Bhutan is a small Buddhist county nestled in the Eastern crags of the Himalayas, commonly overshadowed in the news by its neighbors Tibet, Burma, China and India. Bhutan is most commonly known for its policy of Gross National Happiness (GHN), a metric introduced by King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuckn and used to measure the well-being of its citizens and guide the development of government policy. The four pillars of GNH are the promotion of sustainable development, preservation and promotion of cultural values, conservation of the natural environment, and establishment of good governance.

The GNH measures reflect Bhutan’s Buddhist foundations which emphasize the need for spiritual and moral development to coincide with material development. Bhutan is cautious about modernization, and justly so. Most countries have embraced the luxuries of modernity while degrading precious traditional values and our connection to nature.

Slogan on a wall in Thimphu’s School of Traditional Arts. Court. of Wikimedia Commons.

King Wangchuck broke with his father’s legacy and has opened Bhutan to modern changes little by little (Television appeared for the first time in 1999), hoping to adopt the benefits of new technology while avoiding the evils. The results are mixed – crime, materialism and dissatisfaction are rising, but not to the rates of most other countries. Some educated Bhutanese returning from educations in the West seek to lead the country in a unique blend of Buddhist values and Western practices.

For example, for every tree cut down they plant three new ones and claim to be the only country with proven negative CO2 production, that is, they absorb more CO2 out of the atmosphere than they put into it. Notably, English has been adopted as the universal language in Bhutan and is taught in the all free school system there (financed largely by sale of electricity from hydropower to India), a testament to the seriousness of their careful opening to modern ideas and ways.

Bhutan faces the enormous challenge of engaging reasonable change without being overwhelmed by the two gigantic countries on either side: China and India, India being their closest development partner to date. China crushed Buddhist Tibet and India ousted the Buddhist government of Sikkim, leaving Bhutan as the last country in the region with a King and traditional Tantric Buddhist religion at its core. At the same time, the King instituted a parliamentary system and has granted increasing legislative and administrative powers to a growing to date ever more democratic government.

The concept of the ecocity blends well with the philosophy of Bhutan. An ecocity is an opportunity to balance modern technology with these traditional values, blending simplicity and convergance to nature with infrastructure to support modern conveniences such as sanitation and electricity. Bhutan’s proposed ecocity will be situated near the south edge kingdom, north of the Gangiatic plane, and south of the foothills of the Himalayas. The idea is to build a leading city for “education, sport and eco-tourism” with an eye to bringing their GNH (Gross National Happiness) theme together with the leading ecocity project in the world.

Tashichho Dzong, a Buddhist monastery and seat of the Druk Desi, the head of Bhutan’s civil government. Court. Wikimedia Commons.

Richard’s vision is to take seriously the notion that happiness is a higher goal than maximum materialist consumption. It seems unthinkable that the general happiness and well-being of a people is not the highest priority indicator of their wealth. Yet Bhutan is the only country to explicitly say so. For the rest of us, the generation of paper and electronic numbers continues to be the applauded standard of well-being. We are left with other numbers to suggest the failings of our own gross national happiness: rising rates of disease, hospitalization, divorce, drug use and more.

Says Richard, “If we can design and build the sustainable city for a happy future – it would be such a large chunk of the solution, who could ask for anything more?”

A bit about the Ecocity Summit Program:

The program organizers have used a novel grouping system to select the presenters and organize the program information. Firstly, each presentation or workshop at the summit addresses one or more of the five main themes:

- Reducing the environmental footprint

- Addressing energy challenges of the city

- Organizing and systems

- Strengthening solidarity and participation

- Mobilizing enabling factors

Presentations are further grouped under approach categories, including thinking, shaping, financing and governing. A matrix of all the planned programs enables you to searching for theme or approach so you can easily find the programs and themes you are most interested in.

You can also view a tentative scheduling of the programs here: Pre-program schedule.

Early registration is now underway for the Summit Conference and there are numerous benefits to signing up early. Visit the Ecocity Summit website to register now!

matrice-siteENHoraires

The Ecocity World Summit brings together organizations and individuals from around the world to share solutions and discuss the state of human settlements and sustainability. Find our more about the International Ecocity Framework Standards click here.

Are you a student, jobseeker, researcher and/or from a developing country? You can qualify for reduced tickets for all three days. More information is available at the website.

Register now!

For thousands of years, human settlements have clustered around flood planes, from the banks of the Amazon River to lake Tonle Sap in Cambodia, to the marshes of the Netherlands. These settlements are designed to account for the seasonal ebb and flow of sea and fresh water, often by constructing buildings on raised platforms and/or building dykes, dams and canals. Yet as global climate change leads to increasing sea levels, almost every coastal city will face the challenge of encroaching waters.

Presenters at the Global Town Hall for infrastructure solutions held last week in Germany introduced innovative solutions for cities on the brink. “13 out of the world’s 21 megacities are harbor cities, of which Shanghai is most vulnerable to flood and related hazards,” said Professor Markus Quante at the town hall.

