Wildscreen: Communicating COP26
Credit: Alicia Hayden (2021)
On Monday 15th November 2021 Wildscreen held Communicating COP26 at Bristol Harbour Hotel & Spa. The purpose of the event was to translate complex but critical climate science and conservation and spotlight the crucial role that visual media plays in doing this.
Wildscreen is a Bristol-based wildlife conservation charity that shares natural world storytelling. They raise awareness of the issues facing fragile ecosystems, endangered species, and indigenous communities around the globe. Communicating COP26 was a hybrid event, with panellists and audiences joining from the venue and remotely. I attended the event as someone with little understanding of the climate crisis, eager to learn more about climate science and conservation.
Communicating COP26 was a successful event, chaired expertly by Lizzie Daly and filled with a variety of informative panel discussions. I left with a greater understanding of climate change, advice on how to manoeuvre through climate anxiety, and evidence of community actions and Indigenous wisdoms that I believe play a vital role in combating the effects of the climate crisis.
My aim in this piece is to provide an overview of some of the knowledge I gained through attending Communicating COP26. I have provided the names of individuals and organisations responsible for my education in the hopes that readers will be encouraged to access a variety of resources that can empower us all to build upon our knowledge and commit to solutions for the climate crisis.
Credit: Alicia Hayden (2021)
Indigenous Wisdoms & Storytelling
The first panel I attended was on Indigenous Wisdoms & Storytelling. Presenter, author and filmmaker Will Millard (My Year with the Tribe) took to the stage to interview If Not Us Then Who’s Vice President Michael McGarrell. Michael McGarrell is a member of the Kampung (Patamuna-speaking) people and discussed the importance of Indigenous wisdoms and storytelling in communicating how we can protect the planet.
Millard opened the panel educating the audience on lessons he has learned through his career as a filmmaker. He highlighted the dangers of filmmakers “distilling Indigenous peoples and their practice to just the most entertaining, or ‘exotic’, or most visual-seeming rituals or religious practice.” Having filmed My Year with the Tribe in Papua New Guinea, Millard also informed us of how younger generations were leaving the forest en masse as a result of land grabs happening with commercial logging and palm oil consortiums.
Born in a small village of 400 – 500 people in the forests/mountains of Guyana, McGarrell spent a lot of time in the jungle hunting and fishing with his uncle, from whom wisdom on the Kampung way of life was passed down. The conversation between Millard and McGarrell highlighted key issues that affect Indigenous communities. One standout point, in my opinion, was that non-Indigenous communities assume that Indigenous communities can only provide a spiritual perspective of their own environments. In making this assumption, non-Indigenous communities misunderstand or undermine the wisdom inherent within Indigenous cultures.
Indigenous peoples’ lands are threatened because they are not legally recognised. McGarrell taught of how the Guyanese government gains a lot of revenue from the active forestry and mining sectors – to the extent that mining was considered an essential service and thus continued throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The process for land to be legally recognised can take weeks for miners whereas it can take years for Indigenous peoples. Mining impacts the land as heavy machinery degrades the land and pollutes the rivers, further contributing to the climate crisis by killing the earth.
McGarrell’s work through If Not Us Then Who produces physical evidence to prove Indigenous land ownership. Although many Indigenous traditions and rights to land are passed down orally, they are tasked to produce hard evidence on their use of the land should they be acknowledged as having legal ownership. Working with community members, McGarrell maps Indigenous lands and uses these maps to advocate for the legal recognition of these lands as Indigenous.
McGarrell emphasised the need for Indigenous people to be recognised as owners of their own land:
“We know the names of every little creek – there is a story behind it, of every mountain – there is a story behind it. As people who have been using and living on these lands for generations, we know the stories behind it. We want to see the land recognised as ours so we can be more effective in ensuring the lands can be used as they are meant to be used. We understand that we take from the forest, but the forest also needs to get something from us… It’s living as one.”
Conversation centred around how mitigating climate change is possible through Indigenous wisdoms and storytelling. McGarrell platformed the ways Indigenous people have managed their lands sustainably and exposed how outsiders’ view of the construction of roads as ‘development’ is a source of destruction for Indigenous communities. A key issue in the destruction of Indigenous land is that the communities are not consulted, and therefore have no agency, in what is considered ‘development’ (and by whom).
Commenting on COP26 held in Glasgow, it was clear that COP was a source of dissatisfaction for many. Indigenous people have seen first-hand how the earth has been killed and want to play their part to ensure the earth is being sustained for those that come after us, and so must be given “an equal space at the table to have discussions on how we can mitigate climate change” [McGarell]. Whilst recognition of Indigenous people and their wisdoms’ importance in mitigating climate change has grown over the years, COP26 runs the risk of becoming a “talk-shop” if it refuses to find solutions outside of governments giving empty promises for climate resolution, knowing there is no accountability should they fail to deliver.
