Future Perfect

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ustainable

agriculture

wildlife

food

security

consumption

and

production

patterns

able without a strong economic model. This is why Protos opted

to fund rehabilitation, but to progressively withdraw from funding

daily activities. Since 2006, all costs have been borne by local actors:

30 per cent by Water Committees, 70 per cent through local authori-

ties. A total of 33,000 people have benefited from the project, which

turned into a model in Ecuador, as community management of

water was recognized by the 2008 Constitution.

Autre Terre and Coopcarmo

Meanwhile, Liege-based NGO Autre Terre (‘Another Earth’) has

specialized in waste management in developing countries, through

solidarity economy patterns. In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for instance,

Autre Terre supports the activities of locally based cooperative

Coopcarmo. In a country where systematic waste recuperation

and recycling did not exist, the project has been supporting the

organization of waste collectors to transform their environmentally

useful activity into an economic success and a great social victory.

By sensitizing the local population to waste sorting, Coopcarmo

progressively turned into a legitimate partner to the surrounding

municipalities. The cooperative contributes to limit local pollu-

tion and gas emissions, but also reinserts resources into the local

economy. The support of Autre Terre allowed the worker-owned

Coopcarmo to invest in compactors, which helped it to move up

the value chain and increased its revenues. There are now 800

collecting points in two municipalities and a decent wage is guar-

anteed to all workers of the cooperative. As their slogan says:

‘Waste is Life!’

Oxfam Solidarity and food sovereignty

For decades, many NGOs have worked in the agriculture sector,

supporting small farmers in the commercialization of their

products. But as the ‘green revolution’ shows its social and envi-

ronmental limits, the results of the International

Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and

Technology for Development (IAASTD), issued in

2008 and sponsored by many international organi-

zations, was considered an important victory for

those fighting for a more sustainable food production

pattern. Indeed, this report shows how agroecology,

supported by many NGOs, is able to feed the world

without depleting natural resources and worsening

global warming consequences.

The IAASTD has turned into a stepping stone for those

trying to re-establish a food production model that not

only feeds the world, but also the producers, as two-

thirds of people suffering from hunger are peasants and

their families. But for NGOs such as Oxfam Solidarity,

it was only a confirmation of the sustainability of their

working model. Oxfam has supported farmers’ organi-

zations in developing countries for decades, towards

food sovereignty. In Mali, Palestine, Vietnam and many

other regions, it helps farmers rehabilitate heritage seeds,

which are more adapted to local conditions. The conse-

quences for environment and health are immediate, as

those seeds require much less pesticides and fertilizers.

But they are also important in terms of revenue, as local,

richer seeds yield final products that can be sold at a

higher price on local markets.

Article coordination: Natacha Zuinen (Member of the

Federal Planning Bureau); Jo Versteven (Belgian Federal

Public Planning Service for Sustainable Development),

Nicolas Van-Huffel (National Centre of Development

Cooperation)

Community management of water resources has been successfully implemented in Ecuador