ay M
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07 20
Hello from ONE, short for ‘Oxfam
was such a sense of quiet about Taukiei,
Greenpeace and 20 other organisations
News E-magazine’, the new monthly
even as he said that he knew his country
with bases in the UK have formed a
magazine of Oxfam Hong Kong.
would eventually disappear with the
Working Group on Climate Change and
The other day I touched coal for
rising sea levels. Life has already changed:
Development and have issued several
the first time. I was surprised by its
some of the islands can no longer sustain
research reports and conducted various
heavy weight and its shine. It came from
coconut trees.
advocacy actions. Climate change is making
Newcastle, Australia, the world’s largest
Aurora Alerta-Lim, from The Philip-
life difficult for millions of poor people and
coal port, but I remembered Zhang De
pines, was inspiring as she talked about
we know it will continue to do so, if we
Xiang, a coal worker I met in China, the
how her community stopped a Korean
don’t all act, together, soon, now.
largest producer and consumer of coal.
coal plant from opening on her island of
ONE features stories on climate change
The 21-year-old had just come back from
Iloilo. Her country has some of the best
in Africa, projects in China and Zambia, our
the mines, his face all sooty, yet he sang:
environmental laws in the world, yet some
campaign to Make Trade Fair, and more.
he was earning a good wage, he said, and
of the worst records of law-breaking:
Read on, and let us hear from you …
he was healthy.
implementation and enforcement are
I also met Taukiei Kitala from Tuvalu.
very weak.
He talked about life in his small Pacific
Meeting Taukiei and Aurora is thanks
Island Country, as it is referred to by the
to Greenpeace, who hosted a session at
United Nations. The coconut is the tree of
Oxfam Hong Kong’s office on the link
life for the 9,000 people there on 8 islands
between coal, renewable energy, global
that are no more than 3 meters high. There
warming and climate change. Oxfam,
Madeleine Marie Slavick, Editor emagazine@oxfam.org.hk
A coalminer in Guizhou, China / Madeleine Marie Slavick / Oxfam Hong Kong
… and disasters
on Climate Change
“L e t ’s t a ke l a n d s li d e s i n t h e
Preparedness Center in Bangkok, which
Philippines as an example,” says
is training meteorologists, community-
Meng Abarquez, Humanitarian and
based workers and farmers in climate
More and more, the nature and
people depend on the land and the
Disaster Risk Management Programme
forecast: communities are adapting the
occurrence of natural disasters are
weather for their living, as farmers and
Coordinator with Oxfam Hong Kong.
nature of crops as well as their planting
connected with extreme climate events
herders, any change in the climate is of
“If villagers know (the need) to gather
and harvesting cycles based on the
and global climate change, and Asia
utmost concern to Oxfam Hong Kong.
meteorological data, say how much
localized climate forecast. ADPC (www.
is the region with the most serious
We know that huge populations are
rainfall can trigger a landslide in their
adpc.net) is also developing alternative
natural disasters in terms of frequency
at risk.
surrounding mountain slopes, then
energy sources, rebuilding community
and the number of people affected:
better precautionary measures can be
infrastructure and running various other
2,459 reported cases of natural disasters
undertaken.”
livelihood-based projects with farmers
between 1995 and 2004, according to
In 2006, Oxfam Hong Kong formally
Centre for Research on the Epidemiology
adopted climate change as part of
At the national level, Oxfam Hong
of Disasters (CRED). Indonesia, for one,
our strategy in poverty alleviation,
Kong supports developing countries
saw serious drought and flooding in
emergency relief and development
to develop renewable energy sources
1997, the worst drought in a decade in
work, especially in disaster management
based on the spirit of sustainable
projects. One organisation we are
development. We advocate for suitable
collaborating with is the Asian Disaster
policies for managing the use of
2001, and the tsunami of 2004. When two-thirds of the world’s
A hot afternoon in Aceh, Indonesia / Madeleine Marie Slavick / Oxfam Hong Kong
and herders.
on Climate Change (cont’d from page 1) natural resources – at the community, national and international level. We will also continue conducting regional research, lobbying and advocacy work on climate change and climate risk management and integrating them into national development and regional development plans . O ther member s of Ox fam International are also active: As a member of the Working Group on Climate Change and Development, Oxfam Great Britain, for instance, has also contributed to the influential report, Africa – Up in smoke?, published in October 2006.
