First were forests, now they want the oceans and agriculture in the carbon market

Bolivian delegation in Doha

03/12/2012

Opinión

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In the plenary session of the subsidiary body for scientific and technological advice (SBSTA), was intended to include agriculture as an activity related to the mitigation and the capture of carbon with the evident intention then convert agricultural removals of carbon in carbon to carbon market credits. This position promoted by some developed countries is unknown the role of agriculture in food security, the provision of sources of work and life to the indigenous and peasant communities and small farmers.

In these circumstances, the head of the Bolivian delegation requested the floor in the plenary session of SBSTA, to denounce that it is an attack on nature and common sense that is pushing countries to commodifying agriculture with carbon credits as it did with the forests through REDD +, as it intends to do with the oceans and the Earth.

"Mr President - express the Bolivian delegation-, in Bolivia the 37% of the population produces food that are the basis of food security peasant and indigenous and the remaining 63% of the population." Agriculture provides food, give us jobs, gives us life, is the cultural, economic and social basis of our communities, our villages, our producers. Agriculture affected by climate change, natural disasters caused by extreme weather events... cannot assume agriculture only as an element of climate mitigation (i.e., of emission and absorption of carbon)! We must mainly focus on agriculture within the framework of the climate adaptation, of the eradication of poverty and hunger... not intend mitigate our sources of life! ", expressed."

A hard debate was generated in the room and many countries have expressed the same opinion, including India, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Cuba. Position critical of many developing countries caused this issue was postponed and will be discussed during 2013 in several sessions for consideration at the next COP19.

(Doha 2 de diciembre 2012)

Unidad Madre Tierra y Agua / Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia

https://www.alainet.org/en/articulo/163054?language=en