Africa

Credit UNDP

By Borbala Csete and Andrea Eras Almeida
VIENNA, Jul 16 2021 (IPS)

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Eastern Caribbean island nation, famed for its beautiful landscapes, pristine white-sand beaches and temperate climate, attracted around a million tourists each year.

But with travel restrictions across the globe, tourism all but dried up, and the country’s economy has seen a dramatic downturn. It is estimated that, by the end of 2020, GDP had contracted by 18%, primarily due to a 71% decline in long-stay arrivals over the year.

In these times of instability, the Barbadian government is accelerating its efforts to diversify the economy and rebuild a more sustainable and resilient one. Apart from renewed activity in traditional sectors, the country aims to tap into the new value chains of the emerging global green and blue economy.

Barbados not only has ambitious plans to become the first carbon-free small island developing state by 2030, but also intends to become an export leader of cleantech products and services to the Caribbean and beyond.

Cleantech for more resilience

In this context, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in Vienna, with funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), is supporting the Government of Barbados with the establishment of BLOOM, the Caribbean’s first cleantech cluster.

Created as public-private partnership, the cluster provides shared resources and services, as well as a makerspace for companies and academia to work on joint projects, solutions and marketing. The cluster is hosted by the Barbados Investment and Development Corporation (BIDC), under the supervision of the Ministry of International Business and Industry.

Mark Hill, CEO of BIDC, said, “Cleantech is part of our “Design It, Make It, Ship It” export and business development strategy, which aims to foster the design of feasible, viable and desirable Barbadian products and services that are well-produced, sustainable and globally competitive, and can be physically shipped or virtually exported across the globe. With the BLOOM cluster we have an important tool to promote local cleantech entrepreneurship and innovation.”

“We can build on the success of the Barbadian solar-thermal industry, which has its origins in the 1970s. Solar thermal water heating reaches over 55,000 consumers today, saving thousands of barrels of oil and CO2 emissions each year”.

“Under the common BLOOM label, we will upgrade existing industry and create new ones, tapping into new technologies and business models, including electric mobility, battery storage, green hydrogen, ocean energy, efficient appliances, waste recycling, bioenergy and the circular economy,” he added.

“The cluster’s sustainable, responsible and impactful investment design-led approach to export development, embraces the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a bedrock for developing Barbadian businesses.

“The days of business-as-usual are over. We’re doing business unusual,” concludes Hill.

Matching businesses, science and beyond

Jari Aaltonen, manager of BLOOM, explains, “The BLOOM cleantech cluster is still a relatively new player in Barbados’ innovation ecosystem as it was launched in 2020 in the midst of a deep economic crisis. As of now, the cluster has 20 members including start-ups, government agencies, chambers and universities.”

“Working with young start-ups and new business development projects has great economic and job creation potential,” says Aaltonen. At the moment, the cleantech incubator is established with 10 incubatees, whose business models and business plans are under development in cooperation with the cleantech cluster members.

The cluster has engaged young cleantech entrepreneurs from the University of West Indies for the incubation programme, offering them high-quality training, individual coaching and mentoring provided by local experts and partly by international training institutions like Coursera and the International Labour Organization. “This combination is the key for accelerated learning,” Aaltonen says.

“The cluster is working at all levels: local, national, regional and global. The country’s first cleantech incubator was established with four experts, which has nearly doubled to seven since, in line with growing demand”.

The team is working very closely with their start-ups in their first two years, to help them validate their business idea and business model, secure financing, start product development and get their first few clients. Building new skills and capacities is key for the success of any start-up, and, therefore, there is a sharp focus and a lot of attention on organizing online training courses that are compact, innovative, and pragmatic at the same time.

Since 2019, a close cooperation has been established with the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Caribbean Climate Innovation Centre and the International Association of Science Parks to boost strategic partnerships between local and international businesses.

Standing out from the crowd: women and youth cleantech entrepreneur

One such organization is CEMBI (Caribbean Environmental Management Bureau), a non-governmental organization which has launched the BitEgreen Market web platform and app to increase the use of recycled materials.

