Nyéléni Newsletter 24: Forests, Foraging and the Commons
by La Vía Campesina
PUBLICATIONS
NYÉLÉNI NEWSLETTER 24: FORESTS, FORAGING AND THE COMMONS
Published on Thursday, 17 December 2015 23:37
THE NEW EDITION OF THE NYÉLÉNI NEWSLETTER IS NOW ONLINE!
[1](Harare, December 17, 2015) About 75 percent of the world's poor
live in rural areas in developing countries. Most survive on subsistence
farming, artisanal fisheries and/or nomadic herding and many are
landless, working as seasonal labour on farms, plantations, in fisheries
and industry. Click here to download the English edition. [2]
Their daily food needs are met primarily through local production,
foraging, hunting and fishing - often by women - on small farms, common
grazing lands and in woods, forests, streams, rivers and lakes.
Reduced access to these ecosystems or decrease in the foods gathered in
these environments can result in hunger and acute malnutrition.
Read it directly in the website at www.nyeleni.org [3] ! For any further
information, please contact info(a)nyeleni.org
PLEASE CIRCULATE IT TO YOUR CONTACTS!
Links:
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[1] http://viacampesina.org/en/images/Portada%20En%20Nyeleni.png
[2]
http://viacampesina.org/en/images/stories/pdf/Nyeleni_Newsletter_Num_24_E...
[3] http://www.nyeleni.org
9 years
Wolf in a sheepskin: WTO reinvents and seeks legitimacy in Africa
by La Vía Campesina
WOLF IN A SHEEPSKIN: WTO REINVENTS AND SEEKS LEGITIMACY IN AFRICA [1]
[2](Nairobi, December 15, 2015) After may years of ignoring African
challenges posed by global trading system, the WTO- one of the principal
instruments of global economic governance- comes to the continent to
seek legitimacy. The WTO is trying to reinvent itself to appear as if it
cares about Africa and has solutions to a myriad of problems (increasing
poverty, unemployment and underemployment, collapse of social
institutions, etc). African economies most of which are agro-based were
ruined by the WTO which promotes developed countries and transnational
corporations.
By hosting the 10th ministerial meeting, Kenya thinks it will increase
its income from tourism and foreign investments in other economic
sectors. It tries to hoodwink other African governments to embrace WTO.
Kenyan government seems to have taken the WTO bait. Kenya and Africa
should not be hoodwinked but pull out of the WTO. If they don't, the
only real deal they will get is a raw deal to further kill their
economies, peasants, consumers, industries and livelihoods.
In Nairobi, most negotiations by African governments are market driven,
not driven by urge to protect local farmers and consumers. They should
learn from the African Cotton 4 (C-4) countries whose economies have
been destroyed by American distorting subsidies on cotton. Their issue
has been before the WTO since 2002 and nothing has been done to punish
the US for trade distortion up to now. Instead the US has offered them
development aid to further ruin their agriculture through forcing them
to purchase toxic agro-chemicals and GMOs to increase "agricultural
productivity". Such US hypocrisy must be condemned and cannot be allowed
at Nairobi MC10. It undermines countries' constitutions by imposing
rules which compromises their policy space, human rights and deny FOOD
SOVEREIGNTY.
La Via Campesina and its partners (World March of Women Kenya, Center
for Constitution Implementation, Dandora Must Change and Bunge la
Mwananchi) are meeting in Nairobi under the banner "#EndWTO". We call
for FOOD SOVEREIGNTY as the peoples' alternative to the corporate driven
free trade regime of the WTO.
NO MORE WTO! FOOD SOVEREIGNTY NOW! GLOBALIZE STRUGGLE! GLOBALIZE HOPE!
#EndWTO #MC10 #StopFTAs #FoodSovereignty
Twitter https://twitter.com/via_campesina [3]
Website http://viacampesina.org/en/ [4]
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/viacampesinaOFFICIAL?fref=ts [5]
_FOR MORE INFORMATION AND INTERVIEW REQUESTS PLEASE CONTACT LVC SUPPORT
TEAM:_
Mateus Santos (lvc.mateus(a)gmail.com)
Ndabezinhle Nyoni (nyoni.ndabezinhle(a)viacampesina.org)
Links:
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[1]
http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/10-ye...
