Journal 13

I finally went to the gift shop and purchased a lanyard for my ID card. I also got to attend a High-Level meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs as they spoke on Transportation issues concerning LLDCs. The significance was not lost on me. One of my main focuses of thought for this week is concerning the role of Regional Organizations in promoting sustainable mountain development. And this issue of transportation is a big one.

Part of the problem is that, as a land-locked developing nation, access to ocean and sea transport (cheapest form of transport) is non-existent. I mean the name pretty much says it all. This means that these countries must rely on more expensive means of transport. Already, usually, considered poorer nations, land-locked nations cannot easily meet the financial demands that appear before them. For a land-locked nation, this means that a large portion of their, already limited, GDP is set aside to deal with transportation costs.

How does this relate to the issue of the role of regional organizations in promoting SMD? It relates in that, there is a very real necessity for nations to collaborate and produce a means to cut down the financial demand of transportation costs. Organizations such as the WTO, International Communications Union (ITU), and others promote a collaborative effort such as the Almaty Programme of Action.

The purpose of this programme is to develop countermeasures to such issues as the lack of definite infrastructure or the lack of adequate communications. I think that the WTO put it the most succinctly; 1) Agreement to trade facilitation. 2) Enhancing allocation of aide for trade (commitment from donors) 3) Need to diversify from goods to services. 4) Excision from the WTO. I wasn’t sure about that last one. The only way that I could see that as a positive means of change would be for the LLDCs to have paid back any and all loans or trade agreements that might have been previously made.

With the continued efforts of these nations, a new, brighter, future for their citizens is possible.

Journal 12

Today I had a most amazing experience. It started out as just a regular day, with research and assisting where I can at the mission. Earlier in the week I was told that there was a mandatory meeting at a press conference. Around 2:30pm I was asked to come in early and assist with set-up. After the meeting I got all the stuff together again and headed down to the street. What I didn’t know what that the Ambassador and the Prime Minister of Foreign Affairs would be down there. After running into them on the street, the Ambassador introduced me to the Prime Minister and I was able to get a picture with him. A very exciting and eventful end to a day. I was pleased that I had received the interest of both Ambassador and Minister. It was an honor.

Additionally, all throughout the press conference, representatives of Russia, the UN, and others were constantly professing gratitude to Kyrgyzstan and its policies. Mentioning how the Kyrgyz Republic was always one of the first to ratify changes in their government to meet UN objectives. The UN spoke highly of the level of cooperation the Kyrgyz Republic has shown.

One of the things mentioned by the Prime Minister was a quote that he had heard earlier in the GA. It was basically along the lines of, “If you want to go fast, walk alone. If you want to go far, walk with friends.” The praise and reaffirmations of companionship between Russia, the UN, Kyrgyzstan, and others was a great showing of this philosophy. I look forward to the implementation of future corroborations between these institutions.

Journal 11

Recently, I had to read a summary of a report that was conducted by 18 initiatives in 29 countries. What they did was basically survey a large and varying group of marginalized people. They asked them questions about what they thought was significant to them concerning sustainability. They came up with four points of recommendation from these varying groups. Those points, roughly translated, were; rule of law, collective action, diplomatic institutions, and modernization. I mention this in this journal because of the significance of the four points mentioned.

For those who are interested in Political Science, you learn, somewhere along the line, that the aforementioned points are those things that are required for establishing a democracy. I cannot explain how amazing I feel it is that a group of marginalized individuals from so many different places, would naturally gravitate to a democratic state.

I have a feeling of great responsibility and determination when I read reports and summaries such as this. I look forward to my experiences here at the UN and the decisions that I see made every day. They inspire me to attach a more determined approach to my research and decision makings.

Journal 10

Today President Barak Obama spoke at the United Nations General Assembly. He and many other leaders from around the world gathered to speak of many things. But one of the things that he mentioned in passing is what I wish to talk about. The reason being that it is pertinent to the research and reason that I am at the United Nations in the first place.

What President Obama mentioned briefly was the fact that the United States is weaning itself off of foreign resources. This intimates the presumption that we are instead, redirecting out interests to American fuels. As is the case with current fracking in Texas and Oklahoma. This is not wrong, but it is not the entire truth either. More and more research is being focused on alternative, or ‘green’, energy. In much the same way that countries such as Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are in need of alternative resources and financing for those sources, it is the United States that can financially proliferate an alternative means of energy that can create a sustainable future for the rest of the world.

With many of the members of the United Nations speaking of goals (MDGs, SMDGs, WWDGs) being focused on in poverty stricken nations and LDCs it is important to remember that much of the work (i.e. research, manufacturing, financing) can be accomplished in “first world” countries such as the United States. As a side note, I would also like to mention that much of what was said was a testimonial to the successes made and the achievement of some of those goals. I would certainly like to see a re-actualization of efforts in Sustainable Development Goals but with an emphasis in researching fiscally appealing options for alternative resources in modernized countries that could then be transmitted to LDCs.

