Wednesday 25 May 2016

GREEN FEATURES (MARCH 2016)





(1-30)   March 2016 (Monthly)


GREEN
      FEATURES
                                                     
                                                    - जलवायु संकट, पारिस्थिकी
                                                    - प्रदूषण                
                                             - आदिवासी विमर्श
                                              - कृषि और किसानी
                                        - जल दर्शन
                                                  - देशज ज्ञान और स्वस्थ
                                     - विविध


Swaraj represents a genuine attempt to regain control of the 'self' - our self-respect, self-responsibility, and capacities for self-realization - from institutions of dehumanization. As Gandhi states, "It is swaraj when we learn to rule ourselves."  


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विषयवस्तु


जलवायु संकट:
·   Climate change to force deadly diet shift

आदिवासी विमर्श:
·                           Maharashtra Govt. takes back control over tribal forests and trade in forest goods
·                          Bewildering Biodiversity – A Success Story of Food Security for Indigenous Peoples in India
कृषि और किसानी:
·                          Government  mulls fresh study on post-harvest loss of farm produce
·                     Budget allows 100 per cent FDI in marketing of locally produced, manufactured foods
·                          Philippines signs new GMO rules, food industry relieved
·                        Budget allows 100 per cent FDI in marketing of locally produced,   manufactured  foods
·                        Watch a Punjabi farmer tell us about the agricultural philosophy around good food! 

जल दर्शन:

            Women “Water Friends” Script a Success Story
Water: Dr. Sirshendu De

देशज ज्ञान और स्वस्थ:
·       What Aloe Vera Does In Your Body: Why Egyptians Called It The Plant Of Immortality

विविध

·         Is Budget 2016 all about ‘Swachh Bharat’ and a rustic touch?

·                                 आवास योजना की दूरी किश्त के लिए भटक रहे वृद्ध दंपति
·                                 Civil Society to Build Bridges With Private Sector
·                                 How tech transfer initiative can deliver the SDGs

*****


जलवायु संकट


Climate change to force deadly diet shift

03/03/16;  Tania Rabesandratana

 

 



Copyright: Jacob Silberberg / Panos
·       *  Temperature and precipitation changes likely to cut global harvests
·        *Fruit and vegetable consumption set to fall, raising health risks
·       *  Earlier study said climate change-driven undernutrition will kill 85,000






आदिवासी विमर्श

Maharashtra Govt. takes back control over tribal forests and trade in forest goods

Move comes despite RSS affiliated organisation opposing such regulations (March 9, 2016, business-standard)






Maharashtra government has finalised regulations that will allow it to wrest back control from tribals over the lucrative forest trade in goods such as bamboo and tendu leaves worth thousands of crores annually.

This also involves management of potentially 80% of community forestlands in the state after the Union Tribal Affairs ministry’s volte-face on interpreting the Forest Rights Act.

The Forest Rights Act makes tribal and other forest-dwellers’ gram sabhas (village councils) as the sole statutory authority to manage, protect and utilise traditional community forestlands. But, Maharashtra government prepared alternative state-level regulations that would help the forest department retain complete management control over such community forests in villages.

The tribal affairs ministry after repeatedly informing the state and other arms of the central government that the regulations were illegal and unconstitutional unless approved by the President of India, eventually relented and gave the nod with some caveats. The Maharashtra government has taken the cue and gone a step further. 

State government documents reviewed by Business Standard show that the state has decided these regulations, powering the forest department to retain control, will be applicable in all but three situations.

The rules, Indian Forests (Maharashtra) (Regulation of assignment, management, and cancellation of village forests) Rules 2014 will not be applicable in schedule V areas, in areas where rights of tribals have already been settled under the Forest Rights Act and in places where claims of tribals are pending.

The state has 16,600 odd villages with forestlands in their territories. Under the Forest Rights Act, the government a claim for community ownership arises in each of these villages. But as per tribal affairs ministry’s latest records, by December 2015, only 7,152 villages had formally put forth claims for community forestlands under the Forest Rights Act. Out of these 3,957 claims were accepted and 1,843 claims rejected.