If Not Us Then Who is clear evidence of how instrumental helping and highlighting the ways Indigenous communities sustain their cultures plays a vital role in mitigating climate change. One of the ways we can support this work is by donating money and resources to If Not Us Then Who.
Breaking Boundaries
World renowned climate scientist Dr Johan Rockström discussed climate science, planetary boundaries, and the latest science communications from COP26. Studio Silverback’s Colin Butfield interviewed Dr Rockström about the importance of communicating climate science in an effective and accessible way, reflecting on their Breaking Boundaries production.
Credit: Alicia Hayden (2021)
Making Space for Nature: Looking at Nature Based Solutions
Broadcaster Tom Heap moderated an insightful session focusing on projects employing nature-based solutions in communities and ecosystems across the world. This panel consisted of speakers who boast experience implementing projects across the world. They discussed restorative, conservation and replenishing projects that have created real impact and how the audience could also have a positive impact. Speakers were Rebecca Wrigley (CEO, Rewilding Britain), Danni Parks (Director, Whitley Awards), Jon Paul Rodriguez (Chair, International Union for Conservation of Nature), and Ximena Velez-Liendo (Bolivian Conservationist).
A key takeaway from this panel was Jon Paul Rodriguez speaking of the global, community-based, decentralised efforts needed to tackle the climate crisis.
Credit: Alicia Hayden
Funding a Greener World
Presenter and journalist Lucy Siegle moderated a panel of finance experts delving into their green finance projects and advising attendees on what we, and our respective organisations, should know about the role of finance in conserving nature. Speakers were Louisiana Salge (Senior Sustainability Specialist, EQ Investors), Dr Bevis Watts (CEO, Triodos Bank), Adam Sweidan (Chief Investment Officer, Aurum), and Ray Dhirani (Head of Sustainable Finance, WWF).
EQ Investors is a staff-owned B Corp aiming to democratise finance. Louisiana Salge spoke of the ways the B Corp movement helps to find funders or investors who are aligned with their clients’ values. Dr Bevis Watts highlighted how some wildlife filmmakers may, without realising, have capital invested in deforestation. Adam Sweidan exposed how the financial sector has a large amount of capital as a result of “the processing of natural resources that has been going on for hundreds of years” and spoke of ways to invest capital ethically. Ray Dhirani provided invaluable insights into how the financial market is made up with jargon that is intentionally ostracising. Dhirani’s role within WWF helps to galvanise action within policy making.
This panel, somewhat unexpectedly, provided a lot of optimism. A positive takeaway was that the way the younger generation engages with money has the potential to drastically transform the financial system, with 9 in 10 millennial investors having an interest in sustainable development.
Credit: Alicia Hayden
The Future of Storytelling
Lizzie Daly took to the speaker panel to delve into the future of storytelling alongside leaders in social media, visual, filmmaking and short form content communications. The panellists discussed the variety of ways that storytelling can convey climate science and natural world issues while inspiring the public to act. Speakers were Sam Sutaria (Head of Strategy, Waterbear), Elizabeth Swanson Andi (Indigenous Artist, Environmental Scientist, and Storyteller), Jonnie Hughes (Creative Director, Studio Silverback), Julia Migne (Director, Conservation Optimism), and Emilie Ehrhardt (Animal Behaviour & Wildlife Researcher, Visual Storyteller, and Student).
Elizabeth Swanson Andi spoke of the change that happened within her community – the Santu Urku Kichwa on the Napo River in the Ecuadorian Amazon – with the introduction of pipelines by companies without her community’s consent. Swandi’s photography formed part of the exhibition curated between Wildscreen and If Not Us Then Who on display in Bristol Harbour Hotel & Spa on the day of the event. She reiterated that “community is thinking about the past, the present, and what is to come'' and that many people in communities similar to her own are “born into resistance.”
Sam Sutaria educated the audience on the work of Waterbear. Waterbear is a platform for storytellers from all around the world, covering biodiversity, climate, and dealing with the difficulties young people face amidst the climate crisis. Waterbear aims to be an ad-free, subscription-free platform that “create[s] an ecosystem of impact.” Jonnie Hughes reminded us that “politics doesn’t lead, it trails” as the conversation between the panellists took a solutions-oriented approach to the ways storytelling and science communication can make the climate crisis more accessible to audiences. They also spoke of the need for more people to go into science communication.
Julia Migne (Director of Conservation Optimism) spoke of how the purpose of climate optimism is to combat climate anxiety, bringing solutions and platforming success stories that helps audiences feel empowered. In the wake of Glasgow’s COP26, which many of the panellists across the event attended, it was great to witness the ways people were combatting their climate anxiety and dissatisfaction from COP with optimism.