Maybe, in the future, instead of a passing comment on relinquishing dependency on foreign resources, a President of the United States of America might spend an entire GA speech on the successes of the above mentioned work and its proliferation to LDCs and the masses.

Journal 9

Today has been an action packed adventure of sitting in meetings and learning the ins and outs of world politics today. So packed that I won’t even mention the interesting things that have happened to me today. Well that’s a lie, but anyways. Today I want to start off with a brief history of how I got here and it’s impact on myself and Utah Valley University (UVU).

About five years ago I took my first ever international relations class with Prof. Baktybek Abdrisaev. I went to Utah Valley University because I knew I could. I knew I would do well there. What I didn’t know was how his influence, on myself and others, would make such an impact as it has today. While there has been work made by many a countless soul, to me, Prof. Bek, as his students like to call him, has always been the face of change, in my eyes. And today is a great day for its mention. In my previous posts I mentioned the Fourth Global Meeting of the Mountain Partnership.

What I didn’t mention was that fellow students of UVU were attending the conference and that they were given a chance to participate. What a truly fascinating experience it must have been for them.

Also of note. These brave souls were the only students to have attended from any University (North or South). This speaks volumes about the intimate relationship UVU’s politically minded students have kept with the Mountain Partnership, UIMF, and other GO’s and NGO’s for Mountainous Regions. Also, it verifies the quality or worth of UVU’s students as political actors on the world stage.

These last couple of days have proven the maturity of this institution and the growing presence of its student body. With an ever growing presence in Washington D.C., the United Nations, and now, the world, UVU’s students are setting a standard that will be hard met; yet eagerly sought after by future students.

 

Below is a list of websites which relate to this post:

 

http://womenofthemountains.org/index.php

http://womenofthemountains.org/images/2013/13-09-09-FINAL-SMD-Edited.pdf

http://www.mountainpartnership.org/

http://utahimf.org/

 

Journal 8

Sept. 17^th through the 20^th, in Erzurum, Turkey, the 4^th Global Meeting of the Mountain Partnership will take place. There will be a new, four year (2014 to 2017), strategy and governance presented. In some sense it is a celebration of the last 10 years, since the conception of the Mountain Partnership, and a revamping of its role, because of said 10 years of experience.

About 3 months ago I received a copy of the Mountain Partnership draft Governance and Strategy and I want to highlight a couple of the “key milestones” documented within. First, 1992, Rio Earth Summit includes chapter 13 in ‘Agenda 21’. Second, 1995, International non-governmental consultation in Lima, Peru, leading to establishment of the Mountain Forum. Third, 2002, International Year of Mountains. Fourth, 2002, establishment of the International Partnership for Sustainable Development in Mountain Regions (Mountain Partnership). Fifth, 2011, Lucerne, Switzerland, World Mountain Conference. Sixth, 2003, 2004, 2012, global meetings of the MP. And finally, 2013, Erzurum, Turkey, the fourth global meeting of the MP.

Whiles these may be milestones in MP history they are also historic milestones for the whole of mountainous people everywhere. It is because of the efforts of the people who attended these meetings and the people who inspired them that such great strides have been made in mountain development.

Journal 7

Today has been an interesting one. Today I was given an opportunity unlike any that but a few people will ever get a chance to have. I was able to go to the opening session of the 68^th Session of the General Assembly. I missed the closing session of the 67^th yesterday, but the Ambassador was kind enough to let me attend the opening session. In this session they addressed the issue of Syria and the recent chemical attacks that killed so many men, women, and children. The Secretary General confirmed, through the results of a UN investigation, that the attacks were chemical in nature and the chemical was sarin gas. He then outlined the means and method of the attack.

 

After he spoke, Ambassador’s from the nations of Russia, Syria, and even, a representative of the United States spoke about the issues pertaining to Syria. Basically, in a nutshell, the United Nations and the United States condemned the attacks, blaming the Syrian government. Syria denied that it had anything to do with the attacks and pointed out that the use of chemical warfare was not a new concept and had been used several times in the last 25+ years. Russia though, called for patience and for more time allotted for fact finding missions and discovery. All parties though called for a meeting of minds and a review of and need for assistance.

Journal 6

One of the questions that I have been asking myself this week is; how does the searching of CPI or “cost of living” for these regions apply to the work that is being done here at the United Nations. The answer is that it is data. That isn’t the best answer in the world, I think, but it is applicable and incredibly copacetic with the purpose of many of the goals intended by the United Nations. The United Nations is in many senses very limited in the scope of things that it can get done. Rather, the great contribution that the UN provides to the world is its ability to create vast storehouses of knowledge that can then be used in discussion around the world.

