Brühwurst stories

Another sunny day here in Bonn - where people from all around the world are meeting to discuss the conservation of the world's biodiversity. I'm writing this message from the Beethoven Room at the Maritime Hotel (Bonn is actually the composer's birthplace). I'm surrounded by more than 200 people, the type of people you are likely to find at UN Conventions: serious-looking government officials, NGO men with funny haircuts (you should see the German Greenpeace guy!) and then there are women, like me, still trying to find their way around the 600 buildings where meetings are taking place. At the Beethoven/computer room we are all sitting in front of our laptops, furiously drafting emails, checking the news and sending the latest updates from the negotiations to headquarters in the UK, Burundi, Guatemala or Azerbaijan. Then there is also the usual procrastinator - the woman by my side is checking her Facebook. Well, she looked like she needed a break!

Today's highlight was the Captain Hook Awards for Biopiracy 2008. To our delight, the European Union's Transcontainer Project won the prize for ‘worst use of public funds’. Not surprising: its 3-year, 5 million euro Transcontainer project supports new research on suicide seeds – sterile seeds that a farmer could theoretically bring “back to life” by (buying and) applying a chemical. Despite the fact that European consumers have overwhelmingly rejected GM foods, the goal of the EU’s Transcontainer project is to develop GM crops and trees for Europe that could be “biologically contained.” Shameful!

This is not the first time that Terminator-related initiatives have been awarded prizes by the NGO community at the CBD. In 2006, Canada, Australia and New Zealand won the prize for ‘Axis of Evil Award’, for their repeated attempts to undermine the ban on Terminator technology at COP8. So far, these countries have remained silent on Terminator - but we must be vigilant. The issue of Genetically engineered (GE) trees is still one of the most controversial topics at these negotiations as some countries argue that they, combined with agrofuels, are necessary to face global warming. Terminator could then be presented as necessary to prevent cross-contamination of GE trees. Agricultural biodiversity will continue to be discussed on Monday - and I’ll be there speaking to delegations to make sure that the ban on Terminator is maintained.

During lunch today I decided to take a stroll through the gardens that surround the conference rooms - it was not fresh air that I was looking for but anonymity. I had bought a big German Brühwurst sausage for lunch (at least it was organic) and wasn’t particularly eager to bump into delegates with mustard all over my mouth. But Murphy had obviously already decided for me - as I saw the Argentinean Head of Delegation sitting alone on a bench. I had been instructed from London to “lobby, lobby, lobby” so, sausage or not, I had to speak to the guy.

I had a good 10-minute conversation with him. I asked about Terminator and he said that as far as he knew, countries were not willing to bring the issue up to try and undermine the ban. Great, I thought, our campaign has sent a strong message to them! But he was quick to note that there was still a week to go - so anything could happen. My question was would Argentina support the ban on Terminator? Yes, we would, he said, but we would also need to see how negotiations develop. Although not entirely convinced by his answer, we had run out of time and my Argentinean friend had to get back to the conference room. I made him promise that he would speak to me again if Terminator came up, and he said he would. I saw him walk back to the building as I finished eating my brühwurst - cold brühwurst.