Driving along the buffer zone, a military no-go area that extends along the entire perimeter of Gaza and borders Israel, is an eerie experience. A long, horizontal brownish strip of earth runs along the Wall that separates the Gaza Strip from Israel. The desolate landscape is only dotted with the ruins of destroyed buildings, while a large, silver observation balloon, fully equipped with video cameras by the Israeli army, floats slowly by in the sky. What used to be a green, fertile area of rich farming and grazing land has turned into a deserted place where no one dares to go and cultivate. Gazan farmers are now forbidden to enter the zone by the Israeli army.

A destroyed building lies in the buffer zone in plain sight of an Israeli watchtower. [Photo credit: Catherine Weibel]

“Many people in Gaza consider the rule to be ‘if I can see you, I will shoot you”‘, a local aid worker recently said. 

The Oslo Accords* allowed the Israeli army to maintain a security perimeter between Israel and Gaza. This buffer zone soon turned into an area which was effectively off-limits to Palestinians that the Israeli authorities expanded unilaterally after the second Intifada in 2000.

Diab Tarabin, here with one of his sons, says this water cistern was destroyed by the Israeli army during Operation Cast Lead. [Photo credit: Catherine Weibel]

“When you see this deserted stretch of land, it is hard to believe that until 2000, farmers felt safe enough to grow high plants over the fence separating Gaza from Israel”, said Ahmed Sourani, the Director of Projects and Cooperation for the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committee (PARC) in Gaza, an Oxfam partner. “The whole area used to be green and intensively cultivated. Now most of the land has turned brownish and is deserted, as farmers are too scared to go.” 

According to PARC and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), between a quarter and a third of Gaza’s agricultural lands lie within the confines of the buffer zone. Many Gazan farmers can no longer access their own land safely and as a consequence have lost their livelihood.

“The Gaza Strip was already a small territory which has been further reduced by the buffer zone, Sourani added. Hundreds of families can no longer access their land”.

Since the buffer zone expanded and turned into a no-go area, Gaza’s agricultural sector has suffered immensely. The most fertile lands and many water wells are located within the zone, which used to be known as the ‘food basket’ of the Gaza Strip. Many farms with livestock were also located in this area which offered available space, cheap land and good grazing lands. 

“The inside of the Gaza Strip is progressively turning into one big, densely-populated urban zone, Sourani continued. “This is why the areas located along the borders are vital to our food security”.

He described how frustrated farmers have become. ”They can see the land on which they used to work. They know it is key to supporting their family. Yet they cannot reach it anymore as they would run the risk of being killed”.

Diab Tarabin, a 50-year old Bedouin and head of a 16-member family, is one of these farmers. He can no longer access his land, even though he and his family poured their sweat into cultivating it for years.

“I used to have 150 olive trees and 25 date-palm trees, and good, fertile land in what is now marked by the Israeli authorities as the buffer zone,” he told me. “I can no longer access my land, and my trees were uprooted by bulldozers of the Israeli Army during Operation Cast Lead. I can no longer live in my house as the Israeli army thought it was too close to the buffer zone and razed it to the ground. Even our water cistern was destroyed.”

All that Tarabin and his family have left are a few goats and some chickens, and they grow a few vegetables.

“I used to have a good income, but now I rely on food aid to feed my family and I cannot afford to buy clothes for my children anymore.” 

A tent offered by an NGO shelters a family. [Photo credit: Catherine Weibel]

“There is no treatment available for her in the Gaza Strip, but so far we have not been able to send her outside, her father tells me. Our hope is only from and for God”. 

A young Bedouin boy stands in front of a flattened concrete building in the village of Juhor ad-Dik. [Photo credit: Catherine Weibel]

Oxfam is currently supporting a relief programme in the area, implemented by PARC, Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) and Ma’an Development Centre, that includes the rehabilitation of destroyed wells, greenhouses and orchards. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization recently reported that Gaza’s battered agricultural sector had the capacity to recover if there were access to the buffer zone, rehabilitation of its agricultural assets and full opening of Gaza’s commercial crossings.

Standing atop the hill that overlooks the Gaza Strip, PARC’s Ahmed Sourani insists that Gazan farmers need to be able to cultivate their lands in the buffer zone.

“Gazans must be allowed to redevelop intensive agriculture within the buffer zone. They don’t want to rely on humanitarian aid, they want to work on their land.”

* Annex I of the 1995 Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreements

More on Gaza humanitarian crisis

Just yesterday, Greg Clark, Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, was answering questions on the Guardian Environment blog at almost the exact time that David Cameron was on mumsnet.

I’m not a member of mumsnet so couldn’t get on to ask a question, but I did manage to post a question directly to Greg Clark. What surprised me was that there were only a few of us that bothered to post something, which meant that Greg Clark actually saw my question. You can’t say that about every means of communication can you?

We know that MPs get tons of correspondence from their constituents and ministers and shadow ministers even more so. They have staff that respond to letters and emails and you never know what their staff will choose to highlight to them. So if you can’t get out to an event to ask your questions in person, why not take advantage of the online world to do it for you?

Will’s already talked at length about using twitter, which is a great way to follow your MP and prospective parliamentary candidates. I would suggest you also look at live webchats, party websites and your local politicians’ websites and start typing.

President Obama’s announcement this week that a binding global deal isn’t realistic at December’s Copenhagen climate change talks felt like a real blow. I was on my way to South Shields, Foreign Secretary David Miliband MP’s constituency, when I read the story. The Age of Stupid movie was being screened at the Customs House in Shields and I was on the discussion panel. A movie concerned with our near extinction from climate catastrophe on the same day that politics drags its feet toward a solution. What feels frustrating is that we’re only days from the Conference and yet it already feels like we’ve heard the outcome.

Of course this is politics and Obama is one of a handful of leaders saying the same thing. Perhaps we are better off knowing now that there won’t be a deal in 2009 before our expectations get raised. We dared to raise our hopes about talks in Indonesia and Poland and then…nothing. So surely a heads-up to prepare us for the long game is in our advantage?

But The Wave – the UK’s biggest climate demo on December 5 in London – is meant to send a strong message to UK leaders that they must return from Copenhagen with a fair deal in hand. So what will it mean now? Well, the same I guess, they just can’t return with it until sometime in 2010. We still need to show leaders that our ‘vote’ counts and The Wave is a good chance to do that. But we must also realise that we’re playing politics on the biggest issue the world has faced.

Most people don’t think of her annual pilgrimage to open parliament for a truly British ceremony. It starts with the Yeoman searching the basement to make sure Guy Fawkes isn’t there, guards stand round with shiny swords and the Queen holds someone hostage at her palace. You couldn’t make it up.

It’s a brilliantly British scene of first class pomp and ceremony. I recognise that maybe it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. However, that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth paying attention to. In this year’s speech were a couple of potential nuggets that had Bono and Bob Geldoff swooning.

Those particular nuggets were on aid and climate change. The government has introduced draft legislation to make it legally binding that the UK reaches its commitment to give 0.7% of Gross Domestic Product (what we make) in international aid.

