Photo of Dr. Jane Goodall by: JJ W.

One of the largest political conferences of the year, the UN Climate Change Conference draws various experts, political figures, media members, and other participants to discuss climate change and international efforts to combat it. The Copenhagen conference aims to achieve four main issues:

* Ambitious emission reduction targets for developed countries
* Nationally appropriate mitigation actions of developing countries
* Scaling up financial and technological support for both adaptation and mitigation
* An effective institutional framework with governance structures that address the needs of developing countries

This year Dr. Jane Goodall has put her global tour on hold to join the conference in hopes that her presence and presentations will help emphasize the importance of local communities putting in efforts to fight deforestation, a major contributor to global warming.

From her press release:

“According to Dr. Goodall, “Any agreement reached at Copenhagen should include direct funding to local communities to assist in protecting carbon-rich forests.” This support, she explained, can be achieved through the REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) financing mechanism to the benefit of both local communities and the goal of REDD to provide long-term protection of forests.

At Copenhagen, Dr. Goodall and Dr. Lilian Pintea, the Jane Goodall Institute’s director of conservation science, will demonstrate a pilot project that, with the aid of Google mobile and web-based mapping technologies, will enable local communities to provide accurate and timely forest monitoring data that is essential to meeting REDD’s goals.

The project will allow local communities in Tanzania and Uganda and indigenous Surui people in Brazil, along with their institutional partners, to exchange experiences and find ways to mutually support ongoing carbon/REDD project development efforts in these geographic areas.”

Watch this video which examines the complicated array of issues facing negotiators who specialize in REDD issues: Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries. Video courtesy of Clean Skies.

Also check out Managing Editor Julie Schwietert’s article “It’s a bad time to be an iceberg” discussing some of the effects of global warming.