CEO Simera Crawford explains that the BitEgreen app is “a solution that offers value to the community at large through the preservation of the environment for present and future generations.

“I live by a purpose which is to preserve the well-being of nature for present and future generations. I have the training and abilities to do something about it,” she adds.

Crawford also acknowledges that “building a team to foster high performance implementation of a very extensive business idea and finding assistance in marketing and communications is a challenge.” UNIDO’s programme is designed to help alleviate these concerns until the growth of the business diminishes them.

Empowering women and youth

As of now, there are ten start-ups in the incubation programme, and 60% of the entrepreneurs are women. Close to two-thirds of the clients have managed to raise financing through grants and/or loans.

Kerri-Ann Bovell is part of the cleantech cluster with her business EcoMycö, which seeks to replace traditional fossil fuel-based packaging, such as Styrofoam and high-density and low-density polyethylene, with a bio-based and biodegradable alternative. She incorporates local plant matter as the raw materials for the bioplastic films she has created so far.

“I feel like I am at the starting point of a successful journey. Thanks to the support from the incubator, I have already learned to think more critically and have gained a much better understanding of what it takes to start and grow a successful business.”
For Bovell, pushing a bio-material business ahead implies “contributing to both our Barbadian and Caribbean economies, possibly even the international community, in a manner that results in little-to-no negative environmental impacts.”

And for those who are interested in working in this field, Bovell advises “be prepared to not only work hard but work smart as well. Also, utilize the resources provided for you as much as possible.”

Pilot for global replication

The GEF-funded project in Barbados is a pilot for the Global BLOOM programme promoted by UNIDO, within the Global Network of Regional Sustainable Energy Centres (GN-SEC), which assists developing countries in the establishment of cleantech clusters as part of their energy, environment and industrialization policies.

According to Martin Lugmayr, UNIDO Global BLOOM Coordinator, “Clustering is an important tool to incentivise the private sector to strategically engage in the expanding value chains of global cleantech manufacturing and servicing. A sustainable and inclusive climate transition requires the strengthening of local entrepreneurship and innovation, also in lower and lower-middle income countries. Ultimately, it is about local jobs and environmental sustainability.”

“In the past, cleantech clustering has been predominantly a domain of industrialized and emerging countries. However, there is also a critical mass of young entrepreneurs and scientists in developing countries who are keen to work together in a collaborative platform, benefitting from joint resources, intelligence and support for incubation and industrial upgrading,” he adds.

Borbala Csete and Andrea Eras Almeida work in the Energy Systems and Infrastructure Division of the Directorate of Environment and Energy at the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in Vienna, Austria.

 

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Credit: GRI

By Margarita Lysenkova
AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands, Jul 15 2021 (IPS)

As the global community gears up for the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit in September, it is significant that preparations are also underway by Global Reporting Initiative to deliver a new sector reporting standard for agriculture, aquaculture, and fishing.

The Summit aims to leverage the power of food systems to deliver progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Yet, unlocking the contribution of companies in the food production sectors will be impossible without clarity on their sustainable development impacts.

Part of GRI’s Sector Program, which aims to deliver 40 Sector Standards over the coming years, the exposure draft version of the Sector Standard for Agriculture, Aquaculture, and Fishing is currently out for public comment. The Sector Program has a remit to provide the global best practice for transparency within sectors, helping organizations meet stakeholder expectations for comprehensive and comparable sustainability reporting.

We are prioritizing agriculture, aquaculture and fishing because these sectors provide for basic and essential societal needs: food, most obviously, but also raw materials, such as fibers and fuels. They also have shared and overlapping materiality, which steered our rationale for bringing them under one umbrella.

The Standard will add to the reporting landscape for the sectors, bridging the gap on sector topics where stakeholder expectations are evolving and scrutiny is increasing. It will deliver disclosures that consider biodiversity and natural resources, measures to mitigate climate change, as well as how to adapt farming and fishing practices in ways that minimizes their negative impacts.

