Posted by Cheng Shuling, Program Officer for Dalian Environmental Resources Center (DERC)

Before my trip to Hainan, the most southern province of China, where I was assigned to investigate the shark fin trade, I knew very little about the meaning behind the words “shark fin” and “shark”. I had never seen a  shark fin before, let alone a shark. I had learned from books and films that shark fins are used for culinary delicacies. After I completed this investigation, I learned that behind these dishes there was a shocking and tragic truth.

The  South China Sea is rich in shark.  Fishermen have fishing operations all year round in the Nansha, Xisha and Zhongsha Islands. And sharks are an important species to this region. I did not go to the islands for this particular research project, but I did get to know where shark fins are sold and consumed in Haikou.

In Haikou, the most concentrated places for selling shark fins are in supermarkets and street markets. In these areas, various styles of shark fins are sold at different prices and in various types of baskets or bags. The average consumer often thinks shark fins are highly nutritious.  Sellers will also persuade customers that shark fins are high in protein and worth buying. The seller will also seek to explain to customers the various ways to cook with shark fin. If you buy it, they will even prepare a beautiful gift box so that you can send it to your friends in a nice package. Generally speaking, shark fins are exotic and in demand everywhere, often grabbing the attention of visitors.

In the East Gate market, after talking to sellers about other topics, one seller eventually told me that she sold three shark fin gift boxes immediately before our conversation: each at the price of about 70 dollars and at a weight of 37.8 grams.

(more…)

posted by Galina Angarova

My colleague Evan Sparling and I recently traveled to Altai to touch base with our partners in the field, meet with regional stakeholders, and participate in a conference on sacred sites organized by one of our partners – the Foundation for Sustainable Development of Altai. As I have now fully transitioned into my new position as Program Associate for Community-Based Initiatives for Pacific Environment, the trip provided me with an opportunity to fully immerse myself into program work and issues faced by indigenous communities in Russia, especially in the current economic and political climate. This was my second trip to Altai since I started working for Pacific Environment, and I was very excited to visit the sacred land and meet with our partners once again.

Sacred mountain in Chui Oozy Nature Park, Altai Republic, Russia

For centuries sacred sites served people as places where they could come to pray, cleanse themselves, and recover from the hardships of life. For some nations, sacred places are Catholic monasteries, Orthodox cathedrals, Muslim mosques, and Buddhist temples. For indigenous cultures, and specifically shamanists, these are places or objects created by nature: mountains, healing springs, mountain passes, plants and animals.

Altai has also always been the heart of Shamanism in Siberia. During  Soviet times the communists extinguished shamanism and many of the shamans who lived during those days were either killed or sent to gulags. For many years shaman clans had to hide their identity and it was only after perestroika and democracy that shamanism experienced its revival. Nowadays it is not as rare to find a shaman in the remote villages of Altai. Luckily, the traditional knowledge was kept and passed onto new generations.

One of the trip’s most memorable moments was meeting a local shaman by the name of Slava Cheltuev in Kosh-Agach, a region bordering Mongolia, China, and Kazakhstan.

Kurai Village, 60 km from the Russian-Mongolia border

Upon our arrival, Slava greeted us at his home with traditional tea with milk, salt, butter, and cracked wheat. It has been only three  years since Slava was chosen by his community to be a shaman and a keeper of traditional knowledge.  As a relatively young shaman at the age of 41, he feels responsible to learn from elders about his land, sacred places, and traditions so that he can pass this knowledge on to younger generations. As Russian is not his first language, most of his words were translated from indigenous Altayan into Russian by our partner Chagat.  (Today, there are only 70,000 speakers of Altayan in the world).

Cows in Kosh-Agach region, Altai Republic, Russia

Although some of what Slava said was revealed in a very simple language, his words carried a very deep knowledge and understanding of his roots and his role within his community. He talked about being close to the land and local sacred places, talking to spirits – guardians of their lands – and the meaning of dreams.

(more…)

Posted by Evan Sparling

My recent trip to Altai is proof that life imitates art. Just a few days before leaving the US I watched the film “Everything is Illuminated.” Even if you’ve never seen it, you know the plot: a mismatched cast of characters (an octogenarian Ukrainian anti-Semite, his hip-hop obsessed playboy grandson, a shy young American Jew, a deranged dog) embark on a road trip to an unlikely place (the Ukrainian countryside) and adventure (and illumination) ensues. In my case, the characters include an American GIS expert visiting Russia for the first time, two native-rights activists from Kamchatka, and a flamboyant military veteran turned professional driver. We have spent our days crammed into a van with all of our luggage and supplies, traveling across windswept tundra and over frozen mountain passes, spending our evenings in a three-room cabin with no running water and no heat beyond a wood stove. In between work-related discussions and meetings with local conservationists, we have had adventures ranging from a visit to an Altai shaman who interpreted our dreams to a swimming excursion in weather more fit for skiing.

