address climate change.
Co-sponsors of the resolution include Rep. Baldwin, Rep. Butterfield, Rep. Capps, Rep. Christensen, Rep. Clarke, Rep. Edwards, Rep. Hastings, Rep. Kucinich, Rep Lewis, Rep. Payne, and Rep. Speier.
"As we work to address the devastating impacts of climate change on a global and national level, we must ensure that our policies help women prepare for, build their resilience, and adapt to the adverse impact that climate change has across the globe," said Rateau.
]]>"We applaud the efforts of Representatives Waxman and Markey in furthering the President's call for action on climate at this crucial time in the fight against global warming. By outlining a long-term vision of a greener and more climate-resilient world, this draft legislation provides a framework for historical congressional action on climate change.
"We are especially encouraged that the bill addresses the key goal of helping poor people – here and abroad – adapt to the unavoidable consequences of climate change, and we will work with Congress to ensure that substantial and adequate resources will be dedicated to this objective as the debate progresses. While least responsible for causing climate change, poor people bear the brunt of its impacts. Supporting community resilience for those most vulnerable and hardest hit must be a cornerstone of any American effort on climate change.
"By putting in place a pathway toward a clean energy future in the US and globally, and by mobilizing the resources for innovative, people-focused adaptation solutions, this legislative proposal can help generate the kinds of business and job opportunities critically needed to rebuild our nation's economy.
"Momentum is building toward the international negotiations to achieve a global climate agreement in Copenhagen this December. As the US begins to reengage in the negotiations this week in Bonn, this bill's recognition of international efforts to reduce emissions and adapt to climate impacts sends the signal that the United States is ready and willing to be back at the table.
"While the bill sets us on the right course for long-term emissions reductions, we have an obligation to the rest of the world to make even deeper near-term cuts in domestic emissions than called for in this draft.
"We look forward to working with Representatives Waxman and Markey and all members of the Energy and Commerce Committee to pass a strong climate bill that makes deep cuts in dangerous greenhouse gas emissions, transforms our economy, and helps poor and vulnerable communities cope with the negative impacts of global warming."
]]>Joy Bryant (now starring in the hit TV series Parenthood) first became involved with Oxfam in February 2009, when she co-hosted a reception alongside Cosmopolitan magazine editor Kate White to raise awareness of Oxfam’s work. Bryant also represented Oxfam America at the 2009 Earth Day event on Washington, DC’s National Mall, where she spoke to over 75,000 people about the consequences of climate change for poor women worldwide. In 2010, Bryant traveled with Oxfam's Sisters on the Planet initiative to Cambodia, where she met women rice farmers who are fighting climate change and hunger in their communities.
Rev. Girton-Mitchell is the Associate General Secretary for Justice and Advocacy for the National Council of Churches of Christ (NCC). She helps provide an active voice for social justice on behalf of the NCC's 36 Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, historic African American, and Living Peace member faith groups, which include over 45 million Americans. Rev. Girton-Mitchell is a life member of the National Council of Negro Women, the NAACP, and the Washington Urban League. She also holds membership in the National Bar Association, Washington Bar Association, and the Women's Bar Association.
Hassan is the founder of Maji Umbrellas, which raises funds and awareness about the food and water crisis in the Horn of Africa. Maji donates a portion of each umbrella purchase to Oxfam’s relief work in East Africa, enough to provide a day’s supply of clean water to 20 people. Hassan's work with Oxfam via Maji Umbrellas was documented in Canadian fashion magazine Flare and awarded a “Genius Award” by Elle magazine. In June 2012, Hassan, who was born in Somalia and spent time in refugee camps in Kenya as a child, traveled to Nairobi, Kenya, to learn more about Oxfam's work and meet with local partners and Somali refugees. Her visit is chronicled in the September 2012 120th anniversary issue of Vogue magazine.
Lappé, a democracy advocate and world food and hunger expert, has authored or co-authored 17 books and was the 1987 recipient of the Right Livelihood Award. She is the co-founder of Food First: The Institute for Food and Development Policy and the Small Planet Institute, which she leads with her daughter, Anna Lappé. Her bestselling Diet for a Small Planet is considered “the blueprint for eating with a small carbon footprint since long before the term was coined” [JM Hirsch, Associated Press]. Frances was named the 2008 James Beard Foundation’s Humanitarian of the Year. Her most recent book is Getting A Grip 2: Clarity, Creativity and Courage for the World We Really Want.