Africa is particularly vulnerable to climate change / Chris Young / Oxfam
… all over the world: fair trade Ever since the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial meeting in Hong Kong in December 2005 – when the global talks ended with no agreement on
on Trade
trade reforms that would benefit development among the world’s poorer nations – wealthier countries have been resorting to regional and bilateral trade deals to attain concessions they could not get otherwise. This has very serious implications for poverty in developing countries, says Signing Away the Future, a recent report published by Oxfam International, which reveals that 25 developing countries have now signed free trade deals with developed countries, and more than 250 regional or bilateral trade agreements are now governing 30 per cent of world trade. “Trade is important for growth but these agreements are bad for development,” says John Sayer, Director-General of Oxfam Hong Kong. “Poor countries are being pressured to open their markets dramatically through free trade agreements, but developed countries do not even have to touch their massive agricultural subsidies that lead to overproduction and dumping. It is hugely unjust. These deals demand
Photos courtesy of Africa Now
much faster liberalisation and stricter intellectual property rules than the WTO. They
For the first time, Oxfam Hong
Africa Now is conducting training in
strip developing countries of the right to govern their economies and threaten their
Kong is working with the group, Africa
sustainable agricultural techniques and
abilities to protect their poorest people and lift them out of poverty.”
Now, and we are excited about the
business management, and starting
Oxfam advocates fair trade, not free trade. For trade to reduce poverty, all deals
collaboration with this innovative
up Village Banks to be owned and
– multilateral, regional and bilateral – must allow developing countries to have
organization that both develops small-
managed by community members. Too
special and differential treatment, as well as adequate policy space.
scale businesses in poor communities
often in the past, farmers didn’t have
For more on Oxfam’s Make Trade Fair campaign: www.maketradefair.org.hk To read the full report, Signing Away the Future, released in March 2007: www.maketradefair.com/en/index.php?file=rta_home.htm
and promotes ethical trade.
access to low-interest loans, and this
… all over Hong Kong: Fair Trade films, drinks and fun! Fair Trade is a growing phenomenon in Hong Kong: over 30 outlets are now selling Fair Trade goods, from chocolate and coffee to footballs and organic blue jeans. New shops exclusively selling Fair Trade items have opened, as well as Asia’s largest organic/health foods shop which sells many Fair Trade items. UK’s largest Fair Trade hot drinks retailer is also expanding its product range in Hong Kong. The 2007 HK International Film Festival featured BLACK GOLD, the first-ever feature-length documentary on the unfair coffee trade, and the story of one man’s mission to get a getter price for thousands of coffee farmers in Ethiopia. Oxfam sponsored two screenings and ran two public forums. Ten groups celebrated World Fair Trade Day in Hong Kong for the first time, with a big fair http://www.maketradefair.org.hk/fair.
Oxfam is supporting Africa Now to
was especially true for women, who
work alongside 1,000 farming families
make up about 70% of the farmers in
in the Zambezi Basin of Zambia to grow
the area. The project will ensure that
chili. The peppers sell at a high price and
women will be on the management
survive well in droughts – which have
committee of the Village Banks, and
plagued the country in the last four
will be involved in decision making in
out of five years. Chili make elephants
general. New co-operatives are being set
sneeze, so the animals no longer trample
up to improve market power, and Fair
the crops; and burning chili-spiked dung
Trade certification is in process.
keeps other pests away, too.