Fantastic - well nearly… Draft legislation means that it is very unlikely to become law before the next election. This makes it very different from announcing a new full bill. We hope that all parties will commit to making it a law and we want them to do so before an election. Forgive us if we don’t start celebrating just yet! However, Oxfam campaigners efforts are making in roads and this does give us something to build upon.

There was also a couple of lines in there about climate change “My government will seek effective global and European collaboration through the G20 and the European Union to sustain economic recovery and to combat climate change, including at the Copenhagen summit next month.”

We are hopeful for a positive result at Copenhagen, but we will wait and see before the praise begins.

After all, not all that glitters is gold.

The photographs are a selection taken by Helena while travelling to her mother’s native country with Oxfam earlier this year. During the trip she saw people suffering from food and water scarcity in the face of rising temperatures, changing seasons and melting glaciers.

The exhibition, Meltdown, is at Proud Gallery, Charing Cross, from 19-29 November. It is timed just two weeks before The Wave demonstration, on December 5 in London and Glasgow. Thousands of people wearing blue will be calling for Gordon Brown to push for a fair and safe climate deal at the UN climate negotiations starting two days later.

Helena said: “For so many of us, climate change is a distant idea belonging in the future but for millions of people in developing countries, it is a devastating reality.

“We can begin to change this by demanding that world leaders meeting in Copenhagen move towards cutting emissions and providing funding so that poor communities can protect themselves from climate change. By coming together at The Wave thousands of voices can be one loud clamour for urgent action at Copenhagen for the sake of generations to come.”

The photographs premiered at the United Nations in New York when the UN General Assembly met in September and are on a global tour heading to Copenhagen for the UN climate negotiations next month.

Helena added: “The power lies in the hands of world leaders, and I realise that the drastic steps they must take in order to lower the carbon dioxide emissions won’t be an easy task. But it needs to be done - there is really no way around it anymore.

“I am looking forward with anticipation and baited breath to the conference in Copenhagen. We, as a people, want to see some dramatic changes. A suitable Danish saying goes along the lines of, ‘every tiny stream put together creates one big river’.  We all know that it will take time and cost a hell of a lot of money to change the world’s priorities but we know it’s possible.”

Oxfam Chief Executive Barbara Stocking said: “Helena’s photographs show how climate change is already taking hold in Peru, as is the case in poor countries around the world. But it is not too late. I hope this exhibition will encourage people to take part in The Wave and demand nothing less than a climate deal that will protect us all from climate change.”

Ever heard of Jamie Hewlett? Possibly not, but you’ve probably heard about Gorillaz and that ever so cool 1990s comic strip Tank Girl. Jamie is the artist that created her and some of his new work will be exhibited next week in Birmingham at the Art Lounge in the Mailbox.

‘Under Water Colours’ is a sensitive and thought-provoking collection of nine watercolours created by Hewlett following a trip he made with Oxfam to Char Atra in Bangladesh earlier this year. On the trip Hewlett met people trying to raise their homes above the higher flood levels, parents who had lost children to the floods and children who swim to school with their books on their heads, determined not to allow the floods prevent them from getting an education.

Drawings by some of the children Jamie met showing what climate change means to them will also be on display at the exhibition, along with photographs and stories collected in Bangladesh by Oxfam.

We will be having a private viewing at the Art Lounge on Tuesday, 24th November from 6.30pm to 8.30pm. Come along, have a drink and a nibble and be inspired. RSVP is essential due to limited space, so please contact Richard Fern on rfern@oxfam.org.uk.

You can even buy the amazing limited edition prints of Jamie’s paintings to support our River Basin programme, which operates in Char Atra and more widely in Bangladesh and Nepal. They are available priced £100 at www.oxfam.org.uk/jamiehewlett.

 60 Climate Change enthused students from both Liverpool and Manchester are coming with us, and over the last few weeks we have had to make some hard choices and sift through applications. Would’ve loved to have taken everyone who applied but spaces were limited and so we looked for passion about the cause to shine through:

 “The trip to the UN Summit in Copenhagen is an unmissable chance to witness a mass environmental justice movement in action.”

 “It falls to us to hold our leaders to account, to be active in our communities, to be active in Copenhagen, making our voice heard…”

            “For me, it isn’t just about the future, it’s about right now.”

We’re well chuffed with the final group of salient, smart and lovely guys and gals from Liverpool Uni – who, naturally, will be more adept at hitching than those Manchester types too…bring it on!

Also, we recently met with Chris Davies, MEP for the North West, and Environment and Public Health spokesman for Liberals and Democrats across Europe in the European Parliament. He’s a man with a voice to the powerful in the EU, our representatives in Copenhagen negotiations.

Climate Chargers have adopted him as such, to support him in his work tackling Climate Change. We wrote him specially designed postcards to help him feel the love.

Here’s a little video of our meeting, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyjroAzwzew

 and ALSO, check us out contributing to the giant Wave, http://www.the-wave.org.uk/with/280/

It’s not easy to teach a grown man with significant political clout the concept of a Mexican wave but someone’s got to do it. It’s all in the hips Chris.

 At the moment, the thought of this hitchhike, it’s wondrous possibilities for adventure, and the opportunity to raise my voice and stamp my feet at a history making moment is a ray of light through dark days of essays and dissertation writing. Activism is where it’s at people; this is how we shape our world. I for one cannot wait.

 Sponsor our mighty endeavour at http://www.justgiving.com/climatecharge

 All money goes towards climate adaptation projects in Bangladesh and Nepal.

Last week, together with the BBC, I returned to Char Atra, a river island in southern Bangladesh, to see how this community had coped with an unusual monsoon this year.

It’s difficult for the people here to know what to expect as climate change hits their community hard and in different ways. Some years they are forced to cope with unpredictable high floods that wash away their land and homes, and then this year there was no rain at all.

Nargis Begum and her new son [Photo credit: Cate Heinrich]

It was not good news for everyone. The extreme weather conditions bring incredible hardship to the local fishermen and farmers. They have struggled this year with hardly any fish in the river and not enough water to harvest the jute or rice crops.

Oxfam is working with the people of Char Atra to adapt to climate change and find alternative livelihoods. On the day I visited, about 300 women received vegetable seeds in a distribution organised by SDS, Oxfam’s partner organisation.

And whenever the BBC’s Mark Dummett asked women about why they were rearing ducks - another livelihood option provided by SDS - rather than chickens, the response was immediate: “Because they can swim in the floods.”

Sunset over the water at Char Atra [Photo credit: Cate Heinrich]

Char Atra is just one small community in Bangladesh. It represents the thousands of villages coping with a changing environment. And, importantly, the 20 million more people in Bangladesh who will be drastically affected in the future by climate change, unless governments choose to act now.

Get involved: Climate change

Watch BBC news from Char Atra

More on BBC’s visit to the island

You can help: Donate now

Kirsty Hughes, Oxfam head of advocacy, said: “I welcome the Government’s pledge to make it a legal requirement for Britain to deliver on its aid promises but it is disappointing that it has not found time for a full Bill ahead of the general election.

“Committing future governments to keeping Britain’s word to poor people is something all parties should support and Oxfam urges them to work together to ensure this Bill reaches the statute book before the election.”

