Wednesday 28 April 2010

Random photos from Cochabamba

Building Bridges Across Continents

(From Agnes - Thursday 22 April)

This morning we had our side event which was entitled 'Building
Bridges Across Continents with Grassroots Climate Justice Movements’.
We used this space to introduce the movements within Europe, their
politics and a bit of a background of mobilisation for Copenhagen
through Climate Justice Action. We had a good turn out and many people
from different struggles and different parts of the world were present
- we know this because we asked them to fill in little papers about
where they came from and more about their struggle - and then
visualised it on an upside down map! It was good energy particularly
because the plan was to use some of this time to start planning for a
global day of action.

CJA has taken up a call from the Global Minga for a day of action on
October 12th. I believe that this day is symbolic because for some
it's Columbus day and for this reason people in the South are trying
to reclaim it. We split into groups to first discuss what are our
allies and obstacles in building climate justice and then get into
actual planning for the day of action.

People like the face to face interaction and there were many ideas of
how to start building for this day of action - being inclusive enough
so that different tactics can be used by different groups,
coordinating some type of media work so that actions are not isolated,
etc. One of the barriers people spoke about in international planning
is the inability to meet and the use of internet and unfortunately we
finished the workshop with getting emails for a email list - but I
hope that we layed the groundwork to get people talking back to their
networks.

The meeting continued outside, but I got distracted talking to some
friends from the US and Italy where we shared stories about our
networks. And then I got distracted by a Chilean friend who was
looking for people to join a press conference of sort where they would
discuss particular strategies against mining companies in Chile,
Argentina and Bolivia. For some reason he thought I was a reporter.
When I explained to him more about what Climate Camp did - take direct
action on the root causes of climate change - his friend got really
excited. I gave the example of RBS and tar sands and how we were
trying to get at the financing part of the tar sands mining project
and she just stood there and asked 'Why didn't they talk about this in
the actions/strategies working group?' !! We swapped emails so we
could keep one another updated and they went to look for more people.

Closing remarks
I somehow ended up going to the closing ceremony. I stayed through all
the speeches and they were kind of interesting. I enjoyed the fact
that Chavez said there were 18 working groups - admitting to the mesa
18 - whether he knew it or not. The way he speaks is engaging - he was
amassing us to the battle of Cancun so that we don't allow the
politics of imperialism to continue. Giving personal anecdotes of how
he was the only one who refused to sign the FTAA. He even said
something about funding people to go to Cancun and ensure that our
message is not lost because it is legitimate and this process was
inclusive, open and an example of true democracy.

Evo continued saying that we have achieved something great and now we
have to ensure that the global north and UN listened to our voices -
we need to convince, persuade, explain what has happened here - and if
they don't listen we have to organise. It is a great discourse,
powerful, necessary - no other world leaders have analysed climate
change looking at its root causes and defended people and mother earth
like Evo - but we didn't really discuss how we would organise if these
words fell on deaf ears.

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Interventions and Declarations

(From Agnes - Wednesday April 21, 2010)

I went back to the structural causes working group today.  I was
hoping to meet up with my Venezuelan friends. I was really interested
in hearing more about the 'civilising model' that they kept talking
about and also wanted to know what they thought of the process within
Venezuela. Through whispered conversations I already knew that they
saw it as a long process that would culminate when their country
stopped using the capitalist extractive economic model to fund the
socialist revolution, but I wondered how they saw it unfolding.

I stayed long enough to hear two climate deniers ! They weren't really
successful from swaying any focus from the task at hand - discussing
the danger of green capitalism, individualism and the need for
collectivism. Unfortunately, I didn't stay long enough to meet with my
friends because they were focused on their interventions and I was
distracted by the side event we were invited to by the Democracy
Centre. I was getting nervous and went off to the internet to remind
myself of all the wonderful actions we did against E.On and when I
came back everyone had disappeared.

MESA 18
So I went back to the mesa 18 where Ben and I arranged to meet at 3pm
because there was supposed to be a talk on San Cristobal. We thought
it would be a good idea to let everyone know abut the action happening
the next day in London and maybe work with someone on a message to
send back. Before anything started I went up to one of the organisers
telling him my intention - his eyes lit up. He told me that I must
announce this to everyone once they got started. So I sat down and
sent Ben ahead to the panel inteding to follow right after the
announcement, but I never left.

Instead of the discussion on San Cristobal the mesa 18 went straight
into drafting a declaration so that it could be presented along with
all the other ones later that eveing. A draft declaration went up on
the screen and they went through it sentence by sentence - any
intervention that was made went automatically into the document - it
was only then challenged, discussed, questioned with further
interventions or simply applauded in agreement. This is how in a space
of more than 100 people consensus was reached.

It was a hot/heated ( 'caliente' ) discussion and I was amazed and
excited about the process and the end result. The declaration is raw
and more powerful than anything else I read in the conference. I
didn't really take notes, but I'll try to translate the final document
and post it.

At no point did I feel it was appropriate for me to intervene in this
process, my Argentine friend kept saying to wait until the end. But
before the document was finalised the person I spoke to orginally made
the announcement saying that some people in London would be having a
solidarity action the following day. Everyone cheered. I smiled. This
is what it's about!

This was followed by an announcement was about the cultural protest
that would meet outside within a half hour. Over fifty people went to
the university with their posters and masks hidden, but once inside
they marched around the University denouncing the contradictions of
this conference of the discourse chanting:
'Basta de mentiras que aqui la pachamama esta siendo vendida' /
'Enough with the lies, here mother earth is being sold'

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World Peoples’ Agreement

The english version of the declaration from the conference is now available. It´s also worth noting that apparently the declaration from Mesa 18 is now also included on the government website which is pretty amazing....

Cochabamba, Bolivia April 22nd

Today, our Mother Earth is wounded and the future of humanity is in danger.

Should global warming increase by more than 2º C, which the so-called "Copenhagen Understanding" would lead us to, there is a 50% chance that the damage caused to our Mother Earth will be totally irreversible. Between 20% and 30% of species would be in danger of disappearing. Large tracts of forest would be affected, droughts and floods would afflict different regions of the planet, deserts would spread and the melting of the icecaps and glaciers in the Andes and the Himalayas would get worse. Many island states would disappear and Africa could suffer from a temperature increase of over 3º C. Likewise, reduced food production in the world would have catastrophic effects for the survival of the inhabitants of vast regions of the planet, and dramatically increase the number of hungry people in the world, which already exceeds a billion people.

Corporations and governments of so called "more developed" countries in complicity with a segment of the scientific community, get us talking about climate change as a problem limited to the rise of temperature without questioning the root cause which is the capitalist system. We confront the terminal crisis of the patriarchal model of civilization based on the subjugation and destruction of human beings and nature that accelerated with the industrial revolution.

The capitalist system has imposed upon us a logic of competition, progress, and unlimited growth. This mode of production and consumption seeks profit without limits, separating human beings from nature, establishing a logic of domination over her, turning everything into a commodity: water, land, the human genome, ancestral cultures, biodiversity, justice, ethics, peoples’ rights, death, and life itself.

Under capitalism, Mother Earth in converted into merely a source of raw materials and human beings into merely the means of production and consumers, into people who are valued by what they have and not by what they are.

Capitalism requires a strong military industry for its process of accumulation and control of territories and natural resources, thus suppressing people’s resistance. It is an imperialist system colonizing the planet. Humanity is facing a great dilemma: continue on the path of capitalism, predation and death, or the path of harmony with nature and respect for life. We need to build a new system to restore harmony with nature and among humans. There can only be balance with nature if there is equity among human beings.