This focus closely dovetails with the objectives of the Food Systems Summit, for which the pre-summit activity starts in July. The UN articulates the aims as ensuring access to safe and nutritious food for all; shifting to sustainable consumption patterns; boosting nature-positive production; advancing equitable livelihoods; and building resilience to vulnerabilities, shocks, and stress.

Margarita Lysenkova. Credit: GRI

Research and rationale

The draft Standard’s content is the culmination of more than 12 months of rigorous research by our Sector Team, drawing on authoritative sources and a multi-stakeholder process. A 19-member expert working group was instrumental in developing the exposure draft.

Reflecting diverse backgrounds, it includes representatives from five continents and constituencies, with a unique combination of sectoral skills and organizational experience, including crop and animal production, aquaculture, and fishing.

The proposed Sector Standard will help companies increase recognition and understanding on their shared sustainability challenges. It includes relevant reporting topics that are covered by GRI’s (sector-agnostic) topic-Specific Standards – for example, climate adaptation, biodiversity, waste, food safety, and occupational health – as well as introducing seven new topics.

By including topics not covered by existing GRI Standards, we have expanded the breadth of reporting guidance for agriculture, aquaculture, and fishing organizations to identify their most significant impacts – thereby supporting decision-useful data that can be a catalyst for the adoption of more sustainable practices.

The seven new topics

The newly introduced topics in the draft Standard are:

1. Food security recognizes the sectors’ central role in food production, guiding organizations to describe commitments to ensure their operations contribute to stability of food supply and access to food, including how they work with other organizations.
2. Land and resource rights calls on companies to report how they respect individuals’ and communities’ land rights (including those of indigenous people). It also asks about their operations and suppliers whose access or rights to natural resources cannot be assured.
3. Living income addresses whether companies provide enough for workers and producers supplying to them to afford a decent standard of living. The topic also deals with reporting on the proportion of employees paid above living wage.
4. Natural ecosystem conversion covers policies, commitments and monitoring tools to reduce or eliminate activities that change natural ecosystems to another use or profoundly change an ecosystem’s structure or function.
5. Soil health guides reporting on soil management plans and fertilizer application.
6. Pesticides use focuses on how organizations manage and use chemical or biological substances for controlling pests or regulating plant growth.
7. Animal health and welfare addresses the approach to animal health planning and use of welfare certification schemes or audits, as well as disclosing the use of any medicinal or hormone treatments.

Grounded in the SDGs

With positive and negative impacts that link to the SDGs, all of the topics covered in this Sector Standard, and the way it is structured, will make it easier for businesses to understand their contribution to the achievement of the SDGs – and how they can contribute towards solutions.

Perhaps more than any other sector, agriculture, aquaculture, and fishing organizations have wide-ranging impacts that touch on all of the 17 SDGs. In particular, this new Standard makes multiple linkages between topics and goals on ending poverty (Goal 1); ending hunger (Goal 2); ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation (Goal 6); promoting decent work for all (Goal 8); reducing inequalities (Goal 10); ensuring sustainable consumption and production (Goal 12); taking climate action (Goal 13); protecting life below water (Goal 14) and life on land (Goal 15); ensuring peace and justice (Goal 16); and building partnerships (Goal 17).

We need your input

The global public comment period to gather feedback on the exposure draft for Agriculture, Aquaculture, and Fishing Sector Standard closes on 30 July. We encourage you to channel your considerations on this draft’s feasibility, completeness, and relevancy by completing an online questionnaire. The more input from all interested groups and stakeholders, the more we can do to ensure the delivery of a Standard that is fit-for-purpose.

Our hope for the final Standard, which we intend to launch in 2022, is to empower organizations to achieve meaningful and consistent sustainability reporting that supports sustainable food systems and encourages responsible fishing and farming practices.

We all know that companies within these sectors are essential for providing the food and resources that human wellbeing depends on. Let’s ensure that they can do so in a way that contributes to lasting and sustainable solutions.

Margarita Lysenkova joined GRI Standards Division in 2019 and has been instrumental in the development of the new Sector Program, contributing to the GRI Oil and Gas Sector Standard and leading the pilot project for the Sector Standard for Agriculture, Aquaculture, and Fishing.