Further information: Jon Slater 01865 472249/ 07876 476403

Issues we work on: Debt and aid

Push getting ready to set off on his 280 mile walk to Copenhagen

And why is he doing this? Here is what he said to me:

“I’ve been a campaigner with Oxfam for 26 years. I began working on the climate campaign 3 years ago and I have been drawn into many interesting discussions and debates about what action people at many different levels can take to bring about the change we need.

It dawned on me that while much of my role is to support, enable and facilitate others as a climate change campaigner working all over the world, I do need to regenerate my own belief and ideas through personal participation.

So, for the last few months I have been mulling over some kind of direct action that I can take to support Oxfam’s, and the world’s, aims and hopes for the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December.”

I don’t think everyone is as crazy - I mean committed - as Push but it just shows what you can do when you put your mind to it. I hope our leaders are listening to that message. Today he’ll be arriving in Bovingdon, just over 250 miles to go!

If you feel inspired and wonder what you can do to play your part, I’ll let him have the last word:

“Wish me luck and don’t forget to wear blue on 5 December, and if you can, try and take part in ‘The Wave’ London and Glasgow - if you’re not walking along with me, that is!”

Follow Push’s journey on his website GoPushGo

Wednesday 18 November 2009

Seventy per cent of Afghans surveyed see poverty and unemployment as the major cause of the conflict in their country, according to new research by international aid agency Oxfam and a group of Afghan organisations. Ordinary Afghans blame government weakness and corruption as the second most important factor behind the fighting, with the Taliban coming third, followed by interference by neighbouring countries.

The research is contained in Oxfam’s new joint report, “The Cost of War“, which paints a grim picture of a country brought to its knees by 30 years of fighting. The survey of 704 Afghans from across the country reveals:

• one in six Afghans are currently considering leaving Afghanistan
• one in five Afghans have been tortured since the wars began in 1979
• three quarters of Afghans have been forced to leave their homes since then

Barbara Stocking, Oxfam chief executive, said:

“The people of Afghanistan have suffered 30 years of unrelenting horror. In that time millions have been killed and millions more have fled their homes. Those who have committed the most terrible abuses have enjoyed impunity rather than faced justice. Afghan society has been devastated.

“Repairing this damage can’t be done overnight. It will take a long time for the economic, social and psychological scars to heal. The international community has to recognise this, and to understand that Afghanistan needs more than military solutions. It needs support for agriculture, better infrastructure and schools and health services must improve.

“Ordinary Afghans want peace and an end to conflict, and they want to see the root causes of fighting dealt with. Poverty is driving the conflict. One man told us: ‘If people are jobless they are capable of anything.’ The international community must bear his words in mind and provide more effective aid to help kick-start the Afghan economy.”

Looking over the 30 years of conflict since the Soviets invaded in 1979, one in ten people questioned had been imprisoned at least once. One in five (21%) were tortured, either in jail or by the various armed groups. A third of those tortured were women. Just 1% reported receiving any form of compensation or apology for the harm done to them.

Azim Mohammad from Nangarhar said: “What do you think the effect that two million Afghans martyred, seventy per cent of Afghanistan destroyed and our economy eliminated has had on us? Half our people have been driven mad. A man who is thirty or forty years old looks like he is seventy. We always live in fear. We are not secure anywhere in Afghanistan.”

There was a widespread feeling amongst all the participants that poverty, corruption, injustice and civilian suffering have fuelled the spread of insecurity.

As part of the research, Afghans were asked to give their suggestions to the politicians, military forces, insurgent groups and the international community. They wanted the establishment of the rule of law at all levels, a crackdown on corruption and an end to the culture of impunity.

Many thought foreign aid from governments does not currently reach the people who need it most, and wanted to see this money improve health and education services and help create jobs.

There was a strong sense that both sides on the conflict must prioritise the safety of Afghan civilians. There have been 2,021 civilian casualties up until October this year.

Stocking said: “The Afghans’ desire that their safety should be paramount means that all sides must stop targeting civilians.

“The international forces should tighten their restrictions on air strikes and night raids. They must transparently investigate all allegations of harm to civilians and provide appropriate forms of redress.

“Afghans surveyed also felt that the Taliban and other insurgents should immediately stop targeting civilians and stop taking refuge in civilian areas, which puts normal Afghans on the front lines of the conflict.”

/ends

For more information contact:

In Kabul:

Ashley Jackson, Oxfam International, ajackson@oxfam.org.uk, +93 700 278 657

Ahmad Fawad, Sanayee Development Organization (SDO), sanayee@gmail.com, +93 774 662 266

In the UK:

Sean Kenny, skenny@oxfam.orgl.uk, +44 7766 443 506

Notes to editors.

1. This research was jointly designed and/or carried out by the following organizations: Afghan Civil Society Forum (ACSF), Afghan Peace and Democracy Act (APDA), Association for the Defence of Women’s Rights (ADWR), Cooperation Centre for Afghanistan (CCA), Education Training Center for Poor Women and Girls of Afghanistan (ECW), Oxfam GB, Organization for Human Welfare (OHW), Sanayee Development Organization (SDO) and The Liaison Office (TLO). Ashley Jackson of Oxfam International is the author.

2. Research was conducted in 14 provinces across Afghanistan from January to April 2009 with 704 randomly selected men and women. The research consisted of structured interviews and group discussions. The provinces were chosen from across the country: four in the north, three in the east, two in the south, one in the west and four in the centre. Most of the research sites were not experiencing active conflict when the research was conducted, although this has now changed due to the rapid deterioration in security.

3. The majority of researchers were Afghans and from the same province being surveyed when possible.

4. 48% of the respondents were female, 52% were male. The average age was 33.5 years old, with ages for the respondents ranging from 12 to 87.

1. Afghan names used for quotes have been changed to protect their identities.
2. When surveyed over the drivers of conflict:

• 70% blamed poverty and unemployment
• 48% blamed corruption and ineffectiveness of the Afghan government
• 36% blamed the Taliban
• 25% blamed other countries, particularly neighbouring Pakistan and Iran

 I haven’t learnt how to drive, so I reckoned that aspect of my emissions would be ay-okay.  It was when I found myself asking for a lift, and my dad challenged me with an “aren’t you doing the Here & Now Challenge?”, that I remembered: it doesn’t matter who’s at the wheel, if you being too lazy to walk is contributing to climate change, it’s you that has to make the change.  So, in spite of the nasty November nip in the air, I donned about eighteen jumpers and a handful of scarves, and made my way out for the long walk across Newcastle.

 Actually, the walk was pretty painless, and I felt quite exhilarated.   So here’s resolution number one of my Here & Now challenge: the “lift” word is banned.

 Who doesn’t love the radio?  When there’s coursework to be done, or emails to be checked, often I’ll tune into Chris Evans or the like, and listen to the wireless as I work.  But then came resolution number two: one appliance at a time.

 Don’t worry, though, my ears are still delighted as I busy myself.  You can access any BBC radio station - or TV channel - on the Internet, thereby cutting your carbon footprint but not missing out on your favourite shows.  I couldn’t be more delighted.