In other words the Maharashtra government will be able to re-impose the forest department’s fiat in around more than 11,000 village forests (excluding those in the schedule V designated areas). As per a conservative estimation of the Washington-based think tank Rights and Resources Initiative,  the state has 3.6 million hectares of forests that could legally be handed over to tribals and forest-dwellers as traditional community forests under the FRA. Maharashtra government has so far given community rights over 349,437 hectares in comparison. A large chunk of the rest 3.3 million hectares of these forestlands could now potentially come back under the state forest department’s management control. 

Documents reviewed by Business Standard shows that the RSS-affiliated Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram too wrote to the state chief minister asking that these regulations be done away with claiming that the imposition of these state regulations was formenting anger in the state. But the state government has decided to go ahead and retain the regulations with modifications. 

The tribal affairs ministry too had earlier warned that the identification and settlement of community rights of tribals was in nascent stage across the country, including Maharashtra and the state could not impose its own system till all the rights of the people were settled. It had warned that this would be to the detriment of the tribals and other forest-dwellers.

But it was eventually convinced to change its legal stance with the cabinet secretariat weighing in, the Maharashtra government persistently lobbying and Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar and Nitin Gadkari – both BJP leaders from Maharashtra – asking tribal affairs ministry to back off.  

The preamble of FRA notes that the law was passed to correct the historical wrong done when tribal and others’ forest lands were taken over by the government summarily during the colonial era. Since then the forest department had retained control over these forests and the trade in forest produce, which the erstwhile Planning Commission estimated was worth Rs 50,000 crore annually. This also led to hundreds of thousands of tribals being termed as encroachers on their traditional lands in government records.

Under the rules that Maharashtra state forest department is imposing, the state forest department would have the powers to decide if and how tribals get access to their community forests by defining them as ‘village forests’. It would get to decide how the tribals sell forest produce and what revenues they can get from it. The forest department would also have the powers to withdraw these rights of tribals if it believes that the tribals and other forest-dwellers are not meeting the standards state government has set. In contrast the Forest Rights Act makes the tribal and forest gram sabhas the statutory authorities, without a role for forest department, to protect and manage their traditional forest resources.

This sets in place a route that other states also could follow to bypass handing over rights to tribals over their community forests. Madhya Pradesh has already followed suit

Bewildering Biodiversity – A Success Story of Food Security for Indigenous Peoples in India

CHIDAMBARAM TALUQ, CUDDALORE DISTRICT, India, Nov 20 2015 (IPS) - The 2013 National Food Security Act of the Government of India seeks, according to its preamble, to “provide for food and nutritional security by ensuring access to adequate quantity of quality food at affordable prices to people”.
Despite rapid economic growth and gains in reducing poverty, India has with among the highest levels of hunger and malnutrition in the world.
Although the National Food Security Act is crucial for the poor, it is especially critical for the persistently excluded and Indigenous Peoples of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, as the Irula tribal community in the northern districts of Tamil Nadu, a state in south-eastern India.
The Biodiversity Act 2002, the National Disaster Management Act 2005, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005, the Forest Rights Act 2006, and the Food Security Act 2013 have helped the near starving indigenous community of Irulas overcome lack of livelihood and food security, and has helped in augmenting conservation of biodiversity.
“A very important change which has taken place in our country in the last ten to fifteen years… is shift from reappraisal approach to rights approach. The Right to Food. The Right to Education. The Right to Employment. The right to your biodiversity” said Prof. Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan, universally known as “Indian Father of Green Revolution” for his leadership and success in introducing and further developing high-yielding varieties of wheat in India and former member of the Upper House of the Indian Parliament.