We propose to the peoples of the world: recovery, revaluing, and strengthening of the knowledge, wisdom, and traditional practices of Indigenous Peoples, affirmed in the experience and proposal of "Living Well", recognizing Mother Earth as a living being, with whom we have an indivisible, interdependent, complementary, and spiritual relationship.

To face climate change we must recognize Mother Earth as the source of life and forge a new system based on the principles of:

- harmony and balance between everyone and everything
- complementarity, solidarity, and equity
- collective well-being and satisfaction of everyone’s basic needs in harmony with Mother Earth
- respect for Mother Earth’s Rights and Human Rights
- recognition of human beings for what they are and not what they have
- Elimination of all forms of colonialism, imperialism, and interventionism
- peace among peoples and Mother Earth.

The model we promote is not about destructive or unlimited development. Countries need to produce goods and services to meet the basic needs of their population, but there is no way can they continue on this development path in which richer countries have a ecological footprint five times larger than the planet can bear. They have already exceeded the planet’s capacity to regenerate by 30%. At this rate of over-exploitation of our Mother Earth, two planets will be needed by 2030.

In an interdependent system of which humans are only one of its components, it is not possible to only recognize the rights on the human side without causing an imbalance in the whole system. To ensure human rights and restore harmony with nature, it is necessary to recognize and enforce Mother Earth’s rights.

To do that, we propose the attached draft of the Universal Declaration of Mother Earth’s Rights in which are recorded:

- Right to life and existence;
- Right to be respected;
- Rights to continue her vital processes and cycles free of human disturbance;
- Right to maintain her identity and integrity as distinct beings, self-regulated and interrelated;
- Right to water as the source of life;
- The right to clean air;
- The right to overall health;
- Right to be free from contamination and pollution, from toxic and radioactive waste;
- Right not to be genetically altered and structurally modified thus threatening her integrity or her vital and healthy functioning.
- Right to a full and speedy recovery from violations of the rights recognized in the Declaration caused by human activities.

The shared vision is to stabilize concentrations of greenhouse gases to give effect to Article 2 of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change which determines the "stabilization of concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at a level that prevents dangerous anthropogenic interference within the climate system." Our vision is based on the historical principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. We demand that developed countries commit to quantified targets for reducing emissions that allow a return of atmospheric greenhouse gases concentrations to 300 ppm thus limiting the increase in global mean temperature to a maximum level of 1° C.

Stressing the need for urgent action to achieve this vision, and with the support of peoples, movements, and countries, the developed countries should commit to ambitious targets for reducing emissions that achieve short-term objectives, while maintaining our vision of a balance in the Earth’s climate system, according to the ultimate objective of the Convention.

The "shared vision" for the "Long-term Cooperative Action" should not be reduced to just the climate change negotiations which define limits to temperature increases and the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, but must include a comprehensive and balanced set of measures which cover finances, technology, adaptation, capacity building, patterns of production, consumption and other essentials such as the recognition of the rights of Mother Earth in order to restore harmony with nature.

Developed countries - the primary culprits of climate change - assuming their historical and current responsibility, must recognize and honor their climate debt in all its dimensions as the basis for a just, effective, and scientific solution to climate change. In this context we urge developed countries to:

- Restore to developing countries their air space which is occupied by your emissions of greenhouse gases. This implies a decolonization of the atmosphere by reducing and absorbing your emissions.
- Assume the costs and technology transfer needs of developing countries to make up for their loss of development opportunities due to living in a restricted air space.
- assume responsibility for the hundreds of millions that will have to migrate due to climate change which you have caused and eliminate your restrictive migration policies and provide migrants with a decent life and full rights in your countries.
- Assume adaptation debt related to the impacts of climate change on developing countries by providing the means to prevent, minimize and deal with damages arising from your excessive emissions.
- Honor those debts as part of a greater debt to Mother Earth adopting and implementing the Universal Declaration on the Rights of Mother Earth at the United Nations.

The focus should not be on just financial compensation but rather principally on restorative justice - that is restoring integrity to the people and other members who form a community of life on Earth.

We deplore the attempt by a group of countries to cancel the Kyoto Protocol - the only specific binding instrument for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases in developed countries.

We warn the world that despite being legally bound, the emissions of developed countries were not reduced but rather grew by 11.2% between 1990 and 2007.

Because of unlimited consumption, the United States’ GHG emissions increased by 16.8% over the period 1990 to 2007, emitting on average between 20 and 23 tons of CO2 per capita. This represents more than 9 times the emissions of an average inhabitant of the Third World, and more than 20 times the emissions of an inhabitant of sub-Saharan Africa. We completely reject the illegitimate "Copenhagen Understanding", which allows developed countries to offer insufficient reductions of greenhouse gases, based on voluntary and individual commitments that violate the environmental integrity of Mother Earth leading us to an increase of about 4 º C.

The forthcoming Climate Change Conference to be held later this year in Mexico should adopt the amendment to the Kyoto Protocol, for the second commitment period to begin in 2013-2017 in which developed countries must commit significant domestic reductions of at least 50% compared to 1990 base excluding carbon markets or other diversion systems that mask the failure of actual reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases. We first need to establish a goal for all developed countries and then make individual allocations for each country developed in the context of a comparison of effort between each of them, thus maintaining the Kyoto Protocol system for emission reductions.

The United States of America, as the only country on Earth in Annex 1 which did not ratify the Kyoto Protocol has a significant responsibility to all peoples of the world as it should ratify the Kyoto Protocol and commit to, respect, and comply with economy-wide emissions reduction targets.

The people have the same rights of protection from the impacts of climate change and reject the notion of adaptation to climate change understood as a resignation to the impacts caused by historic emissions of developed countries, who must adapt their life styles and consumption patterns to this planetary emergency. We are forced to deal with the impacts of climate change, considering adaptation to be a process rather than an imposition, and also as a tool that serves to counteract the impacts, showing that it is possible to live in harmony under a different model of life.

An Adaptation Fund needs to be created: a fund exclusively devoted to addressing climate change as part of a financial mechanism operated and managed in a sovereign, transparent and equitable manner for our states. Under this fund, the following should be evaluated: the impacts and their costs to developing countries and the needs that arise due to these impacts, as well as recording and monitoring the support given by developed countries. It also must operate a mechanism to indemnify for damages caused by impacts, past and future, for opportunities lost and restoration due to extreme and gradual climate events, and additional costs that could arise if our planet exceeds the ecological thresholds such as those impacts that are curtailing the right to live well.

The immense challenge we face as humanity to stop global warming and to cool the planet will only be achieved by profoundly transforming agriculture into a sustainable agricultural production model with indigenous/native origins as well as other ancestral ecological models and practices that contribute towards a solution to the problem of climate change and ensure food sovereignty This is understood to be the right of peoples to control their own seeds, land, water and food production, thus ensuring that people have access to sufficient, varied and nutritious foods through local and culturally appropriate production in harmony with and which complements Mother Earth thus deepening the independent production (participatory, community oriented, and shared) of each nation and people.

Climate change is already having profound impacts on the agriculture, livelihoods, and ways of life of indigenous / native peoples and peasants in the world and these impacts will become worse in the future.

Agribusiness through its social, economic and cultural development model of globalized capitalist production, and its logic of food production for the market rather than fulfilling the right to food, is a major cause of climate change. Its technological tools, commercial and political do nothing but deepen the climate crisis and increase hunger in the world. For this reason we reject Free Trade and Association Agreements and the application of all forms of Intellectual Property Rights on life, current technological packages (agrochemical and GM), and those that offer themselves as false solutions (biofuels, geo-engineering, nanotechnology, terminator technology and the like) which will only exacerbate the current crisis.

