COP21 Days 8-10: Working through Sticking Points

Although I have had the amazing opportunity to be at Le Bourget while countries are working towards a new climate agreement, a lot of the proceedings from the past several days have been as mysterious for me as for a completely external observer.

Ministers and delegations have been furiously negotiating through the past several nights to revise the agreement text and slowly work through the myriad of options and brackets. An incredible amount of progress has been made over the past couple days, and the most recent draft – available on the UNFCCC website – is much shorter and cleaner that what was submitted to Ministers on Saturday.

A few key points, however, have been particularly difficult to work through. Countries agreed to hold an “Indaba of Solutions” at 11:30pm on Thursday, 10 December so that final compromises could be made in time for an agreement to be reached by the end of the COP on Friday. (Started at COP17 in Durban, South Africa, “indabas” are an informal meeting set-up where all countries gather around the table to voice their concerns and make compromises.)

So what are the main sticking points?

• Ambition. While every delegation has called for an ambitious agreement, the options remaining in the text suggest that some delegations have been taking that commitment more seriously than others. For the overall purpose of the agreement, countries have been considering below 2°C, well below 2°C (with a commitment to rapidly scale up efforts to limit the increase to 1.5°C), or 1.5°C. As the COP21 Twitter campaign #1point5toStayAlive clearly illustrates, a 1.5°C increase is the only viable option for Small Island Developing States. What has made this seemingly straightforward discussion more complicated is ensuring that this goal matches with the reality of national commitments. The way current Intended Nationally Determined Contributions stand, we are more realistically looking at a 3°C increase. Countries will have to seriously ramp up their commitments to bring us down to a 1.5°C increase.

• Differentiation. There is a clear divide between developed and developing countries on how these two country groups should be represented in the agreement. Developed countries argue that the dynamics of the international community are constantly evolving, and it is no longer accurate to have a strict bifurcation of country groups. They are calling for language that would allow for current developing countries to take on additional commitments based on how their national economic situation evolves over time. Developing countries, however, argue that this division of countries is still a very accurate reflection of reality internationally. They feel very strongly that this, combined with the historical responsibility of developed countries for current climate change, justifies respecting the country categories introduced in the original UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

• Support. The debate on finance is very strongly connected to the discussion around differentiation. Developing countries would like to include strong language on the importance of new and additional support from developed countries in order for developing countries to be able to fulfill their commitments. Developed countries would like to soften that language so that while developed countries commit to provide financial support, there is a less stark divide between country groups. This discussion also extends to capacity building and technology transfer.

• Loss and damage. No matter how ambitious international efforts are, some countries – especially SIDS – will still be confronted with loss and damage associated with climate change. Vulnerable countries are calling for an article in the agreement that clearly establishes and outlines parameters for a international mechanism on loss and damage. Many developed countries are worried that this will translate into lawsuits against historical emitters in the event of extreme weather events and would like to keep mentions of loss and damage in the agreement as vague and as minimal as possible.

We are now well into the final day of COP21, and we're all eagerly waiting for the announcement of the final Comité de Paris meeting, where the final agreement will be shared with Parties.

COP21 Day 7: Cities as Climate Change Leaders

Ministers and delegations are furiously negotiating the draft agreement text. The facilitators for the four thematic groups provided an update on progress in yesterday’s plenary, and while some groups had made more progress than others, each group made positive comments about initial progress and promised a more thorough update tomorrow (for more on the negotiation process, see yesterday’s post).

Things outside the bilateral and informal consultation rooms are deceptively quiet, with no news outside the normal flurry of side events. So while I wait for an update at the next plenary, I thought I would focus today’s post on an issue that has gotten a lot of attention at this year’s COP: the important role of cities in combating climate change. 

A Climate Summit for Local Leaders was held on the margins of COP21 at the Paris City Hall on Friday, 4 December. Cities and sub-national government also featured in a number of official side events. The Premier of Québec spoke at Action Day (see my Day 4 Post), profiling the carbon market that Québec has established in cooperation with California. With the proceeds of this market, Québec will contribute $252 million to the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF), making it the first sub-national contributor to this global fund.

Premier of Québec Philippe Couillard discussing Québec's carbon market at the COP21 Action Day.

C40 cities, a network of megacities committed to addressing climate change, also partnered with Yale University to organize a side event on “Energizing Climate Action through Broader Engagement and City-Scale Climate Finance.” To profile the progress made by cities around the world, C40 also announced their 2015 Cities Awards at COP21. I was particularly pleased to see that Washington, D.C. had won the green energy award for its Wind Power Purchase Agreement.

Cities are estimated to be responsible for 75% of global CO2 emissions, making it even more significant that such a great amount of progress, interest, and determination has been shown by global city leaders. Looking beyond COP21, this is definitely an area of climate change work that I will be closely following!

For more on cities and climate change, see:

• UNEP, “Cities as Climate Change”: http://www.unep.org/resourceefficiency/Policy/ResourceEfficientCities/FocusAreas/CitiesandClimateChange/tabid/101665/Default.aspx 
• The Compact of Mayors: http://www.compactofmayors.org/ 
• Climate Summit for Local Leaders website: http://climatesummitlocalleaders.paris/ 
• C40 Cities website: http://www.c40.org/ 
• Winners of the City Climate Leadership Awards 2015: http://www.c40.org/awards/3/profiles 
• Newly released UN Report on The State of City Climate Finance 2015: http://www.citiesclimatefinance.org/2015/12/the-state-of-city-climate-finance-2015-2/ 

COP21 Day 6: Gearing Up for Week Two

As I mentioned at the end of my post on Day 5, the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP) held its closing plenary session on Saturday morning. This plenary session marked the official transmission of the draft agreement and decision to ministers (under what is being called the “Comité de Paris” – Paris Committee).

