Climate Wise Women give first-hand account of the impact of climate change

Women leaders from the developing world bring their experiences of climate change to Dublin, the first city on their Climate Wise Women European Tour

Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland, will join Jim Clarken, CEO Oxfam Ireland, Constance Okollet and Ursula Rakova of Climate Wise Women for a panel discussion on climate justice. Women Leaders on Climate Justice – a Grassroots Perspective is hosted by Oxfam Ireland and MRFCJ on April 12 at 18.30 in the Edmund Burke Theatre, Trinity College Dublin.

Ursula Rakova Executive Director of Tuele Peisa of the Cartaret Island of the South Pacific, will describe the urgent situation facing the Carteret Islanders that has required the community to relocate to Bougainville, a larger island that is part of Papua New Guinea. Climate change has played a major role in the destruction of the Carteret atoll, with unprecedented king tides destroying the soil for food production and rapidly covering the land mass forcing the community to move. Ursula will explain the how the community has been pro-active in meeting the challenge, the delicate process of negotiating with the communities on Bougainville for land and home construction for the Carteret Islanders and, just as essential, the acceptance of her people within the new community.

“Climate change is the central poverty issue of our time, where we see the world’s most vulnerable facing greater droughts, floods, hunger and disease, despite being the least responsible for causing climate change. The Climate Wise Women tour, for me, is about advocacy on climate change and being able to share the stories of my people. Climate change is here to stay and more individual advocacy will result in major climate change action” said Ursula Rakova.

Constance Okollet, Chairperson of the Osukura United Women Network in Eastern Uganda will speak of the dramatic changes in climate that have been occurring in her region of Uganda since 2006. Extreme cycles of drought and rain make it impossible to grow traditional crops, threatening the food security of the community and limiting their ability to earn a modest living. Death by drowning, starvation or disease and disruption to children’s education are some of the other impacts of climate change experienced. Constance will tell of her own awakening to the causes and effects of climate change at a community meeting organised by Oxfam that led her to understand that the climatic changes her people experienced were not an expression in her words of God’s displeasure with them but were, in fact, caused by mankind.

Following on from global climate talks in Copenhagen in 2009 and Cancun in 2010 the world will address these issues in Durban, South Africa at the end of 2011. Voices like those of Constance Okollet and Ursula Rakova bear witness to the impacts of extreme drought, flooding and rising sea levels on their respective communities.

Mary Robinson explained “When we focus on the human dimension of climate change, we see the effects of the problem differently and we then approach the solutions differently. Giving voice to the experiences of these women, allowing them to bear witness to their experiences can influence policy outcomes and instruments of adaptation”.

Jim Clarken said “The experience of Constance and Ursula’s communities is already being repeated by vulnerable communities across the developing world. For many the action developed countries take is already too little and too late. Here in Ireland, it is our challenge to match the dedication of these women and to live up to our responsibility to prevent further climate catastrophe and to support vulnerable communities to deal with climate change”

The European Tour of Climate Wise Women includes stops in London on April 13 and 14 and Hamburg April 19.

For Further Information

Celine Clarke, Head of Communications, MRFCJ 0872321416 celine.clarke@mrfcj.org

Paul Dunphy Oxfam Ireland Media Executive 01 6350422/0879058075
Notes to Editor:

Climate Wise Women is a global initiative to promote women’s leadership on climate change and to give a human face and voice to this complex issue. Climate Wise Women speaking events present the stories of women leaders from regions affected by climate change in their own voices.

Constance Okollet is a peasant farmer from Tororo district in Eastern Uganda Africa and a mother of seven. She is a community activist and chairperson of the Osukura United Women network which includes 40 regional groups in Uganda’s Osukura Subcounty. In 2007, heavy rains destroyed the homes and food supply of Constance’s village displacing all of its residents. Starvation followed. Once the situation stabilized, the community was dealt a second blow: an unprecedented drought which dried up crops and wells, reigniting the cycle of hunger and thirst.

Ursula Rakova, Executive Tuele Peisa, Carteret Islands became a pioneer in the environmental movement after leaving the atoll to study social administration at Papua New Guinea University. At the request of a group of Carteret Island chiefs, Ursula returned home to help form Tulele Peisa, an organisation whose mission is to voluntarily relocate 1,700 Carteret Islanders, whose islands and food supply are rapidly eroding.