Stop climate change
Paris Peace Forum
97% of climate experts agree.
We humans are causing climate crisis.
The second edition of Paris Peace Forum
In Paris Peace Forum. The Secretary General of the UN, António Guterres, had expressed a particular interest in climate change and biodiversity project from CASLab
the project of
CLIMATE CHANGE, BIODIVERSITY AND TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE
In November 2019, the Paris Peace Forum announced that the project of “Climate Change, Biodiversity and Traditional Knowledge” from CASLab stands out from more than 800 global candidate projects and becomes the showcased project of the second edition of Paris Peace Forum. The Secretary General of the UN, António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres, had expressed a particular interest in this project in Paris Peace Forum, and visited the project stand for more information.
(Letter from the Projects Manager of the Paris Peace Forum)
(Dr. Yin Lun, Miss. Zhang Xiaohan and Mr. Zachary explains the project to Mrs. Sophie Wilmes，Prime Minister of Belgium)
In addition to the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Félix Tshisekedi, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mrs. Sophie Wilmes，Prime Minister of Belgium, and Mr. Jean Pierre Raffarin, President-Former Prime Minister of France also expressed their special interest in this project and visited the project Stand. Through the explanation of the project leader Dr. Yin Lun, Miss. Zhang Xiaohan and Mr. Zachary, they learned more about the importance of preserving the biodiversity based on the traditional Knowledge in order to tackle the effects of Climate change.
This project has attracted attention
(Dr. Yin Lun, Miss. Zhang Xiaohan explains the project to Mr. Felix Tshisekedi, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
(Dr. Yin Lun explains the project to Mr. Jean Pierre Raffarin, President-Former Prime Minister of France)
Dr. Yin Lun
Dr. Yin Lun is in charge of this project. He is the director of Center for Biodiversity and Indigenous knowledge, a professor of Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences and also a Climate Reality Leader. It is worthwhile pointing out that although it is a project for Yunnan, the core members of the project team come from the countries of OBOR, like Kenya and France, so this project is also one of the achievements of nongovernmental environmental protection cooperation between China and the countries of OBOR. In 2020, the project will continue to be implemented and a Climate Action Laboratory will be established for the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.
The focus of this projet
The project focuses on the Eastern Himalayas of North-West Yunnan Province, China, which is one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, is also the home to an extraordinary cultural multiplicity among its numerous mountain ethnic minority groups. In recent years, climate change and its impacts on biodiversity have become gradually obvious in the Himalayan region. This project aims to develop a community-based biodiversity conservation plan based on the traditional ecological knowledge of local Tibetan people, in order to promotion in effectively and sustainably responding to the impacts of Climate Change on the biodiversity. This project also aims to use the best of ‘top-down’ scientific policy, relevant approaches with ‘bottom-up’ traditional ecological knowledge research to achieve its main objectives – seeking to reconcile traditional ecological knowledge with mainstream science.
(Dr. Yin Lun shows the project at the Paris Peace Forum)
(Zhang Xiaohan explained to reporters the projet)
The role of this projet
Not only will this project build the capacity of local villagers, scientists and local government to conduct climate change impact, traditional ecological knowledge and biodiversity conservation, but moreover, the data collected during this project will also help to fill an important gap of ‘white spot’ of data on the Eastern Himalayan region in IPCC and other international climate assessments.
The main objectives of this project
The main objectives of this project is for understanding and identifying the impacts of climate change on biodiversity and traditional ecological knowledge of Tibetan communities in the Eastern Himalayan mountains; and developing the community-based biodiversity conservation plan, supporting the biodiversity conservation through the traditional ecological knowledge of local Tibetan communities in the context of climate change.
At the international level, the project hopes to attract more public attention to climate change, biodiversity and traditional knowledge. Climate change is affecting the Indigenous peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) around the world. IPLCs need to work together for the conservation of biodiversity, for mutual coexistence of the IPLCs and environment. In this process, traditional knowledge can play an important role.
(Project Team members: Dr. Yin Lun, Miss. Zhang Xiaohan, Mr. Zachary and M. Li Jia)
In China, the ethnic minority groups have rich knowledge of biodiversity. Through participatory action research, the Tibetan villagers themselves will research their traditional knowledge, and the project will reveals the value and significance of biodiversity to the local society: biodiversity is not only a resource problem, but also a social phenomenon. And the impact of climate change on biodiversity resources is not only an environmental problem, but also an issue of culture. At the same time, the Tibetan villagers also feel the influence of climate change on their traditional knowledge which links with the biodiversity, some knowledge became inaccurate, some knowledge failed, but in more cases, the project will assist the villagers to use traditional knowledge to conserve the biodiversity and cope with the effects and risks of climate change, which laid the foundation for community-based biodiversity conservation plan.
The local perception and the traditional knowledge can improve understanding of the influence of climate change to biodiversity, and provide ideas to develop an equitable and effective biodiversity conservation plan to adapt the climate change. For the ethnic minority groups, compare with the externally driven adaption options, they are more willing to take the community-based biodiversity conservation plan, because such a plan will enable them to apply their traditional knowledge according to the geographical location and environment of their areas, so that their actions to adapt to climate change will more effective.