Delegations get ready for the closing ADP plenary session.

Saturday also was “Action Day” for COP21. Started in last year’s COP in Lima, Peru, Action Day consists of a series of high-level panel events around themes key to that year’s conference. The panels are structured to highlight innovative climate change projects and include calls for action from a range of public and private sector climate change activists. Action Day programing started after Saturday’s closing ADP plenary session so delegations could attend. For me, this seems like quite a clever way to have negotiators take a step back after a very intense week and remember the bigger picture of why they are in Paris battling over brackets and options.

Hollande making his closing remarks at the COP21 Action Day

The negotiations resumed this morning, and informal consultations will be divided into four thematic groups:

1. Means of implementation (finance, technology, capacity building)
2. Differentiation (in particular with regard to mitigation, finance, transparency)
3. Ambition (including long-term goals and periodic review)
4. Acceleration of pre-2020 Action

As things have now kicked to a higher – and more informal – level of discussions, I am not going to be able to sit in on these consultations. I will, however, get to follow the plenary sessions that wrap up each day of negotiations. These sessions will be transmitted live on the UFCCC website, so you can also follow along!

Ministers and negotiators have a very tight schedule this week. The agreement has to be submitted by Thursday at the latest for final legal revisions and translation. The COP Presidency is, therefore, aiming to have a first complete version of the final agreement by Wednesday.

To follow the Comité de Paris plenary sessions, see: http://unfccc6.meta-fusion.com/cop21/ 

To read the draft agreement and decision texts submitted to the Comité de Paris, see: http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2015/adp2/eng/11infnot.pdf 

For more on the organization and structure of the Comité de Paris, see: http://unfccc.int/meetings/paris_nov_2015/in-session/items/9320.php 

COP21 Day 5: The Challenging and Crucial Role of the Session Facilitator

As a continuation of yesterday’s post, I wanted to focus in on the important role of the facilitators in text editing and negotiation sessions.

For each of the spin-offs and informal meetings of the spin-offs, two delegates temporarily take off their negotiating hats and become moderators for the discussion among country delegations. Their job is to guide discussions and make sure that countries stay on task and deliver a revised text within the specified deadline. While one co-facilitator calls on country parties and reacts to their comments, the other integrates their feedback into the text (which is displayed on screens throughout the room) and notes raised country plates so countries can intervene in the correct order.

Participants crowd into the overflow room for one of the final meetings of the contact group
tasked with revising the draft Agreement and Decision texts.

What makes the job of a co-facilitator uniquely challenging is that he or she is moderating a discussion among sovereign countries. The co-facilitator cannot refuse a request made by a delegation. He or she can only try to provide guidance when the conversation seems to be going off track. As one facilitator said yesterday, “Yes, you are sovereign and have the right to reintroduce text, but going down this path may not lead us to the product we want tomorrow.”  

I have also heard several facilitators say, “I am in your hands.” A discussion on finance yesterday was starting to spin in circles, and several delegations sought advice from the facilitator on the best way to move forward. In a rather poetic response, the facilitator said that while he can make suggestions, it will not make a difference if countries are not willing to engage and cooperate with one another. A facilitator can provide advice, but it is ultimately up to countries what they will achieve and what progress will be made in the drafting sessions. 

That being said, the personality and approach of a facilitator can impact the direction of discussions. In one of the final meetings of the contact group, the facilitator was audibly stressed about the remaining time and was trying to quickly move countries through a final read through of the text. This approach backfired. Because country delegations were confused about the process for providing comments on different sections of the text, a large part of the session ended up focusing on procedures instead of comments on the actual text.

Finally, as neutral parties, facilitators are able to try and help move the negotiations forward when things are not advancing quickly enough. Yesterday, for example, the different spin-off facilitators worked late into the night to produce a bridging proposal that shortened the negotiating text by ten pages. Countries agreed to use this shortened text as the basis for future discussions (while, of course, wanting to provide feedback on the key points they felt the facilitators did not capture).

As of Saturday morning, the initial revision process for the agreement has closed, and it is now up to Ministers to take us towards an ambitious agreement.

To learn more, the following NPR article does a really great job of introducing the two co-chairs of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP). The ADP was tasked, both over the past year and during the first week of negotiations, with preparing the draft agreement that will be negotiated by ministers next week. http://www.npr.org/2015/05/11/404200241/two-guys-in-paris-aim-to-charm-the-world-into-climate-action

COP21 Day 4: Articles, Paragraphs, Options, and Brackets

As I mentioned at the end of yesterday’s post, country delegations are currently revising the draft agreement proposed by the Secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This revised text is to be finalized by the end of this week so that it can be taken to the ministerial level and the final round of negotiations can begin. 

Yesterday and today, I’ve sat in on meetings dealing with revisions to the mitigation and finance sections of the agreement, and I wanted to give you a clearer picture of what these meetings and the agreement revision process are like.

Delegates settle in for another round of text revisions.

To start, the text is broken down thematically and spin-off groups are formed to treat these different areas of the text. For example, there are spin-offs dealing with Mitigation (Article 3), Adaptation and Loss and Damage (Articles 4 and 5), and Finance (Article 6). These sections cover a number of paragraphs of the Agreement and Decision texts – more than can be dealt with efficiently in the large spin-off group. The spin-off, therefore, meets to identify sticking points in the text and then breaks off into informal meetings to deal with these issues individually. The spin-off then reconvenes, each informal group provides an update, and the text is revised accordingly. 

Screens like this one are scattered throughout the Conference Center so delegates can follow
what spin-offs and informal meetings are happening when and where. With the impromptu nature
  of some of these meetings, they are often not on the official agenda.

