GLOBALISATION, ECOLOGICAL DEBT, CLIMATE CHANGE AND SUSTAINABILITY: A SOUTH-SOUTH CONFERENCE

Conference in Ouidah, Benin
November 26th - 30th, 2001
Hosted by Friends of the Earth International

During the past years, the problem of developing countries' external debt has increasingly been seen as one of the main causes of persisting poverty and hindering sustainable development.

The external debt has produced devastating economic, social and environmental effects because of the "structural" adjustment programs implemented in the third world countries for the purposes of external debt payments. The need for External Debt cancellation is on the agenda of most international and national forums in both Northern and Southern countries.

While the external debt is a well known problem, the Ecological Debt, one of the main arguments for the cancellation of the external debt, has not been taken into account, despite the great importance that this has for Southern countries in the fight to stop environmental degradation and social disruption and to claim the reparation of social and environmental damages.

An Ecological Debt, of the North to the South, can therefore be claimed, despite the difficulty in quantifying it in financial terms, and this debt can be seen as a counterweight to the External Debt. To place the claim to an Ecological Debt on the international political order of the day, would be in itself the best contribution that the South could make to moving the economies of the North towards ecological sustainability.

[ what is the ecological debt ]

The organisers believe that it is time to gather the increasing enthusiasm from Northern and Southern civil society groups and key actors in the South-South conference in order to create a platform for North-South dialogues in strengthening links and strategies in the promotion of equitable and sustainable societies.

The conference entitled "Globalisation, Ecological Debt, Climate Change and Sustainability: A South-South Conference" aims to:

+ Bring together Southern and Northern individuals, organisations, governments and institutions to raise public and political awareness on current global trends;

+ Exchange and share strategies on how the environmental movement and civil society in general, can challenge neo-liberal economic globalisation;

+ Serve as a platform for North-South dialogues in order to strengthen links and strategies in the promotion of equitable and sustainable societies;

+ Set the agenda of the South in preparation to Rio+10 in Johannesburg and beyond;

+ To establish the African Ecological Debt Creditors Alliance.

The expected outcomes from the plenary, working groups and strategy sessions include:

+ Developing common perspectives on ecological debt across NGOs and key players in the South and North;

+ Set the agenda of the South in preparation for Rio+10 in Johannesburg with the support of Northern initiatives;

+ Developing shared strategies in the promotion of equitable and sustainable societies and challenge neo-liberal economic globalisation;

+ Sharing experiences and develop case studies that highlight ecological debt cases

+ Forming of the African Ecological Debt Creditors Alliance

[ contact info on FoEI Web Site ] [ download programm as rtf ]

RESOURCES

+ Ecological Debt Campaign Web Site -- [ http://www.cosmovisiones.com/DeudaEcologica/index.html ]