[2] http://viacampesina.org/en/images/2015-12-16-WTO21.jpg
[3] https://twitter.com/via_campesina
[4] http://viacampesina.org/en/
[5] https://www.facebook.com/viacampesinaOFFICIAL?fref=ts
9 years
COP21: The curtain falls on a masquerade
by La Vía Campesina
COP21: THE CURTAIN FALLS ON A MASQUERADE [1]
LA VIA CAMPESINA, EUROPEAN COORDINATION VIA CAMPESINA, CONFÉDÉRATION
PAYSANNE PRESS RELEASE
(Paris, 12th of December 2015) After two weeks of heads of states taking
centre stage to salve their consciences, COP21 has come up with an
agreement that many worried in advance would offer nothing good for the
peoples of the world. There is nothing binding for states, national
contributions lead us towards a global warming of over 3°C--and
multinationals are the main beneficiaries. It was essentially a media
circus. However states know how to make binding commitments when it
comes to signing free trade agreements. Those agreements threaten the
democratic functioning of countries by merely serving the interests of
multinationals. Once more, it is clear that money dictates the law, even
taking precedence over the future of humanity.
"Despite multiple attempts to silence us these past few weeks, the
social movements have made their voices heard today," said Antolin
Huascar, a peasant leader from Peru. "The future of the planet is in the
hands of the people," he added.
Peasants from across the world, from member organizations of Via
Campesina, came together to warn others that the agricultural sector is
being severely affected. While they are the guardians of a changing
climate, they stressed that industrial agriculture is threatening their
disappearance. At the same time, COP21 is further opening the door to
financial speculation on nature, industrialisation of agriculture, and
accelerating resource grabbing.
"We, the peasants of the world, will now return to our territories and
farms all the more determined to continue our struggle for food
sovereignty for all the peoples of the world," Huascar concluded.
The masquerade may be over, but the peasant fight will only continue to
gain momentum.
CONTACTS :
Elina Bouchet, media contact (French) : 00 33 6 95 29 80 78
Solenne Garin, media contact (English, Spanish) : 00 33 6 10 04 83 69
and solenne.garin(a)viacampesina.org
MORE INFORMATION ON THAT LAST DAY OF MOBILISATION :
video [2], photos [3], cartoons. [4]
Links:
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[1]
http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/-clim...
[2] http://tv.viacampesina.org/Movements-denounce-dangerous-deal?lang=en
[3] http://tv.viacampesina.org/December-12-2015-Last-actions-of?lang=en
[4] http://tv.viacampesina.org/COP-21-Coups-de-crayons-sur-les?lang=en
9 years
Peasant agriculture-a true solution to climate crisis
by La Vía Campesina
Peasant agriculture-a true solution to climate crisis [1]
Published on Friday, 04 December 2015 15:12
[2]_Peasant Agriculture and Agroecology_
Political projects from La Conf' and La Via Campesina, peasant
agriculture and agroecology are approaches that address social, societal
and environmental issues. They promote cultivation methods that: are in
line with natural environments, preserve biodiversity, improve soil
fertility, aim to achieve farm autonomy and where the number of animals
correlate to the size of the farm.
_Is it true?_
Of course it is! Some people would have you believe that industrial
production methods release less Green House Gases because they are more
concentrated. In fact, these systems consume a substantial amount of
energy, (due to chemical inputs, export and import transportation, high
levels of mechanisation etc.) and have a devastating effect on the
climate. 50% of all Green House Gas emissions on the planet are caused
by the global industrial food system.
Given this, peasant agriculture and agroecology are considered
economical, favouring both the environment and peasants. They promote
autonomous farms, thus reducing imports significantly, which, for
example, come from animal feed produced on the other side of the world.
They also encourage the maintenance of meadows and pastureland, which
are real carbon sinks. Finally, they advocate relocating production and
marketing, thereby considerably reducing the need for both consumers and
products to travel.