Instead of holding back the flood, several presenters suggested ways to completely re-imagine a city on the water. Rutger de Graaf from DeltaSync, a design firm that specializes in sustainable flood-proof urban development in delta areas, says cities can float on water and yet stay dry and resilient. Floating structures on water eliminate the threat of flood damage and can be a viable option for city expansion. In addition, city waste such as carbon dioxide and biowaste can be used to farm algae and in turn raise fish in urban areas.

“Urbanization in delta areas has caused increasingly severe flood. It has also added pressure on space, food, energy and other resources,” said de Graaf, adding that by 2025 the world will run short of at least 22 million km² of land – an area equivalent to the North American continent.

Rijnhaven Pavijlioner. Images from DeltaSync

The city of Rotterdam is already experimenting with floating urbanization, building its first floating pavilion at the Rijnhaven harbor. Designed by DeltaSync, the three domed structures cover the area of four tennis courts and are not only self-sufficient, relocatable structures that purify their own waste water, but also rise automatically according to rising water levels. The city plans to add many more floating buildings, including a park, as part of the Rijnhaven harbor redevelopment master plan.

Another 1,200 floating structures are planned to open in 2040 in Stadhavens – an area designated for sustainable housing development, floating communities, recreation, and research on energy generation such as tidal energy and cooling and heating from river water.

The city of Semarang, the capital of Central Java, and other coastal cities are working with the Dutch to implement their water management expertise in their own districts. Semarang has already lost 98.2 hectares of land between 1991 and 2009 due to land erosion accelerated by climate change.

Find out more about DeltaSync’s project at their website.

Lake Merritt, surrounded by its string of pearl lights at night, is now one of my favorite destinations in the Bay Area, and I’m lucky to live right above it near the Grand Lake Theater. Oakland City Officials and residents recognized the wisdom in restoring this civic gem when they proposed measure DD, a $198.25 million bond measure that included waterfront improvements at Lake Merritt and the Estuary. In November 2002, over 80% of Oakland voters passed Measure DD and work began, slowly and haltingly, two years later.

The Lake Merritt Master Plan is an inspiringly ambitious civic vision that allocates money towards landscaping, habitat and stream restoration, improving water quality in Lake Merritt, widening pedestrian and cycling paths and building better roadways to calm traffic around the lake. Measure DD Program Manager Joel Peter calls it “the most wide-ranging and complex series of projects ever undertaken by the City of Oakland.” It’s been a long project. Over ten years later, work is still being done (and is overdue) on the Estuary connection and new 12th Street bypass. But so far it is an incredible success. Visit the lake any time of day and you’ll see a cross section of Oakland jogging, playing, walking, picnicking, and relaxing in the sun.

We take so much time to complain about what is wrong with our cities–it’s equally important to celebrate and give thanks when things are done right. These successes often fly under the radar, especially in cities with as many problems as Oakland.

Here are five reasons to be excited about the Lake Merritt Master plan:

1. Restored walking and jogging paths

The walk around Lake Merritt used to be plagued with potholes. Many parts of it have been repaved and girdled with native and drought-tolerant landscaping. Some completely new sections of the path include a packed-earth lane for joggers.

2. Bike paths

The entire lake can now be circumnavigated on bike paths. The East Bay Bicycle Coalition along with TransForm are also working on connecting other existing bike paths to the lake to serve as a bike transit hub.

4. Reduced car traffic

The four lane road around the lake has been reduced to two and complimented with generously landscaped medians. The South end of the lake used to be a 12 lane street. That’s right: practically a highway. Planners cut those lanes by half and put them on an elevated bridge, accompanied by bike lanes and an adjunct foot bridge. A small park now stands between the road and the lake.

5. Reconnecting the Estuary

Lake Merritt was originally part of a tidal flat that was cut off from the estuary to create a more aesthetically pleasing lake. The destruction of the 12 lane road at the South end has connected the lake with the neck of the Lake Merritt Channel, and in the next two years a few more culverts will be removed to finally reunite it with the Estuary. This will allow the natural tidal system to operate freely in the lake for the first time in over 140 years.

Mayor Jean Quan celebrates the opening of the Lake Merritt Channel.

“Lake” Merritt and Alameda “Island” area circa 1800.

3. Wetland restoration

Lake Merritt became America’s first wildlife sanctuary in 1870, which unfortunately coincided with the slow destruction of the wetlands that supported the wildlife. The estuary reconnection mentioned above includes plans for a park and wetland restoration. Additional landscaping around the lake is recreating marshy areas and serving as natural management systems for storm water runoff, called bioswales.

Bioswale (in the background) and living roof.

The Lake Merritt Master Plan is reuniting Oaklanders with nature and the ancient Bay environment, hopefully to the great benefit of both. Go check it out for yourself!