What does the text look like after all of these revisions? Much like with spring cleaning, to clean up a mess, you first have to make a mess. As spin-offs are integrating feedback, different possible phrasing is added in brackets. When there are differences of opinion for entire paragraphs, several different options are provided. The goal is then to consolidate these different options and remove brackets as much as possible. As you might imagine, delegates are more successful at this in some sections than others. In some cases, a delegation (or a group of delegations) is able to put forward a “bridging proposal” that merges and simplifies the different options. And in other cases – as several delegates pointed out in one of the spin-offs today – you reach a point when a drafting group is no longer able to progress until a discussion is made at the political level.

Delegates are working tirelessly on revising this text, but it is a long and complicated process. And there are a lot of options and brackets left that countries are going to have to weed through over the next eight days.

COP21 Day 3: Layers upon Layers of Meetings

I wanted to focus today’s post on just how much is happening and being discussed at COP21. While I hinted at this in the Day 2 post on subsidiary bodies, I was able to attend a range of different meetings today and thought this justified a closer look.

Having taken the time to really dive into the different agenda items for today, I can understand even better now why the US delegation sends a small army to every COP.

The COP has a special app, and the agenda section – which is updated every morning with the events for that day – is broken down into exhibits, meetings, press conferences, side events, and events organized by the French delegation (because a little self promotion never hurts). And each section contains several events happening simultaneously. The meeting section in particular contains a range of different events, from regional coordination meetings to breakaway discussions on paragraphs of the agreement text to formal plenary meetings.

A shot from the informal consultation I attended this afternoon.

To make things even more multi-layered, I discovered today that there are also informal consultations that are not included on the official agenda. Not to mention the impromptu, corridor and closed-door meetings that happen within and among delegations. So where do you go and what do you focus on, especially when you’re a small delegation without a time turner so you can attend several meetings at once?

You pick your battles and learn to trust that countries with similar priorities will protect your interests. There’s a reason why the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) has a twice daily coordination meeting. Delegates provide updates on the strategic issues they were able to discuss and other country delegates are given the chance to react and express any concerns they may have.

And so continues my experience at COP21. News and social media this week is going to continue to focus on side events and civil society activities, while delegates are busy providing their comments and, where possible, consolidating options on the draft agreement text prepared by the Secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This revised text is supposed to be ready by the end of this week so that next week, negotiators can then dive into making choices and compromises and reaching a final agreement.

COP21 Day 2: What’s a Subsidiary Body and Why Does It Matter?

With the exception of my rather illustrious surroundings, my experience at the COP today could have just as easily been a busy but normal work day during my Fulbright-Clinton Fellowship.

One of the Samoan delegates (my former supervisor) was asked to co-chair part of the agenda for the 43^rd Meeting of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI). My day, therefore, largely consisted of doing background research and taking notes on reference documents to help my supervisor prepare for this meeting.

This work area was my home for COP21 Day 2.

What is the SBI, do you ask? It is one of the two permanent subsidiary bodies of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). (The other is the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice [SBSTA]). As you might guess from its name, the SBI’s primary function is to report on efforts to implement the Convention. It reviews national reports on climate change activities and uses these reports to assess how well the world is doing at implementing the Convention. The sessions co-chaired by my supervisor will focus on the national reports submitted by developing countries. Attendees will review the status of these reports and information on technical and financial support provided by a Consultative Group of Experts and the Global Environment Facility (GEF). (The GEF funds projects connected with the UNFCCC as well as other international environment conventions.)

Why is this important? While negotiations around an international climate change agreement is the central and most pivotal part of any COP, it is by no means the only thing happening. The Conference is also a key place for countries to ensure that existing agreements are respected and implemented. In particular, it provides an avenue for countries to check in on national efforts to measure, report, and verify their commitments from previous COPs.

Outside of my computer screen, the Conference itself also remained fairly calm today. The morning was marked by a meeting on challenges and solutions for climate change in Africa. During the meeting, François Hollande pledged that France would invest 2 billion euros in renewable energy projects in Africa by 2020. And François Hollande and Ségolène Royale spent the afternoon inaugurating the Climate Generations Area (an area connected with the COP that is open to the general public).

To find out more about what is discussed in this post, check out the following web pages:

• “Convention Bodies” http://unfccc.int/essential_background/convention/convention_bodies/items/2629.php 
• “Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI)” http://unfccc.int/bodies/body/6406.php 
• “Developing Countries: Promoting Transparency and Accountability” http://unfccc.int/national_reports/non-annex_i_natcom/items/2716.php 
• "What is the GEF" https://www.thegef.org/gef/whatisgef 
• "Hollande pledges 2 billion euros for green energy projects in Africa"
  http://www.france24.com/en/20151201-hollande-pledges-2-billion-green-energy-initiatives-africa
• "Climate Generations Area" https://egc.cop21.gouv.fr/

COP21 Day 1: Welcome to the Circus

COP21 kicked off with the arrival of 150 Heads of State (including Barack Obama, Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, and Samoa’s Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi). The plenary sessions today were, therefore, filled by opening speeches. While this may seem like a lot of hot air taking up precious negotiation time, Su Wei (Head of the Chinese Delegation) made the important point that the presence of these Heads of State will help create the political momentum and pressure needed to arrive at an agreement.

As an addition to the official Samoan delegation, I am unfortunately unable to attend the plenary sessions, so my day largely consisted of taking in my surroundings. By the end of the afternoon I had attended an informative side event on key issues for COP21 and begun conducting background research for the delegation. But for now, let’s focus on setting the scene.

The conference center essentially consists of a series of very large, warehouse-style buildings. What they have done with these buildings is truly impressive. (Whether or not it is too impressive is perhaps a topic for another post.) 