 I still use a stand-alone radio when I’m in the shower, however, and as I was hastily rinsing off, so as to cut down my water usage (see, always thinking!), Cheryl Cole’s voice sunk to a barely audible whisper.  Aghast, as soon as I was fully clothed, I went straight to the Co-op to buy some new batteries.

 The old me would have instinctively gone for the cheapest option, which would admittedly have suited me in the short to medium term.  But then I considered the allure of those appropriately green-packaged rechargeable batteries.  They’ll save me money after about one charge, and they’re much less wasteful, I realised.  So to the counter I trotted, and gleefully made my purchase.

 Then it came to disposing of my defunct old batteries.  They had served me so well over the last few months, and powered so many hours of joyous entertainment.  So I consulted my local authority’s guide to recycling.  Sure enough, you can send those bad boys on their way, and they’ll be turned into mittens or fairy cakes or some other lovely product for us to enjoy at a later date.

So resolution three of my Here & Now challenge is: phase out my old batteries by recycling, and keep replacing them with rechargeables.

More little steps to a greener planet next week, as the Here & Now challenge continues!

The Climate Challenge features top celebrities, including Gael Garcia Bernal (Amores Perros, Motorcycle Diaries), Mackenzie Crook (Brothers Grimm, The Office UK, Pirates of the Caribbean), David Tennant (Dr Who, Harry Potter) and Ashley Jensen (Ugly Betty, Extras) who answer climate questions under the control of the online player. The game is available to play at www.theclimatechallenge.org.

The game is designed to raise public awareness about climate change and what can be done to tackle it. It is being launched ahead of the UN climate negotiations in Copenhagen next month, where Oxfam is campaigning for a global deal that will protect the millions of poor people already affected and the generations to come.

Mackenzie Crook said: “The climate challenge is a fun and interactive way to understand more about what we’re doing to our planet. There is a serious message behind this that we must put pressure on our leaders to agree an ambitious climate deal in Copenhagen.”

As well as testing their own knowledge, players will be able to challenge and compete with their friends through Facebook. At the end of each game, players will also have the chance to take action on climate change by adding their name to a global petition demanding a fair and strong climate deal at the end of the year.

Other celebrity supporters include the actress Miranda Richardson (Harry Potter, The Hours) and musicians Amadou and Mariam, Jon Foreman (Switchfoot) and Mike Bonano (Yes Men). The game was created by Monterosa Formats.

Oxfam hopes the game will encourage people to march at The Wave in London and Glasgow on December 5 to demand that the UK government push for a deal that will help poor people protect themselves from climate change and stop dangerous temperature rises.    

Gael Garcia Bernal said: “Did you know how much energy you save by putting on a sweater and turning your thermostat down by just two degrees?  Now is your chance to find out by playing Oxfam’s climate challenge www.theclimatechallenge.org”

Nicky Wimble, Oxfam’s Creative Communications Strategist said: “Audience research shows that people care about climate change but don’t really understand what’s at stake for our planet. Oxfam hopes that millions of people play this game, learn some shocking but realistic facts about climate change and become fired up to do something about it - both personally and by lobbying their governments.”

I thought I’d blog about how my challenge is going so far. I did think that it might be really difficult, but I found out that there are so many ways of reducing my carbon footprint, with very little effort or change in lifestyle.

Charging before work, not overnight

After coming home from a Halloween party my phone was low on battery. Instead of leaving it on charge overnight, I put it on for a few hours the next morning. From 7, when I woke up, until 9 when I left for work, it was fully charged. Leaving a plug in overnight wastes loads of energy, so I’ve endeavoured to take any unused plugs out and turn them off; my Nokia phone even reminds you of this fact when the battery is full!

This next thing I’ve done is something that we could all do in our homes, schools, or like me at their places

Getting work to recycle too.

Monday morning arrived, and my first day at college whilst doing the challenge was upon me. It was freezing cold, dark and generally quite gloomy looking outside, so I thought a nice hot shower would wake me up a little. Some cynics out there think that ‘being green’ may perhaps mean getting rid of some of these luxuries we have in Britain, such as so much hot water.  What I’ve started doing is something I think we could all do… sing in the shower! A 10 minute shower uses about 18 gallons of water… a 4 minute shower however used about 8 gallons of water. What I now do, is play whatever song I feel like listening to, on my phone on loudspeaker, and aim to turn my shower off by the time the song is finished. This saves so much water… it’s a fun and easy way to regulate your consumption..if I did this everyday for a week… that’s 70 gallons of hot water saved, not to mention on my parents’ water bill too.

Next on my to do list was Breakfast. My sister went to make a cup of tea for herself… but I stopped her. She was going to do something that millions of people probably to everyday. Fill it only half way, and make one, JUST for herself.  I encouraged her to be friendly, fill the kettle up, for enough hot water for everyone, and making cups of tea all around for everyone! Not only does this save me the bother of boiling it half an hour later, but it keeps the parents happy and saves energy. The kettle only gets boiled once, instead of twice that morning, cheering people up as you go!

Pedal power

Next was my journey to college. Should I drive? Should I walk? Go by bus? How about cycling! I thought as it was the Here & Now challenge I’d get out my shiny red bike I haven’t used for ages. Everyone learnt to cycle when we were little. It’s just that so few of us ACTUALLY use that skill we posses. It’s fun, especially in the summer, and even in the winter as long as you wrap up it’s a lot quicker than walking. From the photo of my bike locked up it seems like lots of other students at my college have the same idea.

Later in the week, I went grocery shopping. This challenge has really made me think about how green I think I am, when I’m actually not. Thinking carefully about what we buy is something we can all do, and maybe if we make ‘ungreen’ products unpopular, it might make supermarkets change their minds too. For example, in the Co-Op, I could buy local ‘Shropshire Apples’ for £1.59 per kilo, or ‘Braeburn Apples’ all the way from New Zealand for £1.49 per kilo. 10p more expensive, but carrying a lot less food miles, I went with apples farmed around 20 miles from my house. Often you might find them locally to be even cheaper, and it’s quite nice to support local food. If your fruit can’t be grown in Britain, such as bananas, how about making sure you get the fair-trade brand instead.

Another thing we can all do is not use plastic bags! Often they’re unnecessary. I now always decline a bag if it’s offered and I only have a few items, or make sure I have a cotton bag with me, ready to use.

So, that was my first week of the challenge. These are just a few things that I’ve been doing to reduce my footprint in my first week on the challenge. I hope I’ve inspired anybody reading this to take some action, with me, and try some of things I’ve suggested to stop climate change, here and now.

For the past few months, we’ve been beavering away, working on a project with some famous campaigners, celebrities and well-known bloggers.

Well, we’re proud to say that it’s now time to ditch the old name and officially launch (under its proper name) The Climate Challenge – our brand-new, interactive quiz about climate change.

The idea is a straightforward one.  You log on, and – with some celebrity assistance from the likes of David Tennant, Miranda Richardson and Gael Garcia Bernal – navigate your way through six different sets of questions.

The Challenge is crammed full of interesting facts and statistics.  A couple of notable ones that I picked up when I played are that ‘China builds an average of 12 wind turbines every day’, and the rather terrifying fact that ‘230 million people already suffer illness because of the effects of climate change’ (with the causes being things like prolonged flooding and rises in sea levels).

