AYICC KENYA

The best pieces of legislation are those driven by the target community, and the Kenya Climate Change Working Group (KCCWG) - a grouping of government and other stakeholders in the field of environment - has firmly grasped this concept. From 24th - 27th October 2012, Trans-Nzoia County was the host of the 30th such meeting, which started last year. AYICC-K members who took part in these climate change hearings were Susy Wandera and Kennedy Liti. This was going to be quite an interesting session because the County is quite diverse and rich in biodiversity; also, the Climate Change Authority Bill, currently tabled in parliament, was on the list of agenda. On Thursday 25th October, the registration of participants began in earnest, and this was noteworthy because the participants were drawn from all over the County, and they comprised of teachers, farmers, government officials, civic leaders, women group representatives as well as young people, among others. This set the stage for quite...

One of the fundamental principles of sustainable development is thinking globally and acting locally. In a lay man’s language, this principle encourages individuals, organizations, businesses, governments…you name it…to take an active role in curbing carbon emissions either individually or collectively. This may sound quite complicated but by the end of this article you will realize, huh…so it’s not as hard as I thought!!!! Let me show you why… 1.      Commit yourself to carbon reduction Someone said that the success of any endeavor is determined by an individual’s attitude and perception on the issue. In combating the climate change menace, we all have to change our attitude and commit to carbon reduction. What can I do? You may ask. It’s simple; talk to your friends and groups on carbon emissions and climate changes, inform them on how to fight it and seek for innovative ideas on the ways to curb the trend. That way, you will influence so...

Who knew the grammar we learned in school would have such relevance later on... That placing a comma versus not, can have the potential to cause deadlock in negotiations almost seems nonsensical but it isn't.  Familiarity with acronyms and reading up on what issues are on the table is helpful for meaningful engagement with COP processes, otherwise you float and that can be excruciating. Getting to wear the Pink badge seems easy enough...huh! The first hurdle is to get a slot on the delegation, being a non-state actor means lobbying [negotiating] for this starting from home before departure to wherever the COP will be. What determines success is how the giver perceives you...are you a friend or foe?  So you pass the test...at the registration desk you give your name, country and say Party...your name is on the list, you're good to go...only thing about the Pink, you can't be acting like the activist you are. Next what issues to follow...so many choices so little time...you c...

Finally, we are on the home stretch, and this article will mark the end of the COP series that has been dissecting the nitty gritties of the UNFCCC process. Afterwards, we will be hosting guest blog posts from experts on various topics.  This piece will cover two important sub-topics: ·       The structure of the COP (Conference of Parties) ·       The timeline of the UNFCCC COP It will be a somewhat lengthy piece, but why not get started now? 1.      Structure of COP There is no doubt that COP has been the buzzword of the annual climate change talks, and it is important to unravel this enigma. Simply stated, COP is the highest decision-making body of the Climate Change Convention. The COP also meets annually, and this year’s meeting will be in Doha, Qatar, and has been dubbed ‘COP18’, since it is the eighteenth Conference of Parties. Main Objective The main objective ...

How much cooler can technology get? Meet two 4th year engineering students; Roy Ombatti and Harris Nyali from University of Nairobi/  Fablab  (The fabrication Lab) who came up with an innovative project called; Happy feet - Fighting jiggers in 3D. The project concept which was inspired by the  3D4D Challenge  revolves around the application of three dimension printing to deliver real social benefits in the developing world, thus; Fighting jiggers in 3D. Ahadi Kenya Trust the organization that is at the forefront of the anti-jigger campaign in Kenya has documented 50,000 school drop outs in the past 20 months, 265 deaths and 2.6 Million registered infections. This situation became Happy feet's entry and they are now looking to use a 3D printer to print shoes from recycled plastic for those infested with jiggers and in the process create green jobs for the youth in these communities. These young innovators will be showcasin...

In the previous post , we discussed how the Global Environment Facility (GEF) works. In this post, we will look at the special Funds which have been established to address the effects of climate change, with some of them being managed by the GEF; this post will also be fairly short. The Funds we are going to discuss are: ·       Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF) ·       Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) ·       Adaptation Fund ·       Green Climate Fund (GCF) 1.     Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF) The Climate Change Convention established the SCCF in 2001, and its main task was to finance projects relating to adaptation, industry, agriculture, forestry, waste management, technology transfer and capacity building, energy, economic diversification and transport.  This was quite an extensive mandate, and the GEF was tasked w...

Update: Correction appended to this post Introduction To be honest, the UNFCCC financial mechanism is one of the most contentious issues in the climate change negotiation process, and a concise look into its inner workings brings to light a number of issues that have been the cause of the tug of war between Parties. This is a highly politicized issue, and after much deliberation, I thought it wise to bring out the issues that have been contentious, rather than examine the different political angles in the process. Brief overview of the UNFCCC Financial Mechanism I can bet that you have all heard of the famous Brundtland Report of 1987. For starters, this report is more commonly known as “Our Common Future”, and it is famous for bringing to the global arena the concept of sustainable development. However, it is important to note that there were a number of interesting things discussed in this report; the one that is most relevant to this report called on the nee...