For starters, art work – including a mini Eiffel Tower – is scattered throughout the conference center.

Vegas is not the only place with a mini Eiffel Tower

Flags at the main entrance of the conference center

The delegation offices and pavilions are beyond anything I could have imagined. From the dance performance outside the Peruvian pavilion to the large, hanging globe with moving meteorological images at the US Center, you almost feel like you’re at a world fair. And behind all the pomp and circumstance are offices where delegation members can privately meet and strategize. It’s important to note that not all delegations have these pavilions/offices; it’s a plus that a country – or, in the case of Samoa, an intergovernmental organization like the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) – elects to pay for.

A cultural performance at the front of the Peruvian pavillion

The main presentation area for the US Center comes complete with a floating globe 

Finally, the conference center is filled with crowds. Lots and lots of crowds. While each hall has a large amount of seating, people were still circling in search of available chairs, plugs, and computers. And while it may not have been the original intention, much of the larger artwork also become spillover seating.

Work spaces are available throughout the conference center - and fill up very quickly.

Conference center artwork also serves as extra seats when there are no free spots to be found.

Overall, Day 1 was a very full day of discovery. And now, let the actual negotiations begin!

From Apia to Paris: Chronicles of COP21

Two and half months after leaving Samoa, I have been given a unique opportunity to bookend my experience with the Samoan Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. I will meet the Samoan delegation in Paris for the conference that will mark the next phase in the global fight against climate change: COP21.

The 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will take place in Paris from November 30–December 11, 2015. Over the coming weeks, delegations will negotiate to reach an agreement for the next wave of national commitments to combat climate change. To be successful, this agreement must be universal, ambitious, and flexible.

Universal. This agreement must be signed by all countries. When the Kyoto Protocol was signed in 1997, key emitting countries such the United States did not ratify the agreement. This seriously undermined the mutual accountability and commitment needed for an effective international effort to tackle climate change.

Ambitious. In the lead up to COP21, countries submitted Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), which outlined how each country planned on reducing their national emissions levels. Based on these commitments, climate change would increase by 2.7 to 3.5°C by 2100. While a definite improvement from the 4.5 to 6°C increase that would occur if all countries continued to emit at today’s levels, it is not enough. To prevent an increase in extreme climate events, we need to keep within the limit of a 2°C increase by 2100. The challenge for COP21 will be reaching an agreement that clearly outlines how countries will ramp up their national efforts over time to keep within the overarching 2°C goal.

Flexible. While remaining ambitious, this agreement must also be able to adapt to different national contexts, taking into account in particular the challenges faced by small island developing states (SIDS) such as Samoa and least developed countries (LDCs).

We are at a crucial juncture for global efforts to combat climate change. I am honored and excited to be able to be an eye witness to history in the making. Over the next two weeks, I will be posting regular updates with my experiences at the COP, so stay tuned!

For more background information on the Conference, see the "Learn" section of the COP21 website: http://www.cop21.gouv.fr/en/learn/. And for those on Twitter, follow #COP21 for regular updates on progress at the Conference.

Should we be living in a world of aid?

I’m currently reading Dambisa Moyo’s Dead Aid. While working my way through her arguments, I have had a chance to discuss with colleagues and friends and reflect on my professional experiences. In this post, I would like to weigh in on the much debated concept of aid.

Dambisa Moyo argues that overall, aid is negatively impacting recipient countries, achieving the exact opposite of its intended effects. At the same time as aid has increased to African countries, overall growth rates have decreased and poverty is on the rise. Large influxes of aid are encouraging increases in corrupt practices rather than engendering good governance. And rather than encouraging further investment, aid inflows flood the financial markets and detract investors. In reading through these and the other points discussed in  “Part I. The World of Aid,” I found myself wishing I could have an additional book for every short, two page section. She reaches some very large, sweeping conclusions in a very short amount of space. I definitely felt myself wanting more. Perhaps this was her intention all along?
  
That being said, I think that some of the overarching problems she outlines resonate with my experiences thus far in a world of aid. In writing grants for development projects, countries do have to tweak their priorities so they fit in the tick marks of project proposal criteria. And sometimes, countries may find themselves implementing and accepting to pay in kind contributions for projects that are more a diversion from national priorities merely because that is where funding is being directed. As I discovered in Samoa, once a country does receives funds, they may have trouble spending them all before the project completion date. Ministries may simply lack the work force needed to prepare the required information for procurement processes. Most of the development cooperation projects I’ve dealt with have an amount of leftover funding that has to be quickly spent at the end of the project cycle.
   
Even more importantly, for some countries aid has become an assumed, constant additional source of funding that is relied on to implement national priorities. This dependency on aid is problematic for several reasons. For one, the amounts of aid sent to partner countries is highly volatile, depending on domestic support, national security and economic priorities, fluctuations in international financial markets, and so on. And even more importantly, the traditional aid set up is built on an unequal, one way relationship between donor and recipient countries; it is a unilateral transaction instead of an exchange. While I was at the OECD, I saw a definite push to switch from the word “aid” to “development cooperation.” While this switch in terminology is a positive step towards a much-needed shift in mentality, it has largely remained just that – a word change. The actual programs and policies are the same. A rose by any other name…
  
The world of aid needs to make a genuine shift towards cooperation. The work on climate change in Samoa is truly impressive. The Government of Samoa is pushing Ministries to incorporate climate change into all sectoral development plans. The Cabinet Development Committee endorsed a call in 2010 for Samoa to be climate neutral by 2020. A range of projects are working to help vulnerable communities protect their homes and livelihoods from the effects of climate change. (For one example, see this Government of Samoa-UNDP joint project that was kicked off in April. I plan to highlight another exciting project in a future blog post. For a teaser, check out the website for Women in Business Development Inc.) And while many of these initiatives are made possible by donor funding, the experience of implementing these projects is still unique and valuable knowledge that should be shared more broadly than in project completion reports. I would have to search quite thoroughly to find a few examples of similar projects at home. The US would be doing itself a true disservice if we only have a one-way conversation with Samoa about climate change programs and policies.
  
