ISIS Report 17/05/05
Sustainable World Global Initiative Update
World crops yields have been falling for three successive years as
temperatures soar, and water and oil - on which industrial monoculture are
heavily dependent - are both rapidly diminishing. The day of reckoning has come
for the "environmental bubble economy" built on the unsustainable exploitation
of our natural resources. The task of turning our food production system
sustainable must be addressed at "war-time" speed.
Unfortunately, our elected representatives are committed to the
neo-liberal economic model that created the "bubble-economy" in the first
place. They lack the wisdom and the political will to make the structural and
policy changes necessary for implementing the wealth of existing knowledge that
not only could make our food production system sustainable, but would also
ameliorate the worst excesses of global warming and provide food security for
all.
The Sustainable World Global Initiative, launched by the Institute of
Science in Society (ISIS) and the Independent Science Panel (ISP) on 6 April
2005, presents a unique opportunity for prominent scientists across the
disciplines to join forces with all sectors of civil society in a bid to make
our food production system sustainable. Since our launch, the experts are
predicting that global warming is set to do far worse damage to global food
production than "even the gloomiest of previous forecasts."1
Please join us now if you haven’t yet done so, by signing up
as a sponsor here:
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/SustainableWorldInitiativeF.php
We need the widest representation from civil society.
We are convening a special ISP group on Sustainable Agriculture (ISP-SA)
plus a task force of sponsoring organizations and individuals who will make
direct input into a comprehensive report on sustainable agriculture at the end
of a year. The report will include a series of recommendations for government
and inter-governmental agencies on the social, economic and political policy
and structural changes needed to implement a sustainable food production
system. It will form the basis of a concerted worldwide campaign.
The Independent Science Panel (ISP) membership was 19 strong at launch.
The three new members are: economist Martin Khor (director of Third World
Network based in Penang, Malaysia) a famous spokesperson and commentator at the
World Trade Organisation; soil scientist Dr. Ingrid Hartman (resource
management researcher at Humboldt University, Germany), member of many
important international committees and networks; and agronomist and farmer Dr.
Per Kølster (board member of Practical Ecology, Denmark). A nomination
has just been received for Dr. Bruce Pearce, research scientist at Elm Farm to
join the ISP, and nominations are awaited from the New Economics Foundation and
HDRA Organics. These are major research organisations that have a great deal to
offer the ISP.
Some important sponsoring organisations came on board at the last
minute, among them, The Soil Association and the New Economics Foundation (both
UK), and Yoko Civilization Research Institute (Japan), making a total of 15 so
far. An original sponsoring organisation, Fondation pour une Terre Humaine,
Switzerland, has become a partner for the initiative, and is offering us
funding on a three-year rolling basis. Also since the launch, the Weston A.
Price Foundation based in the United States - a highly regarded whole foods
organisation - has joined us, as has Konphalindo (the National Consortium for
Forests and Nature Conservation in Indonesia). Konphalindo is one of the
pioneers in advocating the precautionary principle in genetic engineering and
appropriate regulatory framework for biosafety; it also advocates and
facilitates the movement for sustainable agriculture through education,
workshops and publication.
Dr. Caroline Lucas Member of European Parliament - a prominent
spokesperson against globalisation and other issues - is among the 13 new
individual sponsors, many of whom organic farmers.
Our launch was reproduced in the Handstand, an online magazine (www.handstand.org), and in
straightgoods.com, said to be
"Canada’s leading independent online newsmagazine".
First consultation and conference
We are producing an outline report for a launch conference this July.
As a first step, we have asked our sponsors to provide succinct answers
to two key questions:
- What do you or your organisation regard as the most important
obstacle(s) to making our food production system sustainable?
- What changes would you like to see in national and international
policies to address the obstacle(s)?
Sustainable World launch conference
Our launch conference is set for mid-July. The exact date will be
announced later. It will be in Central London for the greatest ease of access,
and will last one-and-a-half days. We hope to see all of you at the conference
and to make it a successful press event. There will be a conference dinner and
get together.
Let us know if you would like to come to this conference or support it
by special donations.
Join up now for a special concession of registration fee and have
your say for this important conference
:
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/SustainableWorldInitiativeF.php
1. "Climate change warning over food production", Fred Pearce,
NewScientist.com news service 26 April 2005
http://www.newscientist.com/channel/earth/dn7310
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