Try your luck and play the game here.  And, when you’ve had a go, use the Facebook link that’s embedded into the game to challenge your friends to try and beat your score.

(A special thanks to all the team at Monterosa Productions and Everybody’s Content for their technological wizardry and tireless work on the development of the game.  And also to Adobe, who have funded the mobile version of the quiz).

I’m really excited about going – despite the mammoth train journey there and back!! I have been campaigning with Oxfam for several years, and more recently have become co-ordinator of the local group in Bath where I now live. We’re a small group of volunteers who organise events such as film showings & music gigs to support Oxfam’s campaigns. We’ve also set up a few quirky media stunts like teaching the Bath Rugby team to knit!

Although all of this is great fun, it’s not the main reason I get involved. I feel incredibly lucky to live in such a beautiful city as Bath. As well as wandering past stunning views and world heritage architecture every day, I know I have many privileges that we take for granted. Things like a roof over my head; food in my cupboard; free healthcare. I could go on! I feel passionately that everyone should be entitled to these things, and yet so many millions don’t have them. But I also think there is something we can do to change this if we all work together. Oxfam proves this by challenging injustice with its campaigning & offering practical support to help people lift themselves out of poverty. I’m proud to be a part of this work!

And hopefully in Copenhagen I can continue this and add to the voices of many, not just Oxfam, calling for a safe and fair deal. Climate change is affecting the poorest in the world right now, and unless we do something fast, millions of people could needlessly be pushed further into poverty. And what’s worse is that they bear so little responsibility for causing climate change – they suffer most yet emit very little carbon. That’s just unfair!!!

Some people do ask why bother travelling all the way across Europe just for a weekend? Well, because I think we can get a climate deal, but only if we continue to push right to the end and show the devastating impact for all of us if they fail to reach agreement. Being a visible presence in the city for the talks is an important part of this. And because I think a climate deal can be a success in halting the rise of CO2 and global temperatures. And finally, because I can! I have the resources, the time and the ability - which so many people affected by climate change don’t have. So I want to stand up for them and say enough is enough. We need to do something - Here & Now!

After eight weeks of living out of a bag, three countries, sixteen beds, twelve flights, uncountable long drives over rough terrain and meeting, what must be, hundreds of people, I’m looking forward to seeing my home again… just two more weeks. Today I met people who have been away 11 years, others longer, and they are just returning home. Some still remain in camps.

Kitgum was at the centre of some particularly horrific conflict for around 20 years due to the activities of the notorious Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). The majority of casualties were civilians - men, women and children.

In the past children like Geoffrey and Richard would have been kidnapped by the LRA. [Photo credit: Jane Beesley]

It takes great courage to return home. But as Obwona Churchill says so softly, it’s almost a whisper, “…now I feel really free…” Having returned home in July 2007 he’s trying to rebuild his and his family’s life. Not only is he responsible for his immediate family but also for three younger brothers, who he’s supporting through school.

Like many people in and around Kitgum I find that Obwona’s expectations are not huge. Besides security, people want to restart their livelihoods, predominately farming, have access to markets, safe water and education. Some of the biggest challenges facing people are having the tools and seeds to cultivate, reclaiming land, accessing markets, education, safe water and sanitation (Hepatitis E has been common is some areas).

Obwona Churchill working on road construction. [Photo credit: Jane Beesley]

Obwona Churchill is currently working on road construction (pictured) funded through Oxfam Cash for Work programme. He tells me that it’s not just the money he’s benefiting from but that the road itself should bring economic development to the village.

Elizabeth (second from right) and Paul, with neighbours and relatives, and Lincoln. [Photo credit: Jane Beesley]

With their dog, Lincoln, who is partial to digging up and eating groundnuts, we walk the long distance to their ‘garden’ and inspect the crop - an astonishing amount of work for two people. On the way back we meet Kapeta, an Oxfam Unwrapped-funded goat, and a very happy Billy goat with twenty Oxfam Unwrapped female goats for company.

Everyone we meet is working hard to re-establish themselves, and many are trying out new initiatives like water harvesting - the collection of rainwater from roofs, though still waiting for a good downpour of rain to fill the tanks.

Kapeta, an Oxfam Unwrapped-funded goat [Photo credit: Jane Beesley]

Soon I’ll be returning home and it will be Christmas, and people’s expectations will be particularly high. The difference between here and home feels further apart than the thousands of miles.

Find out more: East Africa Food Crisis

Christmas presents that count: Oxfam Unwrapped

With all this loitering in the back of my mind as I deliberated further ways to get more people talking about climate change and Copenhagen, I began to think about my own race to Copenhagen and realised I could do exactly that- complete a sponsored race to raise funds and awareness of the Copenhagen talks!

Now exercise for me has always been a bit of a bore-a kind of necessity I have undertaken to stave off morbid obesity and type two diabetes. So deciding to run for 10km was a little bit of a challenge to me, purposely chosen to lure me away from my comfort zone.

After deciding to complete a run I joined up to the Runner’s World website and was soon aware of the numerous amounts of runs that take place around me every week. After perusing the list I opted for a 10km run around a nearby park, and perhaps a little too optimistically signed up for one a mere two weeks in the future.

For the next two weeks, all I kept mentioning to people was my run, a mixture of excitement and sheer terror compelled me to keep telling complete strangers of what I was planning to embark on. Working on a reception desk at a solicitors meant that I came in regular contact with a lot of new people and thereby a lot of random people learnt about my own little challenge. For me this turned out to be a great way of getting people talking about climate change, its effects and the looming talks in Copenhagen. I found that by talking about my run and why I was doing it, people were genuinely interested in finding out my motives, and the issue of climate change became a big talking point within my office. Furthermore, with people knowing I had never completed such a run before, they were happy to drop a few coins into my sponsorship bag.

As the date for my run got gradually nearer, my desire to talk about it became stronger and perhaps my excitement started to rub off on other,s as one of my friends from work asked if she could do the run with me. Perfect I thought! Company on the run and a person who needed to talk about the run just as much as me!

The day for the race came-a bitterly cold Sunday morning, and me clad only in running trousers and a rather attractive bright green Oxfam running vest, was starting to feel a bit apprehensive. What with the members of family I had dragged along-still bleary eyed and confused- and my just as apprehensive friend, I was feeling a little bit nervous looking around at the rippled physique of the other runners warming up around us.

As my friend and I stood at the starting line, it was suddenly time to go and with the pounding of trainers on the ground and the distant murmur of a thousand iPods, we were off, and there was no turning back.

Running alongside a thousand dedicated runners was unlike any solitary workout at the gym, instead of feeling intimidated by stronger, more able runners, I actually felt like we were part of a team. Spurred on by those around me, I found the run easier and much more exhilarating than I had imagined it to be. Crossing the finish line evoked a great feeling of satisfaction and slight self gloating, and suddenly I wanted to do it all again!

