On April 19, over 30,000 activists, grassroots social movements, academics, students, indigenous delegates, and government representatives convened in Cochabamba, Bolivia for the first-ever World People´s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth.  

I along with 21 other organizers and activists participated in the events as part of the US Grassroots Global Justice Alliance and Indigenous
Environmental Network Delegation. The conference resulted in amazing accomplishments:

• We shifted the ecological/climate debate towards a "rights of Mother Earth" framework, calling for real systemic change. 
• We identified and denounced capitalism as the source of our ecological crisis.
• 17 different working groups (including the unofficial 18th working group on mining and extraction) developed declarations and drafted People's Agreement otherwise known as the Cochabamba Protocol that the Bolivian and other Latin American leftist governments will take to the UN meeting in Cancun in December.

Backdrop of Obama's backhanded deal

This four day gathering was called upon by president Evo Morales of the plurinational state of Bolivia in response to the failure of the UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen last December when the Obama Administration led a backhanded deal, Copenhagen Accord that would allow anywhere from 2-4 degree rise in temperature—all worst case scenarios that would devastate the planet and many third world countries on the frontlines of climate disasters. To add to the dirty deeds, the US government withdrew $2.5 million and $3 million in aid to blackmail and punish those countries like Ecuador and Bolivia who refused to sign onto the Copenhagen Accord.

Rejecting REDD and Clean Development Mechanism programs

It was a fascinating process to engage in the working groups, especially the ones concerning the most contentiously-debated issues: the Forest Working Group and the Rights of Mother Earth Working Group.  In particular, the Indigenous Environmental Network and indigenous representatives from Latin America demanded that strong language rejecting all REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) progams--which are promoted by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the World Bank, and other private carbon offset industries--be included in the Forest Working Group's declaration.

I also attended some of the Climate Debt Working Group's and the Dangers of Carbon Market Working Group's discussions.  As before, we had to pressure the Dangers of Carbon Market Working Group's elected chairs to include strong language rejecting REDD and Clean Development Mechanism programs in their declaration; these two programs will be a major point of debate in the upcoming climate negotiations.  With the help from our allies--including Luis from Brazil´s Via Campesina, Rocio from Bolivia, and Javier from the Climate Justice Alliance of El Salvador--we got language concerning both issues into the declaration during the last hour of the working group plenary.  Although the REDD language was deleted from the final version because it was already included in the Forest Working Group declaration, the language rejecting the Clean Development Mechanism remained.

Earth Day, 2010

After four amazing days, this ground-breaking conference concluded on Earth Day, April 22.  At the closing ceremony, thousands of people packed the soccer stadium in Cochabamba.  Delegates and government representatives such
as President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and the vice ministers of Cuba and Nicaragua talked about capitalism and inequity as the root causes of the world's ecological and social problems.  Local musicians performed and cultural ceremonies took place on stage and around the stadium.  Despite the blazing sun and the packed crowds, people danced and waved their flags in celebration. 

Reflection

Overall the whole experience emphasized why environmental justice activists from around the world must continually come together to consolidate our political line and build the "global planetary survival" movement--essentially that's what it boils down to. For those of us who came representing the US grassroot movement we have a huge responsibility and task back at home. How do we stay the destructive hands of the US government who's not only the biggest climate agressor but also continually undermines the sovereignty of left governments like Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Cuba through political and military interventions? How do we strengthen and build a powerful grassroots climate justice movement in the US with strong connections to international social movements? How do we coalesce a large united front to rival not only the Tea Party but pressure the Democratic party and the Obama Administration for a real break in climate politics? These are the questions we face and the task ahead of us before Cancun and beyond.

This conference brought a renewed sense of hope and spirit to many social movements around the world. We´re still far from perfecting the debate, but we're inspired to fight harder under a new paradigm that denounces capitalism, emphasizes the rights of Mother Earth, and calls for global systematic change. As social movements in alliance with leftist governments like Evo Morales', we have a monumental task and responsibility ahead of us to shape this new system and fight the current ecological crisis.