June 2008

Crises of all Kinds - Food, Myanmar, China, Zimbabwe
Update on Kenya
World Environment Day
Fighting climate adaptation apartheid
Israel-Palestine 60 years
Sudan – Climate change
South African Churches respond to violence
Food - Who can afford it?

Crises of all Kinds

Food: Remains very much on everyone’s minds – be it for those caught up in natural or man-made political disasters, or here in New Zealand when we go to the supermarket. See page 4 for comment and resources on the global food crisis.

Myanmar (Burma): Six days after the cyclone hit, the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) reported its General Secretary Prawate Khid-arn reports, “I have never seen a disaster of this magnitude in my whole life. An urgent need of the people now is drinking water, food and medicines. There are still villages unreachable. We have to find them.” Christian World Service is channelling funds through ACT International to local organisations already on the ground in Myanmar who are attempting to meet these needs - in particular to assist 10,000 families through water, shelter and cash for work programmes.

China: A disaster of unimaginable magnitude and people cannot fail to be moved by the plight of the affected people. Unlike the case of Myanmar (Burma), the Chinese government immediately initiated rescue and relief action. ACT International partner in China, Amity Foundation, immediately sent staff to Chengu, 160 kilometres from the epicentre to coordinate relief efforts with their partners, providing shelter and supplies of rice, clean water, clothing and medicines. CWS is supporting the ACT International appeal for the work of Amity.

Zimbabwe: A disaster if ever there was one. As the agony of rigged elections, government repression and violence continues, the UN information agency IRIN reports that “hunger is giving a brutal edge to the alleged work of militias implementing ‘Operation Mavhoterapapi’ (Who did you vote for?), a campaign launched by President Mugabe’s ZANU-PF government in the wake of the ruling party’s loss of its parliamentary majority for the first time since independence in 1980. It’s the people’s hunger on which CWS and ACT International are focusing in an appeal for relief aid.

CWS is appealing for support for all of these emergency situations. Donations may be sent to PO Box 22652, Christchurch 8142 by phoning 0800 74 73 72 or through www.cws.org.nz

Kenya: Update - Resettlement of IDPs

The resettlement of thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) began early May in Kenya’s Rift Valley Province under a government campaign dubbed “Operation Rudi Nyumbani” (go back home). A police spokesman said the military was on hand to transport those who were willing to go home. However, many IDPs were reluctant to return despite assurances by government officials that security had been boosted.

At least 1,200 people died and up to 350,000 were displaced when violence erupted in parts of the country, mostly in Rift Valley and Nyanza provinces, following the disputed outcome of presidential elections held on 27 December.

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World Environment Day 2008, June 5

“World Environment Day, commemorated each year on 5 June, is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and action.

The World Environment Day slogan for 2008 is Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy. Recognising that climate change is becoming the defining issue of our era, UNEP is asking countries, companies and communities to focus on greenhouse gas emissions and how to reduce them. The World Environment Day will highlight resources and initiatives that promote low carbon economies and life-styles, such as improved energy efficiency, alternative energy sources, forest conservation and eco-friendly consumption.

The main international celebrations of World Environment Day 2008 will be held in New Zealand. UNEP is honoured that the city of Wellington will be hosting this United Nations day.

The day’s agenda is to give a human face to environmental issues; empower people to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development; promote understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes towards environmental issues; and advocate partnership, which will ensure all nations and peoples enjoy a safer and more prosperous future. “ www.unep.org/wed/2008/english/

Climate Justice: Fighting Climate Adaptation Apartheid

By Vicente García-Delgado, CIVICUS* UN Representative

“Sustainable development and climate change are one and the same challenge, and we cannot solve one without solving the other, a basic principle which received wide recognition during a recent UN General Assembly Thematic Debate on climate change.

“This is something that many of us in civil society have known for some time now, particularly those who live and work in climate vulnerable communities, amid the poverty, suffering and desperation of large swathes of the population in many developing countries. They know that poverty is exacerbated by higher food prices due to drought, desertification, flooding or lack of water, and they realise that sustainable development, and most immediately, the Millennium Development Goals, offer the only hope to break out of this vicious cycle. It’s a good thing that governments at the UN have finally reached a consensus on this.

“The world is one and we are all connected. No one individual, group or nation exists in a vacuum. Actions in one part of the world produce consequences in another. Destroy our ecosystem in one place, and we are destroying ourselves everywhere. Poverty, underdevelopment and climate change are global challenges that are intrinsically connected. And they all share a common root, too: the unsustainable and profligate ways in which economic growth and wealth accumulation have been pursued in the developed countries since the time of the industrial revolution.

“It bears remembering that the developed countries became so through unrestricted access to natural and human resources from faraway lands. The industrial revolution set in motion an unsustainable economic system leading to the present climate change predicament. In addition, unregulated market globalisation, a product of the prevailing economic system, has served to concentrate huge wealth in the hands of a tiny economic elite in both developed and developing countries. Income and net worth disparities have reached obscene levels, while poverty, inequality and exclusion remain rampant. Unable to reach even the first step on the ladder to development, billions struggle to survive without the most basic necessities. Women and children are hit the worst.”