Since the run my friend and I seem to have caught the running bug, all we now want to do is run again and we are eagerly looking for the next race we can complete together and are seriously looking into joining a running club. While three weeks ago the thought of completing a 10km run,seemed daunting and slightly impossible, once started it was an exciting and extremely worth while experience, and has lead to what I hope is a commitment to running in the future. Likewise, while the race to Copenhagen in December may seem scattered with obstacles, we need world leaders to recognise the challenge is well and truly worth it, and the result, life changing.

Oxfam will be there drumming up loads of support for The Wave - hope to see you there!

See the problems. Shared the solutions.

20 - 22 November

University of Manchester & Manchester Metropolitan.

Book your tickets now.

Shared Planet is a weekend event full of inspiring speakers, practical and informative workshops, debates, films, stalls and fun.

Now is our moment to make a change. This is your chance to come together with young people from all over the UK. Learn skills, find positive solutions and hold our leaders to account for a just and sustainable future for our generation.

Get ready to:

Get inspired - Hear from some truly amazing speakers including Indigenous Canadian tar sands activists, Labour rights campaigners from North and South America, The Climate Justice Now speaker tour, TV’s Stacey Dooley, the Guardian’s David Leigh and many more

Challenge - Hear from politicians from all parties and quiz them on rebuilding our economy, our climate, our future, featuring: Allegra Stratton, (Guardian Journalist), Ann Pettifor (Advocacy International), Sajjad Karim MEP, Jean Lambert MEP, Paul Rowan MP, Jane Davidson AM

Gain skills - take part in practical workshops ranging from ‘How to grow your own veg’ and ‘how to mend almost anything’ and learn useful skills such as ‘how to work with the media’ in our legendary workshop programme

Debate – Question leading thinkers in contentious panel debates such as ‘Is it up to women to save the world?’ and ‘Should civil liberties always come second to security?’

Speak up – discuss the issues you think need to be on the political agenda in our open space discussion session, and meet others with similar ideas.

Get creative – learn the art of prop making from famous political artist Polyp, get creative with spray paints making your own t-shirts and learn how to make videos.

Take action – You’ll then have the opportunity to make you voice hear in our massive campaign actions

Meet others - Make links and share ideas with young people like you

…And party! - get your dancing shoes on. Acts will include a live ceilidh band and up and coming local bands

Find out more and book now.

p.s. If you live in London, People & Planet is organising a coach for you!

Can you imagine your country experiencing three hurricanes in one year? This is exactly what happened last year to Haiti, a small island in the Caribbean. Many other neighbouring island states like Jamaica, the Bahamas, Grenada, and the Dominican Republic were also battered and all have seen a reversal in their growth and development as a result.

A young girl in Bainet standing where homes were washed away by Hurricane Dean in August 2007. [Photo credit: Abbie Trayler-Smith]

The main challenge they face, though, is finding a way to convince the world of the need act now - and getting the world to respond with the urgency that is required.

To the outside world, the Caribbean is a “heaven on earth” - white sand, sunshine, blue seas, corals, diving, music and cocktails. While this is true, what we often forget is that a significant percentage of the population earns less than $2 a day and is highly vulnerable due to their limited capacity to cope.

No 999 for poor people

Poor communities cannot simply dial 999 or 911 to call for help. They have to take action all by themselves, often with their bare hands and empty stomachs.

We all have vivid images of Hurricane Katrina, which struck New Orleans in 2005. Hurricanes leave behind a plethora of devastation including lost family members, destroyed houses, washed away soil and hunger. For Haiti, it was even worse last year as the hurricanes struck after a prolonged drought, which had already left people with very little food.

I visited Cap Haitian where I saw several communities living within high tide zones. These communities live in very dangerous conditions. Even in low to medium-strength storms their houses can be destroyed. Jean-Pierre, who lives close to Cap Haitian, told me: “I lost most of my family in the 2008 cyclone in a major landslide. They were all sleeping and never ever woke up. Later the water and wind came and took everything I had.”

Haitians have historically faced the wrath of nature and have managed to survive. However, many admit that the frequency and intensity of the storms have increased in the past few years.

An Oxfam-supported training exercise on how to save lives in a flood [Photo credit: Abbie Trayler-Smith]

They have also developed a National Adaptation Programme of Action to identify the potential effects of climate change and what is needed to protect people.

Need for financial support

Countries like Haiti will need large amounts of financial support from the global community to adapt to climate change. Money, for instance, could help improve environment management by paying for construction of dikes and new seed varieties tolerant of drought.

Oxfam is calling on developed nations to cover the costs of adaptation for nations like Haiti and to help the developing world cut their own emissions. Countries like Haiti have not been responsible for climate change and need urgent support to cope.

A minimum of $150 billion per year is needed, along with support to help nations build capacity to cope with climate change and help getting low-carbon technologies from rich nations established in poorer ones as well. Rich countries also need to drastically cut their own emissions.

While the hurricane season, which runs from July to November, may have given Haiti and its neighbouring islands a break this year, there should be no break for world leaders as the countdown continues toward the UN negotiations in Copenhagen next month.

Citizens in rich countries need to do all that they can to ensure their leaders work harder, smarter and swifter to ensure a safe, fair, binding and ambitious climate deal in the Danish capital so that poor communities like those in Haiti begin to get the help they so desperately need.

Get involved: Climate change

But why have a public meeting or “mass lobby” at all? In an age of flash mobs and viral videos, it seems a bit old fashioned. And why drag the public out of their homes when you could get them to sign a letter or a petition?

Well, for that very reason. If you can persuade people to make the effort then it’s a clear sign to an MP that there’s real concern among his constituents. Videos, publicity stunts, petitions, standard letters and so on are a useful means of spreading information and indicating the sentiments of a large number of people but making the effort to attend a rally or a meeting helps show the strength of feeling.

It’s also an opportunity to put some concrete requests , like signing up to EDM 2052, and to raise some difficult issues, like the level of funding the EU is willing to provide to help developing countries adapt to climate change.

And it’s a chance to advertise. There’s The Wave to promote, and there will be a mini-wave through London at the end of November organised by Central London Oxfam. A bit of face-to-face communication can be a lot more effective than a press release sometimes.

Ugandan farmers and their sheep at sunrise [Photo credit: Jane Beesley]

Around Kotido and Kaabong in Karomoja District, north-east Uganda, the wind makes it hard at times to hear what people are saying, but this isn’t a wind that brings rain like in many places. All it’s bringing at the moment is dust. It’s also not the time for rain but the forecasts have been saying there will be El Nino rains. But even these have not appeared - everyone asks where they are. It’s too late for the crops but they hope that these will mean there will be more pasture and water for the animals.

Maria Loma carrying firewood [Photo credit: Jane Beesley]

[Photo credit: Jane Beesley]

There are now 180 trained animal health workers in the district but still that’s not enough. They only have time to make three visits to each kraal in a year.

“Previously we didn’t spray but now we know that spraying really reduces ticks. The CAHWs have also helped us and showed us how to administer drugs, and what drugs are needed to treat what disease or infection. The most important thing now”, says Numuya Lopia, “is to support them and develop their capacity to each and every community.”

It’s a memorable visit for more reasons than one… but perhaps the most surreal memory is of our driver, John Bosco - dressed traditionally, singing along to ‘Lucille’ by Kenny Rodgers. It’s a song that haunts me for the rest of the day. The chorus line of ‘four hungry children and a crop in the field’…I feel he should be grateful that he has a crop in the field.