With a professional background in corporate, UN and non-for-profit sectors across four countries, Margarita’s expertise spans international labour standards and sustainability. Previous roles include working for the International Labour Organization in Geneva, and in financial reporting with a Belgian multinational. Margarita holds degrees in economics (Saint Petersburg University of Economics & Finance) and business management (ESC Rennes School of Business).

ABOUT GRI
Global Reporting Initiative is the independent, international organization that helps businesses and other organizations take responsibility for their impacts, by providing the global common language to report those impacts – the GRI Standards

 

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Excerpt:

The writer is Manager – Sector Program, Global Reporting Initiative

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Two women processing peppers in a small plant in Turkey. Credit: FAO

By Mario Lubetkin
ROME, Jul 15 2021 (IPS)

Europe, the United States and other countries have made important progress in reducing the dramatic impact of COVID-19 in key sectors of the economy and population. However, in some parts of Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East, the devastating effects of the pandemic continue to severely affect these sectors. One sector in particular, the food and agriculture sector, has been deeply impacted.

This was one of the issues discussed at the meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation held on 29 June in Matera, Italy, within the framework of the Group of 20 (G20), under the Italian Presidency. The topic of food sustainability was addressed at the meeting in view of the ongoing impacts of COVID-19.

One of the approved initiatives was the creation of a coalition in favour of food that allows countries, whether multilaterally or bilaterally, to find common paths based on successful practices that different countries have carried out throughout this period beginning in early 2020.

The idea of the Food Coalition sends a clear signal – each country, on its own, will not be able to cope with the difficulties that the pandemic has caused or worsened.

According to FAO data, over 100 million more people could fall into hunger because of COVID-19, further increasing the current figure of 690 million hungry people

This initiative is part of a broader internal debate within the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to identify ways to address the potential worsening of poverty and hunger due to the effects of the pandemic.

In 2015, more than 150 heads of state and government made a commitment, to achieve 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Two of these goals set out to eliminate poverty and hunger. If action is not taken to recover from the effects of the pandemic, we risk not being able to reach our goal by that time. According to FAO data, over 100 million more people could fall into hunger because of COVID-19, further increasing the current figure of 690 million hungry people (according to figures announced in July 2020).

On the contrary, if they continue this path, in 2030, more than 840 million people around the world could starve despite the efforts that have been made to date.

The initiative is about building a coalition with a common vision that takes into account the aspects of food sustainability, health, the environment and the economy.

The participation of different public and private actors was precisely one of the topics that was discussed during the aforementioned G20 meeting in Matera. This resulted in the launch of a call for joint global or regional initiatives that can be summarized at the meeting of the Ministers of Agriculture of the G20, to be held in mid-September in Florence, Italy.

This process of joining and coordinating common plans and actions, leaving behind certain areas of isolation generated by COVID-19 between countries and regions, should allow, for example, small producers in less developed countries to act directly with markets in developed countries. This is a consideration that is being applied by countries and producer groups in Europe, the United States, and some African countries.

In addition, incorporating into new peace agreements, for example between Israel and Morocco, the component of sustainable agriculture and food and even reviewing existing projects in different countries which were substantially affected by COVID-19 are viable solutions to move forward.

Reorientating agricultural and food strategies in the mid and long term by adopting a “one health” approach should also share a similar and complementary vision. One that focusses on the analysis of health, nutrition, the sustainable future of the planet and animals, to work towards getting out of the current risky and fragmented reality.

We must protect biodiversity, promote initiatives of young people and women in rural areas, avoid food loss that continues to exceed 14 percent of what is being produced, and generate new food sustainability scenarios, among many other aspects.

This joint effort of coalitions should help reverse the scandalous trend towards starvation and obesity (more than 1 billion people are obese, in addition to hundreds of millions of people starving), which renders the quality of nutrition as one of the challenges of the post-pandemic.

This will be one of the topics for discussion at the Pre-Summit of the Food Systems Summit, to be held in Rome between 26 – 28 July, convened by the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Thousands of participants, either physically or virtually, from presidents to ministers, academics, representatives of the private sector and civil society, are expected to be present.

