By Tierney Smith
RTCC in Hyderabad
– Live coverage from CBD COP11
– TV interviews from RTCC studio in Hyderabad
– Tweet @RTCCnewswire and use #CBD and #COP11 hashtags
– Email [email protected] or message @rtcc_tierney
Finance: Decisions on financing the Aichi Targets and other CBD projects could last until the final days of the conference, according to delegates RTCC has spoken to. Splits between developed and developing countries will be familiar to seasoned observers of environmental and trade talks – and COP11 is no exception. South Africa and Belgium will chair a discussion on finance tonight.
Cashback: Of more immediate concern to delegates, half of Hyderabad’s cashpoints have run out of money, due to a strike by the employees of a private security agency involved in transporting currency. Local reports suggest this could last for days. Luckily food and drink within the conference centre here in Hyderabad is free.
Vultures: These remarkable birds are iconic in India, and work to protect them is an important issue. Recently vultures have been dying as a result of ingesting an inflammatory medicine that is given to cows. It’s toxic to vultures, and cows in Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh, are now being given a human version of the drug.
Youth: Young people had a major win yesterday when a bid for further youth inclusion in discussions was supported by Norway, Dominican Republic and Gabon. The text they submitted requests the convention: “Acknowledges the importance of youth participation in decision-making processes on all levels and encourages parties and other governments to fully include youth in all relevant processes”.
Forests: Another working group will convene this afternoon to discuss REDD+. Discussions within the main negotiations and on the sidelines are focusing on how texts on REDD+ adopted in the climate talks can be introduced into the CBD arena.
Dancing delegates: Festivities at the conference continued last night as girls from Oxford Grammer School in Hyderabad performed a traditional Bamboo dance. Not to be left out, delegates from the UK and Zambia also treated the audience to an impromptu dance to Bollywood tunes.
Top Tweets
Sustainlabour at #CBD #COP11 discussion on Sustainable Management of Biodiversity. Where is reference to the new jobs that can be created? .
— sustainlabour (@sustainlabour) October 11, 2012
Chair of Working Group 2 just reminded delegates to take into consideration #Youth intervention yesterday under 5.4 (: #CBD #COP11
— [Earth in Brackets] (@earthinbrackets) October 11, 2012
Oh dear -France just got caught napping on the big screen. They’re certainly paying attention to observer statements #CBD#COP11
— [Earth in Brackets] (@earthinbrackets) October 11, 2012
Picture of the day
Delegates were treated to some traditional Bamboo dancing (Source: UNCBD/Flickr)
Video of the day
UNCBD Executive Secretary, Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias talks to RTCC about the two vital areas of focus over the next two weeks: implementation and finance.