Monday, August 23, 2010

Financial Permaculture Principles


Financial Permaculture Principles:
Towards a regenerative economy.




Regenerative Enterprise and participatory design are the cornerstones of the Financial Permaculture Institute's (FPI) road map towards ecological and social regeneration.

In order to create spaces that allow for the innovation and leadership that are needed to move our culture and economy quickly into alignment with ecological reality, we need to empower cooperative enterprises that are geared to address issues of strategic importance. Reforestation, food security, biological carbon capture, carbon farming, regenerative agriculture, economic access, personal empowerment. The list goes on.

But creating initiatives that are truly able to address real issues form the ground up is a challenge in an economic and social system that is geared to maintain the status quo.

Recently I published an article in the Permaculture Activst outlining FPI's findings in cooperation with Eric Toensmeier and Mary Johnsona. It is included in it original version below.

Financial Permaculture

Applying Permaculture Design to create financial, economic and enterprise models that regenerate the planet.

This article presents the design methodology and tools being used by the Financial Permaculture Institute to help grow successful permaculture businesses, cultivate re-distribution of surplus through investment, and create a firm foundation to begin systematic re-design of the global financial, monetary and economic systems.


Contents:

  1. Definition and Findings
  2. Design Principles
  3. Design Processes and Tools
  4. Investment Models
  5. Case Studies
  6. Conclusion


Definition and Findings

Definition:

“Financial Permaculture” is the design and management of business and monetary systems that increase ecological health while meeting human needs. Financial Permaculture thinking can be applied to many different economic and business models, suited to specific circumstances and designed accordingly.

Findings:
Financial Permaculture Institute: Exploring the possibilities of Finance and Permaculture

The Financial Permaculture Institute (FPI), a small team based in Lewis County, Tennessee, has been working to define, prototype and spread financial permaculture through collaboration, education and design. This article represents some of our initial findings and best thinking.

The FPI’s primary findings so far have been that the most viable steps in our bioregion are towards creating more, healthier, and more regenerative local businesses, and empowering people to become regenerative investors. The task at hand, as we see it in our region, is the creation of businesses that turn a profit in the existing (and for the most part broken) financial system, and re-invest that profit into more regenerative projects and businesses in the local community. This strategy puts power back into the hands of local people, and has demonstrated the capacity to build a movement slowly and surely while still keeping an eye on the bigger picture of opportunities for whole-systems regeneration. Instead of focusing on policy change we seek to engender change on the personal scale to empower individuals, friends, family and communities to invest in projects that matter to them, to buy and bank locally, or within a clear ethical and strategic framework, and to concentrate on building businesses that build local and multi-local resilience.

Design Principles:

Financial Permaculture Institute’s Design Principles

  1. Decentralization is better than centralization. The current financial system is linear and centralized, and is designed to continually further centralize power and wealth. We must find ways to decentralize power and wealth so that well-informed, well-resourced, and locally appropriate decisions can be made by people within a given community.
  2. Participatory design is true democracy. By empowering people with the process and tools needed to take decision-making into their own hands, we tap into the wisdom and fresh thinking of previously unheard voices.
  3. Land based businesses that use permaculture as a foundation of their design, production and distribution processes are the best investments and form the foundation of any viable long-term economy.
  4. Financial Intimacy creates closely knit and resilience communities. Invest in local enterprise. Invest in the dreams you share with friends, family and community. Become a stakeholder in your vision for a better world.
  5. Do what’s possible now. It is valuable to think about meta-scale transformational project, however those large scale endeavors can only be successful once we’ve modeled what a successful prototype looks like. This means we need to get to work creating Financial systems that mimic ecosystem function and nutrient cycles within our sphere of influence: at home, business, family and community.


Design Processes and Tools:

The two primary tools used to design successful enterprises that generate surplus and then re-invest that surplus into regenerative projects and enterprises are Participatory Design and Holistic Management. By combining these processes we can create businesses that are well adapted to the needs and parameters of a local area, and are designed to succeed. When combined with a solid investment strategy and financial transparency this can generate revolutionary results.

1) Participatory Design of Businesses

Facilitating successful participatory design is an art form, necessary to creating thriving local economies. The Transition movement offers us a glimpse into its power.
In our experience the nine phases of successful participatory design are:

  1. Framing the discussion and design
  2. Building community cohesion
  3. Mapping the financial ecosystem (or other context)
  4. Brainstorming
  5. Narrowing the options
  6. Digging into the details
  7. Presenting the final projects to each other
  8. Articulating achievable next steps and generating responsibility for those next steps.
  9. Celebrating success.

This process requires expertise in both process and content.

Process is the liberating structure that allows for community creativity to be born and flourish. Process techniques include World Cafe, open space technology, consensus-building facilition, appreciative inquiry, “think and listens”, fishbowl discussions, and many more. These methods, when appropriately applied, can allow people to freely voice their ideas and concerns while maintaining a dynamic structure that people can trust. The dynamic structure of the facilitation allows for a dance between giving full attention to each person’s contribution, and bringing the group’s full attention back to the central focus: designing a regenerative local financial system.

Content is the vast territory of design and strategy covered by permaculture design, as well as the vast territory covered by economics, business and finance. This requires a team of knowledgeable and flexible thinkers. Being able to switch gears from crunching numbers about the viability of a forest enterprise business to discussing the potential of an alternative currency system requires access to a wide range of information, and a willingness to dive into a creative process whose outcome may be unclear at first. Many times, however, communities already have all the expertise they need as long as the process is properly facilitated. Content is the area to include all the best thinking about waste re-use, regenerative land-use practices and new organizational design.

2) Holistic Management.
Holistic Management is a design and decision making system created by Allen Savory. It offers a wide range of excellent goal setting & decision making tools for assessment and analysis of complex systems. It is a framework, that can be very helpful in sustainable business & financial planning.. We have found that Holistic Management, with its birth out of observation of the natural world, is a perfect companion to Permaculture Design and works brilliantly as a tool to help solidify design thinking and bring sound decision making into the regenerative financial permaculture design and participatory design process.


Holistic Goal Setting: This is created in a participatory process that focuses on shared vision and common ideals for a good quality of life. It becomes the guiding star for a group of decision makers.

Holistic Financial Planing: Using the Holistic Goal as the overarching purpose, Holistic Financial Planning is a systematized process that takes the group through a year of financial decisions. It helps a group define the profit it wants,and then learn how to cap expenses so that level of profit is achieved. All income and expenses for the year are outlined ahead of time. This allows the group the chance to understand which expenses will generate wealth, which are inescapable, and which are maintenance expenses. The chain of production is analyzed to determine the weakest link by enterprise, which helps prioritize where money and time should be spent so effort isn’t wasted, and profit pilfered away on unnecessary “wants” instead of actual “needs” that will take the business where it is intended to go, ie. Profitability. Holistic Financial planning, because it is tied to a quality of life holistic goal which includes the future resource base that is needed to sustain it, is inherently more sound than a business model that defines profitability solely on dollars and cents.

Investment Models: Funding a Permaculture Venture

Investing and circulating capital is a key aspect to creating viable Financial Permaculture systems. The following four investment models follow our design principles of decentralization, and intimate investing.

Intimate Investing. Catherine Austin-Fitz, of Solari, Inc., has developed a process for creating small peer-to-peer investors’ groups that bring communities into what Catherine calls “financial intimacy”. Through mutual financial disclosure, cooperative learning and research, and vision oriented investing, members of a Solari Circle support each other to take responsibility for their finances and move towards the economic future that they design. This model does not require anyone involved to be a government licensed investor, and is a quick way to move forward and invest financial capital into local businesses and permaculture projects. The downside of this model (and please note that the problem is the solution!), is that this model challenges us all to take responsibility for being able to communicate clearly with friends and family about finance. This requires a willingness to move through distress we may feel about money, and significant education about money and the financial system.

Micro-Credit: The Grameen Bank, Kiva.org, and others from around the world demonstrate simple models to use micro-finance to jump start promising small business ideas. Credit can be extended by individuals in a community, or from a resource pool. Micro-credit can easily be a part of a Solari Circle's investment portfolio, through low interest funding of a diverse range of small, local business ventures.

Crowd Sourcing: This is an exciting new innovation made possible by web 2.0 technologies. Crowd Sourcing enable people to pitch good ideas to a diverse group of potential funders. Funders then choose an amount to invest or donate to a venture. Businesses like Kickstarter.com are leading the way to show how this approach can be profitable for all involved. Kickstarter proposals are only funded if their project budget is fully pledged. In this way, funders only pay for projects that have gathered sufficient support to move forward.



Ecosystem Investing: By investing in permaculture projects: trees, plants, biodiversity, water storage, natural buildings etc, we are banking away value in a very effective and important way. Turning Capital into robust and resilient ecosystems creates surplus of food, fuel and fodder and can be the source of many well function local businesses. Cost effective methods of ecosystem investing include, but are not limited to: nursery systems, aquaponics, keyline design and water storage on the landscape, rotational grazing to build soil, etc.

Pioneers of financial permaculture in North America have also, of course, created the Permaculture Credit Union, and are moving forward with great courage to create an alternative bank to provide loans, credit card and other financial tools for permaculture practitioners and other world changers.



Case Studies of Financial Permaculture in Action

Participatory Design in Hohenwald, Tennessee: Greening a Rural Southern Town

Located on the Cumberland Highland Rim of Middle Tennessee, Hohenwald is a small town nestled into rolling hills of oak-hickory forest. Local values of independence, hard work and family make Hohenwald a fertile location for re-growing a vibrant local economy.
Hohenwald, like many towns across America, has a culture that has its heart centered around church. Church groups form the foundation of how people communicate, cooperate, and worship.