THE LARGER CONTEXT: Zambia is one of the poorest nations in all of subSaharan Africa: over 10 million of its 12 million people (86%) live in poverty. AIDS, drought-induced crop failures, and the collapse of the copper industry all exacerbate poverty to such an extent that life expectancy is only 40 years. The
in Zambia
… and Africa As early as 2001, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC),
place to escape, everywhere is dried
comes from the east so it brings little
whole night. By the time I came down,
out.” A chief named Paul Mayan Mariao
or no rain… these are dry winds. I don’t
seven people had died. There were
adds, “The weather is changing. We
know what is causing this.”
dozens of injuries. Animal carcasses
ones, namely between Muslims and
used to get heavy rains when the winds
When there’s little or no water,
littered almost a kilometer stretch
Christians.
came from the west and then came back
conflict can arise, as it did in Isiolo
of the valley.” There is a definite co-
2-3 days later with rain. Now the wind
District at the end of 2005, when the
orelation between violent conflict and
a body of the United Nations, warned
People in Kenya are also experiencing
that Africa is particularly vulnerable to
the ef fec ts of climate change, as
drought intensified. “Herders started
drought: pastoralists are stuck in an
climate change for many reasons, such
reflected in these three case stories
encroaching on boreholes owned by
ever-tightening poverty trap, and when
as many water resources being situated
from Africa – Up in smoke?. In Tharaka
different communities,” says local leader
the pressure mounts too high, killings
in international shared basins, food
District, in the south of the country,
Wako Liba. “Gunshots reverberated the
can occur.
security so strongly tied to farming, and
Joshua Muyoki-Mutua tries his best to
large areas of coastal land susceptible to
grow chili, eggplant, green peppers and
sea-level rise.
other crops, but he is worried. Out of
The four-year conflict in Darfur is
300 farmers who grew crops in his area
coming to be seen as the first climate
a decade ago, he is one of only two who
change war. The roots of the disaster
remain – a fact he says is due to global
stretch back to the mid-1980s when
warming. In 1982, the nearby canal ran
drought and the resultant famine killed
for 7km, now it travels for only half a
more than a million people in the region,
kilometer. “We get about 40 per cent
and herders and farmers started to fight
less rain than we used to. Many farmers
over the diminishing resources of water
have left, mainly because the water no
and land in Darfur. There is real risk of
longer runs along the canal like it used
more climate-driven conflicts all across
to. These people have nothing. They are
the Sahel that stretches from Sudan to
destitute. Therefore, climate change is
Senegal, as rain patterns over Africa are
increasing poverty.”
influenced by ocean temperatures, and
In Turkana, in northwest Kenya,
those in turn reflect global warming.
people have been living in a drought
In the Sahel, the competition between
since 1999. A herder named Hassan
herder and farmer is often reinforced
Mahmood says, “It is all encompassing.
by tribal differences, as well as religious
All regions are affected; there is no
Paul Mayan Mariao (left), a village chief in Kenya / Jane Beesley / Oxfam
Connecting climate change and Hong Kong consumerism / So Kok / Mokung, March, 2007
in China China’s fast-paced industrial and
had enough to eat.
animals warmer and healthier.
last for 10 years.
These days, we use cow dung as
But the biggest change is that we
an organic fertiliser. This saves a lot of
no longer send our cows out to pasture.
money – in the past, we would spend
Instead, we cultivate farmland for
about 200 Yuan a year on chemical ones.
fodder. This has solved the overgrazing
And our harvests are so much better
problem, which had caused a lot of
now! Last year, my family made more
erosion in the area.
commercial development has brought
But a few years ago, things got a lot
about significant economic growth in
than 2,000 Yuan from our maize alone.
BACKGROUND: Oxfam Hong Kong is
better. Oxfam gave my parents a big
some areas of the country – primarily
(Four years ago, the average income
in the first generation of international
cow. It was much bigger than the two
the urban and coastal areas. Yet, the
in the village was less than 400 Yuan
NGOs in mainland China – we began
we had before. My parents said it’s a
fast-paced development has also quickly
a year.)
supporting projects in the country
new kind of cow that grows faster and
led to serious environmental hazards:
Oxfam also initiated solar-powered
in 1987. Last year alone (1 April 2005
has more meat. The cow has had several
desertification, contaminated rivers, air
stoves. We used to cook with charcoal,
to 31 March 20 0 6 ) , we allocated
calves, so we now have six altogether,
pollution, and many other problems.
which costs more than 600 Yuan a year,
HK$45.8 million on 472 projects, such
and when the cows get bigger, my
or with firewood, which we would get
as agricultural training, micro-credit,
parents said we will sell them at the
from cutting down trees. That was
basic education, research and advocacy.
market.
causing deforestation and soil erosion.