The conclusions of the debates of the Pre-Summit in Rome will later be sent to New York in September, where heads of state and government will meet to reach possible common agreements.

Today more than ever, it is time to join forces, analyze the complexity of the situation, all while looking for experiences that have had tangible and positive results throughout this period.

As Pope Francis recently pointed out, it is necessary to “redesign an economy suitable for men, which is not limited to profit but connected” to the common good, an ethics-friendly economy, respectful of the environment.

Excerpt:

Mario Lubetkin is Assistant Director General at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

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By Jewel Fraser
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Jul 14 2021 (IPS)

A regular visitor to the islands of the Caribbean has become a dreaded nuisance over the past ten years. The sargassum seaweed that typically washes ashore now arrives each year in overwhelming, extraordinary amounts for reasons that are not entirely clear.

When it comes, it threatens marine wildlife, disrupts local fisheries and then dies on Caribbean beaches, leaving stinking toxic debris that drives away tourists.

The Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism is looking for ways to deal with the problem and has launched a 3-year project with the New Zealand government to turn this environmental hazard into an economic opportunity. In this Voices from the Global South podcast, IPS Correspondent Jewel Fraser hears more about the project.

 

Sargassum covers a Caribbean beach for as far as the eye can see, in 2018.
Music: Big Boi Pants by Shane Ivers – https://www.silvermansound.com

 

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Credit: UN Photo/Rick Bajornas

By P. Soma Palan
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Jul 14 2021 (IPS)

The only Planet in the Universe with living beings, including animal and plant life is the Planet Earth. Can we transform it to a Utopia, more or less, a Paradise. Yes, we can. Why not? If all Nations of the Planet have a genuine desire to have eternal peace and harmony, without recourse to a course that will lead to the destruction of the Planet to smithereens.

The end of the World War2 gave birth to the United Nations Organization in 1945. Leaders of all Nations, collectively, framed the UN Charter and adopted it as the Gospel of all Nations of the world. The primary and the fundamental objective of the UNO, inter alia, was the prevention of a recurrence of another World War and its calamitous consequences to the Planet Earth.

That is, to banish wars of any magnitude, limited or world- wide, from the face of the Earth. The World has been saved from the scourge of a multi-dimensional war for the last 76 years. But the absence of such a war does not mean the World has secured eternal peace and harmony. Limited wars, persists, including terrorism, around the world, in localized regions.

Can Peace Co-exist with Armies in place?

How could one banish wars from the Planet Earth, while nations retain armies? Isn’t the clarion call for World peace, in the midst of military, naval and the air forces, ironical, antithetical and self-defeating? It is like giving a gun to an individual and asking him to practice peace. What is true of the individual is greatly true of nations with armies.

The primary purpose, and the only purpose of an army, is to wage war and fight. That is what armies are for. The mere existence of armies is an act of violence. Armies are not meant for to practice “Ahimsa” and Non-violence. Having armies means the intention to wage war. It cannot have any other intention.

The only deciding factor is the point of time. If private people are allowed to carry guns, what will happen? There will be chaos and mayhem in such countries. Naturally, all citizens will carry weapons to defend themselves from being attacked by other fellow citizens.

What if we spent more on peace and less on arms? The United Nations General Assembly declared 2021 the “International Year of Peace and Trust”. It is also the first year of the Decade of Action to usher in ambitious steps to deliver on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Against this backdrop, the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) launched the “What if — Spesterra” Youth Video Challenge to stimulate young people’s interest and knowledge about the vital way disarmament contributes to a safer, more secure and sustainable world for all. Credit: UNODA

This applies even more to countries in a macro scale. There can never be peace and harmony. Apparent peace is only an interlude; A lull between war and peace. But never will it be an everlasting peace on the planet.

It would be argued that countries must have an army. It is a necessity to defend itself from external threats of aggression, invasion and conquest. That is because it is the norm for all countries to have standing armies. Therefore, the need for defense against threats, arise.