Leonard is the Senior Vice President of Levi’s® Brand Product Management for the Americas region, responsible for managing product sourcing for the US, Canada, Mexico and Latin America. She ensures that Levi’s® brand products not only meet the company’s rigorous quality standards, but are also produced in an environment that protects worker health and safety and meets strict environmental standards. She also serves on the Levi Strauss Foundation Board of Directors, is an Advisory Board Member of the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC, and works with the San Francisco Friends School.
]]>The ambassadors' message: Worldwide, it's women who often bear the brunt of the effects of climate change, including more frequent and severe floods, droughts, and hurricanes. The US must invest now in adaptation projects, like elevated flood-proof houses and drought-resistant seeds, to help women and families build their resilience to these new and heightened risks.
"It's important to talk about the cost-effective nature of investing in the world's most vulnerable populations, both for their stability and for global security," said Sisters on the Planet Ambassador the Hon. Barbara Lawton, lieutenant governor of Wisconsin. "Whether it's women and families in the US, in Sudan, or in the Arctic Circle... our destinies are linked."
Joining Lawton on the Congressional visits were Linda Adams, secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency; Elizabeth Becker, journalist and author; Rev. Dr. Miriam Burnett, president of the Resource and Promotion of Health Alliance, Inc.; Dr. Kristie Ebi, human health author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; Rachel Larson, executive director of Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility; Sharon Hanshaw, executive director of Coastal Women for Change; and Mary Wilson, president of the League of Women Voters.
Oxfam's Judith Brackley, a member of the event planning team, said the participants reflect a diverse group of more than 25 Sisters on the Planet Ambassadors, including business leaders, artists, university presidents, and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. (Read a full list of Sisters on the Planet ambassadors.)
"Though they come from different backgrounds, these are all women of influence, who can speak on behalf of women around the world—many of whom have no voice or access to seats of power," said Brackley.
As a result of the ambassadors' visits, 10 members of Congress agreed to sponsor an upcoming bipartisan Congressional resolution on women and climate change. Others pledged to support international adaptation funding in future US climate legislation.
The ambassadors particularly targeted their efforts to women leaders. Representative Anna Eshoo, Democrat of California, joined them for a question and answer session over dinner, while Representative Doris O. Matsui, Democrat of California, signed on as the newest Sisters on the Planet Ambassador.
Brackley said the ambassadors will play an ongoing role as spokeswomen for Oxfam's climate change campaign. Many came away from the event with new connections to one another and new ideas for spreading the word among constituents.
Burnett, a physician and minister, talked about Sisters on the Planet the following Sunday morning—International Women's Day—on her satellite radio talk show targeting the African-American community.
"When I look at climate change and poverty—all the things Sisters on the Planet talks about—I've seen that in the work I've been doing here in the US. When I see the droughts that are occurring where they use trickle irrigation, and I turn around and look at drought in farmland in middle Georgia, I see common ground," Burnett said.
Join the effort: Take the Sisters on the Planet pledge.
]]>That was 15 years ago. Today, clean water in the small communities of El Recuerdo and Agua Zarca is as precious as ever—and still hard to get. There's no turning on the tap over a kitchen sink and letting the gallons gush. Here, many people trudge to a communal source, fill their jugs, and lug the heavy load home again. But seasonal flooding—sometimes hugely destructive and, with climate change, possibly becoming more severe—contaminates many of the area's hand-dug wells, exposing people to waterborne illnesses.
But now, with the help of Oxfam America and its local partner, PROVIDA, the well that Cruz worked so hard to dig on the school grounds in El Recuerdo is pumping enough clean water to satisfy the drinking needs not only of the students but of about 80 families in the surrounding area. The well is one of five "healthy wells" in southern Zacatecoluca province PROVIDA lined, surrounded with a filter, capped to ensure its cleanliness, and outfitted with a pump that sends water to a large tank for chlorination and storage.