All this is not to say that all aid projects have only had negative effects on recipient countries. On the contrary, I think that every negative story could be complimented by a positive one. But this does not change the fact that if aid is to help countries truly advance on their path towards development, it has to be temporary. When working on the day-to-day of project implementation, it is very easy to become mired in the details and forget that every aid worker should be working towards a true transition from aid to development cooperation. What this might look like is a topic that should be discussed by government agencies and partner countries across the world, particularly now as we are quickly moving towards the September 2015 UN General Assembly meetings that will set out the post-2015 development agenda.
 
These are a few of my thoughts on a very complex, heatedly-debated topic, and I would love to have a continued discussion on this. Share your reactions by leaving a comment below, sending me a Tweet, etc.

Glimpses of Day to Day Life in Samoa

When I’m living in a new place, I readily whip out my camera at every new weekend excursion. By now, I have hundreds of landscapes and groups shots from my travels around Samoa. Daily living has been much more difficult to capture. As I’m constantly working to pass from tourist to local, I find it difficult to take my camera out for some of the sights I would most like to remember. Over time, however, I have gradually gathered up a small collection of photos that I can now share with you.

Decorating your home with vibrant, cheerful colors

Manono, a small island off the north-west coast of Upolu, is one of my favorite spots in Samoa. With no cars, bikes, or dogs permitted on the island, it is a very quiet and peaceful place. There is one pedestrian road that goes around the entire island and makes for a beautiful 1.5-2 hour walk. As this is the main road for the island, you’re taken through all of the villages, and I was finally able to take some shots of the brightly colored houses that you will find throughout all the islands of Samoa.

Bright pinks, teals, and yellows are the colors of choice for houses in Samoa. This type of large,
open fale would be used for group gatherings and relaxation – the Samoan living room.

A unique, rainbow mosaic marked the outside walls surrounding this fale.

I am constantly impressed and amazed by the beauty and exactness of landscaping and decorations
in Samoan villages. This shot shows a church that has put out a banner for Mother’s Day,
a national holiday in Samoa.

Walking to church in your Sunday best

Religion is a very important part of daily life in Samoa. With the exception of a small Bahá’í community, essentially the entire population is Christian (of varying denominations, although the Catholic and Mormon churches appear to be particularly prominent). Church services are, therefore, a very important part of Sundays in Samoa, and people take pride in going to Church in their Sunday best. In Samoa, that most often means wearing a special, all white outfit that is set aside for church.

A community in Savaii heading home after Sunday service (perhaps for the second time
that day – some communities will go to church in the morning, head home for Sunday lunch
and post lunch rest and relaxtion, and then return to church for a late afternoon service).

A mother and son walking home from church on the beautiful, pedestrian path
that winds around the island of Manono.

Working through weekly chores

During my first trip to Manono, we had a wonderful demonstration of some of the tasks that make up the rhythm of daily life in Samoa: preparing a traditional Samoan meal and basket weaving.

Making palusami (coconut cream encased in taro leaves) for to’ona’i (Sunday lunch and also
part of the word for Saturday – aso to’ona’i). Preparations for Sunday lunch can be quite
time intensive, and a good portion of Saturday can be dedicated to getting everything ready.

Unpacking the umu (stove) once everything is finished cooking. Food is placed in between
layers of cooking stones until all of the food is covered. Once everything is cooked,
the layers of stones are removed with wooden tongs, and the food is ready to be eaten.

Apa, a staff member at Sunset Fales in Manono, showed us how to weave
a basket using a single palm frond.

The finished basket. My housemates and I place a weekly order for organic produce through Women
in Business Development, Incorporated (an amazing local NGO that connects farmers and handicraft makers
with national and international markets ), and it is always delivered in a beautiful basket like this one.

Watching the chicken (and the pig and the cow) cross the road

One of the most delightful things about driving through towns around Samoa has been spotting little piglets trotting through people’s front yards. I’ve spotted countless groups of piglets now, but I’m still just as excited every time we drive by one of these cuties on the side of the road. With pigs, chickens, cows, and dogs crossing the roads at random and unpredictable times, it’s a good thing there’s a 40 kph speed limit and lots of enormous speed bumps to make sure you roll along at an easy pace.

On a walk through Savaii, I was lucky enough to cross paths with the largest and most
adorable group of piglets I’ve ever seen. They dutifully formed a line behind their
mother as they all crossed the street.

A bull grazing next to a little shop in Savai’i.

What Have I Learned After Six Months in Samoa?

It has been quite a while since my last post. Since writing you last, I made my way to Australia for the first time, and I passed the six month mark for my fellowship. Being off island gave me a bit of time to reflect on my experience so far, and I thought I’d dedicate this post to sharing a few of my thoughts with you.

Life as an Apia expat is a strange mixture of simplicity and opulence.

To live the life of an expat in Apia is to live in a constant series of contradictions.

My life in Apia has been marked by a simplicity that I have greatly appreciated. Freed from the constant buzz and frenetic consumption that settled like a fog over my previous daily routines, I have found the space to think and grow. With less access to certain goods and services, I have learned to make do, adapt, and innovate. I learned that many things I took for granted as assumed parts of day-to-day life are not as essential as I once thought. If a house isn't equipped with hot water, I take a cold shower. If the internet is too slow to use in the early evenings, I wait to send messages and Skype friends and family until just before bed. And life moves on.

