Bolivia blog 9: 'Living well' and the World Bank

Last night, I met with Marcos from CIPCA, an organisation working with small farming communities around Bolivia, looking at the impacts of climate change and how to deal with it, at both a practical and policy level. We were discussing the Cochabamba cumbre and the resulting Cochabamba Accord, 'The People's Accord', that will be submitted to the UNFCCC.  

“What do you think of the Bolivian concepts of Vivir Bien ['living well'], and Mother Earth Rights that are being put forward to the UN,” he asked, “What do you think people in Europe think of them?” I paused before answering, wanting to be honest.
 
“To me, the concepts seem instinctive, but, truthfully, I think people in Europe find them hard to take seriously, they snigger – in part because of the name. I think for many people it has connotations of new age hippies," I tired to explain, "Which of course is ridiculous given that the concept of Pachamama has been around through the history of indigenous people.”
 
Marcos nodded, knowingly, “I think the easiest way to understand it is to think about the concept of human rights. When you think about it, the concept of human rights has only been around for about 60 years; these new ideas often come about after times of big upheaval”.
 
I reflected on this. “I think this is the issue in Europe” I answered, “I don't think people think of climate change in the same way, as something that is already happening, in the way that they felt the war right there, on their door steps. We are too disconnected from the elements that sustain us. It’s very different in Bolivia; you feel that climate change is happening, that it’s already here."
 
Marcos nodded, and asked me something interesting, which I’ve been reflecting on since. “I hear that in Europe, and the UK, the government is already spending a lot on their own adaptation. Like the Themes barrier. It would really useful to know how much they are spending. Really, this is all part of the broader dialogue of climate debt, don’t you think? It would be really useful for us to know this”. I committed to try and find out what I could. “I’m not sure how easy it will be to know in total, thought, beyond specific projects”, I mused, “After all, if the UK are open about what we’re spending, it would help make a much stronger case for what needs to be provided in reparations to the south!”

I asked if he knew similar figures for Bolivia.  “We have some estimates,” Marcos replied, “but really, this kind of information is something they don't know. For years now, neo-liberal policies have destroyed every aspect of the state that would enable these things to be estimated. But one estimate, just in terms of water, for the Altiplano region alone, estimates are at around US $ 1 billion. That just for water.”
 
Clearly the figures being talked about by rich country governments in Copenhagen are so far from inadequate its insulting, even without taking into account that the UK government is trying to give them as loans through the World Bank. Nowhere before have I met so many people who visibly react to the mention of the World Bank. Its clear that there is going to be some serious resistance from Bolivia to the UK's effort to make the World Bank the World's 'climate bank'. And judging from the last time Bolivian people took the World Bank on, they’ll have quite a battle on their hands.