 

This is so very much the case in places like Kyrgyzstan and other developing countries. Without the research done by the UN and its subsidiaries, like the United Nations University, great strides in human development would be severely hindered. One of the primary goals of the United Nations and every country that is a part of the UN is to provide a platform for discussion. Even in situations where the purpose might seem limited in scope of time. For example, in 2002 or, “the international year of mountains”, one of the biggest purposes of the UN was to create committees that could be used to springboard discussions and bring greater understanding where there wasn’t any before. For this reason, sustainable mountain development and other previous issues are still being targeted today.

 

And to wrap it all up in a bow, that is the purpose of the documentation I collected.

Journal 5

As I mentioned yesterday, the CPI is of great significance and is incredibly difficult to calculate. Trying to find the information for comparison for a couple of countries in the European Union was in fact quite difficult. This time around though I am working on the cost of living for New York City and comparing it to the United States of America.

 Considered the most expensive city to live in (Huffigntonpost.com), New York City provides an interesting data set. The CPI for New York is about twice that of the average here in the United States. That’s crazy expensive. For example, to be considered middle class, living in downtown Manhattan is about $60,000, as opposed to, say, San Marcos, Texas (one of the cheapest places in the United States) where middle class would be around $28,000.

Drawing comparisons is not only extremely fun, but enlightens the researcher on national averages and provides intricate points to draw correlations. I was able to do this with the help of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a US agency that catalogs and takes surveys for the purpose of producing statistics like the CPI, PPI, and others.

It is agencies like the BLS that provide detailed information that can help in Sustainable Mountain Development. Being able to provide information about “cost of living” trends in a particular region can assist in developing plans for development that can be specific, accurate from the regional level to the sub-national. Meaning, even countries like Kyrgyzstan, with its limited resources, can predict possible revenue pathways that might help the country.

Journal 4

The last couple of days have been quite interesting. Two days ago I worked for 15 hours just to write a two page comparative analysis on “Cost of Living” in Europe. Almost all of that time was actually just researching what “cost of living” is and how to implement it in a comparative analysis. It is quite easy to understand what “cost of living” is by its very phrase. How much does it cost to live a certain way; that is all it is. But what about when you are trying to implement a cost of living index for an entire population, or even more, a group of populations? That’s a pain on a whole other level. So many variations must be taken into consideration, one cannot simply calculate a personal expense check-list; said check-list varies for each person. I certainly do not live the same way as Mr. Donald Trump (despite my most earnest day-dreams). And Mr. Trump doesn’t live the same way as the bum sleeping on the street in downtown Manhattan. I took a picture of said bum as I was exiting the New York Public Library about 2 or 3 in the afternoon. I was actually envious of the bum, I do love sleeping and it was a particularly sunny afternoon where sleeping outdoors is one of those rare delights for the perpetually indoor bum that I am.

With all this in consideration, once again, I ask the question, how much does it cost to live a certain way for an entire population? The answer, in a limited way, is the use of a consumer price index (CPI), calculating the changes in inflation, documenting said fluxuation, and then comparing it against a certain set of information; this, to some degree, is what I did. Rather, what I did was to calculate the above mentioned information for the United Kingdoms and comparing it to Kyrgyzstan. Doing so I found that, no surprise to those who know much about economics, Kyrgyzstan had a higher rate of inflation. This is not a negative issues, despite the negative connotation that the term inflation bares. The United Kingdoms has reached, some 90% of its potential growth, as such, the United Kingdoms will never see a significantly high inflation rate. This doesn’t mean that the United Kingdoms will not be more influenced by a high (for its own set of standards) inflation rate. Rather, it means that Kyrgyzstan is a young country that has not yet made its stride to economic growth yet, and because of such the rate of inflation is higher.

This has real significance. If Kyrgyzstan can (at some point) reach a CPI standard that can compare with the United Kingdoms, it is conceivable that a country like Kyrgyzstan can see its own potential future. This is something that isn’t even remotely visible in the near future, but it certainly isn’t something that cannot happen. What would be really interesting would be if we could somehow calculate CPI for the United Kingdoms around the same time in its conception as that of Kyrgyzstan in its current state.

Journal 3

I would like to start today’s musings off with some facts that I learned recently. These come from a meeting of high-level members of the Sanitation and Water for All Partnership. A couple of the members of note are the World Bank, the Finance Minister of Nigeria, and a representative from the United States; over 80 countries and organizations attended.