At the same time, we denounce the way in which this capitalist model imposes infrastructure mega-projects, invades territories with extractive projects, privatizes and commodifies water, militarizes territories and expells indigenous peoples and peasants from their lands, thus thwarting Food Sovereignty and deepening the socio-environmental crisis.

We demand recognition of the right of all peoples, living beings, and Mother Earth to have access to and enjoy water and we support the Bolivian Government´s proposal to recognize water as a Fundamental Human Right. The definition of forest used in the negotiations of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which includes plantations, is unacceptable. Monoculture plantations are not forests. Therefore, we require a definition for negotiating purposes that recognizes native forests, rainforests, and the diversity of ecosystems on earth.

The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples must be fully recognized, implemented and integrated into the climate change negotiations. The best strategy and action to avoid deforestation and degradation and to protect native forests and rainforest is to recognize and guarantee collective rights to lands and territories, especially considering that most of the forests and rainforests are in territories belonging to indigenous peoples and nations, peasant and traditional communities. We condemn market mechanisms such as REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) and its + and + +, versions, which violate the sovereignty of Indigenous peoples and their right to free, prior, and informed consent, as well as the sovereignty of nation states which violate of the rights and customs of Peoples and the Rights of Nature.

Polluting countries are required to directly transfer the economic and technological resources to pay for the restoration and maintenance of forests and rainforests to the benefit of organic, ancestral, indigenous, native, and peasant peoples and structures. This should be a direct compensation and additional to the sources of funding committed to by developed countries, outside of the carbon market and never serving as carbon offsets. We demand that countries stop local initiatives in forests and rainforests that are based on market mechanisms and that propose conditional and non-existent results. We demand from governments a global program to restore native forests and rainforests, managed and administered by the peoples, implementing forest seeds, fruit trees, and native flora. Governments should eliminate forest concessions and support the conservation of oil in the ground and urgently stop the exploitation of hydrocarbons in rainforests.

In particular, we call upon States to legally recognize the prior existence of the right to our territories, lands, and natural resources which provide a basis for and strengthen our traditional ways of life and contribute effectively to solving the climate change.

We demand the full and effective implementation of the right to consultation, participation, and prior, free, and informed consent of Indigenous Peoples in all negotiation processes as well as in the design and implementation of measures relating to climate change.

At present, environmental degradation and climate change will reach critical levels, and one of the main consequences will be internal and international migration. According to some projections, in 1995 there were around 25 million climate migrants, at present this is estimated to be 50 million, and projections for 2050 show that between 200 - 1000 million people will be displaced by situations resulting from climate change.

Developed countries must take responsibility for climate migrants, welcoming them into their territories and recognizing their fundamental rights through the signing of international conventions providing for the definition of migrant climate that all States abide by its determinations.

Establish an International Tribunal of Conscience to denounce, expose, document, try and punish violations of the rights of the migrants, refugees and displaced persons in countries of origin, transit, and destination, clearly identifying the responsibilities of States, companies and other actors.

Current funding earmarked for developing countries for climate change and the Copenhagen Understanding proposal are insignificant. Developed countries must commit to new annual funding, in addition to official development assistance and public sources, of at least 6% of their GDP to tackle climate change in developing countries. This is feasible considering that a similar amount is spent on national defense and that five times more than that was spent to rescue failing banks and speculators, which raises serious questions about their global priorities and political will. This funding should be direct, unconditional and not violate the national sovereignty or self-determination of the communities and groups most affected.

Given the inefficiency of the current mechanism, the Mexico Conference should establish a new funding mechanism that operates under the authority of and is accountable to the United Nations Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change, with significant representation from developing countries to ensure Annex 1 countries comply with funding commitments.

It has been confirmed that over the period 1990 - 2007, the developed countries increased their emissions despite having stated that the reduction would be substantially assisted by market mechanisms.

The carbon market has turned into a lucrative business by commercializing our Mother Earth. This does not represent an alternative to tackling climate change since it loots and ravages the land, water, and even life itself. The recent financial crisis has shown that the market is incapable of regulating the financial system, which is fragile and uncertain when faced with speculation and the emergence of middle men, therefore, it would be totally irresponsible to leave in its hands the care and protection of human existence itself and of our Mother Earth.

Expand and promote the carbon market given that existing mechanisms never solved the problem of climate change or became real and direct action in reducing greenhouse gases .We consider it unacceptable that the current negotiations seek to create new mechanisms that expand and promote the carbon market given that existing mechanisms have never solved the problem of climate change nor did they ever turn into real and direct action towards reducing greenhouse gases.

It is essential to require compliance with the commitments made by developed countries at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change regarding the development and transfer of technology and reject the "technological showcase" proposed by developed countries that only comercialize the technology. It is essential to establish guidelines for creating multilateral, multidisciplinary and participatory control, management, and ongoing evaluation of the exchange of technologies. These technologies must be useful, clean, and socially appropriate. It is equally essential to establish a fund for the financing and inventory of technologies that are appropriate and free of intellectual property rights, in particular of patents that should be transferred from private monopolies into the public domain, freely accessible and at low cost.

Knowledge is universal, and may not for any reason be the subject of private ownership and private use, nor its applications in the form of technology. It is the duty of developed countries to share their technology with developing countries, to create research centers for the creation of their own technologies and innovations, as well as defending and promoting their development and application in order to live well. The world needs to regain, learn, and relearn the principles and approaches of the ancestral legacy of Indigenous peoples in order to stop the destruction of the planet, as well as ancestral knowledge and practices and the recovery of spirituality in the reintegration of living well together with Mother Earth.

It must support States submitting claims in the International Court of Justice against developed countries that fail to meet their commitments under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol, including their commitments to reduce greenhouse gases. We urge the people to propose and promote a thorough reform of the United Nations (UN), so that all Member States comply with the decisions of the International Climate and Environmental Justice Tribunal.

The future of humanity is in danger, and we cannot accept that a group of leaders of developed countries want to decide for all countries, as they tried to do unsuccessfully at the Conference of the Parties in Copenhagen. This decision rests with all peoples. It is therefore necessary to hold a world referendum, plebiscite, or popular vote on climate change where we are all consulted on: the level of emission reductions that should be made by developed countries and transnational corporations, the financing that developed countries should provide, the creation of an International Climate Justice Tribunal: the need for a Universal Declaration of the rights of Mother Earth, and the need to change the current capitalist system.

The process of a World Referendum, plebiscite or popular vote will be the result of a process of preparation that ensures its successful development. In order to coordinate our international actions and implement the results of this "Peoples’ Agreement" we call for building a Global People’s Movement for Mother Earth which is based on the principles of complementarity and respect for diversity of origin and visions of its members, constituting a broad and democratic space for coordination and joint action worldwide.

To this end, we adopt the attached global action plan so that in Mexico the Annex 1 developed countries will respect the existing legal framework and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 50% and take on the various proposals contained in this Agreement.

Finally, we agree to hold the 2nd World Peoples’ Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth in 2011 as part of this process of building a Peoples’ Global Movement for Mother Earth and to react to the results of the Climate Change Conference to be held later this year in Cancun, Mexico.

(translated by Alan Forsberg http://www.cmpcc.org.bo/PEOPLES-AGREEMENT)

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Tuesday 27 April 2010

Together we can fight and win!