Hohenwald has been the host of the last two Financial Permaculture Courses, and through this process has gone through significant amounts of participatory design and process focused on the creation of a viable local economy. The Financial Permaculture Course series has been a natural outgrowth of community organizing work of Jennifer English. Financial Permaculture grew up along side the successful Transition Initiative to create a container for exploring ways to rejuvenate the local economy of Hohenwald. The Center For Holistic Ecology, a non-profit directed by Jennifer English, in collaboration with the Ecovillage Training Center, and the Sonnenschien Green Initative (Transition Town Hohenwald’s first committee) formed a steering committee that began asking the community what it needed. Churches, citizens, business people and government officials were all approached and from that conversation, the shape of the first Financial Permaculture Summit was born. It was to be a space for expert and interested folks from around the country to come and help give design energy to creating a “business ecology” for the town of Hohenwald.

The first year of the Financial Permaculture Course in Hohenwald yielded a suite of four business plans that were presented to key town stakeholders and visiting leaders from elsewhere in Tennessee.


Businesses that were designed included:

  • Natural Building Cooperative
  • Ethanol Plant
  • Green Business Incubator
  • Food and Farm Enterprise

The powerful participatory design that took place combined the insights and knowledge of people from around the country, including facilitators, content providers and participants, and synergized it with local design parameters, on the ground good thinking, and common sense from our local attendees. This mix of culture and ideas showed how people of all walks of life can communicate and cooperate together successfully given the right attention to process.
To see a great documentary made during the 1st FPC check out this link: vimeo.com/2936264

Of the four businesses planed during the event, three of the plans have had significant forward movement with Natural Building becoming integrated into the county low income housing system, a farmers market and community garden being started, and the formation of a green business consulting company focused on helping start ups (Access Consulting).

By last summer, the city council had made a proclamation supporting local "green" business and beginning the process of becoming a Transition Town to help move the community forward. This is an amazing example of how permaculture design and the process of participatory design can cut through class, politics, race and gender to help people take community health into their own hands.


Nuestras Raíces – A Case Study for Permaculture Economic Development

Nuestras Raíces (“Our Roots”) is a community organization in Holyoke Massachusetts that has used food, agriculture, and the environment as the basis for community development projects in the urban, largely low-income Puerto Rican neighborhoods where they work. Financial Permaculture presenter Eric Toensmeier has had the opportunity to be involved as a board member (for nine years), staff (five years), and consultant (more recently). Nuestras Raíces has developed a series of functionally interconnected projects and businesses that serve the needs, and utilize the abilities of, Holyoke’s low-income residents.

During the development of the Nuestras Raíces farm project, a community-driven permaculture design process was used to develop a design for a thirty acre site just a few miles from downtown. The process integrated goals set by community members, a detailed site analysis, and market research. A large portion of the farm was set aside for parcels for start-up farmers, a group which has grown to include refugees and immigrants from around the world. A smaller portion of the farm was designated to serve as an intensively-used cultural agri-tourism destination. A set of business ideas were developed to be leased as concessions, with Nuestras Raíces developing the infrastructure and seeking community entrepreneurs to develop and run the businesses. These concessions were designed to:

  • minimize competition;
  • benefit the environment and the community;
  • celebrate Puerto Rican culture;
  • functionally interconnect by utilizing each other’s waste products; and
  • mutually support each other by attracting customers to each other’s businesses.

The idea was that with good design, each business, through self-interested marketing of their operation, would attract customers to benefit other enterprises and the farmers as well.

Businesses currently on-site include 22 farm parcels, a pig-roasting operation, farm store, paso fino equestrian operation, petting zoo with heritage Caribbean breeds, and cultural events with up to 3,000 visitors for live music, theater, and folkloric dancing. Several greenhouse businesses are under development, with heat provided by waste vegetable oil from another Nuestras Raíces restaurant downtown.

Nuestras Raíces has helped numerous other small green businesses start in Holyoke, including a brick-oven bakery, nursery-propagated coral aquaculture enterprise, restaurant and catering businesses, and Energia, a solar hot water panel installation company that employs local youth. These businesses have access to shared services like credit, business training, some marketing and promotion, and use of Nuestras Raíces infrastructure. Through participation in the Holyoke Food and Fitness Policy Council, Nuestras Raíces has also helped shape a community-driven redesign for the city of Holyoke to improve the food system and build environment to increase health of residents.

While this model is specific to the site and culture where it was developed, Nuestras Raíces has developed a set of principles for local economic development that dovetail very nicely with permaculture. To learn more visit www.nuestras-raices.org, check out the financial permaculture blog for a Slideshare presentation [www.financialpermaculture.org], or attend the upcoming Financial Permaculture Course [September 24th-26th].

Commercializing Edible Forest Gardens

Eric Toensmeier, co-author of Edible Forest Gardens and author of Perennial Vegetables, has also worked extensively in business planning for start-up farmers. He has been traveling the US and Latin America looking at commercially viable models of perennial farming systems.

Edible forest gardens have many benefits to the environment, and are a wonderful way to spend one’s time at the garden scale. There are many reasons to scale up these systems to a commercial scale - we need many thousands of perennial crop farms to sequester carbon and rebuild soils and ecosystems. But making the transition to commercial scale poses many difficulties, key among them the economic challenges of establishing a multifunctional community of support plants and the wait for perennial crops to come into bearing.

The challenge lies in finding crop (or crop-livestock) mixes that are:
suited to conditions on a given site;
capable of functioning in polycultures;
relatively inexpensive to establish on a commercial scale; and
marketable (particularly to high-end markets); and
profitable.
Ideally such a product mix can be marketed to the same market or markets (such as a farm store or farmers’ markets) so the producer is not keeping track of wildly different markets. Such products would also ideally share infrastructure and equipment.

An example is Roberto Muj’s perennial market garden in Chimaltenango, Guatemala. The basic layout is alley cropping, with rows of trees including avocado, macadamia, mulberry, peach, alder, and citrus. The rows between feature perennial herbaceous crops including medicinal herbs, alfalfa for chicken fodder, cut flowers like Alstromeria, and perennial vegetables including runner beans and perennial kales. These crops are sold at local farmers’ markets, and the range of medicinals, flower bouquets, and fresh produce makes an appealing display.

The world needs a new generation of perennial crop farmers – will you take up the challenge? A brief Slideshare is posted at the Financial Permaculture blog. Workshops will be offered at this years event.


Conclusion

Through the last two years members of the Financial Permaculture Institute's teaching and development team have found that by simplifying the conversation to answer the following questions, we can focus our design into actionable ideas that bring us closer to the regenerative future we are hoping to create.

What are the Most successful strategies for creating profitable right livelihood?
What are the most successful and accessible strategies for reinvesting profit back into the community?

The answer to these questions are unique for every individual, group and community. However, it is clear that there are certain common patterns and best practices that can help move our communities into the financial stability we need to truly start experimenting with alternative monetary and economic models. By creating individual and group financial permacultures using Participatory Design, Holistic Management Tools, Intimate and Decentralized Investing Strategies and Forest Garden Enterprise Models we create a firm foundation to explore more radical changes.

The next Financial Permaculture workshop is a call to participatory design to share best thinking about creating right livelihood and intimate investing systems as a foundation to build from as we work towards larger systemic transformation of the currency and markets that drive so much of human behavior. Join the conversation online at our blog: www.financialpermaculture.org, or check out the course site at www.financialpermaculture.com for more information about how to share you insights and participate with this exciting application of Permaculture Principles.
FPC 3: September 24th-26th

Gratitude and Acknowledgments:

Special Thanks to Catherine Austin Fitts, Jason Eaton, and the Solari crew for their hard work and expertise that has informed so much of this thinking.
Thanks to Ethan Roland, Connor Stedman, Patrick Gibbs and Andrew Langford for unwavering dedication to clarity and design process.
Thanks to Bill Mollison for his good thinking and the good folks at the Permaculture Credit Union for being pioneers long before we started this project.
Thanks to Jennifer English and Albert Bates for being pillars of the community that has birthed this experience.
Thanks again to Jennifer for her leadership, tenacity and good thinking.
Thanks to The Financial Permaculture Steering Committee, Sonnenschine Green Initiative and town of Hohenwald for good natured participation in this experiment on a grand scale.
Thanks to all of the teachers and students of the last two Financial Permaculture Design Courses where many of these ideas were born.


Gregory Landua,
Gregory is a Gaia University Adviser in Training, Permaculture Designer, and Principal of Booya Cacao, a beyond fair trade, sail transport cacao company. He has focused the past two years directing the Ecovillage Training Center and working to build cooperative economic models that turn a profit. Gregory is a founding member of the Financial Permaculture Institute and Terra Genesis International. His blog can be found at www.gaiaemerging.com
Eric Toensmeier
Eric is co-author of Edible Forest Gardens and author of Perennial Vegetables, has also worked extensively in business planning for start-up farmers. He has been traveling the US and Latin America looking at commercially viable models of perennial farming systems. www.perennialsolutions.org. Eric is a founding partner of Terra Genesis International
Mary Johnson
Mary Johnson is a Permaculture Design & Holistic Management consultant and trainer working with Terra Genesis International. She works with farmers and business owners in the US & internationally using concepts from both Permaculture and Holistic management to help families, businesses, and organizations. You can read more about Holistic Management and International Permaculture on Mary’s blog at http://wrcinashfield.wordpress.com.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Poverty Conscious Activism, Vs. Conscious Consumerism:

Poverty Conscious Activism, Vs. Conscious Consumerism:
Creating the change we want to see in the world.

