Eco-Conversation 3: Climate Justice

Eco-Conversation 3: Climate Justice

We were pleased to welcome Ali Bullivant back to the cathedral on Tuesday evening for the third of our Eco Conversations for Creationtide. Our paths first crossed many years ago when we both found ourselves at Bretton Hall but it was great to hear more about her life in this week’s conversation.  

Ali’s father was in the RAF but holidays were invariably spent at her uncle’s farm where her interest in animals and nature was fostered, though she said that she can’t remember a time when she didn’t have an interest in wildlife. Student life enabled her to add a political interest when she joined groups such as Greenpeace and CND. She had already been introduced to some of the more controversial aspects of the world in that an uncle worked for the nearby power station. Burning fossil fuels were a necessary evil. 

Ali’s connection to Africa and Zambia in particular, came through a friend whose husband ran a safari company and offered Ali a job as a tour guide and support worker for one of his clients. Here Ali experienced safari life sleeping in a tent with animals all around, all fairly oblivious to the human presence. So, the fact that there was a tent beneath the tree that an elephant wanted to eat from was unfortunate. We could almost feel the awe and trepidation of Ali lying in her tent hearing the chomping sounds coming from above! This also led her to realise that this land did not belong to humankind. It was not their land. The animals that have lived there for millennia had the rights to the land. They choose not to hurt us. 

Ali has been visiting various parts of Africa now for 27 years and feels the pull whenever she’s away from it but Zambia pulls the hardest. In that time though she has seen considerable changes, not all for the better, though she was at pains to say that these were her personal thoughts and observations (and this report is taken from my copious notes and I’ve had to edit the conversation for brevity so please read on with thought to that). 

 We in the UK are not the only country in the world despairing over the amount of litter. Zambia now has the problem as well. The age of disposables is here. Water bottles are now bought and discarded. There isn’t an infrastructure in place for collecting rubbish so when it’s dropped it starts to pile up as there is no mechanism for clearing it.  

Last year saw a draught. The effect was devastating. Water levels dropped to very low levels. The rains have come this year but not for long enough or producing enough rain to effect the change in water levels needed. This has had the knock on effect of causing power downages or lode shedding as it’s referred to (power cuts) as so much of the power produced and needed is hydro. Often, they have 22 hours without power as only the rich can afford the 8,000$ necessary to fuel a generator. Profits have gone right down. To complicate this further there are now moves afoot to dam some of the Zambezi gorges. This would have a huge effect on wildlife in general and the Taita falcon in particular as it lives and breeds only on this gorge near Victoria Falls. A  ‘Save the Zambezi Association’ has been formed to fight this. 

Electrical power is necessary to power another big change in that everyone now has a mobile phone and these need charging. This coupled with intermittent phone signal causes many problems. Instead of looking around them at God’s creation people are now glued to the their phones. But with the phones has also come the different apps and gambling is now a real problem. Foreign investors are wanting to build huge solar farms which whilst making power invade the countryside is another nail in the coffin for the wildlife. 

Progress has also brought conflict with the animals as roads now cross traditional animal paths to both water and feeding places. Traffic at one time would have travelled carefully, aware of the animals’ rights to move freely but now they try to push through with no thought or concern for the elephants who are hungry and thirsty due to climate change. September to December is the dry season and with subsistence farming and no money people want to protect their crops and houses but the elephants are also suffering  due to deforestation. Elephants eat from trees. But trees are being cut down even though charcoal burning is illegal it still happens and is smuggled in and out of the country. Even the redwood trees are being cut down. So much is down to illegal money and the crushing poverty in a country still affected by it’s past colonialism.  

Erik asked the question as to how the situation might be salvaged. 

In the past you lived on the land and understood it. Somehow this way of living has to be regained. There needs to be mediation between humans and the natural world. Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) come in and try to educate the people about the value of protecting the wildlife. This is done through music and drama and performing these songs about rewilding, charcoal and not scaring the elephants in public places. Collecting plastic and creating paving and making murals bring art into play which engages the children. It’s not science per se but it teaches the ways that make for a better world. The arts are used to share the message to people who have sung and danced for millennia. It’s a shared experience as Ali learns as much from them as they do from her.  

To improve things Ali felt that we had to hang on to the joy of creation and the massive connection between the beauty of the earth and the sound of nature. She spoke passionately about listening to the birds and sharing the good bits and taking the good from what is out there. How despite the tensions created by the past colonialism we can change what is to come. Tomorrow hasn’t been written. We have to use what there is and try not to make more but share skills and different ways of thinking. We have to reframe the narrative that Africa doesn’t have the skills or resources otherwise it becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy. We need to empower youth. We need to share the skills and a different way of thinking. 

The discussion then involved the audience and ranged far and wide from the amazing work done on the Portobello estate with eco projects emanating from the community centre (Thankyou Sarah) to talking about how the fight for the souls of sinners in parts of Africa is mixed up with pre-Christian ways by the many church and Christian organisations who are often dismissive of native culture and community. We learnt how time and Sunday services differ from ours. Church is singing and dancing, starting whenever it feels right and finishing when it gets dark. How, if we want to change things we have to use the right terminology. We are taught that dissatisfaction is key. We’re taught to want newer and better. But, we also see that there is a sea change and that big businesses are having to address the green agenda. Clothes don’t have to be new and that clothes swaps or charity shops can provide a great experience and good value. Economic growth can only go on for so long. We talked about flooding and draught, how we moved away from concrete to green verges. How preventative measures are so much better than reactive ones, how reintroducing beavers to work rivers in a more natural way has had a positive effect. Most importantly we learnt how small changes can have dramatic results. People have to own the projects and that makes the difference. They invest in thought and time. We need to look at problems in a different way and consider what we love and value. 

The evening finished before we had done conversing. As you can feel from these notes, we all had so much more to say. To this end conversations like these will happen again in the cathedral. Watch this space.  

Thanks must go to Erik and our wonderful visitors of the last three weeks who all provided notes on what they might talk about. Thanks are also due to Jess and Rich from the cathedral team for the refreshments but most of all thanks must go to our supporters who came along and listened and then contributed their own life experiences and thoughts.