(From Agnes - Monday 19th)

The day started at 7AM with us going to get our accreditation.  In Bolivia you quickly learn that times are a reference and rarely observed.  The accreditation opened at 8:30 and supposedly the working groups were to start at the same time.

While in the queue I spoke to two women from Oruro – they had taken a four hour journey to get there that morning and hadn´t registered online (this should not be a problem as another line inside was formed for those who been able to get online – this line was much longer and mostly of indigenous local peoples). Our conversation started with her asking me a simple question ‘What effects of climate change do you feel from where you come from?’ and my heart sank because I could already imagine her answer. My own answer was that right now where I am from we did not yet feel any impacts. I continued that we were here because we knew that this was a global issue and that we needed to do something to stop it.  I then asked her the same question and quietly she replied that things were not the same – the rivers were dry, the rain doesn’t come, which means their harvest doesn’t come either. She said her community was worried. I said we were worried as well, but then her friend pointed out that this may be true, but that there were contradictions. She gave me the example of agrofuels which lowered our emissions, but threatened their ability to feed themselves! That’s when the line moved and we were quickly ushered into the coliseum and separated into separate lines to register. 

Once we got our shiny passes we quickly made our way to the university to try and find the forest working group. Rumours were that REDD made its way into the draft declaration and many of the grassroots groups and NGOs who have been fighting this were planning an intervention – which may still happen depending on how the group goes today and tomorrow. The working group is moderated by a UN bureaucrat, but is also filled with many strong voices that I am sure will not allow this to happen, and if it does, then I am sure they will leave the process. For now there is still hope.

As I do not know much about the technicalities of REDD and I left this group and went to find the structural causes group thinking it would be interesting to see how capitalism is deconstructed. I sat there for the rest of the morning listening to the interventions signaling capitalism as the problem - agro industries, transnationals, agro fuels, consumption, business, imperialism and militarism were all mentioned. Many interventions blamed the US and said that it was up to individuals to change, but some strong voices said that we should look at the system that touches everything. The most interesting intervention came from people in Venezuela who talked of the need to look at the ‘modelo civilizatorio’  - civilizing model – which from my understanding includes a criticism of the states such as Venezuela and Bolivia who have maintained an extractive capitalist economic model as their way to fund the socialist revolution.  I heard this the day before when in the thematic tent of the Water Forum someone pointed out the contradiction within Bolivia of blaming capitalism to the world, but not changing their own extractive industries. The lady insisted they needed nationalization and someone pointed out perhaps a new economic system would be even better.

One last thing that I want to share with you – probably the thing that inspired me the most – I attended the a side event entitled ‘Megaprojects and repression.’ It was a toss up between this and a feminist workshop, but something nudged me here. Perhaps it was because the Mapuche woman from Argentina asked for support the day before – because as it turns out the side event was almost cancelled. Supposedly the Argentine government met with the Bolivian ambassador to try and pull it. I quickly understood their worry as it was a powerful account of the Mapuche people’s struggle against mining extraction and the repression they suffer from military, police, and private security forces (http://catamarcacontaminada.blogspot.com/).  

The floor opened up for questions – but instead more stories of extraction and repression were told from Nicaragua to Chile.  In Northern Chile, the Canadian transnational company Barrick Gold wants to mine gold, silver, copper and other minerals using open cast/pit mining – which threatens the nearby glaciers and the clean water supply to the traditional farming communities.  The mood got heavy, but then a Bolivian companero  stood up and said that we all fight and that it is hard to win, but not impossible, he said he fought in the water war and the people threw out the multinational company from Cochabamba and everyone cheered – together we can fight and win!

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‘Oye amigo el tierra esta en peligro!’

(From Agnes -  Tuesday 20 April)

Capitalism is crisis

I’m sitting here in the stadium waiting for the inauguration of the conference to start. Everyone is chanting ‘oye amigo el tierra esta en peligro’ – 'listen friend the land is in danger.' The stadium is filled with colourful flags and banners representing the many Latin American nations and organizations that are here, the sea of green from Via Campesina’s scarves and flags is notable. The sun is out and the mountains surround us – we wait for the stadium to fill and Evo Morales to arrive.

The inauguration starts two hours later with speakers from all over the world. I’m sure it’s well covered all over the press, but here are some things that stood out for me. The representative from Via Campesina talked of two projects – one of getting rid of the capitalism, imperialism and its false solutions - and the other one of constructing an alternative system that defends life stating that we are capable of creating this alternative! Somehow Via Campesina always fills me with hope…

The other interesting moment was to see the UN representative speak who stopped in the middle of her discourse to acknowledge the fact that people were yelling ‘fuera’ / ‘get off / get out’ whilst she was speaking. It was clear that the people have no hope in the UN process and did not come here to be given false promises, false solutions and guarantees from the UN. What struck me was that she defended herself by stating ‘we represent peoples too’ and I wonder if that is in anyway true?! Evo picked this up in his speech and said that the UN should be here, but only to listen and respect the solutions that will come out of this conference and through this a real dialogue between the people and governments in this world can begin.

Evo’s speech can be divided into two parts – first talking about the capitalist system and the responsibility that the developed world had to acknowledge in tackling climate change. He said that the last 20 years have been the hottest years in the last 400 years, and that during the same time 20% of the population has generated 76% of the emissions.  The cause of the destruction is capitalism and it is our right and obligation to stop it!

The other part of his speech focused on the need to recuperate traditional indigenous knowledge and customs in order to combat the culture of capitalism.  He started with the anecdote about having a headache:   ‘When we have a headache the North gives us alkaselzer – this may stop the headache – but will cause a stomachache. I don’t understand why we do not take our own medicines, such as coca or chamomile teas.’  He could have stopped here, but went on to give examples of clay dishes as opposed to plastic ones, chicha (fermented drink) as opposed to coca cola, etc. A lot of people within the country were angry with this because it went too far and to some it was embarrassing, but I can imagine that some identified with the morale of taking in pride in traditional ways.

I’m not sure what I expected from his speech, but I know that we need more than words.

Rising Tide International

In the afternoon we joined the rising tide meeting with people from Australia, US and climate justice activists from Europe. It seems that in the rest of the world climate camps are organized by Rising Tide or coalition of groups and there isn’t a ‘climate camp’ identity as has formed in the UK. It´s also interesting that no matter where we are in the world, or how we organize, we face some of the same challenges of how to build an inclusive mass movement. It was really inspiring to hear stories from Rising Tide Australia and the actions that they were taking against coal (http://www.risingtide.org.au/)

Engagement with UNFCCC?

From there some of us went on to see what would be discussed in the CJN organized side event ‘how social movements should should engage with the UNFCCC process’. I didn’t pay much attention to those that encouraged engagement or started talking about mobilization, rather what struck me were two female voices that called us to action. The European Via Campesina representative that told us that there was no reason to think that any proposals from the UN or governments would get any better, we needed to take action ourselves. Similarly a Mexican woman who as it turns out belongs to the Rising Tide network called on us to not wait for the UNFCCC to deliver, but to take effective action now.

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Change the System - Not The Climate!

The climate conference has been a platform for many different groups attempting to rally suppot for specific campaigns or initiatives. Last year the UK Camp for Climate Action decided to work within the Climate Justice Action network to mobilise for COP15. At a meeting of the CJA in Amsterdam earlier in the year, it was agreed the network would support a callout for a global day of action in October and mobilise in Europe for the date. Although climate camp has yet to discuss the callout, those of us from the camp have been working with the CJA in Cochabamba to promote support for the day of action which came from a callout from a Latin American network called ´Global Minga´. While making connections here in Bolivia we´ve made sure to mention the callout in the meetings we´ve been invited to and it´s been greeted with much interest. 
 
