As the UN Conference on the Environment and Development, Rio+20 approaches, the Bolivian Climate Change Platform on Rio+20 proposes the model of Living Well and Rights of Mother Earth as the foundation for viable alternatives to the “Green Economy”.
“At the next United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development, “Rio+20”, to be held in Rio de Janeiro in June, the governments of 193 countries will meet to sign a new global agreement to guide future development policies. We note the following:
Twenty years after the 1992 “Earth Summit”, where countries committed to implement Sustainable Development to eradicate poverty and care for the environment, the results are disheartening; wealth continues to be concentrated in the hands of a small sector of society and the deterioration of the environment becomes ever more alarming…”
Alternatives to the Green Economy
“The model of Living Well (Vivir Bien) and the Rights of Mother Earth are an alternative to the predatory capitalist development model that exploits human beings and Mother Earth. The vision of Living Well proposes to live in harmony with Mother Earth on the basis of complementarity and solidarity between peoples according to logic distinct from that of the market. It will not be possible to find a solution to the current crisis in an economic vision based on the ownership of nature. We do not own nature; we are part of Mother Earth.
1) A new global model must be created as an alternative to the Green Economy to re-establish the balance with Mother Earth.
2) The economic model needs to be changed. There needs to be an equal redistribution of wealth and production models must be directed to meet the needs of women and men, whilst respecting and caring for Mother Earth rather than promoting the accumulation of wealth.
3) Proposals for other forms of development must respect and recognise the cosmovisions (world views) of indigenous peoples such as the right to collective territory, ancestral knowledge and holistic management of their economies.
4) We demand respect for nature´s vital cycles. Living Well (Vivir Bien) in harmony and spirituality with Mother Earth involves the full repair and compensation for the harm caused by human activity and greed, and the false idea of development.
5) We demand that all projects that destroy Mother Earth be stopped. These include: the TIPNIS road, mega projects, opencast mining, oil and gas exploitation in ecologically sensitive zones, and harmful dams among others.
6) An alternative model for the holistic management and use of forests, water, land, and other beings and gifts of nature must be created that goes beyond the concept of “environmental services” and “natural capital” as a viable alternative to the Green Economy. This would be funded by real financial mechanisms such as a tax on financial transactions.
7) A new global agreement on development and the environment must respect the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. The developed countries must recognise their historical, ecological and climate debt to developing countries and their consequent obligation to transfer funds without conditionality to developing countries.
To read the complete article as a downloadable PDF, visit Position of the Bolivian Climate Change Platform on Rio+20 and the Green Economy
Estimados colegas,
Queremos compartir el posicionamiento de la Plataforma Boliviana Frente al Cambio Climático sobre la cumbre de Rio+20 y la Economía Verde. Se encuentra en este link: http://www.cambioclimatico.org.bo/derechosmt/052012/100512.pdf
Saludos cordiales,
Plataforma Boliviana Frente al Cambio Climático