Peasant Manifesto For Moratorium to use the Synthetic Biology and Geoengineering – CBD COP 11
The MPA is part of Via Campesina in Brazil articulation that brings together 11 organizations, from small peasant farmers, settled agrarian reform, rural women, rural youth to traditional maroon communities and fisherfolk and organizations linked to the struggle for land and labor with aboriginal peoples and other local communities of different identities peasant.
These organizations act to assert their identities in the development of productive capacities preserving biodiversity and other natural resources, and ensuring the exercise of the rights of peasants and farmers.
Among the major substantive issues, the 11th Conference of Parties to the CBD has its importance for us to deal with specific issues that are extremely expensive, in particular: the implementation of the Protocols of Cartagena and Kuala Lumpur on Biosafety and the Nagoya; Articles 8 (j) and 10 (c) of the CBD, and the maintenance of agricultural biodiversity and forest, the Aichi Targets, the moratorium on the use of geoengineering and synthetic biology, as well as the use of financial mechanisms (TEEB and REDD) between others that directly or indirectly affect the peasant life, free use of biodiversity and natural resources by farmers and peasants guarantee of human life on earth.
To do so, we send our recommendations to the Brazilian government, in order to contribute to the process of internal discussion of the national position on these specific topics. It seems today that despite all the effort, these are very rarely considered, prevailing interests of business sectors (international) and large corporations in the chemical, biotechnological and environmental commodities.
Thus, we reiterate and endorse the proposals listed below agricultural and forest biodiversity and the maintenance of the moratorium on the use of synthetic biology and geoengeneharia, discussed for years, especially when the depth technical and scientific debate on collective alongside our peers in the processes preparation for the conference of the CBD (COP 8, COP 9, COP 10 and COP 11). We peasants and traditional populations, we are the first to be affected by the impacts of predatory advancement of “science” reckless and market mechanisms against nature.
Brasilia, October 2012.
Movement of Small Farmers – MPA Brazil
Movement of Rural Women – MMC
Movement of Landless Rural Workers – MST
Movement of Dam – MAB
Movement of Fishermen and Fisherwomen Handcrafted – MPP
National Movement of Rural Black Quilombo Communities – CONAQ
Pastoral Land Commission – CPT
Pastoral Commission Fishing – CPP
Indigenous Missionary Council – CIMI
Pastoral Rural Youth – PJR
Via Campesina Brazil