CJA callout text...
 
On October 12, 2010: change the system, not the climate! Call for a global day of direct action for climate justice
 
The disaster that was the climate summit in Copenhagen highlighted one thing above all: that we cannot expect UN-negotiations to solve the climate crisis for us. Governments and corporations are unable (even if they were willing) to deliver real climate justice. Only powerful, global climate justice movements can achieve the structural changes that are necessary, whether it is ending our addiction to fossil fuels, replacing industrial agriculture with local systems of food sovereignty, halting systems based on endless growth and consumption, or addressing the historical responsibility of the global elites’ massive ecological debt to the global exploited.
 
In 2008, the Latin American network ‘Global Minga’ called for an annual day of action in defence of mother earth on October 12, reclaiming the day that used to be imposed as ‘Columbus Day’. Responding to this call, and the demand for a day of action for ‘system change, not climate change’ made in Copenhagen by global movements, Climate Justice Action is proposing a day of direct action for climate justice on October 12, 2010.
 
We invite all those who fight for social and ecological justice to organise direct actions targeting climate criminals and false solutions, or creating real alternatives. This is an open callout, we are not picking targets. But it is not a day for marches or petitions: it is time for us to reclaim our power, and take control of our lives and futures.
 
An open international meeting to begin to organise and coordinate this day of action will be held in Bonn on 28-29th May 2010.
 

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A little less talk

With the conference over it's time to put all the rhetoric into action. In the UK, activists from Rising Tide have been busy doing just that - blockading a rail link from an open cast coal mine in Wales. 

The timing was perfect (for me at least), as I got to refer to the action while being interviewed on a campesina radio station in Cochabamba. Asked why people struggled in the UK and what that struggle looked like, I pointed out that while the UK might not currently be suffering such immediate and pressing problems from climate change, we all share the same planet and ecosystem and we share the same fight. I talked about the Rising Tide blockade which was happening as I spoke and about the climate campers who did an action in London in solidarity with protesters at San Cristobel.

Ben

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release – No Embargo

Bristol and Bath Rising Tide Stop Coal Train – Happening Now !

Today, people involved in the Rising Tide Network have literally puts their necks on the line by chaining themselves to the rails in order to block the rail link to the Ffoss y Fran Open Cast Coal mine near Merthyr Tydfil. They are currently blocking the movement of coal
trains from the mine to Aberthaw Power Station
.
Please Call 07835366330 For on-site interviews and updates. Alternative
number (off site): 07909172768


Kim Green from Rising Tide (UK) said:

“We are Protesting the continued extraction and burning of fossil fuels in the face of a global climate emergency. The failure of the Copenhagen climate talks to deal with this huge problem, and the obvious policy inadequacy the three main UK parties contesting the general election to take the necessary action to tackle the problem has highlighted the need for the people to take grass-roots direct action.”

Kim Green continues:

“This action is also in support of the local people of Merthyr Tydfil whose campaign 'Residents Against Ffoss y Fran' have been fighting the mine for over six years. The mine causes noise pollution for up to 16 hours a day, dust and dirt are carried into the town by the wind, and it turns the rain black.”

The process by which Miller-Argent <#12839b95d12ae6d5_12839a907942cd50_1283996b59ac00fa_128398b0dc47dae8_sdfootnote3sym>were able to get the go ahead to exploit this resource at the social cost of both the local and global community, highlighting the democratic deficit in the planning process, which takes in to consideration the social-environmental impact of such projects. The newly formed quango “The Planning Commission” will only make these things worse, being able to ignore any consideration in favour of profit.


Miller Argent have been quick to pressure their small workforce into mobilising against local concerns - but their apparent concern for their
workers is betrayed by the fact that they are actually looking to sell the mine as the quantity of high quality coal is only about as half as good as
they initially believed. They are in fact making a loss on the project.


Notes To Editor:

1. Rising Tide is an international network of groups tackling the Root Causes of Climate Change and Climate Injustice .http://risingtide.org.uk/

2.Aberthaw Power Station is the biggest polluter in Wales. In 2006 it released 7.4. million tonnes of Co2. It is Projected to run until 2025 with
NO PLANS to fit carbon capture storage (CCS) technology. 40% of the coal for the power station is supplied by Ffos y Fran. It was targeted by Bristol & Cardiff Rising Tide in 2008.

3.Miller Argent own and run Ffos Y fran. Argent are in turn owned by the BT Pensions Group. Both of these organisations make much of their ethical and sustainable practices But in this case they seem to be placing profits over and above any element of social responsibility.

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From Ben in Bolivia (part8) 'The Black Waters of Imperialism'

It's been a few days since I've blogged, initially due to being unwell and more recently because the prospect of catching up has been so daunting. However, having had a couple of days to relax, reflect and recover a little, and since there is now a less output on other bloggers, I figure it's time to put finger to touch screen.

I'd already been starving myself of decent nutrition doing the overland leg of my journey to Cochabamba and then, when I got a stomach bug a couple of days in, I returned to very limited diet. That probably would have been fine for a day or two buy I then had trouble with a wisdom tooth that no cocktail of pain killers could disguise. Unable to sleep, I had no choice but to see a dentist who pulled it out there and then.

Unfortunately the conference had now started and I had to go as I was on a panel in one of the side workshops. To add to my problems, the dentist hsd said I must stay out of the sun, no work and no food.

Having already consumed pretty much only water for previous couple of days I knew I need calories so started to make my way to the conference (with a climate camp flag over my head as an ineffective sun hat) and I tried to locate a bag of chocolate soya milk on route to keep me going. Having failed to find any before Unsuccessful reaching the conference I purchased a huge bottle of coca-cola, ubiquitous at every street stall and store.

I'd arranged to met Agnes at Mesa 18 before heading over to the workshop together. I was in pain, thumping headache, parched and starving. I sat down amongst the participants of Mesa 18 and even as I heard the speaker say the words I pulled out this huge bottle of coke, unscrewed the lid to a satisfying hiss and gulped down a long thirst quenching slug of the stuff.

It could have been worse. Okay, I'd cracked it open right at the moment that the speaker was taking a pop at the coca-cola and all it represents, but at least the bottle hadn't been shaken up and sprayed everyone with the evil liquid.

As I lowered the bottle from my lips I could see dozens of people giving me evil looks but there was no point me trying to tell people that it was purely medicinal.

I hate coke, not just the company for it having union workers killed in Columbia or sucking drying water supplies in India and elsewhere. It's also just not an especially nice drink. However, there was no chance that it had been made with local tap water and since it's stuffed with so much sugar, it was the closest thing I'd have to meal for a while.

Anyway, I located Agnes who was waiting for an opportunity to tell Mesa 18 about the solidarity action climate campers had done at the offices of the company which owns the San Cristobel mines in London. We agree to meet later at the workshop so I headed off.

I'd not prepared anything for this workshop which involved three people on the panel talking about specific campaigns against multinational corporations, the tactics used and what lessons might be shared. I was last to speak and my head killing me. I took a couple of pain killers from my pocket and washed them down with some more coke. When my turn came round spoke about the campaign to stop a new wave of coal power in the Uk which targeted German energy giant Eon.

The session went well but over ran a little leaving no time for the planed question and answer session so instead the facilitators handed out paper and pen. Everyone was asked to write down one tactic that could be used to fight corporations. The slips of paper were then passed around so people could read the different responses, then some were read allowed at random. Imagine my shame as somebody read out a slip saying, "stop drinking coca-cola"!

