Climate Justice Now: Via Campesina Southern and Eastern Africa and allies’ Open Letter to the Regional Member States
LVC SEAf Open Letter
La Via Campesina Southern and Eastern Africa (LVC SEAf) members in solidarity with allies and like-minded organizations, movements and groups have launched an Open Letter on Climate Justice and Peasant Agroecology which will be submitted to Southern African Development Community and East African Community respectively. The letter expresses concern with the many challenges and impacts being faced and felt by local communities in the face of climate change. Climate Change is harshly aggravating the already hard realities of small-scale food producers across the world. This is especially true for the Southern and Eastern Africa region, where a large portion of the population directly depend on the land and Nature for their livelihoods and well-being. Outlining the major impediments to rise of real solutions to the climate crisis such as resource-grabbing which is affecting peasant communities, industrial model of food production, false solutions like Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA), REDD+, destructive foreign direct investments (FDIs), and national and regional policies, the letter clearly articulates how these have failed to address the problem.
The Open Letter moves on to make concrete demands for actions to be adopted by governments, civil society organizations and other key stakeholders, and proposals that should inform national, regional and global policies. These proposals actually go much further than mainstream solutions put forward in the Paris Agreement, in terms truly improving the lives of communities in the frontline of the climate crisis in a sustainable, equitable, just, and peaceful manner. Solutions that include the wide adoption of peasant agroecology, rooted in food sovereignty, comprehensive and people-centred agrarian reforms, participatory budgeting and policy making, all with a special focus to the protection of the rights of peasant men and women, as well as their communities.
We the peasants of La Via Campesina Southern and Eastern Africa Region and our allies express our solidarity with all struggles against false solutions to climate change and for climate justice across the globe. Standing in solidarity and hope with all the peoples of our region, we remain committed to the struggle for food sovereignty, agroecology, and rights to our territories, culture and identity as the basis for climate justice.
If you/your organisation would like to sign this letter, kindly send by email your name or that of your organisation to Brenda Muronda (lvc.seaf.climatejustice@gmail.com). Download and read the open letter in English, French and Portuguese
WE FEED THE PEOPLES AND BUILD THE MOVEMENT TO CHANGE THE WORLD!
GLOBALIZE THE STRUGGLE, GLOBALIZE HOPE!
MY STRUGGLE IS YOUR STRUGGLE! YOUR STRUGGLE IS MY STRUGGLE!
AMANDLA! AWETU!
This post is also available in Français.