In a recent conversation on the facebook wall of a friend and colleague (Slav Davidzon, CEO of Common Circle Education) a debate quick started between the ideas of poverty conscious activism and Conscious Consumerism. I think this is an important conversation in our world today.

I see both sides to this conversation. I currently operate in Slav's paradigm...that as a capable individual in a capitalist system I should make surplus doing right livelihood and re-invest it into regeneration.
However I also see that activists who eschew finances to concentrate on worldchange work are needed. The financial system is fundamentally broken, and indeed Dollars represent DEGENERATION. so if we operated inside the dollar system without EXTREME CAUTION (the likes of which go FAR FAR BEYOND BUYING ORGANIC FOOD) we are actively degrading our home.

As with most answers to the complex problems facing us today, the answer is YES AND. We need to be carefully routing our financial capital to projects and causes that have real, lasting regenerative effects.


Cooperative Strategy for regeneration:

form cooperative groups...
find right livelihoods that can sustain our group overhead and produce surplus, define strategic projects and fund them ourselves. We need to begin to create the alternative economy, and start to redefine wealth. At this moment, The Financial Permaculture Institute, in parallel and collaboration with other groups like Slow Money, is working on :

Financial Permaculture Institute's Three fold plan for ECOnomic Regeneration:

  • Creating, testing and sharing the regenerative enterprise models that allow people to make right livelihood and create cooperative and resilient communities.
  • Finding regenerative investing instruments to empower money from the broken system to be turned into REAL WORK AND TOOLS FOR REGENERATION and community empowerment.
  • Cultivating a lively discussion on fundamentally different economic models that will allow us to align our hearts, hands and minds with the realities of scarcity and environmental limitations of the planet, and find the abundance and infinite capacity of our creativity and art.
Join us to help shape this conversation. Come to our participatory design based workshop, September 24-26th on The Farm, in Summertown, TN.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Gaia University: Tranformative Action Learning

Kyle Thiermann is an amazing Gaia U Associate and I am proud to be one of his advisers. Check this video out of his experience with the Gaia University System

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

People's Voice on Climate Change

(Español abajo)

This is the submission of May 31 of 2010, for the negotiations process on climate change in the framework United Nations, that reiterates in a summary form the main proposals that were presented by the Plurinational State of Bolivia the 26 of April of 2010, on the basic of the conclusions of the World People's Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth. The content of the Bolivian submission was not taken into account in the tex to facilite negotiations among parties, way to the Conference of the Parties in Cancun, Mexico.


SUBMISSION BY THE PLURINATIONAL STATE OF BOLIVIA
TO THE AD-HOC WORKING GROUP ON
LONG-TERM COOPERATIVE ACTION


This submission reiterates in a summary form the main proposals that were presented by the Plurinational State of Bolivia the 26 of April of 2010, on the basis of the conclusions of the World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth. The content of the Bolivian submission was not taken into account in the “text to facilitate negotiations among Parties. Note by the Chair FCCC/AWGLCA/2010/6”
In order to have a balanced text of negotiation, where the main proposals of the different parties are not excluded, we expect that these elements will be included in the revised text of the chair of the AWG-LCA.
Integrated vision (to be included in Shared vision)1

OP The shared vision for long-term cooperative action is not simply about defining the limit on temperature increases and the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, but must incorporate a comprehensive and balanced set of goals, and other essentials such as the recognition of the rights of Mother Earth to restore harmony with nature. This is comprised of a range of essential elements including:

(a) The equitable allocation atmospheric space between developed countries and developing countries during the period 1750 to 2050 based on the principles of equity and historical responsibility, and the needs of developing countries in order to achieve their economic and social development and poverty eradication;

(b) Aggregate targets for developed country Parties that are not party to the Kyoto Protocol for emissions reduction that are comparable to those undertaken by Annex I parties to the Kyoto Protocol in the second and subsequent commitment periods that reflect their historical responsibilities and debts, meet the needs of developing country Parties to an equitable share of atmospheric space and are adequate to meet requirements according to the IPCC findings and the latest science;

(c) Provision of financial resources by developed countries to developing countries amounting to at least 6% of the value of GNP of developed countries, for adaptation, technology transfer, capacity building and mitigation;

(d) Provisions by developed countries of means of implementation to developing countries to facilitate adequate adaptation to climate change, to meet the costs of its adverse effects and to repay adaptation debts;

(e) The transfer of environmentally sound technologies to developing countries and enhancement of their endogenous capacities and technologies, including the identification and removal of all barriers to access to technologies at the most affordable cost and appropriate treatment of intellectual property rights including exclusion of patents on climate related technologies to developing country Parties;

(f) Capacity building to enable the upgrading of developing countries institutional capacities to address climate change and its adverse effect;

(g) Measures by developing countries to mitigate climate change, including nationally appropriate mitigation actions supported and enabled by developed countries

(h) Quantified changes to the unsustainable patterns of consumption and production by developed countries, including through the substantial reduction of their high per capita greenhouse gas emissions.

Goal in temperature and ppm (to be included in Shared vision)

OP Developed countries shall take the lead and strive towards returning greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere to well below 300 ppm CO2eq with a view to returning concentrations to levels as close as possible to pre-industrial levels in the longer-term, and to limit the average global temperatures to a maximum level of 1º C with deep and adequate economy wide emissions reductions in the medium and long terms and taking effective measures to fulfill their commitments relating to the provision of substantial financial resources, capacity building and to provide technology development and transfer of environmentally sound technologies and know how to developing country Parties.

Mother Earth Rights (text to be included in Shared vision)

PP Acknowledging that to address climate change, we must recognize Mother Earth as the source of life and that it is a living system, with which we have an indivisible, interdependent and complementary relationship and that to achieve the realization of human rights and human dignity it is necessary to recognize and defend the rights of Mother Earth.

OP A shared vision for Long-term Cooperative Action in order to reestablish harmony with nature should promote the recognition and defense of Mother Earth Rights, through a Declaration in the United Nations.

Structural causes (to be included in Shared vision)

PP Determined to deal with the root causes of climate change, including the elimination of unsustainable patterns of consumption and production in the developed country Parties and the dominant global financial and economic system that gives rise to these, and that a new system must be built to restore harmony with nature and among humans and that there can only be balance with nature if there is equity among human beings,

PP Advocating a development model that is not destructive or based on unlimited growth, and recognizing that countries need to produce goods and services to meet the basic needs of its population, but by no means can continue on the current path of development in which richer countries have a carbon footprint five times larger than the planet can bear.

OP Promote quantified changes to the unsustainable patterns of consumption and production by developed countries, including through the substantial reduction of their high per capita greenhouse gas emissions, and the development of an analysis and debate in relation to the structural causes of climate change.

Equitable distribution of atmospheric space (to be included in Shared vision)

PP Recognizing that an equitable sharing of atmospheric space is an inalienable fundamental right of all nations and peoples, and that economic, social and sustainable development are the first and overriding priorities of developing country Parties, which has been limited by the overuse of developed countries of the atmosphere, through their past, current and proposed future emissions.

OP Achieving an equitable allocation of global atmospheric space between developed and developing countries shall be determined by reference to:

a) An agreed global emission budget between the period 1750 to 2050;
b) An agreed methodology for sharing the global emissions budget among developed and developing countries taking into account their present and future population, and
c) The allocation, based on this methodology, of total and domestic assigned amounts to Annex I parties under the Kyoto Protocol and targets for a comparable effort for Annex I parties that are not party to the Kyoto Protocol.

Court of Climate and Environmental Justice (to be included in Shared vision)

PP Recognizing that developed countries have not fulfilled their commitments and that it is necessary to have a judicial mechanisms that guarantees the implementation of the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol.

OP Parties shall promote the establishment of an International Court of Climate and Environmental Justice, whose aim is to contribute to preventing actions causing environmental pollution and climate change.

Referendum (to be included in Shared vision)

PP Recognizing that the decision about climate change is not only a matter of decision of governments and their technical representatives, but concerns us all, as citizens of the world.

PP Recognizing that is essential to carry out a global consultation about determining decisions that implies the impact of climate change on the future of Mother Earth and human life,

OP Parties agree to support and promote a world plebiscite or referendum on climate change open to the global public and the terms of this referendum will be considered by the COP.

Climate Debt (to be included in shared vision, mitigation, adaptation, finance and technology transfer)

PP Affirming that the historical emissions of developed countries are responsible for climate change and its adverse effects to developing countries and that developed countries are thus responsible for compensating developing countries as part of a climate debt owed by developed countries to developing countries,

PP Emphasizing that further delay by developed country Parties in implementing their commitments to reduce emissions will increase their climate debt to the developing country Parties and significantly constrain opportunities to achieve lower stabilization levels of greenhouse gases and increase the risk of more severe climate change impacts,

OP Developed countries in assuming their historical responsibility, hereby recognize and commit to honor their climate debt in all its dimensions, as the basis for a just, effective and scientific climate change solution, including through:

• Reserving for developing countries the atmospheric space which is currently occupied by developed countries’ emissions of greenhouse gases;
• Assuming the costs and technology transfer needs of developing countries arising from the loss of development opportunities by having to live under a restricted atmospheric space;
• Being accountable for the hundreds of millions of people that will have to migrate as a result of climate change and to remove their restrictive policies on migration, including by providing migrants with opportunities to achieve a decent life and with all human rights;
• Assuming adaptation debt related to the impacts of climate change on developing countries by providing the means to prevent, minimize and deal with damages arising from their excessive emissions, as well as the opportunity costs;
• Honoring those debts as part of a major debt to Mother Earth by taking and implementing the Universal Declaration on the Rights of Mother Earth at the United Nations.

The scale and timing of emission reductions by Annex I countries must be sufficient to ensure that developed countries’ historical debt for their excessive past consumption of environmental space, and their continuing excessive per-capita emissions, is fully repaid to developing countries.