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Thursday 22 April 2010

From Copenhagen to Cancún, Indigenous Peoples Vow to Defend the "Rights of Mother Earth" Condemn Predatory 'REDD' Forest Programs

Photos and more at: http://pitch.pe/59552
D
PRESS RELEASE
April 22, 2010

Cochabamba, Bolivia- As Earth Day celebrations commence around the world, Indigenous Peoples from across the Americas are in Cochabamba, Bolivia today to close the historic conference on climate change and the "Rights of Mother Earth" hosted by President Evo Morales. Morales, the only Indigenous Head of State in the world, called this conference in the wake of failed climate talks in Copenhagen. As the world prepares for the next round of talks in Cancún, Mexico, Indigenous Peoples vowed today to push for proposals that keep fossil fuels in the ground, protect Indigenous rights, and reject predatory policies like REDD (Reducing Emissions Through Deforestation & Degradation).

"REDD is branded as a friendly forest conservation program, yet it is backed by big polluters and climate profiteers. We cannot solve this crisis with out addressing the root cause: a fossil fuel economy that disregards the rights of Mother Earth," said Alberto Saldamando, legal counsel for the International Indian Treaty Council. "President Morales has heard our recommendations on the structural causes of climate change and predatory carbon schemes like REDDs, and will bring our voices to the world stage in Cancún later this year."

This morning President Morales was joined by representatives of 90 governments and several Heads of State to receive the findings of the conference on topics such as a Climate Tribunal, Climate Debt, just finance for mitigation and adaptation, agriculture, and forests.

The working group on forests held one of the more hotly contested negotiations of the summit, but with the leadership of Indigenous Peoples, a consensus was reached to reject REDD and call for wide-scale grassroots reforestation programs. The final declaration on forests states, "We condemn the mechanisms of the neoliberal market, such as the REDD mechanism and its versions REDD+ and REDD++, which are violating the sovereignty of our Peoples and their rights to free, prior and informed consent and self determination." The working group on forests also challenged the definition of forests used by the United Nations, which permits plantations and transgenic trees, saying, "Monocultures are not forests."

"REDD is not a solution to climate change," said Marlon Santi, President of CONAIE, the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador, the largest Indigenous organization in that country. "REDD has been created by multilateral institutions like the World Bank that routinely violate Indigenous Peoples' rights and pollute Mother Earth. It is perverse that these institutions are pretending to have the 'solution' when they have actually caused the climate crisis. REDD should not be implemented in any country or community."

"REDD is a predatory program that pretends to save forests and the climate, while backhandedly selling out forests out from under our Indigenous Peoples," said Tom Goldtooth, Director of the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN), based in Bemidji, MN. "REDD will encourage continuing pollution and global warming, while displacing those of us least responsible for the crisis, who have been stewards of the forests since time immemorial."

The declarations forged by the working groups in Cochabamba will be taken to the Cancún summit by President Morales as a counter-proposal to the widely criticized "Copenhagen Accord." Movements of Indigenous Peoples, trade unions, farmers and environmentalists are also building momentum out of Cochabamba with plans for mass demonstrations in Cancún.

The Indigenous Environmental Network is in Cochabamba for the duration of the Climate Conference (April 20-24). Onsite cell: +591 740 2853

Indigenous Environmental Networ

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International solidarity for Bolivian mine protesters

This morning, a banner reading "the world is watching" greeted staff arriving at the London offices of the Sumitomo Corporation. The impromtu intervention by activists from Camp for Climate Action was an act of solidarity with Bolivians occupying mine offices and rail tracks this week.

The protest is against the San Cristobal mine, which is owned by Sumitomo Corporation. It has been in operation for more than three years in the Andean region near the Salar de Uyuni in the town of Avaroa, but for the past week and a half, it has been largely shut down by the protesters.

With blockades, marches and office take-overs of the San Cristobal mine, the communities are demanding that the silver and lead mine replenish the water expended by the extraction processes of an open pit mine and that it be taxed. Six hundred litres of water every second are extracted by the mine. They are also demanding the completion of projects that were promised by the mining companies when they began operations, such as electrification and improved road infrastructure, with emphasis on water issues.

The Morales government has not yet taken action against the protests (in fact the Foreign Minister had actually been quoted criticising the company). However, there are fears that repression may begin once media attention on the climate conference hosted by Bolivia has died down. For this reason internationals plan to join protests on the ground and others have acted in solidarity not only to show the company that they risk direct action against their interests around the world, but also ensure that the Bolivian government is aware that there is a great interest in how they respond to the issue.

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Wednesday 21 April 2010

Cultural protest at conconference

Democracy Centre report Day 1

Readers,

Imagine you live in a slow and sleepy village where the cow population rivals that of people and suddenly some ten thousand people from all parts of the planet descend upon it – bearing slogans. Welcome to Tiquipaya on the opening day of the People's Summit on Climate Change.

My personal day began by riding my bike to the conference site (the local university, Univalle) to make an 8 am appearance on Democracy Now with Amy Goodman. You can see the interview here. If you watch it you will know why people always tell me that I have a face made for radio. The rest of the day is a blur of chatting with journalists, sitting in on workshops, and trying to get a handle on what is going on here.

Welcome to the opening day of our Blog coverage of the summit. The Democracy Team is on the task and here is the plan. I'll be covering the question, "Where's the Strategy?" Jessica Camille Aguirre will be following the ideas and conversations among indigenous groups and social movements at the summit. Elizabeth Cooper is tracking an issue vital to low-income people and nations: How does combating climate change compete with the desire for economic and social development?

Please pass this along to others interested in the Tiquipaya Summit, and keep reading.

Jim Shultz


In Search of the Strategy: Still Looking
Jim Shultz

We don't have time to waste. When we talk climate change we are talking about a crisis in which human behavior needs to change very much, very fast – and the only way change that fast happens is by changing public policies. So my beat at the Tiquipaya climate summit is about looking for the strategies to make that policy change happen. What are the objectives? Who does the climate movement need to move to achieve them? How are they going to do that? What are the arguments, alliances and actions that will make that happen?

I have a bias. I believe that if you don't have a strategy you are just screwing around in the dark, and the planet doesn't have time for us to go screwing around in the dark.

The climate summit here this week is based on the start of a strategy – to move past a formula where social movements meet outside the doors of government summits and try to influence what goes on inside. This is a meeting of the people and groups that were outside at Copenhagen. Pablo Solon, Bolivia's Ambassador to the UN and a major force behind this week's climate summit, was on Democracy Now just after me and he explained the strategy behind the summit this way:

"What is the point? To organize. We need to organize a worldwide coalition of social movements, of networks, of NGOs, in order to—all of them, with different perspectives maybe in Asia, Africa, Europe or here in Latin America, but all with a common purpose, how we are going to save the future of humankind and of our Mother Earth by trying to have enough force in order to press developed governments to have a really commitment to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions."

That makes sense, a lot of sense. Climate change is not going to be combated without public policies designed to do that and governments are not going to enact those polices without a heavy push from their peoples. So, what are we pushing them to do and how are we pushing them to do it.

I spent some time today listening to people talk about two ideas on that front, both promising on the surface.

"Climate Debt"

One is the idea of "climate debt." This is basically a way to frame a fundamental moral fact, that the wealthy nations of the globe have already used up all of the atmosphere we can afford to with carbon emissions. It is like a speaker at a workshop using up all the airtime before anyone else can get a word in. Among those I spoke to today who are keen on this idea is Naomi Klein, whose thinking on serious subjects I respect a good deal.