कृषि और किसानी




 Source:   The Hindu 11 March 2016


Budget allows 100 per cent FDI in marketing of locally produced, manufactured foods

Down to Earth
Source:http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/budget-allows-100-per-cent-fdi-in-marketing-of-locally-produced-manufactured-foods-52974


Philippines signs new GMO rules, food industry relieved
Mon Mar 7, 2016 
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-philippines-gmo-idUSKCN0W90MK




Environmental advocates carry over their heads a giant purple globe, which participants say represents their unhappiness towards genetically modified organism (GMO) products, in Manila in this October 2, 2014 file photo.
REUTERS/ROMEO RANOCO/FILES

The Philippines has approved a new set of rules on genetically modified organisms after a top court demanded an overhaul of previous regulations, providing relief to farmers and importers worried that any delay would spark a food crisis.
The five ministers that needed to sign the rules had done so as of Monday, Merle Palacpac, chief of the plant quarantine service at the Bureau of Plant Industry, told Reuters.
The new rules will now be forwarded to the Department of Agriculture, with Palacpac saying they would likely take effect by April.
The Supreme Court in December halted the issuance of fresh permits for planting or importing genetically modified crops until the new rules were in place, putting in limbo nearly 1 million corn farmers and buyers of GM soybean meal, the Philippines' top GMO import.
The court was acting on a petition by environmental activists led by Greenpeace, with the move likely closely watched by governments elsewhere as the Philippines is seen as a trailblazer for GMO.
Greenpeace on Monday said it would take further action against the new GMO guidelines.
"Definitely there will be action but we haven't decided (what it will be) yet," said Greenpeace campaigner Leonora Lava, adding that it would discuss options with other petitioners and allied groups.
The new rules are expected to improve transparency in the approval process for permits to plant, import and commercialize GM products, including enhanced regulations on risk assessment and involvement of local governments, said Palacpac.
"The technical working group made sure that these concerns by the Supreme Court have been addressed," she said.
The government had aimed to have the regulations signed by the five ministers on Feb. 24, but that was delayed as some officials were traveling.
While importers of soymeal welcomed the new regulations, they were concerned it could now take longer to get permission to ship in GM crops.
Under the old rules, feed millers were only required to get sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance for soybean meal that they shipped in, said an industry source. But it is unclear whether they now will also have to get a separate biosafety permit, the source added.
The Philippines was the first in Asia to approve commercial cultivation of a GM crop for animal feed and food in 2002 when it allowed GM corn planting. It has also allowed GM crop imports for more than a decade. Around 70 percent of its corn output is GM.
GMO's critics argue the technology poses risks to public health, while advocates say such fears have not been scientifically proven and that high-yielding genetically altered crops would help ensure food security as the world's population grows.
(Reporting by Manolo Serapio Jr. and Erik dela Cruz; Editing by Joseph Radford)

Budget allows 100 per cent FDI in marketing of locally produced, manufactured foods Karnika Bahuguna    

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday announced 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in marketing of food products manufactured and produced in India, a move which has drawn mixed responses from various segments of stakeholders.
While presenting the Union Budget for 2016-17 (April-March), Jaitley said the FDI policy has to address the requirements of farmers and the food processing industry.
“A lot of fruits and vegetables grown by our farmers either do not fetch the right prices or fail to reach the markets. The food processing industry and trade should be more efficient.”
According to the finance minister, the move would benefit farmers, give impetus to the food processing industry and create vast employment opportunities. While industry participants hailed the announcement, farmer representatives refuted the claim tooth and nail.