While life in Apia has removed a great deal of the noise and excess from my day-to-day life, I am still able to enjoy certain luxuries that most Samoans would rarely enjoy – if at all. I would have a hard time living off my monthly stipend in the US, but I am able to live quite comfortably in Samoa and am earning more than a lot of average Samoans.

How do I reconcile these two opposing parts of my Fulbright experience?

Fully exploring a new country and culture means discovering the full range of day-to-day life experiences – pros and cons, good and bad, awe-inspiring and deeply frustrating.

Through both this and previous experiences abroad, I have come to appreciate more fully what at first seems rather obvious: no country is perfect. When we’re on vacation, it’s very easy to expect to only live through the neatly packaged Kodak moments that we flip through to remember our trips. And how could an extended period of time abroad not be equally as idyllic? But really, while the actual routine may differ, day-to-day life is day-to-day life everywhere. The peaks and valleys of daily living are just a bit more extreme when you’re living abroad.
   
This realization gradually came to me as I studied and worked in France. As a teenager, France was my dream destination, a perfect place that would magically fix any frustrations I had with how things were done at home. So I studied abroad in the Loire Valley for a semester of undergrad, and with half a year of freedom to explore without any real responsibility, these expectations were largely confirmed. I returned to France a few years later to complete my Master’s, confident that my experience would be the same.
   
I soon discovered that life in France as an independent adult was not just an extended Erasmus experience. While there are countless things about French life and culture that I love, I also began to gradually discover things that frustrated or confused me. And, much to my surprise, I began to find things that I preferred about home.
   
My experience in Samoa has been very similar. People at work and around town have been wonderfully kind and welcoming. And every time I make a weekend trip to the beach or even walk home from work, I am taken away by the beauty of this place. But even life in paradise has its down sides. I would love to go to one grocery store for all my shopping and find a range of fresh fruits and veggies the way I could at home. I wish that I didn't have to think about protecting myself from territorial dogs as I made my way through the neighborhoods around town.

And I have been confronted by more serious challenges and issues. I have heard several stories about children being beaten or intimidated through threats of violence both at home and at school. Domestic violence rates are incredibly high. I see the high levels of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease because of limited access to affordable, healthy food. It is very easy to become overwhelmed. But what is my point of comparison? My vision of home is marked by the unjust deaths of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Freddie Gray. The widening gap between rich and poor. Equally alarming, high rates of obesity and heart disease. The longer you stay in a place, the more you uncover the layers upon layers that combine to make up life in that country.

In a new place, I see the first step as observing, learning, and exploring in order to peel away those layers. With only ten months in Samoa, I will have only begun to work my way through this first step. Over time, as a place becomes a home, we can then work on finding ways to take the beautiful parts of that home and use them constructively to pick away at the challenges people face from day to day.

My Life in Samoa: The Picture Edition (II)

This post features more of my favorite pictures from my travels around Upolu, from exploring Samoa's famous ocean trench, to climbing on Upolu's main hiking trail, to hanging out at a few of my favorite beaches (among other things). I hope you enjoy them, and next picture post, I should be able to give you a glimpse of Savai'i, Samoa's other main island.

Exploring Samoa's most famous tourist destination

To Sua (literally “big hole”) has made it on BuzzFeed lists of hidden wonders of the world for a reason. I have truly seen nothing else like it, and swimming inside is equally unique. You can’t really tell from this picture, but the climb down to the deck is not for those with a fear of heights. The ladder is quite steep, and while the steps are large and solid, it can still be a little slippery, so I definitely took my time climbing down and up. Once you jump into the water, swimming in To Sua gives you what I imagine is the closest possible experience to being in a washing machine. The water feeding in from the ocean fluctuates quite quickly. We swum to the inside edges of the cave, and in the course of a minute, the water rose from my knees to my waist. As the water levels rise and fall, you are pulled from one side of the pool to the other. And so you bob, up and down, left and right.

Taking a dip in To Sua is a definite dose of adventure – from making your way down the steep ladder,
to jumping off the deck into the waters below, to bobbing up and down with the circling tide.

Looking up from inside the To Sua cave.

Climbing Mount Vaea – or finding Robert Louis Stevenson on his real life Treasure Island

I was quite happy to discover when I arrived in Samoa that the main trail in Upolu is not too far out of central Apia, with the path winding up the hill behind the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum. Going up the trail, you have the choice of taking a fairly steep, 0.8 km path or taking a more windy, 2km hike. Either way, you definitely get a good workout. When you arrive sweaty and triumphant at the top, you are rewarded with a beautiful view and a visit with Samoa’s most famous and beloved expatriate: Robert Louis Stevenson himself! Standing beside RLS's tombstone after my first trek up Vaea, I couldn't help but be in awe of where I was and what I was given the opportunity to do. Who would have guessed when I was begrudgingly making my way through Treasure Island in middle school that I would some day get to see it for myself?

Samoa’s most beloved expatriate was honored with a spectacularly beautiful resting place.

The tombstone for Robert Louis Stevenson is nestled at the peak of the main hiking trail in Upolu.

Discovering a few beaches off the beaten path

Having spent my entire life in landlocked cities, it is quite new for me to have regular access to so many spectacular beaches. And now that I've beach hopped enough, I even find myself noting the pros and cons of different ones. Considering how beautiful they all are, this does strike me as a rather silly exercise. Even so, I still thought I would share my three favorite with you. What they all have in common is that they are just beach. No cafés, restaurants, hotels, or fales - just you, the ocean, white sand beaches, and beautiful blue skies.

After about 20-30 minutes of trekking through overgrown paths and fields, we came across this secluded oasis.