The climate debt idea has two big implications (among others). One is that developing countries can't follow the path of industrialization that their rich predecessors have without making the climate crisis even worse. The other is that wealthy nations, in addition to reducing their own emissions, have a moral responsibility to finance what it will take for poorer countries to adapt to climate change and to industrialize in ways that won't deepen the problem.

But arguing a moral responsibility is one thing and being able to make it a legal responsibility is another. Is there any treaty or institution in the world that can force the U.S., for example, into making such payments? No. Is there any chance whatsoever that the U.S. would voluntarily subject itself to what would be an international tort system for climate damage? Well, look how happily U.S. lawmakers subjected the country to the world criminal court. Not quite.

So, if forcing rich countries to pay a climate debt is a dead end, what is the plan to move "climate debt" from a catchy idea to a real proposal with a chance of delivering some results? At a workshop today on that topic, there was an abundance of declarations about why climate debt is important, but few ideas of how to make it real. So we keep waiting for signs of a strategy.

A Global Referendum

Another idea popular here is a proposal to work toward a global voter referendum on climate change. Advocates argue, with reason, that the people of the earth are truly in the same sinking boat with regard to climate change and that we ought to, as a global people, have a vote on how to deal with it. But, as a student of the referendum process (in California I wrote a popular book on ballot measure politics, The Initiative Cookbook), I am stunned by the lack of serious thought that has been put in on two essential points.

The first is about what question to ask. The referendum is not planned as a binding law on government, the way an initiative is in California, for example. It is designed to be a collective public expression that can help pressure governments to act. So with such a referendum you need to think about what question will push governments in precise ways and to be damned sure you will win. Losing a referendum election doesn’t advance your cause. Quite the opposite.

At a meeting today on the referendum idea, a packed room debated a proposal to put a set of questions on the ballot, including:

-- Are you in favor of restoring harmony with Mother Earth?
-- Are you in favor of changing the model of super consumerism?
-- Shall we rededicate the funds now dedicated to War to defense of the environment?

I left in the middle of a discussion over whether an additional question should be added about the abolition of capitalism.

These questions may speak to people's ideological desires but they do not speak to specific actions that governments should take; they do not likely to win broad public support; and they are not serious questions for a global referendum.

The second point is about the mechanisms of arranging a public vote. Not all countries have such mechanisms and in many that do the time and cost of trying to secure such a vote is enormous. In California alone, for example, getting a measure on the ballot is a million dollar proposition. Does the climate justice movement really have the resources of time and energy to do this worldwide, and is this really the best use of the limited resources it has.

There is an alternative that makes far more sense if organizations want to go this route, citizen-organized referendums or "consultas". Mexican activists pioneered this technique a decade ago, setting up tables across the country and asking the people (in a single weekend) a basic question: For example, are you in favor of the government's economic reforms? The organizers of the Cochabamba Water Revolt also used this tactic in 2000. A citizen referendum that asked people if they favored breaking the government's contract with Bechtel drew more than 60,000 people, 10% of the city's population, in three days. As Oscar Olivera told me later, "The consulta made our movement much more participatory."

But these basic strategic questions seemed to little place in the discussions I saw here today. I was not the only person there who observed this. Tomorrow I'll begin my "search for strategy" once more.


Bolivia’s Indigenous Movements Take the International Stage
Jessica Camille Aguirre

In the main plaza of Tiquipaya tonight there was a Bolivian traditional dance group performing. As taxis streamed by hauling people back to Cochabamba after a long day of registration and conference events, a disparate crowd gathered around the stage. Bolivian teenagers bemusedly drinking beer (conference-induced drinking ban notwithstanding), intent looking young activists, exhausted organizers and journalists gathered around, reposing in plastic lawn chairs.

One of the most dynamic parts of this People’s Summit is the convergence of indigenous movements, primarily Bolivian and South American, with the multitude of social movements from around the globe. Indigenous representatives, dressed in brightly crafted and intricately adorned ensembles, are an impressive presence at the People’s World Conference on Climate Change and the Right of Mother Earth.

The conference program, containing a thick plethora of events, places a noticeable emphasis on events featuring alternative relationships to Mother Earth via the cosmovision Andina (Andean understanding of the cosmos).

Conversations that have happening among Bolivian social movements for months are now being thrust into international spotlight, and into a global context. CONAMAQ, the Bolivian national indigenous organization, is a ubiquitous presence at these presentations, underlining the necessity to live in harmony with nature and rejecting what they see as the commodification of natural resources. Speakers emphasize the need re-enforce communities. Fernando, a speaker with CONAMAQ, said that the relationship with the earth is predicated on good relationships with loved ones. His grandmother, he said, planted the seed of understanding in his heart with her smile.

But the challenge to many of these messages is making them resonate with activists from around the world who face different realities. The concept of vivir bien – living in harmony with nature and in reciprocity with community – is difficult to imagine in the context of contemporary urban environments. The social contract, Italian activist Giuseppe de Marzo pointed out, is broken when societies become too large. Adapting vivir bien to a Western city requires, he said, moving away from the concept of constant economic growth. Changing the entrenched culture of richer nations may be difficult, but many here see it as fundamental to the success of the climate change movement.

Though adapting the message of vivir bien will have its challenges, Bolivian indigenous organizations also found resonance today in indigenous representatives arrived from all corners of the globe. Moira Millan, an Argentine activist of the Mapuche peoples, echoed the concept of vivir bien as she described how her peoples see the natural world as a physical manifestation of their ancestors. But she called for a revolution of thinking among the indigenous peoples of the world: the movement, she said, must globalize as well.

This will be the challenge of the days to come: linking the wisdom of indigenous peoples to the realities of nature-starved urban contexts, and creating strategies for building a movement that maintains the distinctness of traditions while obtaining global significance.


Local Knowledge and Local Technologies
Elizabeth Cooper

In the working group “Development and Technology Transfer,” the day’s discussions opened with a conflict that was emblematic of the North-South tension in this week’s People’s Summit.

A member of the Summit planning team, a Spanish-speaker in a suit and tie, brought the group together to elect its president. He introduced as a candidate Victor Menotti, the executive director of the International Forum on Globalization, based in San Francisco. Victor has been a well-known figure in globalization issues for more than a decade, and also a competent Spanish speaker. Despite a room full of South Americans, no other candidate was nominated.

Then one participant, Ramiro Palizza Ledezma, a historian from La Paz, spoke up. “We are a group that is in the majority Spanish-speaking, and what’s more, we have many skilled participants from this continent present. We have academics, organizers, and miners, and our indigenous compañeros, who are experts in their knowledge of indigenous practices and technologies, present,” he reminded the group.

He suggested that perhaps someone from this group itself should lead, and his comment opened up a small flood of calls of agreement. In the end, the group settled in a three-way leadership that included Victor, an English-speaking woman, and the addition of a leader from the national indigenous organization CONAMAQ named Miguel from the nation of Chicha. Miguel started off the discussion with a discourse in Quechua that was only slightly muffled by the coca that filled his cheeks.

This issue of valuing the knowledge and abilities of indigenous peoples and those from the South was an undercurrent to the rest of the afternoon as it is to the Summit as a whole.

One part of combating climate change is about making effective use of technologies, such as solar energy. Here, the discussion is not only about how wealthy countries can share that technology with less wealthy ones, but about how to do that in a way that takes into account local realities.