Read more:

Polishing Oakland’s Crown Jewel, KQED.com

Oakland Lake Merritt Master Plan

Gateway to the Bay reopened, SFgate.com

Nantes: The Venice of France

Following in the footsteps of Stockholm, Hamburg and Vitoria-Gasteiz, Nantes Métropole is the European Union’s Green Capital for 2013. The European Commission launched the Green Capital project in 2008 to recognize and reward cities’ efforts to increase sustainability and improve quality of life. Addressing these issues is a pressing concern for European cities as three in four European citizens currently live in urban areas and that number is expected to grow to four in five by 2050.

This year will bring many exciting events to Nantes including ten local or national conferences and 11 European or international conferences, not least of which is the International Ecocity World Summit this September 25-27th.

Few outside of France may have ever heard of Nantes–it is well worth paying attention to.

Nante’s story mirrors that of many industrial cities in Europe and the United States. After the closure of the city’s main economic source–the shipyards–in the 1980s, city leaders were faced with a struggling economy, civic stagnation and abandoned, decaying industrial sites. But instead of trying to recreate failed systems and lingering in the industrial past, Nantes took a unique leap of faith and decided to invest in sustainable infrastructure, culture and quality of life. No mean feat for the 1980s.

Planners carefully redeveloped the shipyards into green public space and focused on highlighting the city’s history (dating to Pre-Roman times), fostering culture and community development, and connected the city via high speed rail to Paris. Nantes’ planning framework promotes urban density, solidarity, and equal access to green living amenities for citizens of all income levels. The result: in 2004, Time Magazine named Nantes the most livable place in all Europe.

A few numbers from Nantes:

• 57m2 of green space per person
• 15% of residents use public transportation daily
• Everyone lives within 300m of a green space in the city
• 80% of the Nantes/Sant-Nazaire metro area is natural and farmland space
• Only 11% of household waste goes to landfills

Nantes works hard to encourage dense urban development to accommodate its growing population rather than sprawling into surrounding green areas. In addition many riverbanks, wetlands and green spaces have been restored to support a thriving wildlife population.

Nante’s city governance also attempts to break with a long history of top-down city planning that has often been patronizing and alienating. City leaders name civic pride and involvement a top priority for the city, and their policies reflect this. Vigorous public outreach campaigns involve citizens with the planning of their neighborhoods and the government also holds household workshops on carbon footprint reduction and sustainability.

Of course it is all a work in progress; still, Nantes is a consummate example of the Ecocity principles in action and we are so excited to come together for the 2013 World Summit in such a remarkable city!

Join us

Here are three ways in which parking is being transformed from the concrete wasteland of yesterday to functional, sustainable and more user-friendly spaces.

The multistory garage

Let’s be honest: being in a parking building is an unpleasant experience. These are the cold and abandoned sites of cinematic  ambushes, where everything echos eerily as we wander trying to remember where we parked. Not to mention those ever-present signs warning us that simply being there may compromise our ability to reproduce and/or live.

Walking through a parking structure is like walking into a bad neighborhood: this space belongs to the cars–to steel, plastic, and fuel fumes. You don’t don’t fit in, and you know it.

Can the parking structure reclaim the human element?

Since an important aspect of building ecocities is working with the infrastructure we already have, this Miami garage is a good example of what “green wrapping” can do for a building. Firm Arquitectonica added planting to the roof and sides of this standard concrete box, and as the plants have grown the effect is quite pleasing. More plants in the area will help filter air pollution, provide temperature control and runoff management, and soften the hard urban edges of the street.

In terms of new buildings, the Parkhaus Engelenschanze in Stuttgart, Germany, addresses the oppressiveness of the garage with a light, airy mixture of glass and concrete. An inner courtyard contains a waterfall, creek and recycled-glass curtains.

The city of Santa Monica takes the garage one step more user friendly with the first LEED qualified parking structure in the U.S.

The building’s roof features a solar photovoltaic array which provides shade and on-site renewable energy. All construction materials are recycled and the structure is finished with low-VOC paints. The building is skinned with various temperature controlling and energy reducing features, and, most impressively, a storm-drain water-treatment system helps process tainted runoff while grey water harvesting provides water for landscaping and on-site facilities.

Of course, the idea of a LEED parking garage seems somewhat of an oxymoron. Indeed, the whole project has fueled fiery debate about the meaning of LEED and sustainable building. At the same time, if you gotta build a parking structure, might as well build it like this! Plus, it’s easy on the eyes.

A power source

Solar charging for electric vehicles has been around since the 1990s. The fact that very few people know that attests to the challenges this technology has experienced. We finally started paying attention to solar charging stations around 2009 when British solar panel manufacturer Romag installed electric vehicle power canopies at their headquarters. The photovoltaic parking generated 1.5kW of peak power in optimal conditions and even in the overcast British weather could generate 1100kWh of power over the course of a year. Once the car parked under it has been charged, the unit pumped extra energy back to the National Grid. 2009 also ushered in New York City’s first solar charging station.

Now that EVs are becoming more popular, groves of solar charging canopies are cropping up all over the place, from college campuses to malls. This conceptual design by Neville Mars takes first prize for creativity and artistic impression. Let’s hope it gets built one day.