Find out more: East Africa Food Crisis

Oxfam called on the UK public sector to throw its weight behind a growing trend towards ethical investment. Socially responsible investment in the UK increased to almost £9bn last year, a six-fold increase in ten years, before falling along with the rest of the market during the economic crisis.

But the UK public sector’s involvement has been limited to a handful of investors such as the Environment Agency Pension Fund and the London Pension Fund Authority.

Barbara Stocking, Oxfam chief executive, said: “Investors make choices on our behalves, choosing where to invest our savings, pensions, mortgages and other money. It is up to us to hold them to account to make sure they help rather than harm poor people and combat, rather than worsen, climate change.

“The Government should mark National Ethical Investment Week by announcing that it will expect all public bodies to follow the lead taken by an increasing number of private institutional investors.”

Through its Better Returns to a Better World initiative, Oxfam is working to encourage investors properly to take account of the social and environmental impacts of their investment decisions. Investors can play an important role in lifting people out of poverty and tackling climate change, for example, by funding and rewarding those that behave responsibly and by investing in renewable energy, greener technologies and social enterprises.

Irresponsible investment, in contrast, can have very harmful effects, when it finances companies that violate human rights, avoid paying taxes, or produce high carbon emissions.

A number of major public asset owners in other countries have signed the UN-backed Principles of Responsible Investment, including the Government Employees Pension Fund of South Africa, Government Pension Fund of Thailand and the Norwegian Government Pension Fund.

Further information: Jon Slater 01865 472249/ 07876 476403/ jslater@oxfam.org.uk

“We welcome the government’s acknowledgement of the need to decarbonise the UK’s power sector. 

“However, any plans to build new coal power stations, without also bringing in a legally binding framework such as an Emissions Performance Standard now, threatens to lock the UK into a high carbon future.

“This would further jeopardise the lives and livelihoods of millions of people in developing countries who are already suffering the devastating impacts of climate change.”

Mr Miliband yesterday announced that there would be no new coal without Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). However, he failed to say that there would be an emissions standard that would ensure that any plant without fully functioning CCS would be closed from 2025.

Gabura - From Daily Life to Disaster: Oxfam presents extraordinary interactive online documentary on impact of climate change in Bangladesh

Today Oxfam launches a landmark online interactive documentary to expose the tragic impact of climate change on a small village in Bangladesh and the devastation wreaked by Cyclone Aila on the community earlier this year.

Gabura: From Daily Life to Disaster, released in partnership with the Guardian newspaper, enables the audience to experience stories from all walks of life in the small community of Gabura before and after the cyclone hit the area.

Featuring extraordinary footage of the cyclone’s trail of destruction - the e-documentary allows the audience to chose its own journey through the community and to be immersed in the lives of local residents.

The work captures the shocking moment when Cyclone Aila swept over the region in May this year, killing hundreds and causing chaos and devastation for the community.

It also shows the stark reality of climate change and the impact is has had on the lives of residents. From widows whose husbands were killed by starving tigers, to farmers girls blighted with skin diseases by increasing salt levels in the water, the people’s voices are captured in a unique way.

Sandhya Suri, director of Gabura: From Daily Life to Disaster, said: “This explorable documentary bears witness to the devastation wreaked by one catastrophic event and the everyday disasters created by climate change in a new and innovative format.”

“It also provides a rare, visceral experience of what it is like for a small impoverished community to suffer a disaster - from the hours before the cyclone hits, to the horrific impact itself and its devastating aftermath.”

Oxfam is launching the e-documentary ahead of crucial UN talks on climate change in Copenhagen in December.

The charity is calling on the world’s most powerful leaders to negotiate a deal that prevents dangerous global temperature rises and protects the world’s poor, who all too often bear the brunt of climate change’s deadly impact but are least responsible for causing it.

It also comes as Oxfam is encouraging people to join the UK’s biggest ever climate change march, called The Wave, in London and Glasgow on December 5 to demand that the UK government pushes for the right deal at Copenhagen.

Barbara Stocking, Oxfam’s chief executive, said: “With this remarkable online documentary, Oxfam has broken new ground to tell the world that climate change is real, it costs lives, and that we can help to combat its effects.

“But while the medium is different our message remains the same, that now more than ever we need a deal at Copenhagen to aid those affected by climate change, and we need the public to help make it happen.”

//Ends

For more information, images, video footage and interviews, contact Sarah Brown in the Oxfam media unit at +44 (0) 1865 472 237 or +44 (0) 7920 274 063. E-mail: sabrown@oxfam.org.uk

The documentary will be found after launch at:

www.oxfam.org.uk/gabura and on the Guardian website.

High-resolution images and stills from the documentary can be downloaded from here: (please credit EPA/Abir Abdullah):

http://wordsandpictures.oxfam.org.uk/?c=5849&k=95c094457f

Note to editors

· According to science reports presented at the climate summit in Copenhagen earlier this year:
- 26 million people have already been displaced because of climate change and
- 200 million people may be on the move each year by 2050 because of hunger, environmental degradation and loss of land.

· 375 million people may be affected by climate-related disasters by 2015 - Oxfam research
· $150bn is about the same amount that was spent on bailing out AIG during the financial turmoil last year

Oxfam’s climate change campaign is calling for:

- Rich countries to lead on cutting global emissions by 40% on 1990 levels by 2020

- Rich countries to commit to $50bn a year in adaptation funding so that poor communities can protect themselves from the effects of climate change

- Rich countries to help developing countries cut their own emissions by committing $100bn a year

BANGLADESH
· 80% of the landmass of the country is floodplain
· Population density is 1045/km sq, the 11th highest in the world
· Population is 149m, projected to grow to 231m by 2050
· It has less than 10% of South Asian land mass but channels more than 90% of South Asian water to the Bay of Bengal
Average carbon emissions - US: 20 tonnes; UK: 9 tonnes; Bangladesh: 0.3 tonnes

And yet Oxfam continues to call for the very best deal, with an optimism that can seem unwavering.  Are we so naive? Are we sticking our heads in the sand and why don’t we start looking at plan B?

The truth is we recognise as well as anyone what we are up against.  We have people monitoring the heart of these negotiations, scoping out the options and the feasibilities and the negotiating tactics.  It’s just that we also have people living and working in parts of the world hardest hit by climate change.  To talk about a deal being impossible seems rather odd when you have witnessed true hardship. Impossible is life in Gabura, Bangladesh after hurricane Aila; impossible is growing food to feed a family in a drought, but impossible is not sitting down in a Scandinavian capital and agreeing a fair way to cope with a commonly recognised threat.

The other reason that we don’t look at plan B is that the deal we are calling for is the deal we need.  We are calling for a deal that keeps global temperature rises to below 2 degrees – because the science shows that any higher is catastrophic.  We are calling for a deal that provides $150 billion per year for the developing world to adapt and mitigate, because this is what it will take to ensure our greenness isn’t on the back of their poverty. Any less than this - Plan B  - means less lives are saved, and we won’t call for that.  

