Mon - December 12, 2005

Environmental Health Activism in India...the beginning


This is my first post under the "Environmental Health Activism in India" category. I've done two interviews since we've been in Delhi, and have two more lined up before we leave. It doesn't seem like much for 16 days in Delhi, but I've already learned a lot.

Posted at 08:33 AM     Read More  

Mon - December 19, 2005

A note on methods and procedures


In my first post on environmental health activism in India I used the full names of a couple people I interviewed. Some of my interviews are not recorded and are instead informal conversations with other academics in India. Other interviews, for example those with activists, are being recorded and are an important source of data. Rather than distinguish between them in the posts I'll do here, I've decided to guarantee the confidentiality of everyone with whom I speak.

Posted at 07:59 PM     Read More  

Fri - December 30, 2005

Vietnam visa on its way; Dubai?


Well, I almost blew my chance to go to Vietnam by putting off getting a visa until the last minute. Luckily, the folks at the United States Educational Foundation in India (USEFI) really came through for me. I got a call tonight that my passport, with visa, is being sent by courier from Delhi back here to Kerala. So I am all set to leave for Vietnam on January 7.

Posted at 08:52 AM     Read More  

Fri - January 20, 2006

Global environmental networks


Through the interviewing I've been doing (here and in Vietnam), I've been impressed with the level of sophistication of activists, and their use of various global networks of environmental organizations. I'm trying to understand how these relationships, between local and global groups, develop and how or whether they benefit the respective parties. One way I'm going to better understand this is by going to the International Conference on Chemicals Management, which precedes the 9th Special Session of the Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Posted at 09:30 PM     Read More  

Sat - January 28, 2006

The Plachimada Struggle


I took an overnight train from Trivandrum to Palakkad Thursday night with one of the leaders of the movement in a village called Plachimada to shut down a Coca Cola bottling plant that has overdrawn and contaminated the village's groundwater.

Posted at 05:12 AM     Read More  

Wed - February 1, 2006

Two days in Bhopal


I'm in the airport in Mumbai waiting for a flight delayed due to a strike by Indian airport workers protesting the conversion of airports in Delhi and Mumbai to private contractors. Workers at all airports in India are striking in solidarity, so I am hoping this doesn't delay our travel to Dubai tomorrow. For now, it gives me an opportunity to reflect on my short visit to Bhopal.

Posted at 11:14 PM     Read More  

Sat - February 4, 2006

Live from the International Conference on Chemicals Management


I'm on the floor of the International Conference on Chemicals Management at the Dubai International Convention Centre. We made it to Dubai yesterday, after much uncertainty and an "Amazing Race"-like reshuffling of itinerary to go to Dubai through Colombo, Sri Lanka. I'll explain the details of our crazy day of travel in another post. Right now the Chair of the United Nations Environment Programme, Klaus Tšöpfer, is taking care of some business matters, like electing the president of the meeting. So I am going to do a quick post about this meeting.

Posted at 04:58 PM     Read More  

Sun - February 5, 2006

Interesting observations from an international meeting


The whole practice of speaking in, and translating to, six different languages is logistically very interesting. Already, 1 1/2 hours into the meeting, there have been a few hiccups with the translation process.

Posted at 11:57 PM     Read More  

Mon - February 13, 2006

Local and Global Activism: Making the Connections


I just discovered an entry I began back in December never got posted. I've updated it a bit in light of other things I've learned since then. What's interesting is that the original post was some reflections on an interview with a Delhi-based activist who I encountered again at the ICCM meeting in Dubai. In the original interview, I began to see how a seasoned activist and master strategist understands the new challenges to environmental activism in our increasingly global environment.

Posted at 09:07 AM     Read More  

Sat - February 18, 2006

Translation demo


From Dubai I had posted an entry about how interesting the process of translation was at the U.N. meeting. I thought I would try to illustrate what it's like by recording the various feeds from the device participants receive at the meeting. A delegate from Ghana was speaking in English, and if you listen closely, you can here her in the background as I switch the frequency through the various translations--Arabic, Spanish, Russian, French, and Arabic (for some reason I skipped the Chinese channel).

Posted at 12:18 AM     Read More  

Sun - February 19, 2006

Background on the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management


Before I really get into the details on what happened at the International Conference on Chemicals Management in Dubai, I have to provide some background. The ICCM was the culmination more than a decade of international environmental policymaking and several years of meetings specific to the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM).

Posted at 01:38 AM     Read More  

The "academic bits"


Just a reminder for those who aren't too keen on reading what my sister referred to as the "academic bits" of the Zavelogue. These postings are all in the "Environmental Health Activism in India" category, so you can either skip over them as you read down the page of headings and abstracts (each entry's category is listed under the abstract), or filter for the entries in the "Family" or "Life in India" categories by clicking on the hyperlinked category name. I offer this warning now since I am about to post a long entry on background to the Dubai meeting, and soon another long one on the outcome of the meeting.

Posted at 01:39 AM     Read More  

Thu - February 23, 2006

Negotiations at the ICCM


I'm working my way towards an account of the outcome of the International Conference on Chemicals Management. But before I get there, I need to provide a little more background of the SAICM process, including negotiations that took place at the ICCM meeting.

Posted at 01:27 AM     Read More  

Mon - February 27, 2006

How the Dubai Declaration came to be


In the end, the U.S. delegation almost single-handedly brought the entire SAICM process to a halt. The delegation's multiple objections to various parts of the final document forced the president of the ICCM to send drafting groups off to negotiate acceptable language. These groups often worked through meals and well into the night. But by the scheduled close of the conference, there were still some problematic areas. The president put together a final document, despite unresolved issues, and asked the conference to vote on it.

Posted at 01:24 AM     Read More  

Tue - April 11, 2006

Bhopal Disaster: The Agenda After 21 Years


The public lecture I gave at the University of Calcutta was titled "Bhopal Disaster: The Agenda After 21 Years." It was a great opportunity for me to think about what I've learned so far.

Posted at 01:04 AM     Read More  

©