A fond farewell to Marrakech 8th Blog from COP 22

So it is almost over. Geoff and I packed up the display in the stand this afternoon but not before we had both had an interesting morning at our various side events and through networking.

The Blue Zone from a distance

Horse guards parade

My morning started with an update from the UNFCCC Secretariat and then over to the Green Zone to the British Embassy Pavilion to try to find out whether they had a contact at the King Mohammed VI Foundation only to discover that the Foundation had its own pavilion at the far end of the building. I duly made my way past all sorts of amazing displays, artworks, handicrafts, until I finally reached my destination. The upshot was an email address of the person to contact but in the process I found out that the environmental protection organisation’s Chair is Princess Lalla Hasnaa. The Foundation’s work does seem to be very much up INTO’s street so I will be writing to find out more as to what might be on offer.

Mohammed vi Foundation

Back in the Blue Zone I attended an interesting side event on agricultural insurance as part of the Loss and Damage mechanism. The first 4 speakers had all referred to the high cost of premiums which the developing countries simply could not afford to pay. A presenter from Fiji explained that already one village had had to be moved away from the coast owing to rising sea levels and that we needed the mechanism now. The photo of one of the slides, on the ‘principles and features’, helps to explain the position. I was told, in answer t a question I posed , that the value of the loss of cultures was included in the non-economic losses. Time ran out before I could respond!

Principles and Features

Later Geoff and I met two girls representing their respective indigenous peoples, one a Maori and the other a Sami from Norway. They were extremely interested to hear about INTO, our work on intangible cultural heritage and the Bali conference to which the Maori hopes to come and possibly present.
On the way back to my riad, Geoff and I stopped at a Detox drinks stall for a welcome mix of fruit juices, in my case an avocado, ginger, almond and orange – totally delicious!

Geoff and the Detox!

Have now just returned from a very good dinner hosted by Pak Hashim, Chair of the Indonesian Heritage Trust, at a hotel about 2 minutes’ walk from the riad, and am ready for a short night’s sleep in order to catch an early flight to Marseille in the morning.
The whole COP has been an immensely stimulating experience and I am extremely grateful for all the support I have had from my two teams and Bill Turner for his unstinting efforts behind the scenes uploading blogs and podcasts

My final COP blog will be a conclusion as to what has happened at the COP and some of the outcomes

Oliver Maurice 18 Nov 2016