Both ENDS
Residents belonging to the indigenous Ngäbe-Bugle people living on the traditional indigenous territory surrounding the Barro Blanco dam in Panama, have filed a complaint against the Dutch development bank FMO. The bank has invested $ 25 million in the dam that is currently under construction in the river Tabasará. The Ngäbe-Bugle blame FMO for not adequately following its own social and environmental standards. FMO also violates international agreements relating to indigenous peoples. For Both ENDS, Anouk Franck is closely following FMO’s activities.
Our first edible forest is a fact! On Saturday the 29th of March, the first Dutch ‘Analog Forestry food forest’ will be opened by Rich Forests (an initiative of Both ENDS and others) together with Sustainsville on the Welna estate. With ‘analog forestry’, a method used by our Southern partners for years now, forests and forest landscapes are not only restored to their original condition, but enriched in such a way that they produce food products that can be used and sold by local residents.
This week, representatives of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are meeting during the Ministerial Conference in Bali. There is a lot to negotiate, as many countries have conflicting interests. Although the WTO is good for trade and economic development of rich countries, it doesn’t seem to be beneficial for developing countries. Our Both ENDS colleague Burghard Ilge is in Bali as the official NGO-adviser to Minister Ploumen. He will inform the minister about views and interests of civil society organizations worldwide.
In a new Position Statement on Financial Intermediary (FI) Lending, Dutch development bank FMO argues for limited responsibility over the outcomes investments that are channeled through commercial banks, investment funds, and other financial intermediaries, representing by far the bigger sector of its portfolio. In doing so, FMO is undermining its development mission, including the protection of human rights and addressing the climate crisis. FMO intends to delegate these key responsibilities to its FI clients only, falling short of best practices of peer financial institutions. In a joint submission prepared by Both ENDS, Oxfam Novib, Recourse and SOMO, we argue that FMO can do much more to ensure the protection of human rights, the environment, and to measure the development impact of its indirect investments.
As negotiations were held by European policymakers today about a possible capital increase of the European Investment Bank (EIB), a press release was issued by Counter Balance: a coalition of Both ENDS and European NGO's that monitor the EIB. As long as it's not clearly evident where the loaned money goes and no conditions are set for advancing the support of sustainable projects, the EIB is not ready for such an expansion according to the involved organisations.
Since the nineties, the production of red bush tea in South Africa has grown enormously: over 4500 people now live off of tea production. Red bush can only be grown in South Africa because of its unique ecosystem. The entire world market for red bush tea depends on South Africa. However, climate change causes increasing heat and drought which endangers red bush production. The Environmental Monitoring Group (EMG) from Cape Town - a Both ENDS partner - supports farmers who aim to develop sustainable production techniques.
In the Beginning of in October 2011 Tim Senden traveled to Arusha, Tanzania for Both ENDS. There he interviewed a number of organisations engaged in small-scale jatropha production. The two next clips show the advantages of the small-scale production model and the way in which the farmer groups sell their seeds. Watch the movies and see for yourself, if you want to respond please leave a message on our Youtube channel, or on Facebook and Twitter.
In the Beginning of in October 2011 Tim Senden traveled to Arusha, Tanzania for Both ENDS. There he interviewed a number of organisations engaged in small-scale jatropha production. The two next clips show the advantages of the small-scale production model and the way in which the farmer groups sell their seeds. Watch the movies and see for yourself, if you want to respond please leave a message on our Youtube channel, or on Facebook and Twitter.
