Barcelona is a lovely city — me encanta. And I was in the company of colleagues who have been in climate change issues for a long period and who are far more widely esteemed and known than myself. So I was able to meet people out of my league. I won’t mention their names here, but these are the people that headline edited books and appear in the New York Times or the BBC. They’ve usually been in the field for some time. Most seem to have scientific backgrounds. Some may do some science still. But they tend to be at the front of whatever room they find themselves in. People seek them and their good opinion. People tell stories about their foibles and alleged errors. They are objects of affection and jealousy.

When I didn’t recognize the names of the folks whose hands I was shaking, I knew enough that I should retain their face and association. This seemed especially true given that many of these unknowns were not Names but Wallets: the financing behind international conservation. This world is especially small, but I could see that the Names and Wallets seemed to spend a lot of time together.

Perhaps I sound cynical — that is not my intention or desire, and I would repudiate any imputation of cynicism. I think this is the system in which we find ourselves, and most of the time I think it works pretty well. Especially since not that many organizations exist at the highest levels. The issues we face in international conservation are not (for the most part) that complex, really. And organizations need leaders with both science and money. These people are passionate about their work as well. In fact, I’m not sure that conservation is really that different than most other fields. If difference exists, then I think I must look inward to find that difference: knowing enough of the actors and systems involved to recognize the striations and gradations, the levels and interstices. The difference is mostly that of experience.

And part of my experience is seeing the high and low in the near and far: traveling between this world of professional conferences and into places with pit toilets and people who do not care about Names or Wallets or the clean cold surroundings of the WCC meeting rooms. I hope we may all do the good that must be done, as soon as we can.

Tags: travel, climate adaptation