Restored ground

One of the major problems with current parking surfaces is runoff. Several alternatives to the standard asphalt blanket help alleviate runoff while adding valuable green space.

The Green Corridor project is an initiative to reinvent the international bridge linking the U.S. to Canada at the city of Windsor. Part of the design includes an Eco Parking Lot for Canadian Customs and University of Windsor students, featuring Native planting, green walls, permeable concrete, and stormwater remediation holding tanks. The runoff is cycled into nearby restored wetlands–a bioretention area–to remove contaminants.

The EPA did some cool experiments with permeable concrete in 2009, and you can watch a video of it here.

Another simple option is to use mats and grass cover, or pebbles, as a parking surface instead of concrete. You could do this with your own driveway. Suddenly parking on your lawn doesn’t seem so trashy…

The defunct “Mail Rail” tunnel — a narrow gauge railway used for transporting mail around London–closed in 2003 and UK’s Landscape Institute, in partnership with the Mayor of London and the Garden Museum, has run a design competition to decide what to do with it. The 170 entries included some wonderfully creative ideas, from public swimming area to rehabilitated wetlands and a floating park. The winner: London-based Fletcher Priest Architects created a plan to turn the tunnels into an urban mushroom farm and pedestrian stroll. The pedestrian walkway would be lit at street level by glass-fiber, mushroom-shaped sculptures and the ‘shroom crop could supply pop-up “Funghi” cafes at the tunnel’s entrance and exit.

Check out the plans for the “Pop Down” here: http://www.fletcherpriest.com/High-Line-for-London/competitions/. Fungi are truly wonderful and under-appreciated organisms. In addition to providing food and visual delight for the visitors, the colony can help clean toxins from the soil. This is a wonderfully creative concept for a public park and truly unique–hopefully it will will be built!

First Night Ferris Wheel, Raleigh, North Carolina

As the holidays approach, many of us wonder how to spend New Year’s Eve. One of my favorite New Year’s Eve activities is “First Night:” A non-alcoholic arts and entertainment evening available to area residents at little cost (usually a “button” that costs $10-$20 for all programs).  For many years, my wife and I enjoyed 1^st Night in Annapolis, MD. One year, we celebrated 1^st Night in Alexandria, VA.

One of the benefits of First Night is there is no need to drive. Many programs are within walking distance of each other. Frequently, a free shuttle bus provides transportation between venues. Since many First Nights are held in or near downtown, visitors can stay in one location and enjoy a great New Year’s Eve without ever needing to drive.

For a complete list of communities throughout the United States that have their own First Night, visit http://firstnightusa.com/.

This year, we wanted to celebrate First Night away from home. One community we considered was Raleigh, North Carolina.  (Unfortunately, our plans changed and we couldn’t come that evening.) Raleigh is one of many communities that offer First Night for the entire family. In this month’s column, we will visit downtown Raleigh, learn about First Night, and suggest a few self-guided walking tours that you can enjoy without ever needing to drive or leave downtown Raleigh.

Getting Here

Amtrak’s Silver Star serves Raleigh daily from New York, Baltimore, Washington, Richmond (VA), Savannah Georgia, and Florida. The Piedmont has a daily train from Charlotte to Raleigh.

Capital Area Transit (CAT) buses 7, 11, 21, and 36 stop at the Amtrak station, 320 West Cabarrus Street. Or take the free R line shuttle.

Downtown Raleigh

All of these buses to Moore Square in downtown Raleigh.

The Raleigh Durham International Airport (RDU) is served by Triangle Transit’s regional bus 100 every day except Sunday. On Sundays, Sky Shuttle (919) 599-8100, and Skylink Shuttle (919) 233-3952 or (855) 759-8267 will take you to the Airport from Downtown Raleigh for under $30.

The Greyhound Bus Terminal is located at 314 Jones St. CAT bus 8 serves the Greyhound terminal Monday through Saturday. On Sundays, take CAT bus 38.

After You Arrive:

Because our visit focuses on downtown Raleigh, it’s easy to walk most places. Or you can take the free R line downtown circulator bus.  For a list of stops and other information about the R line Circulator, go to http://www.godowntownraleigh.com/get-around.

For attractions, entertainment, and what to do in downtown Raleigh, go to http://www.godowntownraleigh.com.

Ryan Smith, from the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau, is our guide to downtown Raleigh.

Entertainment Districts.

Downtown Raleigh has many personalities and defined streetscapes that are walkable and can be enjoyed either day or night. Here are the top 4 entertainment districts that show the city’s diversity:

1. Glenwood South: Known for its’ lively nature and eclectic mix of restaurants, shopping and spirited nightlife, Glenwood South is South Raleigh’s trendiest district and offers exciting scenery for all to enjoy.
2. Capital District: A busy business district, the Capital District houses stately buildings and classic architecture that showcases North Carolina state history.
3. Fayetteville Street District: A main street on a grand scale, Fayetteville Street is known for its’ distinctive restaurants and impressive skyscrapers as well as restored historic buildings.
4. Moore Square Art District: If you want to get a taste of Raleigh’s art scene, Moore Square is the perfect district to visit! Clustered in a three-block radius around the historic City Market, the district includes commercial and display galleries to tap into your creative genius.