Indigenous peoples (to be included in shared vision, mitigation, adaptation and technology transfer)

OP The full and effective implementation of the right to consultation, participation and prior, free and informed consent of Indigenous Peoples is needed in all negotiation processes and in the design and implementation of measures to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

OP The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and ILO Convention 169 shall be fully recognized, implemented and integrated in climate change actions.

OP Indigenous and traditional knowledge and technologies form a valuable and useful part of the knowledge and technologies that are appropriate and useful for mitigation and adaptation activities in addressing climate change and that these have to be supported and be part of technology development, transfer and deployment.

Finance (to be included in Finance, Shared Vision, Mitigation, Adaptation, Technology transfer, Capacity building)

OP Developed country Parties and other developed Parties included in Annex II in accordance with their commitments under the Convention including Article 4, paragraphs 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9 shall provide substantial, new, additional, adequate, predictable and sustained public funding additional to and different from the ODA to meet the agreed full costs and/or incremental costs incurred by developing country Parties to effectively implement their commitments under the Convention, taking into consideration that sources for the fulfillment of these commitments shall come exclusively from public funding and not from markets.

OP Developed country Parties shall, beginning in 2013, provide resources equivalent to at least 6% of their GNP comprising 3% for adaptation, 1% for mitigation, 1% for technology development and transfer and 1% for capacity building.

Migration (to be included in Shared Vision and Adaptation)

OP Developed countries, assuming their responsibilities of the adverse impacts of climate change, must assume as a dimension of their climate debt, being accountable for the hundreds of millions of people that will have to migrate as a result of climate change and to remove their restrictive policies on migration, including by providing migrants with opportunities to achieve a decent life and with all human rights;

OP As a part of the institutional framework on adaptation, an international mechanism shall be established to address the needs of individuals and peoples displaced due to the adverse effects of climate change and the infringements of human rights resulting from the adverse effects of climate change.

Mitigation (text to be included in Mitigation 1bi)

PP Reaffirming that the Kyoto Protocol shall remain as the specific binding instrument for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases in developed countries)

OP All Annex I Parties to the Convention, as part of their emissions debt and in accordance with their commitments of Article 4.2 of the Convention, shall undertake ambitious national economy-wide binding targets for quantified emission reduction commitments in aggregate of at least 50% of their domestic greenhouse gas emissions during the period 2013 to 2017 and by more than 100% before 2040, compared to their 1990 levels through domestic reduction actions and without the use of carbon markets or other offsetting mechanisms.

OP For any Annex I Party to the Convention that is also a Party to the Kyoto Protocol, its emission reduction target for the second and subsequent commitment periods under the Kyoto Protocol shall be considered as their economy wide commitment.

OP For an Annex I Party to the Convention that is not a Party to the Kyoto Protocol, its economy wide emission .reduction commitment shall be comparable in magnitude, time scale and compliance to the economy wide commitments referred to in the previous paragraph. Such commitments shall be reflected in a declaration by that Party and recognized through a decision of the Conference of Parties.

OP If, after measuring, reporting and verifying, the failure of a developed country to fulfill its reduction commitments is identified then penalties should be applied. This may include increased future reduction commitments by an amount calculated as a multiple of the shortfall in implementation. Financial contributions may also be assessed as penalties or fines and paid into an enhanced financial mechanism under the Conference of Parties.

NAMAs (to be included in Mitigation 1bii)

OP (1b2) Nationally appropriate mitigation actions (NAMAs) of non-Annex I Parties are voluntary measures and/or programs to mitigate climate change under Article 4.1 of the Convention that are enabled by finance, technology and capacity building in accordance with Articles 4.3 and 4.5, and based on their specific national priorities and circumstances and in the context of sustainable development. A system shall be established under the financial mechanism to ensure that the developing countries' mitigation actions are enabled and supported by finance, technology and capacity building.

OP (1b2) Emission reductions resulting from NAMAs shall not be used to offset quantified emission reduction targets undertaken by Annex I Parties to the Convention.

Forest (to be included in Mitigation 1biii)

OP The following principles and elements will apply to forest related actions and the proposed framework:

• Environmental integrity.
• Guarantee rights of indigenous peoples under the basis of international normative instruments and local communities in conservation and participation in forest management.
• No market mechanism on forest related actions.
• No offset mechanism that imply that developed countries will use emission reductions that were made by developing countries in order to fulfill their emission reductions commitments.
• Ensure sovereignty and national as well as local control over forest related activities.

OP The definition of forest used in the negotiations should not include plantations, as monoculture plantations are not forests. Forest conservation can be funded, including adaptation activities related to forests.

OP We agree that the best strategy and action to avoid deforestation and degradation and protect native forests and the forest is to recognize and guarantee the collective rights of the lands and territories, especially of indigenous peoples and nations, and traditional farming communities.
OP A framework for the delivery of financial resources for forest related actions is hereby established to fund the agreed full incremental costs for the implementation of developing countries’ commitments under Article 4.1 (d) to promote sustainable management; and promote and cooperate in the conservation and enhancement of sinks and reservoirs of all greenhouse gases, including forests ecosystems.

OP Eligibility criteria for funding forest related activities should include the following:

• Equitable distribution of funds must be assured
• Support for proposals that address the underlying causes of forest loss, including actions within but not limited to the forest sector;
• Support for proposals that guarantee lasting protection of natural forests and reduction of deforestation and degradation, enhanced forest law enforcement and improved forest governance, and strengthened recognition of Indigenous Peoples and community rights, regardless of whether the impact of these measures can be immediately quantified in terms of carbon emission units;
• Proposals shall not be considered that allow industrial-scale logging or that involve conversion of natural forests to plantations or other commercial or infrastructure activities and projects that damage the environment or violate the rights of local communities.
• Encouragement of proposals for activities that involve the full and effective participation of forest-dependent Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
• Support for the restoration and maintenance of the forests by indigenous peoples and their organizations, including through a global program to restore native forests and jungles, managed and administered by the communities and their organizations.
• Proposals and activities should promote good governance, in particular with respect to forest policies and law enforcement;
• Proposals and activities should contain transparent and participatory mechanisms to prevent or resolve conflicts over access, use, and ownership rights that could arise during the development and/or implementation of forest related activities.

Agriculture (to be included in 1biv)

PP Recognizing that emissions from ecologically harmful and chemical-intensive agriculture are a major contributor to climate change and the essential contribution of mitigation actions from ecologically-sound forms of agriculture, including traditional agricultural practices by many local communities and small farmers

PP Stressing that the promotion of food sovereignty is also a vital part of agricultural transformation required to address the climate crisis. The concept of food sovereignty is to be understood as the right of people to control their own seeds, land, water and food production, ensuring, through production in harmony with Mother Earth.

OP Decide to phase out inappropriate forms of agriculture that are ecologically harmful and that are emission-intensive and to instead take measures to promote an environmentally sustainable model of agricultural production that also promote food security and food sovereignty and the livelihoods and rights of local communities and indigenous peoples.

OP Agree that small farmers in developing countries have the right to control their own seeds, land, water and food production and that appropriate and adequate financing mechanisms shall be established to ensure they can maintain and increase control over their resources.

OP Decide to review of the global system of agricultural trade, the provisions of trade agreements and loan and aid conditions and the intellectual property regimes to ensure that policy framework for agriculture be appropriate to address the climate crisis and to meet the interests of local communities and protect the environment, rejecting the practices and technologies harmful to farmers and the environment, including, agrochemicals, corporate-controlled seeds and intensive water use, genetic engineering, particularly genetic use restriction technology, biofuels, nanotechnology, and geo-engineering.

Markets (to be included in 1bv)

PP Understanding that a system of markets has resulted in prioritizing the extreme competition for profits and growth, and that this has separated humanity from nature, establishing a logic of domination over it, turning everything into a commodity: water, earth, the human genome, the ancestral cultures, biodiversity, justice, ethics, rights of peoples, and life itself;

OP There should not be use of an international carbon market or an international carbon market approach in the offsetting of Annex I Parties' mitigation commitments or in the financing of developing countries' climate actions as it has serious adverse effects.

OP Parties reject the establishment of new flexible mechanisms that are based on carbon markets.

Adaptation (to be included in adaptation)

PP Recognizing that adaptation to climate change and its economic consequences is urgent and essential to the survival and existence of developing country Parties,

PP Recognizing that adaptation to climate change has a human rights dimension because the effects of climate change if not addressed will make impossible the realization of the economic and social rights including the right to life, to food, to water, to housing and to health.

OP Developed countries, recognizing their historical responsibility for climate change and its adverse effects, hereby recognize and commit to honor their adaptation debt, compensating all the negative impacts of climate change on developing countries by:
• providing the means for developing countries to develop and implement adaptation policies, plans, programs and projects through the provision of substantial, new and additional public financial resources, environmentally sound technologies and capacity building in a predictable and prompt manner
• Compensating actual damages arising from their excessive emissions,
• Compensating the opportunity costs; supporting developing country Parties efforts to reduce poverty and achieve their development goals.

OP An institutional framework on adaptation to climate change is hereby established under the Convention to enable developed country Parties, to honor their adaptation debts and to fulfill their commitments. The institutional arrangements shall comprise:
• An adaptation committee under the authority and guidance of the Conference of Parties.
• An international mechanism to address the unavoidable loss and damage resulting from the adverse effects of climate change, and associated lost opportunities for development, with the following functions:
- Addressing risks associated with climate-related extreme weather events, that incorporates measures to reduce, manage and prevent risk;
- Providing compensation and rehabilitation for climate-related slow onset events
• A compliance mechanism to verify the provisions of financial resources, compensation and transfer of technology from developed country Parties (within the new operating entity under the Convention Financial mechanism).

