equity

Traditional Construction – Roof Tile Crests in Himeji Castle, Japan

2014-11-11:  Traditional Building Construction Practices have a meaning and value within the Heritage of every Living Culture

Himeji Castle, Japan
Colour photograph showing Himeji Castle, in Japan.  Photograph taken by CJ Walsh.  2010-04-21.

‘ We consider that in the face of mounting challenges such as population growth, urbanization, environmental degradation, disasters, climate change, increasing inequalities and persisting poverty, there is an urgent need for new approaches, to be defined and measured in a way which accounts for the broader picture of human progress and which emphasize harmony among peoples and between humans and nature, equity, dignity, social wellbeing and sustainability.’

Preamble, UNESCO 2013 Hangzhou Declaration

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Himeji Castle, Japan - Roof Crest Tile Information Panel
Colour photograph showing an Information Panel about the Roof Crest Tiles used in the original building and more recent repair works to Himeji Castle, Japan.  Photograph taken by CJ Walsh.  2010-04-21.

‘ We reaffirm that heritage should be considered to be a fundamental enabler of sustainability, being a source of meaning and energy, a wellspring of creativity and innovation, and a resource to address challenges and find appropriate solutions.  The extraordinary power of heritage to foster and enable truly sustainable development is especially evident when a person-centred and place-based approach is integrated into development programmes and peace-building initiatives.’

Preamble, UNESCO 2013 Hangzhou Declaration

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Himeji Castle, Japan - Display of Roof Crest Tile Samples
Colour photograph showing Samples of the Roof Crest Tiles used in Himeji Castle, Japan. Photograph taken by CJ Walsh. 2010-04-21.

” We recognize that one size does not fit all and that different cultural perspectives will result in different paths to development.  At the same time, we embrace an understanding of heritage that is open, evolving and strongly framed within a rights-based approach and the respect for diversity, the free access to which enables all individuals ‘to live and be what they choose’, thus enhancing their opportunities and human capabilities while promoting mutual understanding and exchange among peoples.”

Preamble, UNESCO 2013 Hangzhou Declaration

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Himeji Castle, Japan - Roof Detail
Colour photograph showing a Roof Detail and how the Crest Tiles are used in Himeji Castle, Japan.  Photograph taken by CJ Walsh.  2010-04-21.

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FCCC COP-15: Historical Responsibility & Poverty Reduction ?

2009-12-16:  ‘Chaotic’ is not the only word to describe what is happening right now in Copenhagen !   A few additional parliamentary expletives are required.  Is it just me … or is it obvious to everyone … that the Danes could not organize an orgy at an International Golf Tournament ?

What the world urgently needed was an ambitious, legally binding agreement … a Kyoto II Protocol, for want of a better title … to slot into place when the 1st Commitment Period ends in 2012.  What we may end up with is an ambiguous ‘political’ agreement … which will be worth approximately 1 cent more than the paper on which it will be scrawled.

There is something definitely rotten in the State of Denmark !   Multiple drafts of the same working document circulating at the same time … backroom meetings away from public scrutiny … greedy developed countries trying to avoid responsibility and action … strutting, self-important NGO’s thinking that they know all the answers … etc., etc … kill any confidence in the process stone dead.  These are not the ways of Sustainable Social Partnership.

However … at a far distance from the hustle and bustle … it can be observed that Interesting Side Events are taking place … and Thought Provoking Reports are being presented … before, during and after the main gatherings between the 7th and 18th December 2009:

  • 15th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP-15) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) ;
  • 5th Meeting of the Parties (MOP-5) to the Kyoto Protocol.

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African Countries are not the only Group having difficulty with what is/is not happening in Copenhagen …

Two recent Discussion Papers from The Energy & Resources Institute (TERI), in India, are worth bringing to your attention.  Both raise issues which are not very popular in this part of the world.  And … it so happens that Dr. Rajendra K Pachauri – Director-General of TERI … is also Chairman of the WMO-UNEP Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) !

  1. Right to Sustainable Development: An Ethical Approach to Climate Change (December 2009), by Leena Srivastava, Neha Pahuja, Manish Shrivastava & Prabhat Upadhyay.  PDF File, 228 Kb.  Click link to read and/or download.  Discusses ideas such as: ‘equity’, ‘fairness’, ‘historical responsibility’ (of UNFCCC Annex I Countries), ‘climate justice’, etc.
  2. Linking Climate Action & Poverty Alleviation – An Approach to Informed Decision-Making (December 2009), by Atul Kumar.  PDF File, 488 Kb.  Click link to read and/or download.

Notes:

To gain worldwide acceptance – across developed, developing and least developed regions of the world – and to have a reasonable chance of reliable implementation in those disparate regions … mitigation of, and adaptation to, climate change, including variability and extremes, must be fully compatible with the concept of Sustainable Human & Social Development.  This is clearly elaborated in both the 1992 UNFCCC and the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.

To be clear among ourselves on this island … Ireland is specifically named (without any qualification), among other Developed Countries … in Annex I and Annex II of the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) … and in Annex B of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which is legally binding.  The European Union is not mentioned, at all, in either document.

It is of concern to note that although India ratified the 2006 United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in October 2007 – TERI (India) has very recently placed a Document (No.1 above) in the public domain, at Copenhagen, which actively forbids content extraction by people with activity limitations for the purposes of equitable accessibility !   Joined-up thinking !?!?

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