Raleigh’s Capital District

Where to Stay in Downtown Raleigh

Hotels within Downtown Raleigh:

http://www.visitraleigh.com/visitors/hotels/

1. Raleigh Marriot City Center. http://www.marriott.com/raleigh-marriott-city-center/
2. Sheraton Raleigh Hotelhttp://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/raleigh
3. Clarion Hotel State Capitol. http://www.raleighclarion.com/
4. Hampton Inn Glenwood: Opening in late 2012, the Hampton Inn Glenwood will open its’ door to guests with 126 rooms and approximately 950 sq. ft. of retail space.

Oakwood Bed and Breakfast: http://www.oakwoodinnbb.com/.

Exploring Downtown Raleigh

    Organized Tours. http://www.visitraleigh.com/things-to-do/tours/

1. Taste Carolina Gourmet Tour: Guiding you to six to eight restaurants and shops serving innovative food sourced locally from farm-to table. You’ll have opportunities to talk with chefs and owners, and professional guides will tell you about local history and cool new developments in town. http://www.tastecarolina.net/
2. Tobacco Road Tours: As the Research Triangle Region’s only full-service tour operator, including group tours and daily, professionally guided motorized and walking tours, Tobacco Road offers packaged tours for Historic Raleigh, plus a Raleigh Haunted Footsteps Ghost Tour, Raleigh Pub Crawl & Haunted Adventure and African-American Culture & Experience. http://www.tobaccoroadtours.com/
3. Triangle Glides: Fully narrated Segway tours get you up close to Raleigh’s points of interest, and Stand Up Paddle lessons have you walking on water while getting a full-body workout. http://www.triangleglides.com/

Self-Guided Tours of Downtown Raleigh

1)     For a three-hour self-guided walking tour around Downtown Raleigh, here is an itinerary you can use to get the most out of your visit:

• Start at the Raleigh Visitors Center located between the Raleigh Marriott and the Raleigh Convention Center on Fayetteville Street
• Stop #1 – Raleigh City Museum: Learn about the city’s history through historical artifacts and exhibits and see how the museum is “preserving Raleigh’s past for the future”. http://www.raleighcitymuseum.org/
• Stop #2 – State Capitol: Explore one of the finest and best-preserved examples of a major civic building in the Greek revival style of architecture. http://www.nchistoricsites.org/capitol/
• Stop #3 – North Carolina Museum of History: Interpret the state’s history through exhibitions and other historical materials in a local, regional, national and international context. http://ncmuseumofhistory.org/
• Stop #4 – North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences: Enhance your understanding and appreciation of the environment through exhibits and the newly-built Nature Research Center. http://ncmuseumofhistory.org/

If you want to explore outside of the Downtown area and enjoy walking on trails, parks or other natural areas, the 11 (Avent Ferry) and 11C (Buck Jones) routes on the Capital Area Transit will take you to the newly renovated Pullen Park, a 72-acre public park located near the campus of North Carolina State University. http://www.raleighnc.gov/arts/content/PRecRecreation/Articles/PullenPark.html

2)     The R Line Circulator is a free and easy way to get around Downtown Raleigh. Here is an itinerary you can use to get a sense of the best places to go in the area before 6:30pm:

• Start at the bus stop in front of the Raleigh Convention Center (R13)
• Stop # 1 – State Capitol (R1): Visit the State Capitol Building, Legislative Building, Executive Mansion, State Archives, the North Carolina Museum of History and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.
• ·       Stop #2 – Seaboard Station (R3): Stop and have lunch at Tyler’s Taproom or 18 Seaboard. www.tylerstaproom.com/ , http://www.18seaboard.com/
• Stop #3 – Glenwood South (R5, R6, R7): Walk down Raleigh’s trendiest district and explore the city’s nightlife.

After 6:30pm, the R Line Circulator changes course to show visitors the exciting nightlife of Downtown Raleigh. Here is an itinerary you can use to see how Raleigh comes alive in the night time:

• Start at the bus stop in front of the Raleigh Convention Center (R13)
• Stop #1 – City Market at Moore Square (R17): Explore the historic Moore Square District and possibly stop for dinner at Batistella’s, a take on classic New Orleans and upscale Southern cuisine. http://www.battistellas.com/
• Stop #2 – Glenwood South (R5, R6, R7): See the district come to life and enjoy the casual, friendly, and spirited atmosphere! Possibly stop for a drink at Natty Greene’s Brewing Company, one of 9 Raleigh microbreweries. http://www.nattygreenes.com/
• Stop #3 – Warehouse District (R10, R11): Take the 3-block walk and see some of the city’s best restaurants and nightlife at places such as The Pit and Brewmasters Bar and Grill.