All in all, the real solutions to stop Green House Gas emissions coming
from agriculture and the food system are peasant agriculture and
agroecology. While our leaders openly welcome multinational companies
and their false solutions, we must urgently change the direction where
agriculture is headed, to achieve a real positive approach for the
climate!
_"Peasant agriculture is a true solution to the climate crisis"_
More info here : "small-scale farmers cool down the earth [3]"
Follow us on twitter and facebook:
@via_campesina [4] and https://www.facebook.com/viacampesinaOFFICIAL [5]
Also join the global movement with the hashtag:
#PeasantsCoolThePlanet #FoodSovereigntyForClimateJustice #COP21
#FoodSystemChangeNotClimateChange
Links:
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[1]
http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/-clim...
[2] http://viacampesina.org/en/images/2015-12-04-agro-cologie%20engl.jpg
[3] http://viacampesina.org/dl/click.php?id=14
[4] https://twitter.com/via_campesina
[5] https://www.facebook.com/viacampesinaOFFICIAL
9 years, 1 month
Climate: Real problem, false solutions. No.4: Climate-Smart Agriculture
by La Vía Campesina
Climate: Real problem, false solutions. No.4: Climate-Smart Agriculture
[1]
Published on Thursday, 03 December 2015 22:00
TO SOLVE THE GLOBAL WARMING CRISIS, MULTINATIONALS ARE SUGGESTING FALSE
SOLUTIONS. FAR FROM SOLVING THE PROBLEM THEY ARE CONTRIBUTING WITH THEIR
SHARE OF DAMAGES. THIS ARTICLE IS THE 4TH IN A SERIES OF FIVE TO APPEAR
THIS WEEK.
_ [2]__4/Climate-Smart Agriculture_
On 23 September 2014, at the UN Climate summit convened by Ban Ki-moon
in New York, the FAO and World Bank launched the Global Alliance for
Climate-Smart Agriculture. This should enable agriculture output to be
increased, agricultural systems' resilience to be strengthened and
greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced all at the same time! So, this is
what could solve three of the major challenges we are dealing with:
feeding the global population, fighting climate change and guaranteeing
the sustainability of agricultural systems
_Really?_
Using chemicals and GMOs is allowed, as is producing industrial
agrofuels. Multinational companies such as Yara (the world leader in
fertilizer), Monsanto or Syngenta are indeed major stakeholders in this
new international alliance. It is therefore easier for us to understand
that Northern and Southern industrial agricultural systems, which are
more harmful for the environment, are spared. This alliance supports the
development of an agriculture that eliminates peasants by stripping them
of their land, their practices and their knowledge. In short, the real
objective is to continue and speed up the industrialisation and
financialisation of agriculture. Climate-Smart Agriculture is a new tool
from multinational companies to generate even more money out of
agriculture!
Corporate solutions are false solutions, and will not solve the climate
crisis.
Follow us on twitter and facebook:
@via_campesina [3] and https://www.facebook.com/viacampesinaOFFICIAL [4]
Also join the global movement with the hashtag:
#PeasantsCoolThePlanet #FoodSovereigntyForClimateJustice
#COP21#FoodSystemChangeNotClimateChange
Links:
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[1]
http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/-clim...
[2]
http://viacampesina.org/en/images/2015-12-03-agriculture%20climato-intell...
[3] https://twitter.com/via_campesina
[4] https://www.facebook.com/viacampesinaOFFICIAL
9 years, 1 month
COP 21 : Hundreds of the world’s farmers join together
by La Vía Campesina
****************************************
EN :
Dear all,
Please find attached the press release, the biographies of some members
of our delegation, as well a the program for our activities during the
COP21.
Press Officer:
Elina Bouchet, Communications Officer Confederation Paysanne (FR) : 06
95 29 80 78
Solenne Garin, Communications Office Via Campesina (EN, ES) : 06 10 04
83 69
solenne.garin(a)viacampesina.org or ebouchet(a)confederationpaysanne.fr
9 years, 1 month