“FDI will not benefit small farmers at all because procurement will be done from large farmers whose produce meets the procuring standards of multinationals,” said Dharmendra Kumar, director, India FDI Watch and secretary, Jan Pahal. Kumar has been associated with developing sustainable distribution channels for agriculture produce.
“It could also push small farmers out of the local market as their produce is seasonal and small which might not be able to compete with the flood of processed food by multinationals. Processing also means adding chemicals to increase the shelf life of food. It is detrimental to public health at large.”
Another school of thought supported the government decision and said it would be beneficial for the domestic industry.
Amit Dhanuka, President of All India Food Processors’ Association, hailed the move saying it was beneficial for farmers and the industry till the time the riders related to local sourcing were maintained.
“The positive thing about this move is that anyone can set up a store in India with 100 per cent FDI provided they are selling local produce. The sourcing has been linked to Indian products which will benefit Indian industry and farmers. Through the FDI, multinationals will invest in backend integration, supply chains, cold storage etc,” he said.
According to Dhanuka, around 70 per cent of perishable farm produce is wasted due to lack of a proper supply chain. Investment in supply chains will reduce wastage and ease availability of foods at reasonable prices, he added.
However, Dharmendra Kumar rebuts the claim saying only 20-30 per cent fruits and vegetables get wasted due to lack of a proper supply chain and even the super market model was not waste-proof.
“It is a myth that wastage happens only in the traditional market. multinationals and retail giants, too, have large wastage owing to various reasons. For instance, there is hidden wastage owing to standards like particular size or colour of fruits and vegetables. A large part of the produce gets rejected because it does not meet those standards,” Kumar said.
The 100 per cent FDI will be allowed through the route of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board which offers a single window clearance for investment proposals.
According to Prashant Khatore, partner, Ernst & Young, “The move tries to identify the problem between manufacturing and marketing. The problem is most of the food produced locally does not reach the market because of the lack of a supply chain. In order to bridge that gap, the government is allowing FDI.”
However, Umendra Dutt, executive director, Kheti Virasat Mission said the move was aimed at shelving the country’s food security, safety and sovereignty.
“Food is part of our civilisation and bringing business into it is detrimental. When profit drives decision making, food gets commoditised which is unacceptable to us.”


Watch a Punjabi farmer tell us about the agricultural philosophy around good food! 












जल दर्शन


तालाब कहीं कब्जे से, कहीं गंदगी से तो कहीं तकनीकी ज्ञान के अभाव से सूख रहे है। कहीं तालाबों को गैर-जरूरी मानकर समेटा जा रहा है तो कहीं ताकतवरों का कब्जा है। ऐसे कई मसले हैं जो अलग-अलग विभागों व मदों में बंट कर उलझे हुए हैं। इतने बड़े प्राकृतिक संसाधन के संरक्षण के लिए स्वतंत्र, अधिकार-संपन्न प्राधिकरण जरूरी है







 
Water:    Dr. Sirshendu De

(Dr. Sirshendu De, Professor of the Chemical Engineering department of the IIT, Kharagpur, has been selected for the Innovation Award 2016 for developing low cost eco-friendly laterite based arsenic filter for providing safe drinking water for less than 3 paisa per litre. The award will be given by Indian Desalination Association (South Zone)for this technology.)

IIT Kharagpur scientist develops low cost water filter :

NEW DELHI: A leading scientist at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur have developed a low-cost eco-friendly water filter that can provide safe drinking water for less than 3 paise per litre. 

Sirshendu De, who heads the department of chemical engineering, has been selected for the Innovation Award 2016 by Indian Desalination Association (South Zone) for developing this technology, an IIT Kharagpur spokesperson told ET.

The laterite-based filter is maintenance free, easy to operate, and capable of treating 80-100 litres of water a day, the person said. "As the filter does not require any regeneration or backwashing, the costing of the treated water is less than 3 paise per .. 

More than 200 million people are affected worldwide by arsenic menace and over 100 million people in India and Bangladesh are at risk to arsenic contamination.

De's filter can absorb arsenic to the extent of 32mg per gram of material. It is made from naturally occurring red laterite soil which undergoes chemical treatment to enhance its capabilities to absorb arsenic. The filter has comparatively long life of about five years with no regeneration of the absorbent (filter medium) require .. 
during its lifetime.

The arsenic concentration of filtrate is always within the WHO drinking water permissible limit, independent of the ground water concentration, the IIT spokesperson said. 