Key takeaways from this panel were recognising how narratives can have a wider reach, with YouTube and the use of multiple languages being useful tools for global storytelling. The climate crisis permeates through every aspect of culture globally and so audiences were encouraged to recognise that the climate crisis should be communicated using all the mediums available. The panellists for The Future of Storytelling were the youngest panellists of Communicating COP26. They recognised the shift in reporting on the climate crisis to be more solution focused and ended Wildscreen’s event in a way that calmed my climate anxiety and empowered me to believe that solutions to the climate crisis are achievable.
Credit: Alicia Hayden (2021)
Aftermath of Communicating COP26
I found Communicating COP26 to be an incredibly informative event. It succeeded in its aims of translating complex climate science into language that those of us who are not climate science experts could understand. The unexpected highlight of the event, for me, was the Funding a Greener World panel. Within this current climate of the greenwashing of organisations, it is justified to question the extent to which a bank can be ‘green’. Saying that, the panellists taught a variety of things about banking that – in my naivety – I had never considered. I left with a greater understanding of why those who can, should be more intentional with where they bank and where their pensions are held, amidst other things. The panel confirmed to me, too, why organisations and individuals should have greater knowledge of what investments their funders have made, and where the money they receive comes from.
Recognising our state of climate emergency, Wildscreen ensured reducing the environmental impact of the event was a key priority. Attendees were encouraged to travel sustainably, bring reusable water bottles, and were provided with reusable cups from Bristol-based project CanCan for hot drinks as well as a (very tasty) plant-based meal. Two-thirds of the people in attendance made their way to the event via public transport.
A key aim of Wildscreen’s was to welcome a wide audience. With the audience consisting of individuals from a variety of sectors – PR, Film & TV, and Conservation to name a few – the organisation succeeded somewhat in their aims. Almost half (44%) of delegates in attendance were 30 or younger, and delegates tuned into Communicating COP26 from 21 countries.
Credit: Alicia Hayden (2021)
Reservations
My biggest concern with Communicating COP26 is a concern I have about the wider conversation on climate change. The continent of Africa being (largely) absent from these discussions is an absence I cannot ignore. Although one of the panels discussed the famine in Madagascar, and the programmed panellist on the topic was unable to attend (for reasons outside of Wildscreen’s control), the continent of Africa was not directly addressed in any of the discussions surrounding the climate crisis from that point forward. With the exception of Inka Creswell (Filmmaker & Marine Biologist), who was a panellist for Changing the Tide, I was the only member of the Black African diaspora present at the event. There were no Black panellists from the continent of Africa at all.
In my opinion, conversations surrounding the climate crisis are incomplete without an understanding of how the climate crisis has been accelerated – if not engineered – by Imperialism. I am not an expert, but colonialism’s role in the overexploitation of natural resources, the loss of Indigenous wisdoms, and the move away from traditional economies founded in agriculture cannot be overstated. Without considering such a key factor of the climate crisis or recognising that formerly colonial powers cannot possibly possess the wisdoms needed to minimise the impact of the climate crisis, I question the extent to which any strategies coming out of COP26 can adequately address a problem that (to my knowledge) would not exist today were it not for Imperialism.
Whilst some Indigenous wisdoms and storytelling were platformed, there was no reference to the Indigenous wisdoms held amidst the communities that make up the continent of Africa. I find the exclusion of African contexts within the overall climate crisis conversation concerning. European fish consumption includes fish harvested from the oceans of West Africa at the expense of fishermen and communities in West Africa who rely on those fish for their livelihoods and sustenance. The absence of the African continent is an issue across the mainstream climate crisis conversation, not solely Wildscreen’s Communicating COP26 event. The consensus from Communicating COP26 was that Glasgow’s COP26 was dissatisfactory, but I had hoped that the lack of African contexts would have been addressed.
Credit: Alicia Hayden (2021)
Conclusions
Communicating COP26 was a great introduction to climate science and conservation for me. The panellists possessed a variety of wisdoms in their respective fields and can be considered good examples of some of the many frontiers the climate crisis can be combated. I especially appreciated learning from the Indigenous wisdoms of Elizabeth Swanson Andi and Michael McGarrell, as they provided contexts for the climate crisis that I had been unaware of prior to the event.
The event has educated me on the urgency of the climate crisis. Going forwards I hope to gain a better understanding of the climate crisis as experienced on the continent of Africa, as well as learn more from climate experts on the continent of Africa on what local and global solutions they believe would be needed to adequately address the climate crisis.
As someone who, prior to Wildscreen’s Communicating COP26, had very little understanding of climate change, I consider the event to have been pivotal in my current understanding of the climate crisis. Wildscreen has provided a much-needed stepping stone for me to continue seeking knowledge on the issue. The event achieved all it set out to do, and in that regard, I consider Communicating COP26 to have been a success.
Written by Adwoa Owusu-Barnieh
Adwoa is Opinions Editor at The Everyday Magazine. They are a writer, poet, and community arts practitioner.
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