Don’t Forget about First Night Raleigh if you are here on New Year’s Eve

First Night Raleigh is central North Carolina’s largest New Year’s Eve community celebration of the arts.  This year’s festival will feature nearly 100 performances showcasing various forms of dance, improvisational comedy, theatre, interactive art installations, and live music from performers representing a wide variety of genres including rock, blues, jazz, classical, gospel, opera, folk and more.  The 22^nd annual festival will take place on Monday, December 31, 2012 across a 24-block area of downtown Raleigh, encompassing three-dozen indoor and outdoor venues.

This year’s celebration takes inspiration from the world of the circus, and many of the interactive installations, make-and-take crafts, and performances throughout the afternoon and evening will feature the circus arts.  First Night festivities begin at 2:00 PM with the Children’s Celebration – performances and hands-on art activities geared specifically toward young revelers.  Following The People’s Procession – a participatory parade at 6:00 – and an early countdown at 7:00, Raleigh comes alive with continuous performances throughout downtown, culminating in a performance by local rising stars Delta Rae on the Main Stage in City Plaza.  You won’t want to miss the 90-foot Ferris wheel and a chance to drop like the acorn on the Jumbo Drop, which will be erected on Fayetteville Street.  The festival concludes at Midnight with the famous Raleigh Acorn drop and fireworks to ring in 2013.

Admission passes go on sale December 1 for $9 and provide access to ALL First Night Raleigh 2013 venues, performances and activities.  For more information about First Night Raleigh 2013 and full performance schedules, visit www.firstnightraleigh.com, or call (919) 832-8699.

For More Information

For attractions, tickets, packages and where to stay, go to www.visitraleigh.com. Or call the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau at either (919) 834-5900, or toll-free (800) 849-8499

Go to http://www.gotriangle.org/transit/servicetoairport, for information about Bus 100 that serves Raleigh Durham International Airport every day except Sunday.

For local bus service in Raleigh and the free R shuttle that serves downtown Raleigh, go to http://www.raleighnc.gov/home/content/PWksTransit/Articles/CapitalAreaTransit.html, or call (919) 485-RIDE.

Steve Atlas enjoys hearing from readers. Would you like to share a personal car free vacation experience, or suggest a destination for a future column? E-mail Steve at steveatlas45@yahoo.com.

The Green Wall of China: an attempt to slow Gobi desert encroachment, China

It seems as if we are constantly preparing to fight the last war and completely unprepared for new challenges. But one needs only travel to the edge of the Kubuchi Desert in Inner Mongolia to see that mankind faces threats on an unprecedented scale that call our for our united action. We must use the full extent of our imagination to come up with solutions to this crisis through new global alliances that require us to completely rethink terms like “security” as we create a new civilization that can lead humans from the dark night of endless consumption to a hopeful future.

My engagement in the long-term effort to stop the spread of deserts in China started from a very distinct personal experience. When I arrived in Beijing in 1998 to serve as ambassador to China, I was greeted by the yellow dust storms. The gales that brought in the sand and dust were very powerful and it was no small shock to see Beijing’s skies preternaturally darkened. I received a phone call from my daughter the next day and she told that the Seoul sky had been covered by the same sandstorm that had blown over from China. I realized that she was talking about same storm I had just witnessed. That phone call awakened me to the crisis. I saw for the first time that we all confronted a common problem that transcends national boundaries. I saw clearly that the problem of the yellow dust I saw in Beijing was my problem, and my family’s problem. It was not just a problem for the Chinese to solve.

When I had established myself at the Beijing Embassy, I asked my staff to conduct a survey about the origins and implications of the yellow dust, and how it arose from the rapid desertification of land in China. They came back to me with a report that explained that the problem was ongoing, already quite serious and worsening rapidly. Here was a threat that I had not even imagined before and it was rapidly becoming as great a challenge as any we face. The threat was increasing and it impacted both China and Korea. As the deserts move from West to East, we can expect the situation to grow even graver in the years to come.

I learned from that report my staff gave me that the amount of desert in China was increasing at a rate of 2400 square kilometers a year and that nothing had yet been successful in slowing down that alarming rate of environmental transformation. I was alarmed. I felt we needed to do something, and to do something together with China. So I proposed to our Chinese counterparts that we should start some collaboration between China and Korea to combat desertification by planting trees. The initial response I received was lukewarm. The Chinese I spoke with explained to me that deserts are a regional problem, and a minor issue among the challenges facing China. They felt that China already has too many problems to address just to support its own people and assure their basic welfare. So desertification was not so urgent a matter. The sort of an issue, they felt, that one can worry about after one’s economic power is established.

Making the Desert Visible

Many of the Koreans I spoke with also did not see how this desertification problem had anything to do with them. From the Korean perspective China’s deserts were China’s problem. But I had made up my mind that the spread of deserts in Northeast Asia was the issue of our age and I promised that I would bring the resources, and the know-how, from Korea needed to address desertification.