Women “Water Friends” Script a Success Story



Kamlesh Kumari – a “Water Friend” in Dharaupur village of north India’s Uttar Pradesh state demonstrates a tool kit she uses to repair hand-pumped wells. “We don’t want to depend on anyone for small water problems,” she says. Credit: Stella Paul/IPS

MAMNA, India, Mar 8 2016 (IPS) - Prema Bai, 58, bends her head and pushes hard her wheelchair on the village road. In the early afternoon, the village of Mamna appears almost deserted although it is home to 742 families and is located in Uttar Pradesh – India’s largest and most populated state. Thanks to a severe drought, every man and woman under 50 has fled Mamna in recent weeks, leaving behind the elderly and women with very young children. “They thought we were like cattle, a burden in this hard time because we only eat but yield no returns,” says Bai whose two sons and their wives also migrated to Agra — a city 255 km away — to work in a brick kiln.

They were wrong: despite being paralysed from her waist downwards, Bai is working along with her women neighbours to end the water crisis in her village. Dressed in blue that symbolises water, Bai and her fellow women have a new name for themselves: ‘Jal Saheli’ (meaning ‘Water Friend’ in Hindi).

Demanding women’s first right to water
Under the Indian Constitution, discriminating against anyone on the basis of caste or religion is a crime. But in Mamna,, those from the “higher” castes, enjoy more power or rights than those from the dalit and tribal communities. So, when it comes to fetching water from the community pond or well, women of dalit and tribal women must wait until those from the higher castes have first filled their vessels. Often, higher caste men also draw water from the community pond for irrigation or bathing their cattle, without any consideration for women waiting to collect water for their families.
In 2011, under a European Union (EU)-funded project, women from dalit, tribal and muslim families in 110 villages in three districts – Hamirpur, Lalitpur and Jalaun – began to stand up against this cycle of discrimination and claim their right to local water sources.
“These villages are part of a region called Bundelkhand. Here, every woman spends about 3- 5 hours daily to get water because it is thought to be a woman’s duty to fetch water for her family. We felt that only a women-led movement could ease this huge water burden,” says Satish Chandra, activist and trainer at Parmarth Seva Sevi Sansthan – a local charity that works with marginalised people of the region and is implementing the EU-funded project.
Planning Their Own Water Security
Kunti Devi, another Jal Saheli from Mamna village, says that as the first step towards making their village water secure, the women formed a special group called the “water council”. The council drew a map of their village that detailed all the existing water sources including irrigation canals, torrential streams, wells, ponds and bogs and their current status. Next, the council counted the population of the village and calculated the daily water needs of each family. Families living close to the water and far from it were identified. Finally, the women made a detailed plan to cleanse, revive and protect the water sources from indiscriminate use.
“We call it our water security plan,” says Devi adding that “it has details of our water vulnerabilities and measures that we must take to overcome them.”
Facing Climate Hurdles
But, despite their sincere efforts, achieving total water security has been a long-drawn battle and so far 34 of the total villages have become water secure, informs Manvendra Singh – another trainer at Parmarth. The main hurdle, say women, is that the Bundelkhand region has been hard- hit by successive droughts. For example, between June 1 and September 30, 2015, Lalitpur district received only 321.3 mm of rain, which is 66 per cent less than normal, says the Indian Meteorological Department. In November 2015, the government of Uttar Pradesh declared all the seven Bundelkhand districts as drought-affected.
According to Jal Saheli Kamlesh Kumari of Dharaupur village, “We wanted to deepen the village pond this year, but dropped the plan because of the drought. The government has installed a borewell for watering the wheat fields. Next month (when the fields don’t need any more watering), we will draw water from this borewell and fill the pond. But because of the heat, water is evaporating faster than usual, so we have to fill it every 2 weeks or so.”
Rapidly depleting ground water level has been another concern. “In 2011, when the project was first launched, the average water level was 60 feet. Four years later, it has dropped at least by 10 feet,” Chandra of Parmarth informs.
Learning Skills That Matter
Although a few villages like Bamoria have tap water — a result of their intense lobbying local officials — most villages still depend on government-installed hand-pumped wells for their daily water needs since ponds and streams dried up. However, hand-pumped wells also break down often, so the women have learned to repair them. “The most common problems are a worn washer, a broken pin or a loose bearing etc which makes the handle too shaky to pump water. Now we fix all these problems ourselves. Only when the water level goes down, we depend on the government to deepen the well,” says Kamlesh Kumari.

