BIG day yesterday, they finally got to the agenda item where the draft resolutions are considered one by one, and at this COP there are 21 of them. The first draft resolution is DR1, on whether the Ramsar convention should keep their hosting arrangement they have had with IUCN for 40 years or move to UN Environment Programme with all the other biodiversity conventions. This hit controversy straight away and the meeting just kind of fell apart. After a couple of hours of comments from the floor on either side of lunch, they finally took 2 straw polls in a row, one to see if a majority of countries wOuld accept doing a straw poll to give an indication of where the numbers would fall in a formal vote, and then, when that resulted in a positive, the straw poll on the DR itself. This is only the second time in their history they have used this sort of thing and their lawyer was there at the table every step of the way. It is definitely the sort of thing that gets Ramsar groupies and international law folk excited, so there were lots of cameras going off everywhere. And it ain't over yet.
So all in all yesterday was a long day, but as it was Sunday they had an early finish. Our little group walked back and got as far as the old town before stopping for a cool beer. beer in romaneshte is circ, pronounced chook.
The old town is very quaint and old and seems always busy, full of cages and restaurants, narrow curving streets, lots of foot path seating, so there are people everywhere. Some buildings are in good shape, others are very dilapidated although you can see their former charm.
As it was late afternoon only, there were kids playing as well. At one end of old town is the oldest church in Bucharest surrounded by large archeological items that have been dug up here and there.
Also a bust of Vlad the impaler!!!there is also a pic here of Louise duff and I with 2 people from Kushiro who HWCA has had a long relationship over many years.
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