Vavau has to be my favorite beach. It’s a beautiful spot, and somehow you often have it entirely
to yourself. With nice shady spots to relax with a book, clear areas to swim, and places with coral where
you can snorkel and look at some stunning electric blue fish, it has everything that I love about the beach.

Virgin Cove is a lovely beach on the Southwestern side of Upolu. We were able to enjoy a couple hours
of great weather before we were hit by the storm you see looming in the back of this picture.

A close-up of one of the coolest mushrooms I have ever seen. It almost looks like a miniature fale!
(It’s also in the picture of Virgin Cove - look for the tree stump on the far right.)

Visiting one of six Bahai temples in the world

A trip up the central hill in Upolu will take you past a very unique spot – one of only eight Bahá’í temples in the world. Founded by Bahá’u’lláh in 19th century Persia, the Bahá’í faith is built around a central belief in the spiritual unity of humankind. At weekly services, people gather to read and listen to scriptures from all religions. The temple is surrounded by beautiful gardens, and both the temple and gardens are open throughout the week for visitors to come for quiet reflection and meditation.

Each Bahá’í Temple has its own unique character and style. What unites them is
the nine-sided, circular shape that makes up the core of each temple’s design.

The gardens around the temple are immaculately kept and open every day for public use.
They are a perfect spot for quiet reflection and a peaceful walk.

Enjoying more beautiful island sunsets

It seems appropriate to wrap up my second picture post with a few more sunset shots. I still can’t believe how often I am able to enjoy such truly spectacular sunsets. Luckily, I don’t think they could ever become commonplace.

Tofa soifua (or "fa" for short)!
Goodbye and good health!

I was able to enjoy this perfect sunset during a weekend stay in the beautiful, secluded island of Namua.

I witnessed this gorgeous sunset while having dinner at Return to Paradise,
a resort named after the 1953 movie filmed on this beach.

In a Nutshell: Small Island Developing States and the United Nations

The halfway mark for my fellowship is fast approaching, but there is still so much for me to learn and explore. I’ve only just started scratching the surface of Samoan culture and customs, and there is a vast depth of knowledge that I still need to learn about the history, economy, and politics of small island developing states (SIDS).
   
To help with this, I've decided to write another "In a Nutshell" post. This time, I've researched the major international conferences and documents that have defined the position of SIDS within the international arena since they were first recognized as a distinct group of countries in 1992. The list is organized chronologically, with the key document listed first, the related meeting written underneath in italics, followed by the main takeaways and achievements.

Source: www.un.org/en/events/islands2014/

   
Agenda 21 (1992) 
UN Conference on Environment and Development
SIDS were first officially recognized as a distinct group of countries by the 179 nations present at this UN Conference in Rio de Janeiro. Agenda 21, the Conference outcome document, established the key features of SIDS and committed States to “addressing the problems of sustainable development of small island developing states.” (For more on what characterizes SIDS, see my last “In a Nutshell” blogpost.)
   
Barbados Programme of Action (1994)
UN Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States
The 1994 SIDS Conference took the broad commitments of the Rio Conference and translated them into specific policies and programs. The Barbados Programme of Action outlined fourteen priority areas for the sustainable development of SIDS (e.g. natural and environmental disasters, national institutions and administrative capacity, science and technology). For each of these priority areas, it identified actions that need to be taken at the national, regional, and international level.

Five-year review of the Barbados Programme of Action (1999)
22nd Special Session of the UN General Assembly
The UN General Assembly held a Special Session to assess progress since the 1994 SIDS Conference. Participants concluded that there had been “uneven” progress and highlighted priority areas for SIDS moving forward:

• improving freshwater resources
• developing renewable energy alternatives to expensive imported oil
• minimizing the environmental impact of tourism growth

   
Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (2002)
World Summit on Sustainable Development
States reaffirmed their commitment to respect the principles and fulfill the actions set out in Agenda 21. At the end of the Summit, States adopted the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, which brought up to date the priorities set out in Agenda 21.
   
This Summit was important for SIDS because states re-acknowledged their special case, characteristics, and challenges. In addition, Chapter VII of the Plan of Implementation was dedicated to SIDS, calling for a ten year review of the Barbados Programme of Action and drawing out the most crucial activities from previous international documents (e.g. building capacity, particularly within health services and waste and pollution management, and securing “adequate, affordable, and environmentally sound” energy services).

Mauritius Strategy of Implementation, Mauritius Declaration (2005)
Mauritius International Meeting
This international meeting served as the 10-year review of the Barbados Programme of Action and concluded with the adoption of the Mauritius Strategy, which set out how to take forward the actions and strategies from the Barbados Programme. The Mauritius Strategy built on the fourteen thematic areas of the Barbados Programme of Action and added five additional areas, including graduation from least developed country (LDC) status. With Samoa having graduated from LDC status last year, this is a particularly crucial topic for Samoa’s future development.
   
But why would reaching a higher development classification be a source of concern? While graduating from LDC status is a great accomplishment, it also means that Samoa will no longer have access to the preferential grants and funds that are available for LDCs and that the Government will now need to explore and identify alternative sources of funding. The Global Environment Facility’s Least Developed Countries Fund, for example, is currently supporting a large scale, six-year adaptation and disaster risk management project in Samoa. At the end of the project term, however, the Government will have to identify different partnerships and funding sources if they would like to continue any of the programs under this project. As this suggests, the transition from LDC status is a very crucial and delicate period, and how a country plans and prepares for this transition will determine whether it continues to make further progress or slips back under the line.

Five-year review of the Mauritius Strategy of Implementation (2010)
65th Session of the UN General Assembly
In the lead-up to the MSI+5 High-level Review, each SIDS submitted a National Assessment Report, and states discussed the findings from these reports in three regional review meetings. A final five-year review summarized current progress, continued challenges, and lessons learned.