If countries don’t have armies, where is the threat? If the possibility for offence is eliminated altogether, the need for defense is superfluous. This leads to competition among the countries. Each country wants to outdo the other in their capacity to defend.

Thus, the fire power of the country is increased in its lethality and intensity for destruction. This is only limited to big and militarily powerful countries. It is of no significance to small countries. Small countries become pawns only in the geo-political games of large and powerful countries.
Armies and Human Civilization are incompatibles

Human civilization has reached its peak in progress and advancement. Isn’t having armies armed to the teeth with weapons to cause death and destruction, an insult to the intelligence of civilized human beings? Is it compatible with the so called higher human civilization?

Comparatively, there had not been a major international war for the last 76 years. Practically, national armies have been hibernating. To have armies without a war is a waste of human and material resources of countries. It does not contribute to the Gross National Product (GNP) of a country.

Moreover, armies existing within a country side by side with other higher and noble Institutions like Universities, Churches, Temples, Mosques, dedicated to religion and spirituality is a contradiction; an unholy existence between the Demon and the Divine.

Armies and wars are a manifestation of primitive tribalism. Paradoxically, primitive tribes, fought wars, in a more civilized and less cruel manner than the modern technologically advanced armies. Primitive tribes fought hand to hand, directly with the enemy, with simple weapons like bows and arrows, spears. Truly, they were more heroic than the modern soldiers.

Modern armies fight with technically advanced weapons by just pressing the trigger that kill, maim enemies in thousands per second. There is nothing courageous or heroic than the compulsive survival instinct to kill the enemy before he kills you.

Those who win wars with such ease with machines are decorated with medals and titles, which they egregiously display on their uniform lapels, for killing human beings. Isn’t this barbaric and uncivilized; A refined form of tribalism.

Armies generate Production of Armaments

The existence of armies inevitably leads to production of armaments in factories. Today, production of military hardware is a lucrative trade of bigger and powerful nations. What you produce needs to be sold. So, nations create a demand for weapons and military hardware by fomenting belligerence in vulnerable countries and even promote insurgencies and terrorism.

World terrorism is a by-product of nations having armies. How can preaching of world peace and harmony can be achieved in the prevailing context on Planet Earth?

Thus, other vulnerable countries are de-stabilized, and covertly instigated, and promote conflicts and belligerence, insurgencies, and terrorism in other countries for profitable business. One cannot talk of universal peace and harmony and a planet free of wars, unless and until the instruments of wars, such as standing armies, armament production facilities, deadly sophisticated weaponry, nuclear arsenals, inter-continental ballistic missiles (ICBM) and the next logical extension of biological weapons in the form of disease as an agent to kill, which is the next goal of powerful nations, are disbanded, dismantled and completely wiped out of the Planet Earth.

This is not impossible if leading nations have a firm and committed will and sincerity of purpose to achieve eternal peace and harmony on the Planet Earth.

Total disarmament is the only panacea for Peace and Harmony on Planet Earth Thus, if armies exist as a norm for the need for nations’ defense and security against possible external aggression and invasion, stockpiling of weapons and military hardware and other infrastructures, becomes a necessity and cessation of wars between nations, terrorists’ insurgencies, are an impossible goal to attain on Planet Earth.

After all the UNO is the world’s apex forum with a membership of 193 nations, big and small. All nations should voluntarily accede to adopt a Universal Convention or Agreement to do away with armies and dismantle all military hardware, infrastructures and production of weapons.

Once this ideal is achieved, permanent and irreversible peace and harmony would rein on Planet Earth. Planet Earth could be truly transformed into a Utopia.

Analogy between the Planet Earth and Countries

Planet Earth is a gigantic territory. Its population is contained in pockets of countries, which have defined boundaries. On a macro scale each country is a human settlement. The oceans, seas and the space above commonly belong to all countries.

Likewise, countries population is contained in pockets of territorial units of human settlements as homes, residencies and institutions. Rivers, lakes, forests within a country are common and belong to the country, the State. This similarity or analogy between the Planet Earth and each country, will logically demonstrate that what happens within a country could possibly happen in the Planet Earth, also.

