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Ambassadors for climate change

August 27, 2010

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Clement Paligaru: When the world hears about the Pacific's climate change concerns, the focus is usually on low lying countries like Kiribati and Tuvalu. But Solomon Islanders are just as concerned about changing weather patterns and the impact on their country. For two young Solomon Islanders, it's become a very personal campaign.


Christina Ora - climate change campaigner: em> We have seen diverse impacts of climate change here in Solomon Islands. We have experienced rising sea levels and a dramatic change in weather pattern.

Maylin Sese - climate change campaigner:em> It was just last week there was flooding here in this place. When there is increasing heavy rainfall, people in my village don't have water supplies. There is not enough fresh water. The water is not clean and it is not hygienic.

Clement Paligaru: Maylin Sese's village is on the outskirts of the capital, Honiara.

Maylin Sese: Changing weather patterns will affect our livelihood and, for example, here in Solomon Islands, we depend more on faming and subsistence agriculture and when this unpredictable weather happens, it affects food crops.

Marvin Sese - Areatakiki villager: It's starting to worry us now. Our lives depends very much on the garden. We don't have permanent jobs somewhere.

Clement Paligaru: And it's here that that the young community volunteer is putting her ideas to work, urging her people to adapt to the changing environment.

Maylin Sese: What I'm doing is helping my people to know what vegetables to plant and to help them to understand that the climate is changing so that they can find a suitable place to place to plant their crops.

Marvin Sese: We've been moving around. We don't plant crops in one single place. When there's flooding, we move to another new spot, make gardens there and when that area is again flood affected, we move to another new location.

Jim Palmer - Areatakiki villager: Corn is important because it is life. I can eat it and I can sell it so corn earns me money and supports my livelihood. The vegetables I plant have to be able to grow quickly because I have to get out of this place quickly before it floods.

Clement Paligaru: In December 2009, Maylin Sese and Christina Ora took their concerns to world leaders, scientists and campaigners at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.

Maylin Sese: My main message at Copenhagen is for the world leaders to consider that small island states are experiencing problems on climate change.

Christina Ora: I was selected out of the thousands of youth that were there to address the opening plenary on the very first day and to give a statement on behalf of the world youth. And that was a major achievement for me. I was 17 when I did that.

Clement Paligaru: The Copenhagen summit failed to deliver what many were hoping for - a global commitment to combat climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Maylin Sese: I'm really disappointed because it's a real thing. But then, it seems as if someone just sees it as theory when we were experiencing the pain of it.

Christina Ora: Those people in my villages, those people in Solomon Islands' villages have less than zero point one contribution to that problem. And they are suffering from it. And those developed countries have to do something about it.

Clement Paligaru: The Copenhagen experience has only strengthened the resolve of these two young women to keep fighting for effective action on climate change internationally - and to do what they can at home.

Christina Ora: We plan to reach out to other students and to the youth of Solomons. Majority of them still do not know what climate change is all about. They will listen to us more closely, more attentively, than will for example to a Ministry of environment official.

Clement Paligaru: Christina has formed a youth brigade at her school, to spread the word on climate change.

Edith Ramsey - youth group member: I don't think grownups are doing enough because some grownups today, they don't have good education. So if I join the group, I can tell them what the effects are and help them.

Marcelline Loboi - youth group member: I will go down to my people after this and I'll tell my people, my families, at least to minimise the effects which contribute to climate change.
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