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Mediterranean
2000
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Malta Declaration
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Building
Partnership for a Sustainable Future in the Mediterranean - Malta,
Grosvenor Hotel 29-30 april, 2000
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Representatives and experts from the following organizations
and institutions: ABA (Egypt), Allee (France), Altreconomia (Italy), Cerai
(Spain), CRIC (Italy), Crida (France), CTM/Mag (Italy), Ekoop/Global Ecovillage
Network (Turkey), Etimos (Italy), European Perspective (Greece), Friends
of the Earth (Malta), Friends of the Earth Middle East (Middle East), Medforum
(Spain, Mediterranean), Millemondi (Italy), Molisv-Movimondo (Italy), National
committee to combat desertification/ENEA (Italy), National Park of Aspromonte
(Italy), Third World Group (Malta), Unesco (Paris), participated in the
International Workshop "Mediterranean 2000: Building partnership for a
sustainable Mediterranean" held in Malta on the 28th and 29th
of April 2000 and organized by CRIC-Centro regionale d’intervento per la
cooperazione (Italy) and the Third World Group (Malta) within the framework
of a Development education project coordinated by COSPE and supported by
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Italy).
Participants stated that there is a need to building partnership between
existing and new innovative NGO’s networks in the Mediterranean to promote
local social and environmental regeneration and reduce people dependency
from transnational corporate powers.
Participants decided to strenghten their cooperation along the lines of
Agenda 21 and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
To this
effect, participants advocates:
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"crosscultural understanding",
that build on new social harmony undertaken in the light of the diverse
traditions of culture, knowledge and wisdom;
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primary environmental care" (PEC),
a community-based approach to meet basic needs through the empowerment
of local communities, while ensuring the protection of optimal utilization
of natural resources within the community and integrating traditional and
local knowledge;
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"fair trade" that promotes international
trade which is socially and environmentally sustainable, benefiting the
local economies and communities of marginalized producers and workers in
the South and connecting them with consumer groups in the North;
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"ethical funding" that is essential
if microfinance is to fulfill its potential in alleviating poverty by availing
credit to people threatened by a globalized economy and reducing dependency
from transnational corporate powers.
Priority should be given to the most
vulnerable groups who depend directly on natural resources – land, water,
biodiversity, etc. - for their survival, who are increasingly threatened
by war, drought , water scarcity, land degradation, urbanization, etc.
and thus brought into poverty. Specific attention should be given to the
Balkans and the Middle-East.
Advocacy and social mobilization
are also necessary to incorporate the concerns of democracy / people participation
and impact assessment - environmental, economic, social and cultural –
into relevant policies and strategies at local, national and regional levels.
Some activities foreseen during the
numerous informal meetings between participants:
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to provide a forum on the web for people
and organizations to engage in joint projects and initiatives and for the
dissemination of information;
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to create communication facilities (electronic
conferences and discussion groups, etc.);
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to create a database (mapping participants
areas of interest, expertise, intervention, etc.)
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to identify local producer organizations,
and build up fair trade relationships;
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to organize awareness campaigns between
producers and consumers;
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to open fair trade shops in selected
cities of the Mediterranean: Athenes, Istambul, Tel-Aviv, Gaza, Alexandria,
Tunis, Alger, Tetouan;
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Ethical funding/microfinance
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to open information desks in selected
cities;
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to implement studies in selected countries;
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to offer expertise and training opportunities
to local communities in building up their own banking support systems at
the benefit of low-income people and groups;
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to create an online seeds catalogue;
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to offer expertise and training opportunities
for practitioners; in the field of local biodiversity conservation;
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to support the setting up of organic
farming certification bodies and to offer training opportunities;
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to organize thematic workshops and field
activities: ecovillage planning and design, permaculture, community building,
etc.
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to offer expertise;
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to promote awareness campaigns and discussion
forums aiming at incorporating the concerns of peace, democracy and people
self-determination in the region into Euro-Mediterranean scenario;
to implement demonstration partnership
projects in the fields of community capacity building/ empowerment, reconstruction
and post-war environmental assessment (depleted uranium, chemicals)
Eric E. van Monckhoven
June 2000
INDEX
| Malta Third World
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