We also support public education
O x f a m H o n g Ko n g h a s b e e n supporting projects in Mainland China for 20 years, predominantly in rural
Every day after school, my mother and
areas, where 80 million people live on
The solar stoves are saving us a lot of
projects, such as book and magazine
I bring them to drink at the stream, and
about 80 Yuan a month. Since rural
time, fuel and money. We get a lot
publishing.
sometimes I help her bring the manure to
poorest areas in the country are the
people’s livelihoods depend so much
of sun here in Gansu, so we can cook
the fields. This is something new – it’s a
Copperbelt Region and the south, which
on the land, projects include managing
solar all year-round: it takes about 15
good way to make the plants grow. Ever
is where Oxfam Hong Kong is focusing
natural resources, such as planting trees
minutes to boil a kettle of water. The
since then, we have had more crops to
its projects. The poorest areas in the
to prevent erosion, growing pesticide-
stoves are pretty durable and should
sell, and more food to eat at home.”
country are the Copperbelt Region and
free crops to maintain good soil quality,
the south, which is where Oxfam Hong
and building fuel-efficient stoves to
Kong is focusing its projects.
reduce deforestation.
Two other organisations we are newly
Every summer, Oxfam Hong Kong
partnering with are HODI, which means
highlights one of our communit y
‘May I come in?’ in a local language, and
development projects in Mainland
PELUM, a regional network organisation.
China, and for 2007, it’s in Qingshuiling,
The HODI project works with women
a village of 183 people on the Yellow
in Zambezi - a valley where poverty,
Plateau in Gansu, in the dry northwest.
marginalisation, AIDS and malaria are
We present the project…
all too common – on better livelihoods, more rights in the community, and closer AIDS and nutrition monitoring. PELUM is researching the links between indigenous crops, food security and health. Right now, maize occupies about 60 per cent of all farmland in East, Central and Southern Africa, and there may be risks involved, such as the crop’s sensitivity to weather changes.
… in the eyes of a 10 year old “My name is Yanping. I’m 10 years
Oxfam & China 2005, a publication of Oxfam Hong Kong: http://www.oxfam.org.hk/public/ contents/category?cid=3744&lang=iso-8859-1 Oxfam Hong Kong’s Chinese-language website on China: http://chinainfo.oxfam.org.hk
… and in the eyes of an adult I’m Hei Manman. My family joined an Oxfam project designed to improve the environment as well as our livelihood. Yanping is my son. Four years ago, we were provided with one cow, of a new species: bigger, fast-growing, fast-breeding, and with more meat density. The species we were breeding before only had a calf every two years; this new one has at least one a year.
old. My younger brother and I live
The winter is long and cold here. In
with our parents and grandparents.
the past, our cows would routinely get
We don’t get much rain here, so the
sick and some of the younger calves
land is pretty dry, and sometimes our
would even die. Now, thanks to Oxfam,
family has had a hard time growing
who provided training in vaccination,
enough wheat, maize and potato to
they’re healthier. The new sheds, also
make a living. Sometimes, we haven’t
built through Oxfam, help keep our
Yanping and one of his six family cows in Gansu, China / Jockey Cheung / Oxfam Hong Kong
OXFAM HONG KONG WEBSITE www.oxfam.org.hk
Renqingduoji, the boy
OXFAM BOOKS
with the tangerine, is an eight-yearold student. He lives at his school in a
Oxfam Hong Kong has created
beautiful part of southwest China, right
more than 30 books, some in Hong
by the great Mekong River. His school,
Kong, some in Taiwan, some on the
named Senjimeiduo, which means
Mainland, some in Chinese, some in
Flowers in the Heart in Tibetan, was
English, some bilingual, and some
founded in 2005 and offers the students
mostly with images, which cross all
– all from poor families – ten years of
languages. Through publishing the
free education, room and board, and
voices of poor people around the
health care. Monthly costs per student
world, we want to change the way
are about 180RMB, and teachers are
people think about poverty. We
paid 220-700 RMB, depending on their
want justice.