Copenhagen is just a meeting, and of course it can succeed if the political will is there. I for one refuse to temper my expectations and  to let our leaders off the hook before the show has even begun.

But we all have to do something to create that political will.  Those politicians still “lukewarm” on the whole idea of climate change like nothing better than to use the perceived apathy of the general public as an argument against action.

Your actions may seem small but every single one builds up that store of political will, and that common will is the difference between the deal we need, and failure.

We’ve made it easy for you - do these now and tell friends and family to do it too:
Sign up to the wave and show our strength
Push the PM to deliver the deal we need
Write to your MP asking them to sign EDM 2052

Young people in London join The Wave

One of these meetings took place in Barcelona last week and, as you may have read in the media, EU leaders including the UK, are starting to get stage fright - saying that it might not be possible to finalise a climate change deal when the whole world is watching them in Copenhagen.  

Oxfam believes that fair and binding climate deal is still possible in Copenhagen in December. The world’s poorest people need nothing short of this. The only thing lacking is political will, and that’s where you come in.

Thousands of young people have spoken up this term, and showed that they want the government to seal the deal in Copenhagen. Now they need one almighty final push to get them to go there aiming to come home with the deal that we’ve all been asking for.

That push will come in the form of The Wave - the culmination of our campaigning this term  - on the 5^th December in London and Glasgow. Here’s how you can take part:

1. Come along, and bring your friends and family!
2. Spread the word by filming a mexican wave and uploading it to the wave website.
3. If you can’t make it on the day, then send any ‘wave related’ photo’s or drawings to us at Oxfam, and we’ll take it on the march for you.

Every minute we delay a global deal on Climate Change is costing more lives. Let’s sort it here and now!

We weren’t prepared for what was going to hit us.

In May, we had travelled to Bangadesh to make an interactive documentary - ‘Gabura’, where the audience could explore life on a small Bangladeshi island and witness the ravaging impacts of climate change there.

We were about half-way through the shoot and had filmed some strange and disturbing stories about what climate change was doing to the place and the people.

Locals were reporting an increase in tiger attacks, young girls were afflicted by mysterious rashes from the increasingly salty water. The shrimp business appeared to be the only thing thriving.

Black clouds gather in the sky before the rain [Photo credit: EPA/ABIR ABDULLAH]

As we drove into the tail end of the storm, trees were falling on the road and the rain was lashing away visibility.

Later, as the rain started to ease and the first bodies were pulled out of the water, we saw Gabura had become unrecognisable. It was hideously transformed.

We met a father searching for his baby girl, washed out of his lap during the cyclone. “I couldn’t hold her,” he told me, crying in despair. We saw first hand the terrible devastation the cyclone had wreaked.

A village festival, Satkhira, Bangladesh [Photo credit: EPA/ABIR ABDULLAH]

Television’s interest in such matters can be limited to say the least, and so all eyes turn to the web.

There is a sense of opportunity, not only about reaching new audiences, of distributing differently but about making a new type of documentary and telling stories in a different way.

The documentary “Gabura - Daily Life and Disaster” aims to do just that. Regardless, the experience of making Gabura will stay with me for a very long time.

Watch “Gabura - Daily Life and Disaster”

Following the phenomenal success of the ‘Crying Lightning’ 7″, which was available exclusively through Oxfam shops, Arctic Monkeys are once again teaming up with the charity for follow-up single ‘Cornerstone’.

The ‘Crying Lightning’ 7″ sold approximately 10,000 copies in just a few weeks, making it one of the biggest-selling vinyl singles so far this century. Sales of ‘Crying Lightning’ bucked the industry trend for 7″ sales, which have more than halved since 2007, and currently command just a 0.4% market share*.

The limited-edition ‘Cornerstone’ 10″ goes on sale exclusively in Oxfam’s top 50 music shops across the UK on Monday 16 November. The record is the second single from recent number one album Humbug, features new track ‘Catapult’ as well as exclusive B-sides ‘Sketchead’ and ‘Fright Lined Dining Room’. The single will also be available online here.

The ‘Cornerstone’ 10″ will cost £4.99, and each single will come with a download code allowing fans to get an MP3 version of the songs for free. Oxfam will be giving away pairs of ‘golden tickets’ to the band’s forthcoming sold-out UK tour in each area.

Domino and Arctic Monkeys are also calling on music fans to bring in any unwanted albums or singles to their local Oxfam shop when they pick up their copy of the single, to help Oxfam keep turning yesterday’s hits into vital funds for years to come.

Laurence Bell, founder of Domino, said:

“Our co-operation with Oxfam around the ‘Crying Lightning’ single was a great success for all parties and did plenty of good. We are extending the partnership for the release of ‘Cornerstone’, which will hopefully drive many more punters to both shop in and donate to Oxfam stores.”

David McCullough, Oxfam’s director of trading, said:

“Oxfam shops have always been one of the best places on the high street to find great music, as the success of ‘Crying Lightning’ proves.

“The partnership with Domino has broken new ground for us, and we’re delighted to be continuing it. Arctic Monkeys fans can pick up an exclusive from the band at the same time as helping us to fight poverty around the world.”

Oxfam has an illustrious musical history spanning decades:

• More than 600 Oxfam shops across the country sell second-hand music - double the total number of independent record shops in the UK**.
• The charity sells around £6 million of music every year, enough to fund its entire programme in Indonesia for a year, buy 187,000 emergency shelters, or provide safe water for 8 million people.
• Oxfam sells around 1.8 million CDs and records every year, all donated by the British public. The largest single donation was of 4,000 vinyl albums to an Oxfam shop in Devon in 2008.
• The charity’s Oxjam festival has raised more than £1 million through 3,000 events featuring more than 36,000 musicians, including Jarvis Cocker, Fatboy Slim, and Hot Chip.

The band’s UK tour dates are as follows - selected Oxfam shops in each area will be giving away a pair of tickets to each show:

Friday 13 November  Liverpool Echo Arena             0844 8000 400

Saturday 14      Sheffield Arena                                      0114 256 5656

Monday 16        Newcastle Metro Arena                         0844 493 6666

Tuesday 17       Wembley Arena                                   0844 815 0815

Wednesday 18  Wembley Arena                          0844 815 0815

Friday 20           Birmingham NIA                                    0844 338 8000

Saturday 21       Manchester MEN Arena                        0844 847 8000

Sunday 22         Nottingham Trent FM Arena                 0844 412 4624

Tuesday 24       Glasgow SECC                                      0844 499 9990

Wednesday 25  Belfast The Odyssey                     02890 739 074

Thursday 26      Dublin The O2                               0818 719 300

For more information, see the Oxfam website.

- Ends -

Notes to editors

*According to BPI figures for vinyl sales 1999-2008.

** There are 305 independent record shops in the UK, according to 2008 figures from the Entertainment Retailers Association.

For more information, images, or to arrange an interview with a spokesperson from Oxfam or Domino, please contact:

Stuart Fowkes

Oxfam press office

01865 472254 / 07818 406038 / sfowkes@oxfam.org.uk

Colleen Maloney

Domino Records

0208 875 4007 / 07764 938027 / colleen@dominorecordco.com