April 2010 • Anthropology News 21 PUBLIC AFFAIRS P UBLIC AFFAIRS Documenting COP-15 Modes of Participation and Knowledge Flows For this group of anthropologists who attended the 15 th Conference of the Parties (COP-15) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Copenhagen in December 2009, the event was not one, but many. Our approach differed from those that focused solely on delegates of the 193 govern- ments (the “parties”), who have met annually since 1995 to establish protocols and provide financial mechanisms toward the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Although the failure of the parties to commit to a legally-binding framework to succeed the Kyoto Protocol occu- pied most analyses, we found that the prac- tices and participation of civil society members significantly broadened the scope and reach of the “event.” We were interested in discourses and interactions within and across constituencies. Spatial Differentiation Despite an ideology of inclusion, official nego- tiations were limited to an authorized space, the Bella Center, which was surrounded by a chain link fence and patrolled by police. Access to the center was limited to government dele- gates, the press and “observers”—members of civil society who were accredited by the UN through a rigorous vetting process. “Observers” included scholars, representatives of NGOs, business-persons and others, whose role was (in part) to oversee some proceedings and ensure transparency, according to UN law. Although the UN extended accreditation to 45,000, it allowed entry to only one-third of that number, causing bottlenecks and arousing criticism. In week two, passes were limited further and by the last and most important day, access to the center was reduced to 90 observers. Several NGOs, including Friends of the Earth and Avaaz, were barred without explanation. A petition was launched, citing precedent in the Aarhus Convention guaranteeing public partic- ipation and access to UN decision-making in environmental matters. Outside the Bella Center several multiple-use spaces were open to all. In contrast to the Bella Center’s regimented and orderly practices, these were sites of movement of people and ideas. The Klimaforum, which aimed at “promoting and debating environmentally sustainable and socially just solutions to climate change,” displayed 50 exhibit stalls, 190 panels and talks, 30 documentary films, workshops, debates, theater and music. The “Climate Bottom Meeting” staged grassroots counter-positioning to events at the Bella Center. Themes included conservation displacement, resistance to carbon markets, and the distribution of responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions. Boundaries between sites were porous to differing degrees. In all but the Bella Center, participants moved freely, following topics and people. Organizations with enough resources to do so maintained sites both inside and outside the Bella Center. The World Wildlife Fund, for example, maintained a booth inside the center and set up an “Arctic Tent” in down- town Copenhagen, where they staged events focused on Arctic science and peoples. At the Koncerthuset, the International Institute for Environment and Development organized 70 presenters—including heads of vulner- able, small island states—and drew over 800 people to discuss justice, adaptation, mitiga- tion and finance in development and climate change. Across town, the Danish Energy Agency wrapped the North Atlantic House in a five- story faux blue and white iceberg to create the “Arctic Venue,” where 30 research institutions and organizations presented knowledge on climate change. The NGO Many Strong Voices highlighted connections between Arctic peoples and those of small island states, both especially vulnerable to climate change impacts. Movement, Boundaries and Protest A different strategy of participants was protest. On December 12, some 100,000 people marched six kilometers from central Copenhagen to the Bella Center to carry messages perceived to be neglected in the official conversations, especially the restrictions on participation. Throughout the city more than 1,000 were arrested. Many venues saw protests (mostly peaceful) on-site, and the Klimaforum discussed protest strategies. Several constituencies opted for mixed strat- egies. The indigenous NGO Tebtebba held a museum forum to discuss threats to indige- nous rights and livelihoods in light of the 2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Simultaneously, indigenous members of government delegations negotiated inside the Bella Center to include the declaration in state- ments on the UN Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (UN-REDD), while others marched to protest the lack of indigenous voices in decision- making bodies. Electronic data flowed rapidly, with partici- pants sending information by cell phones, list- An interactive art project in central Copenhagen lampooned political leadership on climate change. This trailer is part of a film project in which volunteer Brad Pitt impersonators act out a fictitious failed struggle by the film star to provide celebrity leadership for a movement against climate change. Photo courtesy Brandon Derman See COP-15 on page 22 Janet Chernela U Maryland Susan Crate George Mason U Brandon Derman U Washington Noor Johnson McGill U Ted Maclin U Georgia Bob Pokrant Curtin U Tech