Technology Transfer (to be included in development and transfer of technology)

OP Technology transfer from developed to developing countries should be free from conditions or impositions. Instead, it is agreed that there must be a free exchange of information, knowledge and technologies, under the principles of solidarity, reciprocity, respect, complementariness, harmony, transparency, balance, permitting an inter-scientific dialogue of knowledge and skills.

OP Developed countries commit to share the complete technological cycle, namely enhancement, development, demonstration, deployment, diffusion and transfer of new and existing innovative technologies is urgent and essential to strengthening developing country Parties capacities in particular those listed in Art. 4.8 of the Convention. Developing countries must be recipients of the technological cycle in its integrity.

OP A mechanism for technology development and transfer is hereby established under the authority of to the Conference of Parties, that comprises:
• A Technology Executive Board aimed to develop strategy and policies, provide guidance, assess and elaborate on technology matters and develop a Technology Action Plan.
• Technical Panels for adaptation and mitigation technologies to generate and compile expert information.
• A Technology Action Plan to support concrete programs and actions with short, medium and long term actions and programs that covers all sectors.
• A Multilateral Climate Technology Fund/window to meet the full and the full incremental costs of technology transfer (in accordance with Article 4.3).
• A compliance mechanism for measuring and verifying commitments of developed country Parties for technology transfer, finance and development;

OP Transfer of technology must fully compensate the loss of development opportunities due to the costs and technological demands to developing countries to live within a restricted atmospheric space.

OP Indigenous and traditional knowledge and technologies form a valuable and useful part of the knowledge and technologies that are appropriate and useful for mitigation and adaptation activities.

OP Technologies and innovations that come from public financing destined for research and technology development must be located in public domain and not under a private patent regime, in such a way that they are of free access for developing countries.

OP Steps shall be taken to expand technologies in the public domain. Nothing in international intellectual property agreements shall be interpreted or implemented in a manner that limits or prevents any Party from taking measures to address climate change, in particular the development and transfer of technologies, including the development and enhancement of endogenous capacities and technologies of developing countries and transfer of, and access to, environmentally sound technologies and know-how.

OP Developing countries have the right to make use of the full flexibilities contained in the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement, including compulsory licensing. Patents on climate-related technologies should be excluded.

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Esta es la presentación de 31 de mayo de 2010, para el proceso de negociaciones sobre cambio climático en el marco de Naciones Unidas, que reitera en forma resumida las principales propuestas que han sido presentadas por el Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia el 26 de abril de 2010, sobre la base de las conclusiones de la Conferencia Mundial de los Pueblos sobre Cambio Climático y los Derechos de la Madre Tierra. El contenido de la presentación de Bolivia no fue tomado en cuenta en el texto para facilitar las negociaciones entre las partes, camino a la Conferencia de las Partes en Cancún, México.