Noting that in general poor people from vulnerable communities stand to bear the brunt of climate change impacts, Garcia-Delgardo says they are the least prepared to do something about it. Indeed large numbers of such people remain unaware of the potential impacts. As they struggle daily to access food and water for their families, such concepts hold little meaning for them (New York, London and Venice have the resources to build sea walls, but the millions living in the Ganges delta are facing a dead end. This is tantamount to “climate adaptation apartheid” in the words of Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Looking at possible solutions, he continues: “We are not necessarily talking “reparations” here, the idea that colonial powers must pay their former colonies for historical abuses. But rich countries do have an ethical as well as a legal obligation to support generously the developing and LDC countries in their quest for sustainable development and their efforts to adapt to the unavoidable adverse effects of climate change, by providing these communities and countries with development aid and adaptation assistance, and the clean energy technologies necessary to ensure that development in poor countries goes forward and remains sustainable. We all have something of value to offer, and we must all come together in solidarity for effective civil society action on climate change calculated to benefit all of Humanity and particularly the most vulnerable among us.”

(*CIVICUS – World Alliance for Citizen Participation, based in South Africa works to strengthen civil society.)

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Israel - Palestine - 60 Years

A message from the World Council of Churches General Secretary, Rev Dr Samuel Kobia:

“Just as 2008 marks 60 years of aspirations dedicated to securing a homeland for Israelis, 2008 also marks 60 years of the disintegration of Palestinian society and dispersal of some 750,000 Palestinians as refugees. To date, the situation in the Palestinian Territories reflects the absence of peace and a continuation of occupation and conflict. While Israelis celebrate the 60th anniversary of their state, Palestinians are marking six decades of displacement and dispossession.

May this anniversary year cause us all to recommit to the goal both Israelis and Palestinians share that neither can attain without the other, namely, a just peace. To that end, from 4 to 10 June 2008, WCC member churches and related organizations on five continents are organizing a collective public witness for peace. From Australia to Canada, Norway to Sri Lanka to South Africa, churches will observe this anniversary year with a week of awareness-raising and advocacy called International Church Action for Peace in Palestine and Israel. It is time, we believe, for both nations to share a just peace.”

Resource material available : http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/upcoming-events/ev/se/article/1722/international-church-acti-1.html

World Refugee Day is on June 20. CWS will have resources available by June 6 on www.cws.org.nz

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Sudan: Of Rats, Stars and Climate Change

The UN Information Service (IRIN) reports:

Northern Kordofan State, between North Darfur and Khartoum, the farmers say droughts have become more intense and frequent in the past few decades as they sip hot chai in Gereigikh village, about 100km northeast of the state capital, El Obeid. Their village was one of 17 in the drought-prone region whose residents were helped to adapt to climate change over a period of six years (1994-2000) in a project funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), an international financing body, and the United Nations Development Programme - the only such project funded by the GEF in Africa.

“While they might not know what the term ‘climate change’ means, they know the climate has changed over the years, and eight years later [since the project] they have become resilient enough to face anything,” said Abdul Rahim Ali, coordinator of the Sudanese Environmental Conservation Society (SECS) in the region.

Farmers in this region have traditionally relied on rats and the position and brightness of certain stars in the sky to forecast droughts. When they see the rats gathering food and hiding it in their nests they know there is a drought coming. In a time-honoured tradition, the farmers followed suit, burying harvests of watermelons - an important source of water for their families and livestock during summer - and their staple grains, sorghum and millet, in storage pits in the ground.

Drought episodes have increased in both intensity and duration. Rainfall in the Sahel region has declined since the late 1960s. But the drought of 1980-84, the most severe in the Sahel region, saw family and tribal structures, and traditional practices of resource management and land tenure, break down. Sections of the country were almost emptied of inhabitants as thousands of people migrated from their villages to refugee camps around towns and cities.

Gereigikh’s farmers say they have continued storing food underground for the lean season, but since the project they have learnt a few more things about survival, and how to take steps to relieve pressure on the fragile ecosystem and take care of the marginal land available for agriculture.

During the life of the project, the farmers in the participating villages were convinced not to expand horizontally but to concentrate on farming on small patches of land to prevent cutting down trees. Villages were asked to allocate a piece of land for grazing only for three to four years to help rejuvenate the soil and maintain a green cover. They managed to set aside 418 hectares in six years and have continued to maintain the rangeland. Drought-resistant species were replanted on the grazing land and helped improve the quality of meat and milk. The villagers thought the green cover had also had an impact on the ecosystem.