(more…)

Posted by David Gordon

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind of impressions for anyone who cares about the global climate.  As we post this blog, we still do not know the outcomes of the Copenhagen negotiations.  Will countries come to agreement on anything that can move forward?  Will that agreement be fair, ambitious, and binding?  Will the agreement help keep us within 350 ppm of CO2 in the atmosphere?

I am impressed by all the people who traveled to Copenhagen to have their voices heard.  Indigenous peoples, environmental activists, and others are doing what they can to speak up.  Kudos to Faith Gemmill from REDOIL, who confronted Secretary Salazar about his decision to allow offshore drilling in the Arctic:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N49WoIecsLU.  And kudos to Brendan Cummings of Center for Biological Diversity, who as a polar bear challenged Obama’s leadership:  http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/10/polar-bear-warns-obama-about-climate-failure/.  Most of all, kudos to the youth who made their voices heard during the climate talks.  Check out this inspiring video documenting a youth sit-in at the Bella Center:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=re11HDMdf_E

(more…)

Posted by Evan Sparling

Last Sunday, the penultimate of our ten days in Kamchatka, was ostensibly a rest day. Everyone was eager to relax and enjoy the glorious surroundings that we had spent the last week helping to preserve in countless meetings, seminars, and strategy sessions. We initially planned to spend the entire day traversing a local park on Nordic skis, but two of our local colleagues suggested over dinner on Saturday that we instead try our hands at dog sledding at the home of two members of a local native community organization. (more…)

Posted by David Gordon

Many people have asked me about the Russian Government’s position in Copenhagen.  I have spent so much time in Russia over the years and have seen, myself, the impacts of climate change in Russia.  We are seeing forests dry out, die from disease and burn.  Historically, some in Russia’s elite have thought that climate change will be positive for Russia, since it will lead to more agricultural land.  However, the Russian Hydrometeorological Service – a Russian government agency – recently issued a report detailing climate change’s likely impacts on Russia.  The report clearly stated that climate change will have far-reaching negative impacts.

Yet the Russian government position in Copenhagen unfortunately appears to be self-serving. Russia wants to use existing carbon credits in the future.  This seems reasonable, except that Russia earned those credits due to a collapsing economy after the fall of the Soviet Union, not due to efforts to become energy efficient or reduce emissions.  The Russian Government wants to be allowed to increase emissions in the future.  That is the wrong direction.

(more…)

Posted by David Gordon

Like many of us around the world, I am keenly watching events unfold in Copenhagen.  I keep wondering whether our diplomats will be able to pull themselves together to come out of Copenhagen with a strong, binding agreement that truly reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

Today’s big news focused on developing countries walking out of the talks due to concerns about developed countries abandoning the binding targets of the Kyoto Protocol.  This reminds me of the famous WTO negotiations in Seattle ten years ago.  At those negotiations, developing countries brought down the talks because they saw too much back-room dealing.  Oh, and they also saw the incredible protests on the streets calling the entire WTO into question.

Developing countries have every reason to be concerned.  Watching U.S. senators introduce “climate” legislation that allows more offshore oil drilling – such as Senators Kerry, Lieberman, and Graham did last week – does not instill me with confidence that the U.S. can be a leader on climate change issues.  It appears as though we are allowing Senator Imhofe – a notorious climate change denier – to control U.S. legislation and, through it, the outcome of the negotiations in Copenhagen.  We need the U.S. and other developed countries to step up to the plate and commit to significant, binding reductions in emissions.

Developing countries also need to do their part to reduce emissions.  This is why we are helping to build a grassroots environmental movement in China.  Grassroots voices can change China towards a low-carbon path.  We need these voices to speak up loudly and clearly.

Posted by Xiu Min Li

I arrived in Hong Kong thinking that I had packed a perfect amount of clothes. The weather was warm and humid but also slightly breezy at times. Weather.com was once again reliable until the Chinese government decided to shoot some silver iodide and dry ice into the sky, to induce rain to relieve the drought in the north. It set off a snow storm and extreme weather conditions across the country that was to claim 40 lives and billions of dollars in lost agricultural and industrial productions. Luckily, all it gave me was a cold that lasted for weeks. When I arrived in Guangzhou it was as if I had walked into a freezer. I scrambled to a nearby mall and filled up my suitcase with new winter clothes. By the time I sat down at Green Eyes’ office near Zhongshan University, I was appropriately bundled up.

(more…)

Posted by Shannon Kellman

Our friends on the blogosphere have been pretty busy.

Big news out of Sacramento.  The Governor is trying to find a new way to solve California’s worsening water crisis.

ABC7, our local ABC blog is reporting places where you can still see salmon spawn locally (that is San Francisco).  If you’re interested, check out The Bay Institute for more details.

China Environmental Law is reporting the that World Resources Institute has launched a new China FAQs covering China’s response to climate change.

HuffPo has some awesome polar bear photos.  They’re also talking about Crude, a movie which shows Chevron for the enemy of the environmental movement that they are.  Go see it!

And for the wannabe fashionistas in all of us: Frei Designs has released their Winter 2010 line, full of organic and seriously pretty dresses.

Happy Friday!