Global Changemakers

Greetings all! Bonjour à tous!
I’m one of six youth participating through the British Council’s Global Changemakers programme with the World Climate Conference in Geneva. Leading up to the conference, Matt has asked us to write a bit about our climate change work, how it is affecting our respective countries, and what we hope to gain from these talks in Switzerland.

Coming from Canada, a country bestowed with a wealth of ecological blessings, I feel very fortunate to have some of the greatest natural resources on the planet. From the largest fresh water supply in the world to the largest continuous boreal forest in the globe, Canadians should all feel lucky to be entrusted with some of the planet’s most desired climate resources. As a result, Canadians should feel obligated to protect these regulatory mechanisms as they are of paramount importance in offsetting dangerous climate change.

But first, here’s a little about me. I have been involved with environmental issues almost all of my life. Since childhood, I have witnessed the destruction and degradation of the land I grew up on and from then on I have advocated for a number of environmental issues including climate change. I have worked with conservation initiatives to protect Canada’s Boreal Forest, a globally significant carbon sink which, in the advent of current warming trends, could revert to a carbon source and accelerate already rising temperatures (check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUGvJ7gzHTk). Because I enjoy learning about the science of climate change I took part in a 4-year high school competition for North American students. This program, Envirothon (http://www.envirothon.org), allows students to study environmental sciences and resource conservation issues pertaining to soils, forestry, aquatics and wildlife using hands-on tools and experts in the field.
 

In Envirothon we learned a great deal about species at risk, such as this endangered spotted turtle.

With this knowledge, I was accepted into a university science program specializing in ecology. I hope to use all of this background experience in my working session “Climate, Biodiversity and Natural Resource Management” at the WCC-3.
Currently, I have a summer job with one of Canada’s National Parks on an archipelago off the largest freshwater island in the world. I lead hikes as a bilingual naturalist on ecological topics one of which being “Changing Climates of the past 400 million years”. As I’m working and doing research on the effects of climate change and ecosystems, I’m witnessing very interesting patterns. Because an archipelago is a series of islands, each one island is subject to the theories of island biogeography. The fact that islands are generally isolated should be stopping or at least slowing down the expansion of invasive species like the round goby (Neogobius melanostomus). However, the warming water temperatures over the past decade have seen its northern boundaries expand and these pests are putting pressures on native, natural predators like lake trout. Soon enough we’ll see the negative impacts on fisheries and other aquatic ecosystem services.
 

On Flowerpot Island, looking onto Manitoulin Island. Despite having similar geological foundations, these two island ecosystems are distinct.

Another already apparent effect of climate change in Canada is the arrival of more frequent storm events, both in summer and in winter. Two years ago, Ontario suffered the most devastating winter storm in recorded history. There was a blizzard event that dumped 1.63 meters of snow and ice over the course of one week. That winter, our school district had 21 snow days and 6 of these were consecutive. But we only needed to wait until spring to truly grasp the impact of this storm. One third of forests in the area were destroyed and the economic repercussions of this were two-fold: (1) having lost valuable timber resources and (2) the cost of cleaning up fallen trees. As a result, I formed a small youth group to get out and help repair the damage, but it was so extensive that even major river systems had trees piled in them.

Working with the Ministry of Natural Resources undertaking forest recovery projects in 2007.

Examples such as these are turning up more and more often. Canada is not currently the worst country affected by climate change, but it will be post 2050. Canada has a lot at stake and so its citizens must work to ensure a healthy environment for years to come.  

Although there is scientific consensus that “what’s done is done” and we cannot avoid climatic changes from occurring in 2050, that doesn’t mean our society shouldn’t coordinate its efforts to avoid serious consequences in the long term. We need to push for results now, not until the UNFCCC in December. Through my experiences with working for the government, everything takes longer than expected. We must be prepared for the UNFCCC and this is where the World Climate Conference comes into play.

Apart from being a gathering of top scientists and business leaders, WCC develops a plan for the future talks at COP-15, and how scientists will play an effective role in communicating the dire need for action among politicians. Convincing nearly 200 nations is a daunting task and so I know the youth will play an important role as our collective voice can effect great change.

The role of the six global changemakers participating at WCC-3 will be to offer our perspective on climate change from being on the ground as well as to learn the in-depth science from world-renowned experts. Once equipped with this knowledge we will travel back to our countries and continue our work of instilling an urgent sense of responsibility to our citizens. The World Climate Conference will also provide a network for youth to collaborate in a variety of international initiatives as well as Community Action Projects. I’m hoping to finalize my CAP, from Guildford, focusing on the need to conserve Canada’s water resources and aquatic ecosystems through this opportunity in Geneva.

What do I hope to achieve through this experience in Geneva? A willingness to do even more for the environment, learn from the other five global changemakers about how climate change is affecting them and, in turn, take these stories home to tell Canadians, inspiring them to act for a better future. All in all with the UNFCCC looming in December, politicians, especially in Canada, need to become leaders and not laggards. In the end, there shouldn’t be any reason that justifies not acting on climate change.