Down2Earth - Day 2
Down2Earth - Day 2
Some observations from yesterday's presentations:
Kanayo Felix Mwanze, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) began his speech stating that poor people deal everyday with the challenges of agriculture, food and climate change and not with official statistics and growth numbers. He advocated for a new green agro-ecological revolution that:
* Includes small-scale farmers as partners, therefore land tenure issues must be solved, low input crops must the focus of attention and consequently ecological product chains
* Is evergreen, therefore the focus must be on agro-forestry, PES and scaling up successful agro-ecological approaches
* Must be knowledge-based and community-led, as top-down knowledge does not work and local and traditional knowledge is the key to sustainable natural resource management.
Louise O. Fresco, Professor Sustainable Development in International Perspective at the University of Amsterdam stressed that there should not be too much on climate change when addressing agriculture, as the challenges the world faces today would not be solved if the climate was not changing. However, climate change aggravates the global food security, poverty and environmental degradation. It is all about global change: human induced change on water, soil, nutrients and climate.
Robert Watson, Professor of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia emphasised that agriculture is more than productivity, it is multifunctional and multi-sectoral and to achieve food security, it is critical that we put the small-scale farmer in the middle. People need to get affordable food and at the same time, the farmers need fair prices while seeking to sustainable and climate proof agriculture. To fulfil our food and energy needs while conserving current natural resources, intensification of agriculture, improvement of tenure systems, access to financing services for small-scale farmers, feminisation of agricultural extension services and ending of distorting trade systems are crucial elements.
Jeremy Hobbs, executive director of Oxfam International critiqued the new Dutch government as The Netherlands has a track record on international cooperation, women's and human rights and as a consequence of the plans of the new government The Netherlands might loose this position.
Today, I got very enthusiastic about the presentation of Dennis Garrity, the Director General of the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF). He stated that there is a chronic underinvestment in agriculture research. He challenged the audience to imagine farmers that are producing their food crops under a canopy of trees that help the soils and crops, and that vision succeeded in smiles on the faces present. He displayed successful cases of evergreen agriculture (also known as or agro-forestry :) ). He ended his speech with: 'Small-scale farmers can green and cool the planet, let's given them our support!'
Another remarkable presentation was done by Ralph Ashton, convenor of the Terrestrial Carbon Group, which is an international group of specialists from science, economics, and public policy. A Rubik's cube and a woman who swallowed a horse played illustrative roles in his presentation showing that the solution for the challenges that the world is facing is not to focus on only one side of the cube and that solutions should not cause bigger problems. He presented his Roadmap for Action, consisting of 7 elements and a clear timeframe, stressing that NO new institutions needed to be established and that we have all the ingredients.
The foreseen outcome of this conference is a Roadmap for Action. Although this roadmap is going to be discussed by ministers, it will not be a negotiated document. Therefore, it is not (yet) clear in which process this Roadmap will fit in. Because of this unclarity is prevailing, CSOs present at the conference have defined 10 clear cut steppingstones for the Roadmap of Action that will be handed over with courtesy to government delegates.
Tomorrow more about this!
Read more about this subject
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News / 4 July 2024
Karin van Boxtel new director of Both ENDS
Karin van Boxtel (35) is the new director of environment and human rights organization Both ENDS. Karin has been running the organization temporarily, together with Annelieke Douma, since the departure of the previous director, Danielle Hirsch. She has now been appointed permanently to make Both ENDS stronger and more future-proof. Karin will take up her new post on 1 September. Until then, she will continue as co-director on an interim basis.
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News / 3 July 2024
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Video / 3 July 2024
Jonila Castro of AKAP KA & Kalikasan People's Network for the Environment
Jonila Castro works for AKAP KA Manila Bay and/or Kalikasan People's Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE). The livelihood of the majority of the Filipino people depends on the environment, on the seas and the lands and mountains.
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News / 3 July 2024
Illegal logging is devastating Suriname's forest: The Saamaka and their fight against deforestation
The Saamaka people of Suriname have long resisted the government's violation of their land rights. Despite a 2007 ruling by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) against such violations, the government continues to grant logging and mining concessions on Saamaka territory without free prior and informed consent (FPIC). New report shows this has led to deforestation, land dispossession, and disruption of their livelihoods. A recent example includes a 42.7 km road built through their lands for logging access.
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Publication / 2 July 2024
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Blog / 21 June 2024
International coorperation - especially now!
This blog is written in Dutch
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News / 19 June 2024
Recognition for PROBIOMA from the Chamber of Deputies of the Plurinational State of Bolivia
PROBIOMA have received recognition from the Chamber of Deputies of the Plurinational State of Bolivia. The presentation of this tribute took place at the Museum of Natural History Noel Kempff Mercado, in the framework of the Environment Day.