President Kim Dae Jung visited China in November of 1998 and I proposed to him that we should include the combating of desertification as one issue for the “common agenda” of Korea-China cooperation to be discussed. President Kim agreed and we started in earnest a dialog on the desertification between Korea and China for the very first time. For my part, I made the rounds on the Korean side to persuade stakeholders of the importance of the issue of desertification not only as an opportunity for overseas volunteer work, but also as a critical topic for Korea itself. One of the first breakthroughs we had was persuading KOICA (Korea International Cooperation Agency) to provide funding for combating desertification in China. But persuading both the Koreans and the Chinese of the importance of the issue, and the need to work together, was a long process. Although the environment links China and Korea together closely, and we share an ecological continuum, both sides tend to think that responsibility ends at the political border. There were many Koreans who responded to our approach by saying that the Chinese are rich enough to pay for everything themselves now. We had to explain to them that this issue was not just about China and this was not a simple foreign aid project.

The challenges were daunting at the time. To start with, there was no clear funding mechanism to support a response to the spread of deserts on a global scale. We had to persuade the Chinese of the seriousness of this issue first and to encourage a more international perspective on the significance of deserts and the importance of a global response to the threat within China, and globally. Although the dangers of the spread of deserts were obvious to us, they were not obvious to anyone else. All in all, it took two years to persuade the stakeholders that this topic was critical.

When I started planting trees back in 1999, when serving as ambassador to China, I made frequent trips to arid regions of China and saw the situation on the ground. I approached the Korean community in China, and Koreans at home, to help in this project. I wanted them to come with me to see the deserts firsthand. But many Chinese reporters and Chinese friends asked me, “Why do you want to plant trees there?” They could not understand why an ambassador would travel to rural China when he should be meeting with important people in Beijing. The seriousness of the situation did not seem to be common knowledge.

When I started to lobby for this issue in both China and Korea, I managed to meet with Premier Zhu Rongji in 2000. I recommended to Zhu Rongji that he pay attention to environmental issues as part of economic development strategy. I drew attention to the need for a balanced development that takes into account economic and environmental issues. Premier Zhu is a thoughtful man and I think he listened with great care to what I said. I personally think that we can see meaningful change in Chinese policy on the environment since that time, much of that change, including the turn to wind power and sustainable development, was very much influenced by Zhu Rongji. So I am encouraged what has happened and I think real change is possible.

I like to think of China as the “lurching giant” of the world economy, going alternating between different approaches to the economy and making rapid changes in policy with global impact. China is the key to the environment for all of us globally. We cannot dismiss these issues as local problems for China. We are all impacted. We all have a moral responsibility to work with China to find solutions.

Desertification is seriously neglected by most everyone in the world. Most people would not include it in the top hundred threats if asked to make a list. I often felt as if I was speaking to deaf ears as I made my rounds. At the same time I had to encourage those who were engaged in the battle to stop the spread of deserts, working with people at the local, national and international level. The spread of deserts in Northeastern China is no ordinary problem. It is an overwhelming crisis that threatens to discourage even those who are deeply engaged in looking for a solution. So many times we have seen those who are working the hardest are the very ones who despair of making an impact. We must bring a sense of hope to those who are already committed and a sense of crisis to those who have not grasped the enormity of the problem.

As soon as I returned to Seoul in August of 2000 I started making the rounds in government and business circles. I asked my friends and associates, explaining in detail how important this project was for Korea. And among a group of opinion leaders, I received strong backing. At the first stage, we received support from the Korea Federation of Industry, the Chamber of Commerce, KITA (Korea International Trade Association) and Mr. Park Sung-Hyung, Chairman of the Kumho Group. We organized the first Green Corps in the Spring of 2002 and sent one hundred Korean university students, together with fifty Koreans from supporting groups, to areas severely impacted by desertification in China. We spent most of our time visiting arid regions of Shanxi Province so our students could see the source of the sandstorms in Korea.

Future Forest and The Great Green Wall

I founded Future Forest in 2001 as an NGO focused on combating desertification through close cooperation with China. Future Forest annually dispatches its Green Corps volunteers, a group of more than 100 young students, to Northwest China to plant trees in arid regions in danger of desertification.

We focused our work on the Kubuchi Desert. The Kubuqi Desert, one of seven great deserts in China, has expanded to 450 kilometers west of Beijing and, as the desert closest to Korea, is one of the sources of yellow dust that has caused environmental damage in Korea. The Kubuqi Desert continues to expand eastwards and stopping this process of desertification is absolutely critical to the future of Northeast Asia and as the eastern frontier of the Kubuqi Desert is strategically the lynchpin of any attempt to stop desertification, this effort takes on special significance.  

