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"Read the international press and get convinced of the existence of a world food crisis, caused by climate changes and drought. Get impressed by publications on malnutrition, famine and food insecurity in particular for children. Remain terrified by a fatalistic feeling that one can’t change a thing. Get used to messages of international aid organizations that large amounts of money are needed to solve one food crisis after another. And yet solutions exist!Climate change, drought, desertification and poverty are described as inevitable catastrophes of this world. Since 1994, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) tries to find ways and means to mitigate drought, to limit the disastrous effects of desertification and to alleviate poverty.
Now, discover a series of publications on best practices to combat these catastrophes and read about success stories in this combat. Finally, ask yourself why these success stories are not applied everywhere at the largest possible scale. Why do decision makers deny the existence of solutions for these problems? Or, if they don’t, why don’t they fully invest in them? It could be so easy to change catastrophes into a brighter future.
This is the crux of the matter! Scientists have developed many methods and technologies to combat desertification successfully. They have developed ways to produce sufficient quantities of food in hostile circumstances. They have shown that there should not be a food crisis anymore, if only the right investments in efficient solutions would be made.
Let us give two examples:
1. Crop losses are caused by drought in many drylands. Rainwater is infiltrating quickly, quantities of rain are lost by runoff and evaporation. Yet, very efficient soil conditioning methods exist to stock moisture and fertilizers in the rooting zone of the soil. So, why don’t we invest in large-scale application of these soil conditioning methods?
2. Fruits are eaten everywhere. These fruits contain a number of seeds. Each seed contains a germ, out of which in the drylands new fruiting plants can be produced. Yet, we throw these seeds in the garbage bin. Why don’t we send these seeds to the developing countries, where they could help to offer free food to hungry people?
With the right investments, not in resources to destroy human life, but to help people to produce their own elementary food, vegetables and fruits, there would never be a world food crisis anymore."
Prof. Dr. Willem Van Cotthem
Scientific Consultant for Desertification and Sustainable Development
Honorary Professor University of Ghent (Belgium)
Member of the Committee for Science and Technology CST/UNCCD
Consultant for the UNCCD
Consultant for UNICEF
www.desertification.wordpress.com
2 comments:
gosto do enquadramento. e este é uma prova que as vezes o titulo tem a mesma importancia que a foto em si :)
I completly agree, but you all know that the answer to the problem is rather political than technological. Its all a matter of keeping the control, as one has more negocial power than the other, as long one is in need of more essential things than the other.
The example for the seeds is in fact a good idea, but once more, many of us are aware of the Seed buisness. Once more the intention of Control is very obvious. Look at the F1 seeds, which make the farmer dependent of seed suplly, since F1 seeds are not fertily.
So, most of the food we eat bring hybrib seeds which are not genuine.
For these reasons, and as I wrote above, the solution is Political.
How to inforce a political change?
No speech but action?
I guess we all know how to do it. We just need to realise the importance of the problem and to demand and demand and demand, whithout stoping demanding...for a better, cleaner, more sustainable and fair world.
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