Running for Public Office
Jayati Janta – a Sahariya tribal woman and a Jal Saheli was recently elected the head of Rajawan village council despite stiff opposition from men of higher castes. Only 2 months into office, Janta is already implementing the water security plan that includes building a percolation tank to recharge the ground water in the village. “Every woman is donating labor for this,” she says.
Others believe that Janta’s election will be a turning point. “A Jal Saheli knows local women’s struggle for water. If we can have a few more ‘Jal Saheli’ in the public offices, we can change this region,” says Lalita Dube, a Jal Saheli in Bhadauna village.
This story is based on interviews of women in over 20 villages. Additionally, the writer has relied on a documented study of the project.











देशज ज्ञान और स्वस्थ



What Aloe Vera Does In Your Body: Why Egyptians Called It The Plant Of Immortality   March 9, 2016 by Alanna Ketler




Known to the Egyptians as the plant of immortality and to Native Americans as the wand of heaven, aloe vera comes with a wide array of amazing healing properties — some of which you may already be aware. You might even have your own aloe vera plant in your home for those small emergencies like scrapes, cuts, and burns, but did you know that aloe vera is not only limited to topical use and is actually even more beneficial to your body when taken internally?
Aloe vera contains over 200 biologically active, naturally occurring constituents which include polysaccharides, vitamins, enzymes, amino acids, and minerals that promote nutrient absorption.
According to The Journal of Environmental Science and Health, aloe vera also possesses anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal properties that assist the immune system in cleansing the body of toxins and invading pathogens. But that isn’t all aloe vera juice/gel has to offer.[1]
Minerals
Aloe vera has loads of minerals including calcium, magnesium, zinc, chromium, selenium, sodium, iron, potassium, copper, and manganese. These minerals work together to boost metabolic pathways.
Enzymes
Aloe Vera contains important enzymes like amylase and lipase which can aid in digestion by breaking down fat and sugar molecules. One molecule in particular, Bradykinase, helps to reduce inflammation.
Vitamins
Amazingly, aloe vera is one of the few plants that contains vitamin B12, which is required for the production of red blood cells. This is great news for vegetarians and vegans in particular, who often do not get adequate amounts of B12 through their regular diet. Aloe vera is also a source of vitamins A, C,E, folic acid, choline, B1, B2, B3 (niacin), and B6.
Amino Acids
Aloe vera contains 20 of the 22 essential amino acids that are required by the human body. It also contains salicylic acid, which fights inflammation and bacteria.



Medical cannabis has shown to be extraordinarily capable of naturally healing the body.  But this report shows a healthy side of using weed that we didn’t expect.
A study put out by the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2014 made an interesting discovery.  In every state that had legalized medical marijuana between 1999 and 2010 (originally 13 states,  and in 2016 has risen to 23 states in all), there was a 25% reduction in deaths related to the overdose of legally prescribed opioids.
The findings became apparent and was noticed by study co-author Colleen Barry, a health policy researcher at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. 
“The difference is quite striking”, she said.  She also notes that the trend became visible in every state a year after the medical cannabis was legalized.
The Findings …  Why Weed Is Safer Than Pills
  1. Barry says that it is “basically impossible” to die from an overdose on weed and suggests the substitution is the most likely reason for the reduction in deaths.
  2. The study suggests that patients experiencing chronic pain can substitute or supplement cannabis for their pain prescription. 
  3. Patients are able to take smaller (or no) doses of the prescription drug and are less likely to experience an overdose.







विविध

How tech transfer initiative can deliver the SDGs
08/03/16 Nick Ishmael Perkins
Science and technology underpin the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and without a pragmatic approach to fostering research and implementing new technologies, the goals will remain aspirations.   Last year, to secure a prominent place for science and technology in the post-2015 agenda, the Addis Ababa Action action Agenda on development financing and the outcome document on the SDGs both recommended creating a mechanism to assist developing nations.   The Technology Facilitation Mechanism will aid sustainable and lasting scientific capacity building that responds to the specific needs of each country. It will also help coordinate the activities of other UN agencies.   In this interview, we speak with Elmer William Jr ColglazieR, a science diplomacy expert who is one of the ten members on a UN panel created to support the new mechanism. He explains the story of the mechanism and what needs it intends to address, and looks at future challenges.



