JSBP Invades Geneva

This week, the usual Wednesday field excursion was replaced by a three-day adventure. The JSBP hooligans boarded a plane destined for Geneva - second largest city in Switzerland, home to the United Nations, and famed for its chocolate. In between wandering the cobblestone streets, casually hopping the border to France, and hitting up a Swiss flea market, we actually did some learning.

On Wednesday, we were lucky to hear from some pretty influential people working within the United Nations. The first series of lectures was hosted by the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) - a program that we had a bit of background information on, thanks to an article by Maria Ivanova. (We were even on the official schedule! I know, I'm kind of a big dork to be excited.) Barbara Ruis, a Netherlands native who acts as a legal law officer within UNEP's regional office, kicked off the lecture with a brief introduction. Angela Cropper, who I found to be most intriguing, followed. Cropper is the Deputy Executive Director of UNEP - the second in command. She spoke a bit about the history of UNEP, and then shifted focus to the Rio+20 Summit.

I feel a bit ignorant for not knowing much about the summit. Set twenty years after the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Rio+20 aims to "secure renewed political commitment for sustainable development." Cropper mentioned that the summit's themes are aimed at sustainable development as well as poverty eradication. Initially, I thought this was an unusually lofty goal. Combining two of the most extreme, pressing issues of our time might not actually accomplish anything. The more I thought, though, the more the two topics seemed to merge. The world has not had success with it's previous methods - both for preserving the integrity of the environment and eradicating poverty. Some foods are imported because of cheaper labor in other nations. The process exploits the desperation of farmers in developing nations while ignoring the plight of local farmers. Even in some aid programs meant to assist the impoverished, food is packed up here and sent abroad. This not only wastes enormous amounts of money in shipping costs, but also releases unnecessary

harmful emissions into the air from transportation efforts. It also doesn't create a sustainable system. Local farmers in these impoverished places are available to sell their crops, while food is being sent from halfway across the world. The more environmentally and socially sustainable system would be to contribute money to a cause that buys local produce for impoverished families. I'm certain that this issue will be thoroughly dissected during the Rio+20 Summit next June.

The next speaker, Mijke Hertoghs, has been with UNEP for the past 11 years. She has been the Regional Coordinator for Chemical Conventions for the past two years. Hertoghs was a very sociable speaker, and immediately connected with us by asking how many cell phones we've gone through over the years. In developing countries, some people dissect all those old phones and computers in order to remove extremely hazardous but valuable chemicals. Hertoghs briefly touched on the Rotterdam Convention, a treaty addressing the importation of such hazardous materials. She mentioned that in some instances, the elimination of certain chemicals is best. In fact, there are many chemicals banned in developed, industrialized nations but still perfectly legal in developing countries. The lack of education about such chemicals oftentimes leads to accidents. In the end, Hertoghs mentioned, it's the internalization of costs that prevents nations from banning certain substances. If it brings in a profit, there is less of an incentive to cease the process - despite the harmful effects on its citizens and environment. She summed the constant battle of industry against the environment when she said that "in the end, it's money that matters."

The last speaker during the conference, Eva Duer, is a legal officer and works on knowledge management within UNEP. Duer introduced us to a database called InforMEA, which is directed by the UN and is a useful tool in understanding the collection of treaties directed towards the environment. I wish we had gotten to hear a bit more from Duer, but I was truly impressed with all of our speakers. (I was especially impressed that all four speakers were women! I've been waiting all semester to hear from some strong, intelligent,

prominent women within the government. Good job, UNEP, for employing such great minds.)

After a short break, we also had the honor of visiting the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Initially, I was entirely enthusiastic about this opportunity. The topic falls a bit more under my anthropology major, which I've missed discussing this past semester. Mr. Semih Bulbul, senior desk officer for the Iraq support unit, was generous enough to give us a few hours of his time. Bulbul began by outlining the UNHCR mandate, which states that the agency provides international protection to refugees and other persons of concern. As well as safeguarding their rights, UNHCR provides refugees with shelter, food, and education. Their goal is ultimately, to seek durable solutions. Bulbul defined a refugee as "a person outside his or her country because of well-founded fear of persecution due to his or her political opinion, religion, race, ethnic origin, or social group." The rest of the lecture was disappointing. Bulbul is clearly an intelligent man, and I would have appreciated a more open forum (I know, I'm saying I would have liked to ask more questions in public. This is a first.) Bulbul seemed like he simply enjoyed having us as a captive audience.

In the end, I learned more from reading the information posted throughout the room than from Bulbul himself. I learned about the waste - both of firewood and labor - expended on different types of ovens. Lots of ovens consist of heating three rocks until they're hot enough to cook on. This uses up the most firewood, and is therefore least ecologically-friendly. A "Wonderbox" oven, on the other hand, uses thermal energy - using up a fraction of the firewood to cook food even faster. A few years ago, I helped build solar ovens for rural families in Costa Rica, and I would have really enjoyed discussing this with Bulbul. In the end, though, I left the lecture knowing more than when I walked in, so I can't complain that much.

In the end, Geneva chased us back to Hungary with driving rains. It was definitely an educational adventure for the JSBP, but I think we were all ready to get back to the place we now call home. Missed you, Budapest. For those of you back home - okay, for my mom - you can learn more about Geneva's history through this website, which has the straight facts. If you want to learn more about the chocolate, cheese, and pretty pictures, visit the Lonely Planet website!