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Publication / 18 June 2024
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News / 18 June 2024
Impact of oil extraction on women's health in Bayelsa
In the context of Shell's imminent divestment from onshore oil industry in the Niger Delta, Both ENDS partner Kebetkache publishes a new report showing severe health and environmental challenges faced by the women of Otuabagi in the Niger Delta due to Shell's crude oil exploration. -
News / 18 June 2024
Dutch government threatens to put human lives at risk again in infamous TotalEnergies gas project in Mozambique
The Dutch government threatens to blunder again by providing export support for TotalEnergies' controversial gas project in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique. This follows from an analysis of 9000 documents from FOI requests, commissioned by Milieudefensie and Both ENDS. Anne de Jonghe, Both ENDS: “When the export support was issued in 2021, critical voices were minimized, while TotalEnergies was heard and trusted. That should not happen again."
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Event / 17 June 2024, 15:00 - 16:00
Environmental Litigation: An Underestimated risk for Investors
Extreme weather events, environmental degradation and stakeholder activism force companies to reconsider climate change as an aggravating risk with tangible impacts on global supply chains, business performance, brand reputation and ESG ratings. Business strategies that neglect adequate environmental action can lead to consumer boycotts, negative media attention, investor runs and even legal action.
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Dossier /
Transformative Talks
At Both ENDS we aim to connect people for change. Together with environmental justice groups from the Global South, we work towards a sustainable, fair and inclusive world.
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Pathway /
Promoting people-driven solutions
Our goal is a massive upscaling and mainstreaming of bottom-up, planet-friendly practices, supported by favourable governance systems and availability of financial resources. There are many examples of successful community-led livelihood models based on collective participation, healthy ecosystems, gender justice and a vision of wellbeing beyond individual wealth. Approaches such as Regreening focus on ecosystem restoration led by forest communities or local farmers in the Sahel. These initiatives recognise and respect the interdependence between human prosperity and healthy ecosystems. They help to empower women, youth and other groups that often lack access to decision-making processes and tend to be excluded from land, water and forest management to assert their agency and rights to self-determination.
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Pathway /
Supporting a powerful civil society
Our goal is that civil society can work openly and safely, make their voices heard and influence decision-making on ecosystem challenges and matters of environmental justice and human rights. A strong civil society is indispensable to a healthy society. It checks the power of both state and corporate actors, holds decision-makers accountable, and defends the rights of those marginalised from positions of influence. A strong and independent civil society can advocate for fair and ecologically responsible policies as well as challenge structural inequalities in decision-making. It can also use accountability mechanisms to seek redress for the negative consequences of such inequitable decision-making, and instead promote, implement and upscale transformative practices.
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Pathway /
Advocating for just governance worldwide
Our goal is to achieve systemic change at all levels of social, political and economic institutions, to ensure that these unconditionally respect human rights and planetary boundaries. This requires policy coherence and consistent decision-making across all sectors - from trade, finance and energy to food production, agriculture, climate action and water management - and across all sections of society - from individual to family, farm, neighbourhood, city, province and national levels.
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News / 11 June 2024
Stand in solidarity; sign the petition
Together with a vast majority of Dutch NGO's, political movements and other concerned professionals we have started a petition to call out to the Dutch new government to invest in international cooperation and stop the planned budget cuts (2,5 billion euros).
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News / 5 June 2024
Appeal by 70 parties: The Netherlands’ strategy for global food security works!
A broad coalition of Dutch companies, knowledge institutes and civil society organizations wants to work together with the new government to make a real difference in improving global food security. The main focus will lie on supporting farmers and consumers in the Netherlands and beyond, and promoting climate-proof food systems in low- and middle-income countries. The coalition believes that, with our knowledge, expertise, experience and reputation for international cooperation and trade, the Netherlands must adopt an ambitious strategy for making our food systems more sustainable, and so contribute to achieving the targets in the Paris Climate Accord and the Sustainable Development Goals.
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News / 29 May 2024
Serious questions about possible Dutch export support for Mozambique's LNG gas project
Members of Parliament Daniëlle Hirsch (PVDA-GL) and Christine Teunissen (PVDD) ask serious questions about possible Dutch export support for the Mozambique LNG gas project. Both ENDS has been advocating for the file for years.
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Blog / 28 May 2024
Democratic Values Under Attack in Europe: The Need to Look Beyond the Dutch Dikes and the Role of Philanthropy
Mid May, I read about the expected – yet still shocking – implications of the radical shift to the far-right in the Netherlands. The current coalition agreement includes measures previously adopted by other European countries with similar election outcomes, leading to a curtailment of democratic freedoms, an inward focus, and attempts to limit the role of civil society. With the European elections on the horizon and another rightward shift anticipated, it is more important than ever for philanthropy to join forces in advancing a just climate transition, promoting democratic values, and ensuring all voices are heard.
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Video / 18 May 2024
Charity Migwi of Oil Change International
Oil Change International is mainly focused on research, communication, and advocacy. Charity Migwi helps with campaigning to get fossil fuel companies to face out their production of oil and gas. In Africa, for instance Nigeria and Senegal, she works together with communities, especially where the projects are happening to see how they can collaborate and strengthen each other. And they are under pressure of time. Where advocacy takes patience and time, climate change impacts are rising daily. A personal talk about the importance of things that are worth fighting for. At Both ENDS, our aim is to connect people for change.