By John Denny
Observer Reporter
(Charlestown, Nevis) – An elderly local guitar craftsman and fisherman, Mr. Owen Bussue, was interviewed by the Nevis Historical and Conservation Society in association with the World Wildlife Fund Climate Witness’ Project.
The NHCS in partnership with the WWF hopes to contribute to this effort as part of the ongoing Nevis Oral History and Verbal Patrimony Project. The project conducts video interviews with selected older members of the community, such as fishermen, farmers, and craftsmen and records how climate change has adversely affected their lives and livelihoods over the past several decades.
John Guilbert, executive director of NHCS, is very excited about the program.
“Mr. Bussue makes guitars that are well know throughout the Caribbean,” Mr Guilbert said. “He is in his 80s and he climbs Mount Nevis to find the trees he uses to make his guitars that are hand carved from a single piece of wood. His finished product looks like a brand new Fender guitar right off a show room floor.
“Mr. Bussue is also a fisherman so he will have two perspectives of climate change and the effect it has had in his life.”
Climate change is already affecting the lives of real people everywhere, globally. The WWF’s Climate Witness Project seeks to gather real evidence of how rising sea levels, coral bleaching, violent storms, disappearing species, eroding coast lines, deadly heat waves, drought and other climate impacts have already become part of people’s lives.
Climate Witness is collecting videos from individuals around the world who are experiencing the impacts of climate change. The videos are then shared on their website and on YouTube.
www.youtube.com/climatewitness
The stories of Climate Witnesses are used to urge decision makers around the world to act quickly to avoid even more dangerous levels of climate change. All Climate Witness testimonies are reviewed by a member of the Climate Witness Science Advisory Panel to establish if the impacts observed are consistent with current scientific knowledge of human-induced climate change.
The results of these interviews will also be posted on the new Nevis Oral History website
(www.nevisoralhistory.org) and ultimately used to compile a broadcast quality documentary DVD.
For more information on this project, you can contact Mr. Guilbert at 469-5786 (The NHCS) or 662-9118.
Mr Bussue makes guitars that can hold their own with any on the planet.