Civil Society to Build Bridges With Private Sector


UNITED NATIONS, Mar 2 2016 (IPS) - To successfully implement the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by world leaders last September, it is time for “Turning Conversations into Action.”
This was the theme of the Third Annual Power of Collaboration Global Summit, organised by IMPACT Leadership 21 — a global platform which provides inclusive and innovative leadership solutions driving change.
The summit, which took place on February 29 at the Economic and Social Council Chamber (ECOSOC), was the occasion to launch IMPACT Leadership 21 “500”: an initiative that offers a service aimed at distributing press releases to international organisations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in order to bridge the gap between civil society and capital markets.
The project is co-sponsored by media partners iCrowdNewswire and Inter Press Service (IPS), an international news agency focusing largely on the developing world.
Hector Botero, President of iCrowdNewswire, told IPS: “Civil society has been largely ignored in the financial markets, but there is a growing interest in investing in issues, causes and in doing impact investments. Like various companies that use tools to effectively communicate with capital markets, the civil society needs to do the same.”
For a long time now, costs have also kept civil society away from engaging with the private sector, said Constance Peak, chief financial officer (CFO) and co-founder of IMPACT Leadership 21.
“But this initiative is free, and NGOs can start having their press releases published just like the big companies, except they are not going to pay $5,000 to $10,000. We have finally bridged the financial gap and now we will help NGOs to craft their messages,” Peak told IPS.
The aim of the IMPACT Leadership 21 “500” is to recruit 500 organisations from all countries and regions worldwide, regardless of cause, size or financial resources, and offer them a space where, through high quality corporate communications guidance, they can increase their visibility, raise awareness, and advocate for their goals.
Botero said iCrowdNewswire — a company founded in 2015 and marketing technology software — is partnering with IPS, a news agency that has a track record of nearly 52 years in the field of news dissemination, and is recognised by ECOSOC as an NGO.
“(We’ll) be able to deliver these services and help organisations to communicate with stakeholders, investors, consumers, regulators, institutions and governments. This is going to be the way to generate the appetite from those that have the money to invest in civil society projects,” he added.
This collaboration will guarantee positive results – said Botero. IPS receives over 5,000 to 10,000 press releases a month, from NGOs worldwide, but it is difficult for the agency to publish all of them, he added.
“Through our system and our platform, we guarantee publishing and assistance to all these organisations, at absolutely no cost, while providing them with a voice, tools to enhance their media exposure and subsidising them.”
Co-sponsoring the Third Annual Summit along with IMPACT Leadership 21, were in the Foundation for the Support of the U.N. (FSUN), the Mission of the Czech Republic to the U.N. and other private partners such as IBM, Microsoft, Bloomberg Philanthropies and Eclat Impact.
As Botero pointed out, the summit showed how to build partnerships between the public and the private sector. “Here, today, are companies such as Microsoft, and IBM which have the funds, the knowledge, human capital and the financial resources that the public sector can use, and that it is willing to use,” he told IPS.
The message of IMPACT LEADERSHIP 21 is to create a new political and economic framework, in line with the UN’s Agenda 2030.
In doing so, the organisation brings together experts from different sectors — public, civil society, private, academic — and different levels, including grassroots, national and international, in order to solve the Millennium challenges of sustainable development and climate change. IMPACT also accelerates gender equality and women’s and girls’ empowerment.
“We hold the conversation that no-one else is doing,” remarked Peak. “Private sector, entrepreneurs, advocates, governmental and intergovernmental experts discussing their commonalities and universalities. These people are empowered to make an immediate change.”
“The Power of collaboration is social evolution,” said the CFO of IMPACT Leadership 21, “It is in each of us to spark change […] It’s time for adaptation, mutation and other changes for the sake of sustainability, justice and survival.”


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