“For example, we should not put solar panels to use in La Paz, where the whole landscape is up-and-down and the area does not get consistent sunlight,” said Roberto, the young man who moderated the sub-group discussion. Another participant explained that countries like Bolivia are buying technologies that are inappropriate for their needs because another country or a transnational sells them to them.

Some of the other ideas suggested at the meeting included scholarships for international study that also bring those students—and what they learn—back to their home countries, and sharing best practices between Latin American countries.

“Development” is the other word that comes up over and over in this conversation. In the meeting today, that word meant liberating Southern countries from dependence on Northern countries for the technologies that can improve their lives and fight climate change. Ramiro, the paceño historian, shared his fears for what development can mean. He told me that in a country like Bolivia, development can also mean new forms of competition between people that run against the nature of the culture.

Another participant declared passionately that to even have this conversation, we needed a new word for development that did not carry with it the implication of inflicting such damage to the mother earth. The very last comment of the workshop was made by an indigenous woman—one of the only women I heard speak over the course of the discussion—as most of the crowd was already shuffling out of the room. “We have cultivated knowledge that has allowed us to live in harmony with the earth, and our grandparents have the obligation to pass this information along to our children before it is lost,” she said.

For she and others at the meeting, the wisdom of elders is also a technology with important value.

What Else We're Reading

Some links to other good reports on the climate summit and Water War Anniversary:

Bolivian villagers want compensation as glaciers melt (Andres Schipani, BBC News)

Climate Change Conference in Bolivia: In Defense of Pachamama (Franz Chávez, Upside Down World)

Bolivia Steps Up: An Interview with Climate Negotiator Angelica Navarro (Joseph Huff-Hannon, The Progressive)

FSRN Headlines: People’s Conference on Climate gets started in Bolivia (Jessica Camille Aguirre, Free Speech Radio News)

People’s Conference on Climate Justice Begins in Bolivia; New Yorkers Can Participate Online (Renée Feltz, Indypendent)
Water Wars: How One City’s Fight Against a Multinational Ignited a Movement Battling Water Privatization (Tina Gerhardt, Alternet)

Bolivia: Meet Faith Gemmill from Arctic Village (Brenda Norrell, Censored News) (Part of a series introducing conference participants)

Source: http://www.democracyctr.org/blog/


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Tuesday 20 April 2010

Indigenous Peoples of North America in Cochabamba

"Respect Indigenous Rights & the Rights of 'Pachamama' in UN Climate negotiations"

Pictures and more at: http://pitch.pe/58935

Cochabamba, Bolivia- Indigenous Peoples from across North America and their allies from around the world gathered at the invitation of Bolivian President Evo Morales in Cochabamba this morning for the kick-off of an historic conference on climate change and the "rights of Mother Earth." Morales called this conference in the wake of failed climate talks in Copenhagen last year. Over 15,000 delegates from 126 countries heard President Morales speak at the soccer stadium in the village of Tiquipaya today, and are meeting in working group sessions this week to develop strategies and make policy proposals on issues such as forests, water, climate debt, and finance, which President Morales pledges to bring to the international negotiations of the COP 16 in Cancun, Mexico later this year. 

The convocation this morning included a multi-cultural blessing ceremony by Indigenous Peoples from across the Americas, and speeches by representatives of social movements from five continents on the urgency of the climate crisis and the need for bold action that protects both human rights and the environment.  

"Indigenous rights and knowledge are crucial to addressing climate change, but the United States and Canada have not signed on to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (DRIP), and are pushing corporate climate policy agendas that threaten our homelands and livelihoods," said Jihan Gearon of the Navajo Nation (AZ), Native Energy Organizer with Indigenous Environmental Network. "We have traveled to Bolivia because President Morales has committed to bring our voices to the global stage at the next round of talks in Cancun."

 "President Morales has asked our recommendations on issues such as REDDs (Reducing Emissions through Deforestation and Degradation)," said Alberto Saldamando, legal counsel for the International Indian Treaty Council. "REDD is branded as a friendly forest conservation program, yet it is backed by big polluters. REDD is a dangerous distraction from the root issue of fossil fuel pollution, and could mean disaster for forest-dependent Indigenous Peoples the world over."

"We are here from the far north to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters of the South" said Faith Gemmill, Executive Director of Resisting Environmental Destruction on Indigenous Lands (REDOIL), who spoke from the stage at the invitation of President Morales. "We have a choice as human kind - a path of life, or a path of destruction. The people who can change the world are here!"

The Indigenous Environmental Network is in Cochabamba for the duration of the Climate Conference (April 20-24). Onsite cell: +59 740 28531###

Indigenous Environmental Network: Indigenous Peoples empowering Indigenous Nations and communities towards sustainable livelihoods, demanding environmental justice and maintaining the Sacred Fire of our traditions. www.ienearth.org 

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Shell gas terminal in UK blockaded

On the first day of the World People's Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth in Cochabamba, protesters in the UK have taken action in solidarity of communities in Ireland fighting against a gas pipeline and refinery being built by the Shell oil company.

PRESS RELEASE

 in  Solidarity with Pat O'Donnell and against Shell on Earth! Gas terminal access blockaded in both directions at 7am April 19th

Environmental protesters have today blockaded the access to Bacton gas terminal (1) on the North Norfolk coast; the road is currently blocked by activists lying in the road attached to steel arm tubes and by a large steel tripod. The action at Bacton has been carried out by Earth First! (2), a countrywide network of activists who use direct action to oppose environmental destruction. 

Bacton gas terminal is the largest of its kind in Britain, pumping North Sea gas to Britain and mainland Europe; the terminal is operated by Shell and the protesters say they are taking the action in solidarity with a community in Republic of Ireland, who are opposing the development of a similar facility near Rossport in County Mayo (3). Shell heads the consortium developing the Irish terminal, refinery and pipeline. 

A participate commented: “Bacton has been blockaded today in solidarity with the people of Mayo who have been protesting against Shell virtually daily since 2005. Residents there have been subjected to ongoing harassment from Shell and their contractors. Pat O'Donnell, a local fisherman, is currently serving a 7 month jail sentence for his part in the resistance to Shell's development”. 

Community resistance in the Rossport area has been fuelled by concerns that the new terminal will ruin the the coastal environment, farmland and wildlife habitats, as well as fishing grounds vital to the local economy. Fears for the local environment include potential disturbance to coastal conservation areas, which support wildlife such as dolphins and porpoises, plus the possibility that local drinking water could become contaminated. Residents also claim that due planning process has not taken place and that construction work started before planning consent was fully approved. 

“ We want our action today to send two strong messages; firstly to Shell, that wherever they are in the world, there are those who will oppose their destruction of both the environment and local communities. Secondly, we want to send a message of solidarity to those opposing the Irish terminal, especially to Pat O'Donnell. Their struggles will not be forgotten”. 

Ends 

Notes 
1.Bacton gas terminal is on the B1159, between the villages of Bacton and Mundesley. 

2.Earth First! Uses direct action to confront those responsible for the destruction of the Earth and its' inhabitants. EF! Is not a cohesive group of campaign, but a convenient banner for people who share similar philosophies. For further information visit  https://earthfirst.org.uk

3.For further information on the Irish based Shell to Sea campaign, opposing the gas terminal near Rossport in Mayo, visitwww.shelltosea.com 

4.For press interviews today, please call Julie Briggs on 07766 947852; it may be possible to obtain live interview either from the protest or community members in Mayo.

Posted via email from World People's Conference

CMPCC Day Two

CMPCC Day One