·       According to the World Bank: 1990-2000, 2 billion people gained access to safe drinking water; 1.8 billion to sanitation. However, in the same amount of time the world population increased by 1.5 billion

·       The Millennial Development Goals (MDG) set for water and sanitation will not be met until the year 2026, IF development stays on track. This doesn’t include the added population growth that was mentioned above

·       In Africa alone, due to issues of water sanitation, 700,000 children under the age of 5yrs old die a year, more than 3,000 children die a day

·       There are still around 780 million people without access to safe water

With over 50% of the world’s drinkable water coming from mountains one can see the significance of the efforts of mountain countries. For example, Egypt, or the gift of the Nile, is actually the gift of the Hindu-Kush Himalayas. Because it is that mountain range from which the Nile receives almost 100% of its water.

The significance of this is not lost on me. I can now see more clearly the reason behind the Ambassador asking that I do research on watershed degradation and sustainable development.

One might be concerned about the facts that I mentioned above, and they should be, but the United Nations and the Kyrgyz Republic are working together with many other countries and organizations to find means of bringing sustainable practices to those in need.

 

Journal 2

Kyrgyzstan’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations is surprisingly small. It consists of two rooms, one of which is sectioned into 3. There has been no space for me to work with them in their offices. I don’t say this though to call blame or speak against. Rather, I am grateful for their lack of space. I am grateful because the Ambassador has basically given me my assignment and sent me to find my own way. By doing so, I have been able to see some of the most amazing sights of my life. Right now in fact, I am sitting in this amazing little book shop typing up the summation of my day and the day’s research.

The owner has “volunteers” who come in and work for him. Often times he walks outside and doesn’t come back for 10-15 minutes. But this is accepted by the patrons and they wait. Only to have the owner come back and everyone greets each other with smiles on their faces.

There is a friendliness to this city that I was never told about. If you think that this is the city you are supposed to be in, then it must be so, and nothing anyone says will make it otherwise. The denizens of this city understand this fact and respect it… if you respect it.

After meeting with the Ambassador yesterday he gave me an assignment, to look into the effects of watershed degradation and thematic disasters in mountainous regions. Because of sharp slopes, high and low temperatures, and how they vary depending upon altitude the effects of natural disasters are compounded in mountainous regions. Landslides, mudslides, and soil erosion effect farmers in those areas at a magnitude not seen in the Texas Panhandle. This leads to unfavorable farming practices, loss of life, and an economic downturn that you wouldn’t see in Utah and the prime slopes of Park City.

The more I read of the resolutions set forth by the United Nations, the more I realize the incredible struggles that some, not all, countries deal with. And that right there is the necessity of what I am doing here at the UN.

That last post was actually intended for yesterday. But I didn't have internet at the time I finished writing it so I decided to "two birds, one stone"  it and submit it with my next entry.

Journal 1

I’ve been sitting here for the last 30 min trying to figure out what it is that I want to say in my first ever Journal -- of my first ever internship. I haven’t actually sat here for 30min trying to figure it out, it’s just a number that has been fixated in my mind and one that I need to put down. I can assure you, the reader, that I have been sitting here longer, trying to figure out how to start. Because as every English major and professional writer out there knows, the beginning has to be just right.

Today is a special day. Today is the first official day of my internship. I say “official” because today is not, in fact, my first day on the job. I moved to New York City 6 days ago and have been working to play catch up on all readings related to my internship. I am by no means close to finished but have already put in a good 20 hours of straight reading. I say this now, and will most definitely come to regret saying this, but these hours spent reading are probably the most important hours of my internship.

These hours spent reading have all been about resolutions adopted by the United Nations for the last decade and a half, on Sustainable Mountain Development. They have been readings about Chapter 13 of Agenda 21, the Bishkek Mountain Reform/Summit, and the Johannesburg Implementation program… just to name a few. These readings outline the actions, activities, concerns, and observations of people around the world that care strongly about the Earth’s mountainous regions. As well they should.

Mountainous regions around the globe consist of 12% of the World’s population, roughly 700 million people (Bishkek Mountain Summit). A small portion of which live in the country of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek being the capital city of that country. The Ambassador of which has been gracious enough to accept me as an intern.

As you might be able to tell from the above paragraph, Kyrgyzstan has played no small part in the Sustainable Mountain Development Agenda. Having hosted a UN GA Summit on SMD, Kyrgyzstan is as focused as any other country and organization around the world on the implementation of resolutions adopted by the United Nations.

Noticeable resolutions include, A/Res/53/24, A/Res/57/189, A/Res/58/216, and others. These resolutions define Sustainable Mountain Development, as set forth by the United Nations. They encourage awareness of such issues as soil erosion, poverty, water pollution, deforestation, loss of indigenous culture, and much more. They also provide insight into potential solutions and urge for collaboration between actors at all levels, from governmental to local.

Whether it be instituting zoning laws or providing land for new national parks or even getting the neighborhood Boy Scout troop or YMCA group to pick up trash and learn about disaster relief, people who care, like those mentioned in the beginning, can make a difference. I am learning that in my readings and they are changing my perspectives and strengthening my resolve.