subject area, such as English, Chinese
http://www.oxfam.org.hk/public/bookstore/list?lang=iso-8859-1
and Tibetan. When Renqingduoji met the photographer and editor, Liu Wai Tong, the first words he said to us were,
E-NEWS
“Teachers, are my clothes clean enough? I washed them myself!” Later, he told
Issued every month in English and Chinese, this e-bulletin provides the latest
us that his favourite thing in the world
from Oxfam Hong Kong, with news on emergencies, campaigns, community
is the sky. Maybe he is looking at it
projects, public education and fundraising. Oxfam e-News is emailed to more than
through his tangerine…
80,000 volunteers, campaigners, donors, Oxfam Trailwalkers, council members and
For more information on Senjimeiduo: http://www.tibetanflowers.org/home/index.htm
subscribers. The Editor is Echo Chow. The cover image of CAN, a new Oxfam-supported magazine in China / Liu Wai Tong
To subscribe to the English version, http://www.oxfam.org.hk/public/contents/16830 To subscribe to the Chinese version, Tra d i t i o n a l Ch i n e s e : h t t p ://w w w.o x f a m.o rg.h k /p u b l i c /c o n t e n t s /7263 S i m p l i f i e d C h i n e s e : h t t p ://w w w.o x f a m .o rg . h k /p u b l i c /c o n t e n t s /7265
MOKUNG Oxfam Hong Kong publishes a quarterly magazine, Mokung, in Traditional Chinese. Mokung, which means both “no poverty” and “infinit y”, highlight s a dif ferent
Please consider adding your
aspect of development in each issue. The Editors are Tung Tsz-kwan and Fiona Shek.
voice by signing your name to this petition, one of the many ongoing campaignsby the Oxfam International
In March 2007, Hong Kong Journalists Coffee workers in Ethiopia / Stanley So / Oxfam Hong Kong
Association, Foreign Correspondents Club
Change can happen as we’re seeing
have agreed in principle on a licensing,
and Amnesty International awarded the
India can be called the ‘pharmacy of
with Starbucks and Ethiopia. In October
distribution and marketing agreement
magazine with a Human Rights Press
the developing world’. It manufactures
2006, Oxfam International launched a
with the Government of Ethiopia that
Award.
a huge supply of generic medicine that
campaign for Starbucks to engage directly
recognises the importance and integrity
To subscribe, go to:
is affordable to its own people and to
with Ethiopia on the country’s ownership
of the Harar, Sidamo and Yirgacheffe
https://www.oxfam.org.hk/public/bookstore/?lang=big5
people in other poor countries. Novartis,
of its coffee trademarks. Some seven
trademarks. A signed agreement is
Mokung is online at
a Swiss pharmaceutical company, is
months and 93,000 signatures later, on
expected any day now. This is very good
http://www.oxfam.org.hk/public/contents/category?cid=1017&lang=big5
challenging India’s patent law.
3 May 2007, Starbucks Coffee Company
news for the 15 million Ethiopians who
family.
http://www.maketradefair.com/en/index.php?file=emailnovartis.htm
depend on coffee for a living.
CAN Oxfam Hong Kong is supporting a new magazine in China, called CAN, a photo-
Right now, there is no Chinese as
based magazine in Simplified Chinese. CAN means both “look” and “do” in Chinese,
a Second Language curriculum in the
one, in May 2007, looking at the state of education in China. The Chief Editor of the
Hong Kong education system. Minority
quarterly is the writer-photographer, Liu Wai Tong. If you live in China, look out for
students are leaving schools without
it on the newsstands – CAN will be distributed throughout the country.
and each 120-page edition focuses on a different topical issue, with the inaugural
strong skills in Chinese, which makes it hard to enter university and get a good job. Poverty is all too common: according to the 2001 Census, 61% of all ethnic minority workers in Hong Kong earned less than HK$4,000 (approximately US$500) a month. HONG KONG UNISON (www.unison. org.hk), a group supported by Oxfam Hong Kong, calls on the Government to establish a Curriculum and Assessment Mechanism that will meet the needs, and rights, of its residents.
Campaign poster for minority rights / HONG KONG UNISON
ONEquestion What do you think about Fair Trade or/and Corporate Social Responsibility? Please tell us at: http://forum.oxfam.org.hk/?c_lang=eng
COVER: Ami Vitale/Oxfam
ONELINKs