Countries of the Planet are thus analogous to territorial units of human settlements within each country. The territorial units of a country are not allowed to have arsenals of armaments, miniature armies. Therefore, there is no threat of any territorial unit of human settlement attacking another, and annexing and expanding its territorial unit.

Thus, peace and harmony prevail in countries between human settlements. There may happen riots and mob violence at times, which are quelled by the State’s Law and Order arm, the Police Force not by guns, but by such devices as batons, tear gas, water cannons.

The fact that no one has arms and armories is the only and prime reason for the prevalence of peace and harmony in the territorial settlements. If this is possible within countries, why cannot there be peace and harmony between countries of the Planet Earth when armies and armaments are abolished?

Why should this be brushed aside as an ideal and theoretical proposition? It can be made a practical reality. What is needed is the will, dedication and commitment of all countries to voluntarily accede solemnly under Oath to an International Convention or Agreement to abolish all standing armies and dismantle all military hardware and infrastructures, including nuclear reactors.

The sole responsibility and onus lie with the United Nations Organization. This is not an ideal dream but a realizable goal. Once this is achieved, there is no need to labor for World Peace and Harmony. It will come automatically and naturally.

The Ideal, Theoretical and the Practical

My thesis for a Utopian Planet Earth would be received with expected contempt, and derisively dismissed as an idealistic dream, theoretical and impractical by the realist pundits. The world is full of practical minded realists. These practical men are an obstacle for human progress. Idealists are branded as fools and day dreamers.

Pragmatists call themselves realists. They little realize that all action, practice and reality were born out of an idea. Idea precedes practice and not the reverse. Realists are pessimists who accept the faulty and the imperfect as immutable reality. They accept the state of things as they are, as sacred and inviolable whereas, the idealists want to make the imperfect, perfect. The realists want to live with it.

That is the difference between the idealists and the realists. The latter consider themselves skillful and diplomatic with the ability to navigate through the existing reality and function within its parameters. Skillful diplomacy is another word for deceit and cunning. But the Idealists need only sincerity and honesty and will to overcome practical difficulties to realize their visionary goal.

Consequential benefits of total and complete disarmament

Firstly, the immediate and direct consequence of total and complete disarmament is undoubtedly, the Planet Earth will be free of wars between nations and within nations. Peace and harmony will reign supreme. All disputes between nations and within nations would be settled by dialogue, discussion and negotiation directly between nations, if necessary under the auspices of the UNO; Failing which, adjudication by the International Court of Justice, should be made mandatory and its decision will be final and conclusive.

Secondly, the need to defend one’s country and its territorial integrity against any foreign threat will disappear. Countries’ allocation of large portion of their National Income for defense in their budgets too will disappear. This resulting savings from human and material resources will be available for allocation to other vital segments of economic development, such as education, health, and investment on economic development, Infra-structures, poverty alleviation and raising the general standard of living of its citizens. It will increase countries’ national wealth and prosperity.

Thirdly, human resource of the defense forces can be channeled and absorbed into civilian productive sectors, if necessary, by re-training. The military hardware and infrastructures, such as aircraft, battleships, aircraft carriers can be remodeled and modified for civilian purposes such as, passenger and cargo transport. Battle tanks also could be modified for use for civilian purposes of land use.

Fourthly, abolition of armaments production facilities of countries will result in non-production of weapons. This will mean the complete closure of supply chain of weaponry around the world for terrorist outfits, and terrorism will die a natural death.

Fifthly, the Planet Earth would be turned into a Utopia, where peace and harmony, will be the norm. It is the only option opened to mankind to save the Planet Earth from total destruction from nuclear and biological wars with disease as a weapon, to which we are heading , if not in the near but certainly in the remote future.

The writer, who describes himself as a world citizen, is a peace activist with an abiding interest in the preservation of Planet Earth. He has been influenced by spiritual celebrities like Swami Vivekananda, Sadh Guru, Jiddu Krishnamurti and others.

He can be reached at: sahapalan@gmail.com

 

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