Traditional knowledge of all ethnic groups in China provides local strategies for coping with global climate change and protecting biodiversity. However, in the context of the impact of climate change, the local adaptation strategy of different regions also contains a global perspective. Traditional knowledge contains the wisdom of protecting biodiversity and coping with climate change!
The third edition of Paris Peace Forum
Zhang Xiaohan's speech at the Paris Peace Forum
Zhang Xiaohan delivered a nearly 20-minute speech at the third edition of Paris Peace Forum
Women and Covid-19: Gender-based Solutions to Improve the Governance of Health and Social Recovery of Pandemics Crisis
From November 11 to 13, 2020, CASLab participated in the third edition of Paris Peace Forum, and the project was selected as the showcase project of this Paris Peace Forum.
Miss. Zhang Xiaohan spoke on behalf of the selected project of CASLab: Women and Covid-19: Gender-based Solutions to Improve the Governance of Health and Social Recovery of Pandemics Crisis.
In 2020, the Covid-19 crisis has a huge impact on human society in the global scope. Whether developed, less developed or developing countries, cities or villages, mainstream or marginal communities, all human beings are facing a health pandemic and life threats brought by the Covid-19crisis. This crisis is not only in the field of health, but also in the social level, for example: the gender issues.
At the same time, due to social and cultural constraints, it is often difficult for women to participate in public affairs. Therefore, when the Covid-19 cause social harm, women’s access to health facilities, food and information are limited. Women’s access to rescue and medical resources, as well as participation in the decision-making process of prevention and response to Covid-19 are limited, so women are more vulnerable in the face the Covid-19 crisis.
At the same time, due to social and cultural constraints, it is often difficult for women to participate in public affairs. Therefore, when the Covid-19 cause social harm, women’s access to health facilities, food and information are limited. Women’s access to rescue and medical resources, as well as participation in the decision-making process of prevention and response to Covid-19 are limited, so women are more vulnerable in the face the Covid-19 crisis.
The main aim of the project is to address the challenges and crises brought by the Covid-19 to women worldwide, and to provide a gender-based solution for global health and environmental governance. Understanding and identifying the economic, social and moral impacts of Covid-19 on women in the three projects’ sites.
Developing the gender-based solutions to improve the social recovery in and after the Pandemics Crisis. This project will establish the forum of “Women and Earth Future”, In order to cope with the current Covid-19 crisis, as well as the longer-term global challenges and crises such as climate change and biodiversity, the project will make women’s voices heard, put forward women’s solutions and action plans, and contribute women’s knowledge, strength and wisdom.
The Specific objectives are
Identifying the key impacts of Covid-19 to the ethnic minority’s women in the Eastern Himalayas of Yunnan in China, understanding the women’s knowledge for traditional use of medical plants, encouraging women to discover the role of spiritual belief in the process of public psychological counselling to deal with and prevent diseases, to promote the mainstream of traditional medicine knowledge and culture.
Identifying the key impacts of Covid-19 to the urban women living in informal settlement areas in Kenya, understanding the gender inequality in the dissemination of the public health information and services, encouraging women to set up community-based mutual aid medical organizations and networks, to participate in disease and public health policy-making and decision-making processes, to improve livelihood security and reduce poverty caused by Covid-19.
Identifying the key impacts of Covid-19 to the Chinese women in Chinese communities of Paris in France, understanding the social and moral impact of racial and gender discrimination, encouraging women to develop an advocacy approachand publicity channels of social recovery, to strive for the equity and justice of human rights and against racial and gender discrimination.
The relevance and methodology of the solution provided is Gender-based Social Recovery Plan (GBSRP). GBSRP is an approach that enables women, women’s groups and institutions to participate in identifying and addressing Covid-19 related local social issues. It is led by the local women that empower local women for coping with Covid-19vagaries. In this system, local priorities, knowledge, needs, and capacities are key factors for making asocial recovery plan.
In three project’s sites, the project will formulate three GBSRP models
Gender Mainstream Model
This model focuses on the knowledge of traditional cultures related to disease treatment and health care.
Gender Participate Model
This model focuses on the processes of policy-making and decision-making for the dissemination of the public health information and services, and improve livelihood security and reduce poverty caused by Covid-19.
Gender Advocacy Model
This model focuses on the equity and justice of human rights and against racial and gender discrimination in the context of Covid-19.
our opinion
We believe that in addition to the current Covid-19 crisis, women are also facing threats and challenges from global crises such as climate change and biodiversity loss. So, in the next five years, the main priority of our project is to continue to carry out various gender-based action projects in three project areas, including responding to covid-19 crisis, responding to and adapting to climate change, and protecting biodiversity. At the same time, the project will set up the forum of “Women and Earth Future”, in which the three themes of “Women and Covid-19 Crisis”, “Women and Climate Change”, “Women and Biodiversity” will be set up. Based on our project practice and achievements, we invite women from the project site as well as women from other regions, stakeholders, partners, funders and media to participate in the forum. Through the above-mentioned gender-based action projects at the community level and advocacy activities of different stakeholders at the international level, the project will make women’s voices, show women’s views and opinions, propose women’s solutions to global governance.
In the Paris Peace Forum, CASLab would like to show that women are the agent force to improve the Governance of Health and Social Recovery, the gender-based solutions can lead the way in the field of climate change and biodiversity beyond the pandemic. So, let’s work together and to make Our Mother Earth Great Again!