Ian Bunn | Political & Popular Culture Arts

Innovation key to sustainable development goals (May 30 2013)Nestor Osorio Londono the Colombian administrative lawyer and Representative to the UN has been interviewed by Gustavo Capdevila for the IPS News Service in an article titled ‘Q&A: Innovation Key to Sustainable Development Goals’ In the article Osorio Londono states “I believe it [Innovation, as the fruit of science and technology] is a cross-cutting issue within many of the objectives for the post-2015 period. We’re talking about the SDGs [Sustainable Development Goals] – that is, how to do something beyond the MDGs [Millennium Development Goals] and bring together industrialised and developing countries in an ongoing process of irreversible compliance with fundamental goals for integral sustainability. …We’re talking about water conservation, more liveable cities, food security, infrastructure and curtailing (green house) gas emissions. We have to decarbonise the planet. And all of this forms part of innovation. …Those who can participate in a very efficient manner, as we have seen, are young people. Young people are and always have been involved in the origins of the biggest innovations. Microsoft, Facebook and others have been created, innovated, by 20 or 25-year-old kids.So there’s a very important link here: how innovation and connection and preparation of future work go together. And when it comes to gender equality, we’re talking about the same thing. …I think they could do it with a fundamental commitment by governments, which translates into budget allocations. The partnership between government and private sector is also essential throughout this process. I’ll cite an example of what we have done in Colombia: the policy of President Juan Manuel Santos has been to earmark – and a law was approved to this end – a portion of oil and mining industry royalties to the Institute of Sciences and Technology. …Companies gradually discover what their needs are and how they have to adapt to the requirements of sustainability. (For example), there can’t be investment in projects that use huge quantities of water, because that is wasteful. Companies have to adapt to the requirements that the world presents…”

Inspired by Gustavo Capdevila, IPS News ow.ly/kBeTC Image source Twitter ow.ly/kBg0S

Saquina Mucavele the executive director of MuGeDe – Mulher, Genero e Desenvolvimento (Women, Gender and Development), a Mozambique-based non-profit organisation with a focus on sustainability, rural development and gender, especially as related to climate change, has been interviewed by Sabina Zaccaro for the IPS News. Mucavele states in the interview “Networks and cooperatives are the right strategy for farmers’ development (provided) they have support and good leadership. Working cooperatively is not only about being involved in common work, it also enables members to share their problems and find collective solutions. There is even the possibility of creating a common market, and other facilities such as hospitals, education centres and banks, for members. By gathering in a cooperative, rural women can strengthen their voice to advocate for rights. …In order to improve productivity and farming methods, rural women need technical advice, information and training. A good development strategy would recognise the (crucial) role of educating and training rural women to improve production and productivity; promote women-friendly farming technologies that could reduce (the work day) and give women more time for political participation within the community and for other income-generating activities; and institutionalise their involvement and participation in the conception, formulation and planning of policies. They cannot continue to be seen only as ‘beneficiaries’ but a group in possession of (valuable) knowledge that can advance rural development and also contribute to the national economy. Finally, it is vital to support and assist women in the registration of and access to land titles and facilitate the issue of credit, especially for smallholder women farmers. This should (ideally) be done through a fund to support women farmers and the creation of women’s banks in rural areas where members can access credit under favourable terms.”

Inspired by Sabina Zaccaro ow.ly/fuGdY image source Poptech ow.ly/fuGcw

Our view of world will have to change (April 26th 2012)

Robert Costanza the 61 year old USA ecological economist and professor of sustainability has published an article on Aljazeera questioning what we can expect from Rio+20, arguing “We should engage in a global dialogue to envision the future we want – and devise an adaptive strategy to get us there.” In the article Costanza states, “…Rio+20 may be the most critical and potentially most influential meeting of its kind ever. What would have to happen for this to occur? In a nutshell, our view of the world will have to change. Our fundamental goals will have to change from an unsustainable emphasis on economic growth to a much broader vision of human well-being that acknowledges our dependence on nature and on each other. …The ongoing financial crisis, the climate crisis, the crisis of well-being and happiness and the Occupy movement, all represent accumulating trends. The Rio+20 meeting could be the trigger to get off the growth bandwagon and start down the path to a more positive vision of the world we all want… We may have to wait for deeper crises, for a more severe collapse. I hope not. While it is not wise to raise expectations too high, it is also not wise to give up hope. Let us hope for the best.”

Inspired by Robert Costanza http://ow.ly/anDTS image source Eppyie http://ow.ly/anEi6