"The families in this area are living in extreme poverty, living as subsistence farmers or low paid day laborers in the nearby sugar cane plantations," says Karina Copen, an Oxfam humanitarian program officer. "They face numerous challenges in having to adapt to the increased frequency and intensity of the flooding in their area. With access to a healthy well, they can at least know that in the next flood, they will have a safe source of water for their families and the good health that comes along with it."
Adaptations, such as these healthy wells, are essential for Salvadoran families living in the department of La Paz in the lower region of the Lempa River where seasonal rains, tropical depressions, and hurricanes, make it one of the country's most flood-prone areas.
Coupled with those natural hazards is the fact that communities in the region have significantly less access to improved water sources and sanitation than other parts of the country. The "healthy wells" along with 27 new composting latrines have been a boon to families in the area.
"Kids are getting sick less; families are healthier," says Santos Efrain Coto, one of the local leaders in El Recuerdo. "When they drank contaminated water they got diarrhea and parasites."
The improved wells are based on a model that's new to El Salvador and designed by an organization called Swiss Labour Assistance. Besides having their tops sealed with cement to prevent polluted flood waters from slopping in, the wells are lined with a type of plastic pipe, known as polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, that extends down into the aquifer. Packed around the outside of the lining is a filter of volcanic rock that prevents contamination from seeping through underground.
At the El Recuerdo school one day recently, teacher Ana Elsa Cubias describes how students used to bring their own water from home to drink during the school day. Now, the refurbished well guarantees them a clean supply right on the spot.
"They're drinking water from a protected source and the kids have water right in the classroom," says Cubias.
A short distance from the classrooms sits a large plastic tank, sky blue and able to hold 1,100 liters of water pumped fresh from the well. Chlorinated, the water from the tank flows to two taps standing just outside the gates to the school. They're accessible to whoever is driving or walking by. And to ensure the stored water stays safe for drinking, the water committee arranges to have the tank cleaned every couple of weeks—a task that falls to a child small enough to wiggle inside and scrub the interior walls with a brush and bleach.
"We make sure he bathes before he gets in the tank," adds Coto, the local leader.
In Agua Zarca, a few communities over, Jose Luis Funes Cruze says that before PROVIDA and Oxfam installed the new well, most of the local residents depended on their own backyard wells for drinking water—and that was a problem.
"The household wells take on a lot of rain water and a lot of filthy water when there's flooding," says Cruz, pointing in the direction of the polluted San Antonio River, which spills its banks during big storms. "The things people throw in—there are pigs up river. And the cheese factory is up river."
In the past, when their drinking supply has been contaminated, families in Agua Zarca have had to rely on the government or aid groups to truck in drinking water for them.
But now, with a new communal well their supply of drinking water is much improved.
"We're very grateful—the whole community is—to have that water," says Blanca Lidia Jiménez, who lives close to the well makes about six trips a day to fetch enough water for the seven people in her house. "We don't get sick so much when we drink the water from this well. The little kids would get swollen bellies, but with the new well that problem has been solved."
Still, the situation in Agua Zarca points to the challenges of providing clean water in this area. The community's new well was built on the only land available: next to a cow pasture—an arrangement that could be problematic during the wet season when rain sloshes manure about and allows it to seep into the groundwater.
The deep plastic lining on the well and its volcanic-rock filter help, though, says Guillermo Morán, a professor and researcher at the University of El Salvador's Earth Sciences Institute. He worked with Oxfam America and another of its partners, the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI), to evaluate the effectiveness of the wells while studying the health practices of families who use them.
The study is an important component of Oxfam's public health work: It promotes accountability and offers a different model for aid groups by linking their work with that of universities.
"We have the field experience and they have the technical expertise," says Miriam Aschkenasy, Oxfam America's public health specialist. "Together we're able to evaluate programs at a higher standard and at one that increases accountability."
In its draft report, HHI said that individuals who live in communities with "healthy wells" were less likely to have diarrhea and reported fewer cases of the illness during the time of the study. But the draft report also revealed that in two of those communities, some people were still using hand-dug wells for their drinking water while other people from places without "healthy wells" were making the trek to a community that had one to fetch their water.
"The study gives us insight in a way we couldn't have anticipated," says Aschkenasy. "It gives us an idea of where to focus in the future. We now know we need to find a way to encourage people who are still relying on the hand-dug wells to use the healthy ones instead. And it gives us great incentive to build more of them."
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