Overall, states found that SIDS were still highly vulnerable to external shocks that could threaten the progress made since the Mauritius International Meeting. To combat that vulnerability, states recommended:

• strengthening support for national efforts to incorporate resilience into development planning
• focusing in on a few key areas from the Mauritius Strategy, depending on the specific situation of each SIDS
• strengthening partnerships to implement programs under the Mauritius Strategy (This point would prove to be a very crucial one and was made the central focus for the 2014 SIDS Conference.)
• increasing the amount of available financial resources and making it easier for SIDS to access those resources

SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway (2014)
Third International Conference on Small Island Development States

In December 2012, the UN General Assembly declared 2014 the International Year of Small Island Developing States. The highlight of this year would be the convening of the Third International Conference on SIDS – with the theme “sustainable development of SIDS through genuine and durable partnerships” – in Apia from 1-4 September 2014.
   
At the close of the meeting, states adopted the SAMOA Pathway. In this document, states reaffirmed that, with their specific challenges and vulnerabilities, SIDS remained a “special case” for sustainable development and should receive continued and strengthened international support. These international partnerships should help SIDS take forward national programs to become more resilient, better adapt to climate change, and develop efficient, sustainable energy systems.
   
To better monitor progress towards the various commitments made at SIDS and the other conferences discussed in this post, a SIDS Action Platform was developed. It includes a platform of 300 partnerships, a framework to monitor the implementation of partner commitments, and a matrix focused specifically on UN partnerships.
   
I hope you all found this exercise as helpful as I did. To keep this post from being too long, I have only given a very brief overview; there is a lot more information available on the topics discussed and the commitments made at each conference. If you're interested in exploring further, the following websites were really helpful for me in putting together this blog post:

• http://www.sids2014.org/ 
• http://www.sidsnet.org/  
• https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/topics/smallislanddevelopingstates  
• http://www.un.org/en/events/islands2014/

Manuia le aso!/Manuia le afiafi!/Manuia le po!
Have a good day!/Have a good evening!/Have a good night!

When it rains, it pours: Getting cyclone prepared in Samoa

When I was first considering coming to Samoa, one thing that loomed in my mind was the very real possibility that I would be in Samoa during a cyclone. Two weekends ago, we had the first cyclone warning of the season. While it ended up just being a weekend with spurts of very heavy rainfall, it gave me a window into what the hours leading up to a cyclone might be like and left me feeling a bit more cyclone prepared.

Things began with a decent amount of Facebook chatter among the Apia expat community. People provided weather updates from both government offices and weather sites, and predictions changed greatly from one hour to the next; at one point, there was an over 50% chance that the tropical depression could form into a cyclone over the weekend. While discussions swirled around the weather forecast, people also shared links to tips on cyclone safety and shared experiences from Cyclone Evan, which hit Samoa in December 2012. For example, I learned that two hours before Cyclone Evan hit, the Government shut off electricity and water as part of efforts to minimize the impact of the impending storm. (If you're interested in learning more, I talk a bit more about Cyclone Evan in my post on Small Island Developing States.)

In these hours, I could really see the blessing and the curse of our information age. I was really grateful for the stream of updates and tips, but I could see how such rapidly changing and varied weather predictions could create confusion and possible panic in more severe weather conditions, especially if they were provided by too many different sources.

Amidst this uncertainty, I had a meeting in another one of the main government buildings. After my meeting, I stopped for a quick chat with the other Fulbrighter. I was discussing with her and one of her office mates, and it finally began to sink in that there really was a chance that a cyclone could hit sometime soon – possibly even that night. And me and one of my house mates had planned on going shopping for emergency supplies the next afternoon. I could feel a knot of nerves forming in the pit of my stomach.

Luckily, nothing happened that evening, and I was able to set out the next afternoon to get supplies: canned and other non-perishable food, large bottles of water, flashlights, batteries, candles, matches. Upon returning home, we set aside our cyclone stash in one of our back cupboards and read through the cyclone prep list the Australian High Commission had sent to the Australian volunteers. After seeing that we could put a check next to all of the essential items on that list, I felt like I could relax a little, wait, and see.

By late afternoon, the weather predictions had downgraded to heavy rain and strong wind warnings, and as I was reading in our living room, the skies opened up and a heavy rain pounded on our rooftop and began to create rising puddles in our yard. Amidst the loud, steady pings of rain against our roof, I got an e-mail notification: the US Embassy had sent an alert with information on current conditions and safety tips to all US citizens registered with the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP).
   
After a few hours, the rain had largely subsided. A few of us decided that we could do with something sweet, so we headed out for a quick stop to an ice cream shop in town. While we knew that the rain was heavy and had flooded patches of our yard, we were not expecting the level of water that had creeped up in certain streets of downtown Apia. The sides of certain streets had flooded, with water starting to work its way into a few lower shop entrances. To get to the ice cream shop, we waded through ankle deep water, and while I heartily enjoyed my sundae, we all agreed that in the future, it would be better not to repeat such a quest right after such heavy rainfall.

As soon as we reached central Apia, we realized that we had probably not chosen the best time
for an impromptu ice cream run.

The rest of the weekend had a few more episodes of heavy rain, but was quiet and uneventful compared to the confusion and uncertainty at the end of the week. Overall, the experience made for a very useful “cyclone drill.” It forced me to really think about my cyclone strategy, stock up on essential emergency items, and learn a few tips for any other more severe weather that may come our way.

To finish off, here’s another kernel of Samoan 101:
‘O fea ‘e te nofo ai? (Where do you live?)
‘Ou te nofo i Vaivase-Tai. (I live in Vaivase-Tai.)