'Let's go beyond Hyderabad blues'

Civil society, NGOs and grass roots environmental groups belonging to the CBD Alliance here on Monday sent a strong message to the delegates gathered in Hyderabad for the COP-11.

“The CBD process should bring sharp focus on implementation of the commitments made by governments over the past 20 years,” said S Faizi, of the Indian Biodiversity Forum.

Simone Lovera, Executive Director of the Global Forest Coalition said, “We reject corporate-driven agendas to promote ‘bioeconomy’ and the financing of nature through perverse incentives like subsidies for biofuels, genetically modified trees and geo-engineering.”Gunn-Britt Retter of the Saami Council said, “In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, small is beautiful. We urge governments gathered in Hyderabad to support the biodiverse food systems of indigenous people and small farmers which have been providing food for our people for millennia.”

Ramya Rajagopalan of the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers said, “The serious threats to our oceans and coasts are well known. Indigenous people and local communities are at the forefront of these struggles to protect coastal and marine resources. Yet, in the name of conservation and development, their lives are being destroyed.”