A feature of the project was the Village Development Committee, which provided villagers with credit to diversify their livelihoods, like keeping livestock and growing vegetables fed by water pumps; women could obtain loans to set up small businesses selling home made cheese and pasta. In the 1990s, the early years of the project, the 17 villages were also introduced to guar or cluster bean, a drought-resistant legume grown in India’s arid regions. The legume can be eaten, but is more important as the source of guar gum, which is used in dairy products like ice cream and as a stabiliser in cheese and cold-meat processing. The farmers discovered that the beans were not only a source of revenue, but the plant was an excellent fodder.

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South African Churches shocked by local response

The South African Council of Churches (SACC) has expressed deep shock and sadness over the recent spate of violence directed against foreign nationals living in Alexandra, whilst warning that such attacks should not be seen as simple manifestations of xenophobia. "We urge residents of these communities to desist from violence," said the Council's General Secretary, Mr. Eddie Makue, "and we commit ourselves to working with public servants and all those living in the affected areas to promote human security and sustainable livelihoods for locals and immigrants alike."

"As people of faith, we strongly condemn the use violence and intimidation, particularly insofar as it is targeted against strangers and uprootedpeople," Makue continued. "Christian scriptures, in common with those of the other great faiths, contain numerous passages asserting believers' responsibility to show hospitality to strangers and to protect society's most vulnerable members, including aliens."

In part a response to the growing economic pressures, groups of South Africans have been seeking out foreigners in the churches, halls and police stations where they have sought refuge, killing more than 50 people to date. The majority of the 3 - 5 million foreigners living in South Africa are believed to be Zimbabweans escaping the bitter economic and political situation in their country.

The SACC's 27 member denominations are committed to working with all those affected by these tragic events to address the underlying factors that have given rise to rootlessness, frustration and an undermining of respect for each other's inherent human dignity. "We believe that South Africa can and should do more to promote security, political stability and broad-based economic development in the region, as well as to ensure a more equitable sharing of resources and delivery of services in our own nation," Makue said.

Food – Who Can Afford It?

Three ways you can find out more about the global food crisis.

People worldwide are hungry, hurting and angry over the rising cost of food. It’s affecting all of us – not just the usual victims among the poor in developing countries. There are many aspects to the problem, some of which are laid out in three CWS documentaries with study material.

For people in the developing world, or the South, hunger has long existed. Through the ages there have been good times and bad, but overall, peoples in the South have survived through their own efforts, knowledge and ingenuity. In the past century, however, there has been crisis after crisis. Droughts and floods have always caused havoc and loss of food supplies, but now there are other factors which are dragging people further down into misery.

In Africa, for instance, loss of traditional crops in favour of introduced grains and cash crops like cotton is one big factor. For millennia people grew food plants like sorghum, pearl millet, cassava, sweet potatoes, peanuts, cowpeas and indigenous leafy vegetables and they did it in a sustainable way. What we now call “organic” farming was second nature to them and it helped maintain the environment, even in harsh climatic conditions. However, when modern methods were introduced, much of the traditional practice was wiped out and some ancient crops, which were adapted to the conditions, were lost for ever.

This accounts for much of the food problem, though there are other factors such as the rich-poor divide, due to the way the global economy works. The lack of good, honest governance in many countries is exacerbated by this and adds to the problem.

So what needs to be considered in seeking solutions for the long-term? A group of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in North America which work for social justice in the world produced a documentary exploring the dramatic changes in rural agriculture which have seen millions of small farmers worldwide forced off their land, others growing crops they cannot eat and which provide diminishing returns. It also looks at the effects of mechanisation and the control of trade in food by a few giant corporations who ignore the profound social and environmental impacts of their activity.

Available from CWS and called The Global Banquet, it is accompanied by study material which highlights the efforts of CWS partner, Monlar, in Sri Lanka, to ensure food security for local people. Monlar is also concerned about the issue of water – another vital element in the struggle to provide food in face of strong pressure on the Government from the World Bank to privatise the supply.

The CWS documentary, Water, Who owns it? deals with this issue and also with the efforts by the Monlar Farmers’ Coalition to revive and preserve traditional rice seed, a vital part of turning round productivity and ensuring people have a secure supply of the rice they prefer.

Another source of food for millions of people worldwide is their forests. Traditionally people from the Pacific to Africa, Asia and Latin America have gathered food – root plants, leafy vegetables, nuts and fruit from their forests, whose streams and rivers also provide fish of various kinds. Now too this source of food is threatened in many areas by voracious logging, mainly by outside interests which are powerful enough to override local authority.

One place struggling with this issue in the Province of Choiseul (or Lauru) in the Solomon Islands. The CWS documentary, Lauru our Land, deals with the problem and what local women are doing for other sources of income, in the hope the loggers can be turned away.

These three documentaries give insights into the underlying problems and what people are doing to overcome them. They add up to a much needed discussion about the food crisis. What can any of us do? Maybe we need to think about “living simply so that others may simply live”. Contact CWS to borrow any or all of these titles.

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