SWAZILAND NOT FOCUSED ON CLIMATE CHANGE ACCORD

UNCLAS MBABANE 000060 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/S (MHARRIS); OES/EGC (DNELSON, KLARSEN); OES/S/SECC (RKASTENBERG) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KGHG SENU ENRG WZ SUBJECT: SWAZILAND NOT FOCUSED ON CLIMATE CHANGE ACCORD Ref: A) State 3079 B) Mbabane 028 ¶1. On February 9, pol/econ officer met with Swaziland Environment Authority Chairperson, Dr. Irma Allen, to review Swaziland's position on the Copenhagen Accord, and discuss ways the embassy could encourage Swaziland's association with the agreement. Dr. Allen, who attended the conference in Copenhagen along with other Swazi government representatives including Prime Minister Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini, indicated that momentum on the accord within the government had faltered after the delegation's return to Swaziland because key officials were focusing on the end of the traditional three-month seclusion period of the king, the AU Summit, and opening of parliament. In response to post's demarche on the issue (reftel B),the Foreign Minister had indicated that Swaziland would not be able to take a position before the first week of March. Dr. Allen believes that additional U.S. engagement on the issue could pay dividends before that decision is made. ¶2. Dr. Allen, an American citizen who has lived in Swaziland for several decades, emphasized that Swaziland still needed to develop a national strategy on climate change. She said that the Minister of Tourism and Environment Affairs, Macford Nsibandze, recently formed a committee on climate change. She noted that National Meteorological Service Director Emmanuel Dlamini, also an attendee at the Copenhagen conference, plays a key role in Swaziland on discussions on the accord and on climate change. To date the committee has not produced any public documents. IRVING