Presentación del Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia para el Grupo de Trabajo Ad-hoc sobre Cooperación a Largo Plazo
Esta presentación reitera en forma resumida las principales propuestas que han sido presentadas por el Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia el 26 de abril de 2010, sobre la base de las conclusiones de la Conferencia Mundial de los Pueblos sobre Cambio Climático y los Derechos de la Madre Tierra. El contenido de la presentación de Bolivia no fue tomado en cuenta en el “texto para facilitar las negociaciones entre las partes”. Nota del Presidente FCC/AWGLCA/2010/6”
Para tener un texto de negociación equilibrado, donde las principales propuestas de las diferentes partes no estén excluidas, esperamos que estos elementos sean incluidos en la el texto revisado del Presidente del GTE – CLP.
Visión Integrada (para ser incluida en Visión Compartida)[1]
OP La Visión compartida para acciones de cooperación a largo plazo no es simplemente sobre la definición del límite del incremento de la temperatura y la concentración de gases de efecto invernadero en la atmósfera, debe incorporar un conjunto comprensivo y balanceado de metas, y otros esenciales tales como el reconocimiento de los derechos de la Madre Tierra para restablecer la armonía con la naturaleza. Esta se compone de una serie de elementos esenciales que incluyen:
a) Distribución equitativa del espacio atmosférico entre los países desarrollados y los países en desarrollo durante el periodo de 1750 a 2050 en base a los principios de equidad y responsabilidad histórica, y la necesidad de los países en desarrollo para alcanzar un mayor desarrollo económico y social y la erradicación de la pobreza.
b) Metas agregadas para las partes de países desarrollados que no son parte del Protocolo de Kioto, para la reducción de emisiones comparables a las adoptadas por las partes del Anexo I del Protocolo de Kioto en el segundo periodo y los subsecuentes, que reflejen sus responsabilidades y deudas históricas, respondan a las necesidades de las partes de países en desarrollo para una participación equitativa del espacio atmosférico y sean adecuadas para responder a los requisitos de acuerdo a lo determinado por el IPCC y los últimos avances científicos;
c) Provisión de recursos financieros de los países desarrollados para los países en desarrollo, que sea por lo menos del 6% del valor del PIB de los países desarrollados, para adaptación, transferencia de tecnología, creación de capacidades y mitigación.
d) Provisión por parte de los países desarrollados de medios de implementación para los países en desarrollo para facilitar una adecuada adaptación al cambio climático, a fin de que puedan cubrir los costos de los efectos adversos y el saldo de adaptación.
e) La transferencia de tecnologías medioambientales razonables para los países en desarrollo y el fortalecimiento de sus capacidades endógenas y tecnológicas, incluyendo la identificación y eliminación de todas las barreras para el acceso a las mismas, con el costo más accesible y el tratamiento más apropiado posible de los derechos de propiedad intelectual incluyendo la exclusión de patentes relativas a tecnologías climáticas para las partes de países en desarrollo.
f) Creación de capacidades para permitir el progreso de las capacidades institucionales de los países en desarrollo dirigidas al cambio climático y sus efectos adversos.
g) Medidas de los países en desarrollo para mitigar el cambio climático, incluyendo acciones de mitigación apropiadas a nivel nacional, que sean apoyadas y viabilizadas por los países desarrollados.
h) Cambios cuantificados de los patrones insostenibles de consumo y producción de los países desarrollados, incluyendo la reducción sustancial de sus altas emisiones per cápita de gases de efecto invernadero.
Metas en la temperatura y ppm (para incluirse en Visión compartida)
OP Los países desarrollados deben liderar y hacer esfuerzos para lograr que las concentraciones de gases de efecto invernadero en la atmósfera vuelvan a un nivel menor a 300 ppm CO2eq, a fin de retornar en el largo plazo a niveles de concentraciones que se acerquen lo más posible a los niveles preindustriales y limitar la temperatura global promedio a un máximo de 1ºC con profundas y adecuadas reducciones en el mediano y largo plazo y haciendo efectivas las medidas para cumplir con los compromisos relacionados a la provisión de recursos financieros sustentables, creación de capacidades y para proporcionar desarrollo tecnológico y transferencia de tecnologías ambientalmente razonables así como el “know how” a las Partes que son países en desarrollo.
Derechos de la Madre Tierra (texto a ser incluido en Visión compartida)
PP Admitiendo que para abordar el cambio climático, debemos reconocer a la Madre Tierra como fuente de vida y como un sistema vivo, con el que tenemos una relación indivisible, interdependiente y complementaria; y que para lograr la realización de los derechos humanos y dignidad humana es necesario reconocer y defender los derechos de la Madre Tierra.
OP Una visión compartida para una Acción Cooperativa a Largo Plazo para restablecer la armonía con la naturaleza debe promover el reconocimiento y defensa de los Derechos de la Madre Tierra, a través de una Declaración en Naciones Unidas.
Causas Estructurales (para ser incluido en Visión compartida)
PP Determinados a hacer frente a las causas del cambio climático, incluyendo la eliminación de patrones insostenibles de consumo y producción en los países desarrollados y el sistema financiero y económico global dominante que incrementa esto; que un nuevo sistema debe ser construido para restablecer la armonía con la naturaleza y entre los humanos; que únicamente puede haber balance con la naturaleza si hay equidad entre los seres humanos.
PP Abogando por un modelo de desarrollo que no sea destructivo o basado en el crecimiento ilimitado, y reconociendo que los países necesitan producir bienes y servicios para satisfacer las necesidades básicas de su población, pero no significa que se puede continuar sobre el actual patrón de desarrollo de los países ricos, los cuales tienen una huella ecológica cinco veces más grande que puede soportar el planeta.
OP Promover cambios cuantificados en los patrones insostenibles de consumo y producción por parte de los países desarrollados, incluyendo reducciones sustanciales de sus niveles per cápita de emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero, y el desarrollo y análisis y debate en relación a las causas estructurales del cambio climático.
Distribución equitativa del espacio atmosférico (para ser incluido en Visión Compartida)
PP Reconociendo que una distribución equitativa del espacio atmosférico es un derecho inalienable fundamental de todas las naciones y personas, y que el desarrollo económico, social y sostenible es la primera y fundamental prioridad de los países en desarrollo partes, que está siendo limitado por el uso excesivo de los países desarrollados de la atmósfera, a través de sus emisiones pasadas, actuales y propuestas futuras de emisiones.
OP Lograr una equitativa distribución del espacio global atmosférico entre los países desarrollados y los países en desarrollo tomando como referencia:
a) Acuerdo del presupuesto mundial de emisiones entre el periodo de 1750 a 2050;
b) Una metodología acordada para compartir el presupuesto de emisiones globales entre los países desarrollados y en desarrollo tomando en cuenta sus presentes y futuras poblaciones; y
c) La distribución basada en esta metodología, de la cantidad asignada total y doméstica para las partes del Anexo I bajo el Protocolo de Kioto y los objetivos para un esfuerzo comparable para las partes anexo I que no son parte del Protocolo de Kioto.
Tribunal de Justicia Climática y Ambiental (para ser incluido en Visión compartida)
PP Reconociendo que los países desarrollados no han cumplido sus compromisos y que es necesario tener un mecanismo judicial que garantice la implementación de la Convención y el Protocolo de Kioto.
OP Las partes deberán promover el establecimiento de un Tribunal Internacional de Justicia Climática y Ambiental, cuyo objetivo fundamental es contribuir a la prevención de acciones que causan contaminación ambiental y cambio climático.
Referéndum (para ser incluido en Visión compartida)
PP Reconociendo que la decisión sobre el cambio climático no es únicamente la decisión de los gobiernos y sus representantes técnicos, nos concierne a todos, como ciudadanos del mundo.
PP Reconociendo que es esencial llevar a cabo una consulta mundial sobre la determinación de decisiones que implican el impacto del cambio climático sobre el futuro de la Madre Tierra y la vida humana,
OP Las partes acuerdan apoyar y promover un plebiscito o referéndum mundial sobre cambio climático abierto al público del mundo; los términos de este referéndum serían considerados por la COP.
Deuda Climática (para ser incluido en Visión Compartida, Mitigación, Adaptación, Financiamiento y Transferencia de Tecnología)
PP Afirmando que las emisiones históricas de los países desarrollados son las responsables del cambio climático y sus efectos adversos para los países en desarrollo y que los países desarrollados por tanto tienen la responsabilidad de compensar a los países en desarrollo como parte de una deuda climática.
PP Enfatizando que la falta de implementación de los compromisos de reducir emisiones por parte de los países desarrollados aumentará su deuda climática para los países en desarrollo y limitan significativamente las oportunidades de lograr la estabilización de los niveles de gases de efecto invernadero y el incremento de los riesgos más graves de los impactos del cambio climático.
OP Los países desarrollados, asumiendo su responsabilidad histórica, por este medio reconocen y se comprometen a honrar su deuda climática en todas sus dimensiones, como la base para una solución justa, efectiva y científica contra el cambio climático, incluyendo las siguientes acciones:
• Reservar para los países en desarrollo el espacio atmosférico, que es actualmente ocupado por las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero de los países desarrollados;
• Asumir los costos y las necesidades de transferencia de tecnología de los países en desarrollo por la pérdida de oportunidades de desarrollo a causa de vivir en un espacio atmosférico restringido.
• Hacerse responsables por los cientos de millones que tendrán que migrar por el cambio climático que han provocado; eliminar sus políticas restrictivas de migración y ofrecer a los migrantes una vida digna y con todos los derechos en sus países.
• Asumir la deuda de adaptación relacionada a los impactos del cambio climático en los países en desarrollo proveyendo los medios para prevenir, minimizar y atender los daños que surgen de sus excesivas emisiones, así como también costos de oportunidad.
• Honrar esta deuda como parte de una deuda mayor con la Madre Tierra adoptando y aplicando la Declaración Universal de los Derechos de la Madre Tierra en las Naciones Unidas.
La escala y la sincronización de las reducciones de emisiones de los países del Anexo I deben ser suficiente para asegurar que la deuda histórica de los países desarrollados por su consumo excesivo del espacio ambiental en el pasado, y sus continuas excesivas emisiones per cápita, sean restituidas en su totalidad a los países en desarrollo.
Pueblos Indígenas (para ser incluido en visión compartida, mitigación, adaptación y transferencia de tecnología)
OP La aplicación plena y efectiva del derecho a la consulta, participación y consentimiento previo, libre e informado es necesaria en todo el proceso de negociación y en el diseño e implementación de las medidas para mitigación y adaptación al cambio climático.
OP La Declaración de Naciones Unidas sobre los Derechos de los Pueblos Indígenas y el Convenio OIT 169 deben reconocerse plenamente, implementarse e integrarse en las acciones de cambio climático.
OP El conocimiento tradicional indígena y sus tecnologías constituyen una parte valiosa y útil de los conocimientos y tecnologías que son apropiados y útiles para las actividades de adaptación y mitigación para atender el cambio climático y que tienen que ser apoyados y ser parte del desarrollo de tecnología, transferencia y despliegue.
Financiamiento (para ser incluido en Financiamiento, Visión Compartida, Mitigación, Adaptación, Transferencia de Tecnología y Construcción de Capacidad.
OP Las partes que son países desarrollados y las otras partes desarrolladas incluidas en el Anexo II en concordancia con sus compromisos bajo la Convención, incluido el Artículo 4, parágrafo 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 y 9 deben proporcionar sustanciales, nuevos, adicionales, adecuados, previsibles y sustentables fondos públicos adicionales y diferentes de la Ayuda Oficial al Desarrollo para cubrir los gastos totales y/o costos adicionales incurridos por las partes que son países en desarrollo para la implementación efectiva de sus compromisos bajo la Convención, tomando en consideración que las fuentes para el cumplimiento de esos compromisos deben provenir exclusivamente de fondos públicos y no de los mercados.
OP Las partes que son países desarrollados, deberán a partir de 2013, proporcionar recursos equivalentes por lo menos del 6% de su PNB comprendiendo el 3% para adaptación, 1% para mitigación, 1% para desarrollo y transferencia de tecnología y 1% para la construcción de capacidades.
Migración (para ser incluido en Visión Compartida y Adaptación)
OP La países desarrollados, asumiendo sus responsabilidades de los impactos adversos del cambio climático, deben asumir como una dimensión de su deuda climática, siendo responsables por los cientos de millones de personas que tienen que migrar como un resultado del cambio climático y eliminar sus políticas restrictivas sobre migración, incluyendo, proporcionar a los migrantes oportunidades para lograr una vida digna y con todos los derechos humanos;
OP Como una parte del marco institucional sobre adaptación, debe ser establecido un mecanismo internacional para atender las necesidades individuales y personas desplazadas debido a los efectos adversos del cambio climático y las infracciones de los derechos humanos resultantes de los efectos adversos del cambio climático.
Mitigación (texto para ser incluido en Mitigación 1bi)
PP Reafirmando que el Protocolo de Kioto debe mantenerse como el instrumento vinculante específico para la reducción de gases de efecto invernadero en los países desarrollados
OP Todos las Partes Anexo I de la Convención, como parte de su deuda de emisiones y en concordancia con sus compromisos del Artículo 4.2 de la Convención, deben asumir objetivos ambiciosos nacionales vinculantes a escala de toda su economía, en cuanto a compromisos cuantificados de reducción de emisiones durante el periodo 2013 a 2017 y en más del 100 % antes del 2040, comparados con sus niveles de 1990 a través de acciones de reducción domésticas y sin usar los mercados de carbono u otro mecanismo de compensación.
