Nov. 20 - Let me introduce Keiko Kandachi, Senior Scientific Affairs Specialist in the Embassy's Economic Section. She volunteered to be my first guest blogger. I think she has an interesting story to tell, but let me know what you think.
Jim
Save our Butterflies
What do you think these are?
Please look at the picture to the right. What do you think the objects are? Butterflies and leaves, of course ... not really. All of them are butterflies! These are only a fraction of the humongous collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. I saw these wonders three years ago when I participated in a training program for U.S. Department of State staff, both Americans and overseas Embassy local employees like myself, who work on environment, science and technology issues. The specimens were in storage and not open to the public, so I was extremely lucky to encounter them. We were told these butterflies came from South America.
In my day-to-day work at the Embassy, I analyze and report on global environmental issues, including climate change, oceans and fisheries and endangered species, assisting Washington policymakers in making informed decisions. You may be surprised, but locally employed staff are the largest group of State Department employees - 30,000 out of the total 50,000.
Here I am (standing, center) with colleagues from across the world - from Fiji to Berlin - participating in a training seminar at the U.S. Department of State’s Foreign Service Institute in Virginia.
American diplomats come and go every few years, whereas the locally employed staff serve as institutional memory on U.S.-Japan bilateral and multilateral issues and as key contact people with the Government of Japan, political circles, NGOs, industry, academia and other areas. I am proud to be able to help sustain the foundation of the Embassy's important work continuing our two nations' long history of cooperation.
Environmental issues have become truly global in scope, and cooperation between countries is vital to future sustainability. Providing policymakers with accurate information and sound analysis is paramount to shaping our planet's destiny. I try to document changes from various angles in an objective and logical manner in performing my duties by making the best use of my 13 years of journalism experience, most recently at the British science journal Nature.
Hopefully, my work is contributing to conservation of the unique butterflies that made us smile as well.
All the best,
Keiko Kandachi
Greetings from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia! What an amazing photo! I know Keiko from my tour in Tokyo and was very pleased to read her blog contribution. This is the first time I heard about your blog and I look forward to reading other articles. All the best in 2010!