Our greatest achievement was the building of a strip of trees to stop the spread of the desert known as the Great Green Wall. The Great Green Wall has revolutionized land management in the moving-dune desert region by introducing a unique sustainable planting that fixes permanently the moving sands and providing the know-how for sustainable farming at the local level so as to stop the spread of the desert through an alliance of local people, local government, Korean and Chinese NGOs, Korean and Chinese government agencies, Korean businesses and Korean local governments. For the first time, both those affected by desertification in Korea through DSS and those at the local level engaged in farming are brought together to work on the project that is so critical for both. This cooperation between those who are subject to the results of unsustainable land management and farming and the affected residents and farmers themselves offers tremendous promise as a model for global cooperation involving multiple sectors and stakeholders.

GGW runs 16 kilometers, North-South. It consists of trees and criss-cross strips of organic material for sand fixation. GGW was launched as a five-year plan ending in 2011. So far GGW has planted about 5.2 million trees and about 1,800 hectares of moving sand dunes has been fixed and reforested. GGW serves as a critical buffer abutting the moving dunes of the desert that are currently entirely barren.

The “Great Green Wall(GGW)” is run by Future Forest, the All-China Youth Federation (ACYF), and the Dalateqi Local Government (DLG) of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in the People’s Republic of China. These three entities forged an international partnership involving local, national and global stakeholders to construct the “Great Green Wall” and to build the “Save the Earth Eco-Village” in the Kubuqi Desert, Dalateqi, Inner Mongolia as part of a larger effort to combat desertification and reduce the frequency of dust and sand storms (DSS), thereby mitigating their impact on adjacent regions, including Korea.

This collaborative partnership is a unique innovation in that it spans sectors as an alliance of NGOs, local governments, government agencies and businesses in both Korea and China. It also embraces local peoples, youth volunteers and the UNCCD in raising awareness of sustainable land management at the local, national and international levels, and strives to give hope to directly affected local people.

When the project was first launched, there was deep pessimism about the prospects for stopping the eastward creep of the moving sands in Dalateqi. Most experts and local residents assumed that tree-plantings or sand fixation techniques would not be sufficient to halt the sands. The project has achieved remarkable success over the last few years, however, demonstrating that the local ecosystem can be revitalized and that substantial international cooperation with real impact at the local level is possible. The project is unique in that young people play a central role.

The Great Green Wall is of ultimate significance because of its impact on Chinese perceptions and resulting changes in policy. Since China is the “lurching giant” in the global ecosystem, we must encourage the most populous country with second largest deserts, to perceive desertification as a phenomenon that is both a vital threat and at the same time one that can be stopped through policy and action. Through the ACTF, we have worked to have impact at social, political and policy levels in China. Our project is relatively small in scale, but serves as a critical example of how both concrete solutions and a sense of hope can be conveyed to both stakeholders and policy makers and local residents in China. By demonstrating that the spread of deserts can be stopped by concerted efforts, the Great Green Wall has a profound symbolic meaning. Consequently, the Great Green Wall was presented as a best practice for combating desertification at UNCCD COP 10.

The Importance of Youth

I proposed more involved collaboration to the Beijing Youth league, stressing that we need the youth of China and Korea to work together in addressing this crisis so that we will produce future leaders who know each other from their work together on desertification. Such relations from a young age will build a link between the two nations at a far deeper level.

As I like to say, “It takes ten years raise to grow trees and one hundred years to develop a new culture for people.” We are doing both together through our Green Corps and our Great Green Wall. This next generation of leaders will see the environment as the essential issue of our age and they will see international collaboration as the key.  At the start of the Green Corps and the Great Green Wall, almost everyone thought that the effort would be just one time thing and not last.

The task of keeping people working together is difficult, especially when there are physically separated and work in different organizations.  Many friends called me aside and told me that such an approach would fail because of the lack of support in civil society for this effort. But we were lucky, and we found some who had the imagination to understand what we were trying to do.

For the first several years we focused our work on raising awareness of the seriousness of desertification. That alone was a challenge. For many, desertification is a rather remote agenda, but in fact it impacts everyone in the community and in the region. It is one issue that transcends national boundaries and impacts everyone. In 2006 I proposed to the All China Youth Federation and the Chinese Communist Youth League that we could start the “Great Green Wall” at the Eastern edge of the Kubuchi Desert. The goal was clear and the approach in a technical and administrative sense was clear. We started our Great Green Wall then, to raise awareness of the spread of deserts, to ring an alarm bell for all stake-holders.

Our Responsibility

The reality of desertification is quite difficult for many to grasp, and we must be patient. At the same time, we need to focus in on a very specific problem and one that we can solve. We worked hard to move beyond our own personal limitations, and also to overcome prevalent defeatism we encountered among the Chinese working on the front line. The process is a delicate dance. We must both inspire optimism so we can move forward and rally our troops but we must also raise awareness about the seriousness of this issue.

“We are responsible,” I tell everyone I met, “and we can make a difference. The problem is not about any one person, but every single person can make a real contribution.” Whether working with leaders in the business community or high school students, we demonstrate that the problem of desertification is directly related to us here and now. But we do not stop there. We demonstrate how local people can build ecovillages and have a direct impact on the environment. There is hope if we engage at the local level. But we cannot leave responsibility for deserts to China. They are the world’s problem.