OP Para cualquiera de las partes del Anexo I que no sea parte en el Protocolo de Kioto, su compromiso de reducción de emisiones para el segundo periodo y subsiguientes periodo debe ser considerado a escala de toda su economía.
OP Para cualquiera de las partes del Anexo I de la Convención que no sea parte del Protocolo de Kioto, su compromiso de reducción de emisiones a escala de toda su economía deberá ser comparable en magnitud, escala de tiempo y en cumplimiento con los compromisos de toda la economía como se menciona en los párrafos anteriores. Tales compromisos deben ser reflejados en una declaración por las partes y reconocidos a través de una decisión de la Conferencia de las Partes.
OP si, después de medir, reportar y verificar el fracaso del cumplimiento de los compromisos de reducción de los países desarrollados se deberán identificar estas faltas para aplicar sanciones. Esto puede incluir compromisos futuros de incremento de reducción calculado como un múltiplo por la falta en su implementación. Contribuciones financieras pueden también ser consideradas como penalidades o multas para abonar en el establecimiento de un mecanismo financiero bajo la Conferencia de las Partes.
NAMAs (para ser incluidas en Mitigación 1bii)
OP Las acciones apropiadas de mitigación nacional (NAMAs) de las Partes no Anexo 1 son voluntariamente medidas y/o programas para mitigar el cambio climático bajo el Artículo 4.1 de la Convención que son posibilitadas por el financiamiento, la tecnología y construcción de capacidades en concordancia con los Artículos 4.3 y 4.5 y basados en sus específicas prioridades nacionales y circunstancias y dentro del contexto del desarrollo sostenible. Un sistema debería ser establecido bajo un mecanismo financiero para asegurar que las acciones de mitigaciones de los países desarrollados sean posibilitadas y apoyadas por el financiamiento, la tecnología y la construcción de capacidades.
OP (1b2) La reducción de las emisiones resultante de las (NAMAs) no deberían ser utilizadas para compensar los objetivos de reducción de emisiones cuantificadas realizadas por las Partes Anexo I de la Convención.
Bosque (para ser incluido en Mitigación 1bii)
OP Los siguientes principios y elementos se aplicaran para las acciones relacionadas a bosques y en el marco de la propuesta:
• Integridad medioambiental
• La garantía de los derechos de los pueblos indígenas bajo la base de los instrumentos de la normativa internacional y las comunidades locales en conservación y participación en el manejo de los bosques.
• No a los mecanismos de Mercado en las acciones relacionadas a los bosques.
• No a los mecanismos de compensación que impliquen que los países desarrollados utilizaran las emisiones de reducción que fueron creadas por los países en desarrollo para cumplir sus compromisos de reducciones de emisiones.
• Asegurar soberanía y control nacional así como local sobre actividades relacionadas al los bosques.
OP La definición de bosque utilizada en las negociaciones no debería incluir plantaciones, como las plantaciones de monocultivos que no son bosques. La preservación de los bosques puede tener fondos, incluyendo la adaptación de las actividades relacionadas con los bosques.
OP Estamos de acuerdo que la mejor estrategia y acción para evitar la deforestación y degradación y para proteger los bosques nativos y los bosques es reconocer y garantizar los derechos colectivos de las tierras y territorios especialmente de los pueblos y naciones indígenas, y las comunidades de cultivo tradicional.
OP Un marco para la entrega de los recursos financieros para la acciones relacionadas a los bosques es por este medio establecido para financiar los costos adicionales acordados para la implementación de los compromisos de los países en desarrollo bajo el articulo 4.1 (d) para la promoción y cooperación en la preservación y mejoramiento de los depósitos y el absorbente de los gases de efectos invernadero, incluyendo los ecosistemas de los bosques.
El criterio de elegibilidad para el financiamiento de los bosques y las actividades relacionadas debería incluir lo siguiente:
• La distribución equitativa de los fondos de financiamiento debe ser garantizada.
• El apoyo para las propuestas que se dirigen en sobresaltar las causas subyacentes de la pérdida de bosques, incluyendo las acciones dentro pero no limitándose al sector de los bosques.
• Apoyo a las propuestas que garanticen una protección duradera de los boques naturales y la reducción de la deforestación y degradación, mejorando las leyes forestales y aumentando las políticas de los boques, consolidando el reconocimiento de los Pueblos Indígenas y los derechos de las comunidades, a pesar de cuál pueda ser el impacto inmediato de estas medidas cuantificando en términos de emisión de unidades de carbono.
• Las propuestas no deberían considerar que permitan escalas industriales o que implique la conversión de los bosques naturales en plantaciones u otro comercio de actividades de infraestructura y proyectos que dañan el medio ambiente o violan los derechos de las comunidades locales.
• Incentivar las propuestas para las actividades que implican la plena y efectiva participación de los pueblos y comunidades locales que dependen de los bosques.
• Apoyar la restauración y mantenimiento de los bosques por los pueblos indígenas y sus organizaciones, incluyendo a través de un programa mundial para restaurar los bosques y junglas nativas, manejadas y administradas por las comunidades y sus organizaciones.
• Las Propuestas y las actividades deberían promover el buen gobierno, en particular con respecto a las políticas forestales y el apoyo a las leyes.
• Las propuestas y actividades deberían contener transparencia y mecanismo de participación para prevenir o resolver los conflictos acerca del acceso, uso y derechos de propiedad que podrán surgir durante el desarrollo o implementación de las actividades forestales relacionadas.
Agricultura (para ser incluido en 1biv)
PP Reconociendo que las emisiones de la agricultura ecológicamente nociva e intensiva químicamente son el mayor contribuyente al cambio climático, y la esencial contribución de acciones de mitigación de formas ecológicamente racional de la agricultura, incluyendo las prácticas tradicionales de agricultura por algunas comunidades locales y pequeños campesinos.
PP Recalcando que la promoción de la soberanía alimentaria es también parte vital de la transformación agricultura necesaria para atender la crisis climática. El concepto de soberanía alimentaria es entendido como el derecho de los pueblos de controlar sus propias semillas, tierras, agua y producción alimentaria, asegurando, a través de la producción en armonía con la Madre Tierra.
OP Decide dejar de producir formas inapropiadas de agricultura que son ecológicamente dañinas y que son emisoras intensivas y en vez de tomar medidas para promocionar un modelo de producción ecológicamente sustentable, que también promueva la seguridad alimentaria y la soberanía alimentaria y las formas de ganarse la vida y los derechos de las comunidades locales de los pueblos indígenas
OP Acuerda que los pequeños campesinos en los países en desarrollo tienen el derecho de controlar sus propias semillas, tierras, aguas y producción alimentaria, apropiadas y adecuadas los mecanismos de financiamiento deben ser establecidos para asegurar que se pueden mantener e incrementar el control de sus recursos.
OP Decide revisar el sistema mundial del comercio agrícola, las disposiciones de los acuerdos comerciales, prestamos y condiciones de ayuda y los régimen de propiedad intelectual para asegurar que el marco de las políticas elaboradas para la agricultura sean apropiadas para conducir la crisis climática y encontrar los intereses de las comunidades locales y proteger el medioambiente, rechazando las prácticas y tecnologías dañinas para los agricultores y el medio ambiente, incluyendo agroquímicos, semillas corporativas-controladas y uso intensivo del agua, ingeniería genética, en particular el uso de tecnología de restricción genética, los biocombustibles, la nanotecnología y la geo-ingenieria.
Mercados (a ser incluido en 1bv)
PP Entendiendo que el sistema de mercados ha resultado priorizando la competencia extrema para los beneficios y crecimiento, y que esto ha separado la humanidad de la naturaleza, estableciendo una lógica de dominación, convirtiendo todo en mercancías: agua, tierra, el genoma humano, las culturas ancestrales. La biodiversidad, la justicia. La ética. El derecho de los pueblos y la vida en sí misma.
OP No se debería utilizar un mercado internacional del carbono o una aproximación de compensación al mercado internacional del carbono de las Partes del Anexo 1 para sus compromisos de mitigación o en el financiamiento de los países en desarrollo y sus acciones que han tenido serios efectos adversos.
OP Las Partes rechazan el establecimiento de nuevos mecanismos flexible que estén sujetos al Mercado del carbono.
Adaptación (para ser incluido en Adaptación)
PP Reconociendo que la adaptación al cambio climático y sus consecuencias económicas es urgente y esencial para la sobrevivencia y existencia de las partes de los países en desarrollo,
PP Reconociendo que la adaptación al cambio climático tiene una dimensión en los derechos humanos porque si no se atienden los efectos del cambio climático no será posible la realización de los derechos económicos y sociales, incluyendo el derecho a la vida, comida, agua, vivienda y salud.
OP Los países desarrollados, reconociendo su responsabilidad histórica por el cambio climático y sus efectos adversos, por la presente reconoce y se compromete a honrar su deuda de adaptación, compensando todos los impactos negativos del cambio climático en los países en desarrollo con:
• Proporcionando los medios a los países en desarrollo para desarrollar e implementar políticas de adaptación, planes, programas y proyectos mediante la provisión de nuevos y adicionales recursos públicos financieros sustanciales, tecnologías medio ambientales razonables y construcción de capacidades de manera predecible y pronta.
• Compensando los daños reales derivados de sus excesivas emisiones.
• Compensando los costos de oportunidad; apoyando a las partes que son los países en desarrollo en sus esfuerzos para reducir la pobreza y lograr sus metas de desarrollo.
OP Un marco institucional sobre adaptación al cambio climático es establecido por la presente bajo la Convención para permitir el desarrollo de los países parte, honrar su deudas de adaptación y cumplir con sus compromisos. El Acuerdo institucional debería comprometer:
• Un comité de adaptación bajo la autoridad y guía de la Conferencia de las Partes.
• Un Mecanismo Internacional para dirigirse la pérdida inevitable y daños resultados de los efectos adversos del cambio climático, y asociando las oportunidades para el desarrollo, con las siguientes funciones:
- Enfrentar los riesgos asociados con las condiciones meteorológicas extremas, que incorpora medidas para reducir, administrar y prevenir los riesgos.
- Proporcionar la compensación y rehabilitación relacionadas con el clima en eventos previstos.
• Un mecanismo para verificar la provisión de recursos financieros, compensación y transferencia de tecnología desde las partes que son países desarrollados (dentro de una nueva entidad encargada del funcionamiento del mecanismo financiero bajo la Convención).
Transferencia de Tecnología (para ser incluido en desarrollo y transferencia de tecnología)
OP El traspaso de tecnología de un país desarrollado hacia uno en desarrollo debería ser libre de condiciones o imposiciones. En su lugar, se ha acordado que se debe tener un intercambio libre de información. Conocimiento y tecnologías, bajo los principios de solidaridad, reciprocidad, respeto, complementariedad, armonía, transparencia, equitatividad, permitiendo un dialogo intra-científico del conocimiento y de las técnicas.
OP Los países desarrollados se comprometen a compartir el ciclo entero de tecnología, principalmente las innovaciones, desarrollo, demostración, despliegue, difusión y la transferencia de nueva y existentes innovaciones tecnológicas es urgente y esencial para fortalecer las capacidades de los países en desarrollo, en particular los que se encuentran en el Articulo 4.8 de la Convención. Los países en desarrollo deben ser receptores del ciclo tecnológico en su integridad.
OP Un mecanismo para desarrollo tecnológico y su transferencia mediante la presente es establecido bajo la autoridad de la Conferencia de las Partes, que comprende:
• Un Consejo Ejecutivo de Tecnología con el objetivo de desarrollar estrategias y políticas, proporcionar orientación, aconsejar y elaborar en temas tecnológicos, y desarrollar un Plan de Acción tecnológico.
• Un panel técnico para la adaptación y mitigación tecnológica para generar y recompilar información de expertos.
• Un Plan de Acción Tecnológico para apoyar programas concretos y acciones de corto, mediano y largo plazo y programas que cubren todos los sectores.
• Un Fondo Multilateral de Tecnología Climática para cumplir plenamente el costo adicional de la transferencia de tecnología. (en concordancia con el Artículo 4.3)
• Un mecanismo de cumplimiento para medir y verificar los compromisos de las partes de los países desarrollados para la transferencia tecnológica, el financiamiento y el desarrollo.
OP La transferencia de la tecnología debe ser plenamente compensada por la pérdida de las oportunidades de desarrollo debido a los costos y las exigencias tecnológicas de los países en desarrollo que viven dentro de un restringido espacio atmosférico.
OP El conocimiento tradicional e indígena y las tecnologías forman una parte valiosa y útil del conocimiento y tecnologías que son apropiadas y útiles para las actividades de mitigación y adaptación al cambio climático.
OP Las tecnologías e innovaciones que vienen del financiamiento público destinadas para la investigación y el desarrollo tecnológico deben ser puestas en un dominio público y no bajo un régimen de patentes privadas, de manera que sean de libre acceso para los países en desarrollo.
OP Las medidas deben ser hechas para expandir las tecnologías en el dominio público. Nada en los acuerdos internacionales de propiedad intelectual deben ser interpretados o implementados de manera que limite o evite a cualquier parte de tomar medidas para atender al cambio climático, en particular el desarrollo y la transferencia de tecnologías, incluyendo el desarrollo y mejoramiento de las capacidades endógenas y las tecnologías de la transferencia y acceso de los países en desarrollo, y las tecnologías de medioambientales razonable y el conocimiento.
OP Los países en desarrollo tienen el derecho de utilizar plenamente las flexibilidades contenidas en el acuerdo de los Aspectos Relacionados a los Derechos de Propiedad Intelectual (TRIPS), incluyendo las medidas obligatorias de licencias, deberán ser excluidas las patentes en temas de clima relacionadas a la tecnología.
[1] PP= párrafo preambular; OP= párrafo operacional; en paréntesis indicaciones de la sección donde tiene relevancia.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Open Letter to The Zapatistas

