UniFiji Student Wins COP23 Photo Competition
Posted on October 24, 2017 by admin in Education, Environment, Events, Press Releases, Western Division
Mr Nigel Spencer Robinson’s winning photograph for COP 23 Pacific-wide Competition.
Photo: SUPPLIED
The University of Fiji's School of Law International and Regional Relations Post-graduate student, Mr. Nigel Spencer Robinson, is one of the 39 winners of the COP 23 Pacific Photo competition.
The photograph (above) was taken in November 2016 while Mr. [Robinson] was on assignment in Rotuma as a Biosecurity Officer (BAF).
Mr [Robinson] says that his photograph presents to the world what a beautiful sandy beach in Rotuma currently looks like at sunset and asks the question: "what would the same beach look like years from now if global green house gas emissions continue to increase?"
"While the majority of the other 39 winning photographs depict actual climate change impacts and resilience I chose another powerful concept where the world could appreciate the current natural beauty of our islands and pleads for a grand coalition and global cooperation to reduce green house gas emissions in order to conserve and save beautiful sandy beaches like this one in Oinafa, Rotuma," he stated.
Mr [Robinson] explained that pictures also portray the power of photography for climate change issues as photographs compliment stories of climate change effect and resilience and, hopefully, influence industrialized nations to think twice during the negotiations at the UNFCCC Climate Change Conference.
Mr [Robinson] is an International Relations Post-graduate student in the School of Law proving that COP 23 events are not exclusively science based. His post-graduate thesis is titled ' Climate Change: A Critical Analysis of the Risk, Impact & Opportunity for Fiji's Foreign Relations'.
"The scientific evidence of climate change is definitive and cannot be over-emphasized. One of the pressing issues, though, is how we translate the "science" into policy aspects. This must be done through team work and a holistic approach involving inter-disciplinary mechanisms," he commented.
The exhibition will be prominently displayed during the Bonn COP 23 meeting in November.
UNI FIJI