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9
november 2001
protecting the
environment is a prerequisite for
peace
Following the horrific events
beginning in September 2001, Friends of
the Earth International calls on world
leaders to re-examine deep-seated
trends that could be future sources of
conflict.
It is clear that poverty, hunger,
environmental degradation, resource
depletion and inequality must all be
tackled if the world is to become a
safer place. Friends of the Earth
International’s agenda offers a
multilateral approach towards a more
secure and sustainable society.
Specifically:
Make trade fair and
sustainable
Trade and international economic
policy must put people before profits
and increasing trade should not be seen
as an end in itself.
Governments must abandon plans to
bring new issues into the World Trade
Organisation. Instead, they must review
and repair existing trade rules that
have exacerbated the ever-growing
inequalities in disadvantaged
countries.
Control corporate activity and
influence
The tenth anniversary meeting of the
Earth Summit in Johannesburg in 2002 is
a crucial forum to examine the
relationship between citizens,
governments and corporations and an
ideal opportunity to conceive legal
regulations to make corporations
accountable to people and to ensure
compliance with common social and
environmental standards.
Promote food security
Efforts to eradicate hunger must focus
on empowering families, groups and
communities to achieve food security
and control over their resources.
Sustainable low input farming should be
supported as a means to provide access
to food whilst promoting thriving rural
economies and conserving soils and
biological diversity. Meeting local
food security must be a priority for
policy makers over and above the
creation of global markets in
agricultural produce.
Ensure compliance with
strengthened international
environmental conventions
Commitments made by the international
community ten years ago at the Rio de
Janeiro Earth Summit to eradicate
poverty and protect the environment
must be fulfilled. In this spirit,
governments must ensure that
international environmental conventions
are reviewed, improved and complied
with.
Drop the debt
Creditor governments and institutions
must agree on a comprehensive and
unconditional cancellation of
outstanding external debts of
impoverished countries, far beyond what
is currently agreed. A lasting solution
to the debt crisis must also include
the recognition of the ecological debt
owed by the northern countries to the
South, a factor that should be included
in all future multilateral
negotiations.
Protect the remaining
forests
Forests are vital havens for hundreds
of human cultures and millions of
unique species of animals and plants.
International agreements like the UN
Convention on Biological Diversity must
be urgently strengthened to conserve
forests. Forest management must be
placed in the hands of local
communities, which have the greatest
interest in their preservation.
Rethink 'development'
International financial bodies,
including the International Monetary
Fund and multilateral development
banks, must be urgently reformed to
promote ecologically sustainable
development rather than narrowly
conceived policies to achieve export
led growth. In order to conserve non-
renewable resources and to protect the
global climate, multilateral funding
for oil, gas and mining projects must
cease. Sustainable, community-led
alternatives should instead be the
priority.
Put a stop to climate
change
One of the greatest threats to
political and economic stability comes
from rapid changes to the earth’s
climate. The consequences are likely to
include regional water scarcity,
environmental refugees from famine and
the economic damage caused by extreme
weather - all potential sources of
conflict. New technologies, more
efficient use of energy, sustainable
farming and reversing deforestation
offer solutions that not only protect
the atmosphere but also create jobs and
promote prosperity.
An 80 percent reduction in greenhouse
gas emissions in the developed
countries by the middle of the present
century could create enormous
opportunity for global sustainable
development.
The challenges are great, but the
consequences of failing to rise to them
are greater still.
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