As we quickly approach the 2010 Peoples World Conference on Climate Change and The Rights of Mother Earth, it seems appropriate to do a quick assessment of the current state of peoples movements across the globe.

The following is a letter, published in Spanish written by my friend and compatriot J. Sandy Hepler to the Zapatistas during his recent visit to Chiapas.


¿Que pasa con los Zapatistas?
Los amigos en los Estados Unidos se preguntan,
¿que pasa con los
Zapatistas¿ Ha muerto su
revolucion?

Un hecho sobresaliente:
Desde los primeros
dias de 1994, aprendieron pronto que la guerra armada traera mucha miseria
con poca
esperanza de una victoria clara.

Otro
hecho: De veras el pueblo Zapatista hacen las decisiones en sus
comunidades. No esta el reino
de un caudillo enmascarado.

Ni Guerra de Rotulos
Hoy en dia se ven, rumbo a La Realidad de Ocosingo
y tambien de Las Margaritas, varios rotulos que dicen, "Ya estas
en territorio Zapatista." Tambien vemos rotulos de Juntas de
Buen Gobierno, y otros con espiritù de lucha.
Y tambien vemos postes militares del
Ejercito Mexicano, y su gran cuartel en
San Quintin.
Parece que algùn jefe del Ejercito Mexican
se diò cuenta que serìa mejor para todos si dejaban
los
rotulos, dejando un equilibrio al menos-- in vez de tirar los
rotulos. Si
habìa antes, ahora no hay "guerra de
rotulos". Lo cual muestra que todavìa vive el Zapatismo.


No es menospreciar el peligro que corre siempre
de bandas armadas
derechistas. Ni el hecho que quedan todavia
alrededor de 60 mil tropas del
Ejercito Mexicano en
Chiapas.

De la Cultura Basica del Pueblo Zapatista
¿Como vive el pùeblo Zapatista? Como
enfrentan a sus necesidades mas basicos?

Lo que
comen;
Como se tratan sus aguas;

De su sistema sanitario
De su produccion agricola
Del desarollo de sus productos
De
su sistema educativo
y de su tiempo recreativo

Por UN ejemplo cada Caracol tiene unas
tiendas,
productos hechos por los amos industriales. En cada compra,
la comunidad
pierde algo de su sangre y sudor. Bebidas embotelladas y
comida
chatarra tambien tienen la desventaja de ser
anti-saludables.
¿En donde hay la
oferta alternativa de jugos, "aguas de frutas" o dulces
caseros?

Ejemplo DOS, aceites o
grasas comestibles estan necesitadas para la cocina. ¿Està
en marcha un plan--
para uso del coco(u otro) que provee el
mejor aceite tropical?
Tambien, adentro de la semilla del mango hay
un nuez con aceite muy rico y
premiado en el merc
ado mundial.
¿Cuantos semillas del mango hemos
visto tirado cada
año?
Para pequeña industria aceitera se
necesita una prensa, primer paso. Y una prensa puede
tener otros
usos. No se necesita gran inversion para empezar. Pero
sí, hay
que investigar la ciencia practica.Sobre todo, necesita estudio,
diseño y prueba por los
Zapestudiantes y
diseñadores.

Ejemplo TRES, si
el pueblo necesita pasta de dientes,
¿se ofrece tambien en las
tienditas Zapatistas la alternativa bien
conocida-- bicarbonato de
soda? U otro invento como arcilla blanca y
muy fina, talvez con
saborizante de menta natural?

Ejemplo
CUATRO, las càscaras de frutas cìtricas contienen
ingredientes poderosos, tal que se usaban desde
hace muchos
a&nt
ilde;os como limpiador ecologico en los Estados Unidos. En
tantos
casos, ¿como puede saber una poblacion aislada de
las opciones que existen?

Ejemplo CINCO, el Chocolate es un arma
poderosa para lanzar afuera. Si quieren desarollo de chocolate-- en vez
de
vender la materia prima, cacao-- hay muchas opciones que exigen
investigaciòn. ¿Hicieron estudios? Hay un plan de
desarollo?

Los ultimos ejemplos son
mas complicados y profundos; y solamente los tocamos.

Ejemplo SEIS, ¿Quien sabe cuanto el temible
Televisor, la flecha
toxica del Capitalismo, ha penetrado
Zapatalandia? Este agente de la
esclavitud moderna ya entraba en la
mente de casi todas las personas.
Somos hipnotisados con sus
mensajes de la "Buena Vida", de
mas c
ompras, siempre. Peor
todavia su mensaje una-via que nos
enseña a mirar y escuchar
pero no hacer nada. "Sientese y
tragase nuestros mensajes":
asi se mata la imaginacion y animo de
todos, hasta los niños.

Pero ¿quien va a prohibirlo? Y si
está prohibido, vuelve mas deseable
por el hecho
de su prohibiciòn?
La alternativa es
proveer opciones las cuales exigen la
imaginaciòn, como
un sistema de creatividad y
alegria. Un ejemplo seria una
càmara de pelìcula (con
bastante memoria electronica
vale $2000 pesos) y un equipo humano para
hacer su propio Novela, o
unas historias de las comunidades Zapatisitas.
Los niños
mismos aprenden hacerse astros y estrellas.

O un Circo, no s
olamente de una vez, sino
entrenamiento de largo plazo,
como parte de la vida de la gente (y
mejor, niños) quienes quieren
hacerlo. La Alegrìa no
puede esperar hasta que resolvamos los otras
problemas.

Ejemplo
SIETE, de lavar la ropa en el rio, se dice, "Hay que respetar la
costumbre
del pueblo." De acuerdo pero preguntamos-- "En
este,
¿respeta el pueblo a su ecologia? Respeta el
pueblo a sus
compañeros de los aguas de abajo? Y
sabe el pueblo del
contenido de su
jabón?" ¿Y que alternativas hay?
¿Que contienen los varios jabones? Estan
algunos menos toxicos que otros? Que necesitamos para una
pequeña industria jabonera, mas que aceite y cenizas? Donde
estan
los Zapestudiantes de la ciencia practi
ca?

Pueden decir tambien, "Mucha agua, poca
gente." Y dejarlo.

OCHO, el
inodoro es otra estafa de los amos, demasiado caro para el
pueblo y un desastre ecologico en
muchos casos.
La letrina hedionda es otro modo, conveniente y
barato, pero con desventajas bien conocidas. En ambos
casos, la
filosofìa es quitarlo y olvidarlo. Don Durito debe
saber: ningun de los dos convienen a sus amigos del trabajo, que
faltan
suelo con sus microbios y la fibra
necesitada.
"Mandamos la naturaleza por
obedecerla."
Hay
opciones para el manejo de la excrementa. No hay que escoger
entre el inodoro que exige tanto agua y tanto tuberia; y la letrina
hedionda. Mas fà
;cil es la letrina abonera, estilo
Vietnamita, en donde se imita la naturaleza para devolver
la
excreta a tierra negra con eficiencia y costo minimo.

NUEVE y mas importante: ¿estan
desarollando un sistema de agricultura sostenible? De lo que vemos en
"territorio Zapatista" (aunque no hemos visto adentro de
los
caracoles) es la vieja sistema de milpa: maiz, frijol y calabaza
conjuntos
en una cosecha. Despues se crece el monte algunas meses, se
limpia y
dejarlo secar antes que quemarla. Entonces otra siembra,
otro ciclo.
Lo que hemos visto esta en
suelo
sumamente rico, especialmente el fomdo del valle de Ocosingo y
la empieza
al menos de la Selva Laconda, fertilizado en siglos por
aguas aluviales.
Un gran suerte para los habitantes pero
¿quien sabe cuantos
a&ntil
de;os va a durar su riqueza con solo
cenizas y tal vez fertilizante
quimica para abonarlo¿ (Veiamos
tambien uso corriente de al menos
un veneno quimico en contra una de
una plaga de maiz.)

**********************************************

Hay que felicitar al Pueblo Zapatista por sus
logros; y agradecerles por su ejemplo. Ojalà que tengan la
seguridad a largo plazo.

"Mi Risa es mi espada; mi Alegria mi
escudo." Martin Luther y
J Sandy Hepler,
Chiapas, enero 2010