Archive

      

Universal Declaration on the Common Well-Being Of Humanity

On mid-2009, François Houtart has launched a campaign for the Universal Declaration on the Common Well-Being Of Humanity by the General Assembly of the United Nations. The goals are to raise debate on common versus private good concerning natural and cultural resources, the taking into account the ecological ‘externalities' in economic calculations and also to articulate alternative solutions.

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Biofuels promotion increases food prices

JUNE 2011 - EU governments have been asked to remove subsidies for biofuels in order to reduce their impact on the volatility in food prices by the World Bank, UN and the World Trade Organization.

biofuel pump in field

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2011 Food crisis

A food crisis could overtake the world in 2011, according to FAO; this is due to Climate change, disease, speculation and biofuels use. November 2010: Grain prices rising on world market.

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February 2011 - Update

Land Workshop Participants - Dakar February 2011
AEFJN

LAND
The participants of the 3-day workshop "Land grabbing in Africa - Dangers and Challenges" in Dakar drafted the M'bour Declaration on land grabbing in Africa that you can use to lobby.

They also participated in drafting the Dakar Appeal against land grabbing that is a common declaration issued from the World Social Forum in Dakar.

 

EU BIOFUELS & LAND in AFRICA

The European Union continues to promote agrofuels crops which require land in Africa. To read more

 

 

WATER
The secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, told that water is not a commercial product but rather a common good belongs to everyone To read more

 

Update January 2011

Biofuel: EC recognises that GHG emissions savings with regards to biofuels are in fact reduced by ILUC. EC must decide to which certification systems may be used under the Renewable Energy Directive.

Germany: Starting in 2011, Germany will require sustainability certification for all biofuels sold in that country.

Ethiopia: ethanol production to 18.5 million liters per year.

Zambia: the government will build a sugarcane ethanol plant in the eastern province.

Jatropha : not  "wonderful" said some industry players.

Kenya: environment enshrined in the constitution

Regulation of food markets: the first legislative proposal to review of the EU directive on market abuse is expected for spring 2011.

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Update December 2010

Climate change negotiations in Cancun : The geopolitical climate dominates talks

The first challenge was to manage multilateral negotiations. The adopted text does not contain sufficient measures to reduce the greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions. The Aid Fund is approved.

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Update November 2010

Food crisis expected in 2011

Land: How EU States plan to manage land acquisition due to biofuels crops ?

EU-Africa Partnership on energy and climate change

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BIOFUELS & LAND in EU policy

September, the impacts of biofuels on land grabbing and land use are at the agenda.

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LAND, BIOFUELS & Indirect land use change

EU is currently engulfed in a hot debate about indirect land- use change (ILUC) caused by energy crops when they displace food production, leading to forests being converted to farm land.

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Renewable Energy contribution to EU energy consumption

Renewable energy contributed 10,3% of energy consumtion in the EU24 in 2008

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BIOFUELS & LAND - EU Energy policy impacts on African land

JANUARY 2010:

Will EU Member States promote the biofuels investment in Africa?

National governments are required to draw up National Action Plans (NAPs) for the implementation of the Renewable Energy Directive by 30 June 2010. This promotes the EU biofuels investments in African land.

Some of EU governments are discussing on some conditions of production…


The European Commission on energy sets a rule on indirect land use change (ILUC)

The EU Commission is required to produce a report on how it intends to deal with indirect effects induced by biofuels by March 2010. The industry makes pressure to not include this factor in the calculation of GHG emission from biofuels production. Why?

 

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AGROFUELS: The Commission does not meet problems.

On 10 June, the EC issued its Communication on sustainability criteria for agrofuels...

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Land & Right to food

21 October 2010 - NEW YORK - Olivier De Schutter presented his new report on access to land and the right to food at the 65th General Assembly of the United Nations (Third Committee)

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G8 and food security

G8 Food Security (25-26 June 2010): No word about land grabbing

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Final call for signing Dakar Declaration against land grabbing

The Dakar Appeal, together with the names of organisations endorsing it, will be presented during the mobilizations against the G20 Agriculture Ministers' meeting in Paris on 22-23 June.

To sign it ...

tl_files/aefjn-files/Food sovereignty/Terres/Dkr marche banderole WS.JPG

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Mozambique: D1's jatropha businesses sold-off by February ?

D1 Oils Chairman and activist investor Brian Myerson has plans to turn the jatropha group into an African ethanol company, the venture Principle Energy, which he is setting up in central Mozambique. The takeover would see D1's jatropha businesses sold-off by February.

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2009 – The signs of the year

2009 is the year of the global awareness of the limits of the liberalisation.

As some people realized that the earth cannot support more use of resources at a such level as in the rich countries, many other people have been reinforced in their conviction that “business as usual” cannot be a way of development. The multiple crises confirmed them that capitalism, with its exacerbated aspect of liberalization, drives obviously exclusion and profits to a small part of humanity … for a limited period.

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Food Agri.

Call of the 17th of April 2007:

International Day of Peasants’ Struggles

Europe needs all its farmers!

The 17th of April, International Day of Peasant’s Struggles, was established after the killing of 19 landless farmers

members of the Landless Peasant Movements (MST) in Brazil while la Via Campesina was celebrating its second

international conference in Txacal, Mexico, on the 17th of April 1996.

At the occasion of the 17th of April 2007, the member organizations of la Via Campesina in Europe organize

actions all over Europe to express their demands :

Europe needs many farmers! Employement in agriculture should be a priority, both to ensure food

security for the European people, to garanty modes of production that respect the environment and are less

energy-consuming and to keep living rural areas. We refuse the organized sweeping out of the European

farmers !

An agricultural public policy is needed to keep numerous farmers and to ensure food security for the

Europeans. Food sovereignty is a right for the Europeans too: this means that the European food and

agricultural policies have to be decided by the European citizens, not by the WTO.

The CAP has to change deeply, but it should not be erased. In front of the reforms of 2008 and

2013, we demand agricultural prices that reflects the true value of the products and that allow the farmers to

live mainly from the sell of their products. In order to achieve this, we demand supply management, the end to

the production concentration process, the end of dumping and the right to have tariff barriers to prevent low

prices imports.

Access to land, water, seeds and credits are rights! We reject GMOs and all patents on life, which

represent a theft of the humanity patrimony and which increase the threat over the biodiversity. We demand an

effective policy to support the young people who want to become farmers and to help them access to land and

to other agricultural resources.

Inequalities between men and women in agriculture must come to an end. Common right to the

farm and access to the same social and economical rights are basic demands to achieve genuine equality.

We will mobilize in the coming months to express these demands:

  • on the 19th of April, we support the action day against EPAs and against the unfair trade deals

imposed by the EU over other countries.

  • From June the 2nd to the 8th, we will take part to the mobilizations against G8 in Rostock, Germany,

together with the other social movements. We call to rally on June the 3rd against GMOs and corporatecontrolled

factory farming and to take part to the Youth Assembly for the right to land and to farming.