Speech by Eva Goës
I am very happy to be back in Benin, to see my old friends and make new. I appreciate your warm welcome and exceptional hospitality.
I, Eva Goes and Valter Mutt, represent Green Forum Foundation, which is an organization supporting democracy and sustainable development and is connected to the Green party.
Our party was founded in 1981 and seven years later, as the first new party in 70 years, we succeeded to enter the Swedish Parliament. At this historical moment, I was party leader together with Birger Schlaug - according to our statutes we have two leaders of our party, one woman and one man. We got 20 seats in the parliament. I was in the standing parliamentarian committee on Education and then I was in the standing committee on economy, energy, industry, trade, forestry and tourism. I was also in four other committees as deputy member. Social affairs, legislation concerning environmental issues, housing, taxes.
Today I am working globally and locally and building the society from below. I am the chairperson on city planning including transportation in my hometown of Harnosand, 7500 km, from here. I am the Swedish delegate to the European federation of Green parties, deputy member of the European Parliament and working chairperson of the Green Forum foundation.
We who have gathered here, are all alarmed about the state of the world; socially and ecologically. It makes me depressed to see young people who have lost their faith in the future. It is understandable but not acceptable. The kind of planet they will inherit is our responsibility.
Every year the reputable World Watch Institute publishes reports about the state of the world.
Also the latest millennium assesment report of the UN has the same message - the life supporting systems of the biosphere are continually deteriorating:
It is late but still not too late to act.
The most important thing we can do is to diminish the ecological footprints. 1,8 ha cultivable land per person constitutes the limit for sustainability. North Americans consume 9,2 ha per person, Europeans use 5,1 while Africans only consume 1,3 ha - that is within the limit of planetary sustainibility.
If everbody should live as Europeans we should need at least another three planets.
Let us contemplate the Cree-indian prophecy that:
when the last tree has been logged, the last river has been poisoned, the last fish has been captured, first then we will understand that it is not possible to eat money.I know that you, Madame First lady of Benin, is very engaged in questions concerning nature and especially forestry.
Of that reason and the common interest, I presume you and Mr Toussaint Hinvi met 15 years ago. I am impressed of the conservation of Lama forest and I have met the Hollis, walked in the forest when Green Forum supported the women convention 2003 in Lama. The Hollies live in a true ecological way.
If we do not live in harmony with nature, Mother Earth, the nature will take a cruel revenge. Unfortunately, the people in the South are the ones who suffer from the unsustainable life stiles and over consumption in the Northern countries.
Therefore we need exchanges - people to people- to spread the knowledge and information about sustainable solutions in areas such as ecological agriculture, local food systems, micro credits, development of renewable energy from wind and sun. NGO:s and civil society must be part and parcel of the developing global village.
In my home region artists and artisans are engaged in the contsruction of an African house as a part of a living art outdoor museum. They want to cooperate with environmental and other civil society groups from this region.
Gaia-intelligence
There are different kinds of intelligence. We can learn from each other. As an example is the Tsunami catastrophe which showed that animals and indigenous people understood the threat and saved their lives by retreating to a safer area. The famous physisist; environmentalist and feminist from India, Vandana Shiva, labelled this knowledge - Gaia intelligence.
She has together with local woman been fighting successfully against multinational companies as Coca Cola and Monsanto. They stopped Coca Colas exploitation of ground water reserves and Monsantos patenting of Indian wheat. It shows that nobody is too small to succeed and make impact - especially if you cooperate and are equipped with good ideas.
Cotonou and the traffic
You can start at home. Look around you. In Cotonou you have serious problems with exhaust gases from motorbikes. What can we or you do? It is well known that especially children and old people are put at health and accident risks.
Investments in collective transport system and introduction of renewable fuels as ethanol produced from sugar canes (as in Brazil) and biogas could be a solution. In my home town we also had a project producing hydrogene gas from wind energy but it has not yet been successfully commercialized. Another Nordic country, Iceland, has the ambition to become the first hydrogene based country. All vehicles as boats and cars etc will run on hydrogene gas produced from geothermic energy.
Fossil free Sweden
The Swedish Prime Minister has newly declared that Sweden shall become a fossil free country by 2020 under a strong pressure of the Swedish Greens. Even if we are a small party, we have got a considerable political impact due to our holding the balance between the left and right wing parties and of course our wisdom about ecolgical issues.
Green tax shift is an example of an important ecological reform pushed through by the Greens in the Swedish parliament. It will lead to increased taxes on unecological activities such as consumption of fossil fuel and other non renewable resorces but decreased taxes on incomes from peoples work.
In conclusion this means that it costs a lot to destroy the environment while on the other hand creation of green jobs in branches such as windpower, solar energy, bioenergy and energy efficiency etc will be stimulated. To save energy is the most environmental and cheapest way of living.
Take the future in your hands
Man has the capacity of destroying as well as saving our planet. We are impressed by the work of Mr Toussaint Hinvis concerning the Holli center. He gives young people hope and women place to grow. Historically you had amazones in Benin. They used arms to pursue their aimes but I ask you to use words, your wisdom, as a weapon for the revival of Mother Earth, our planet. This is a challenge. Take it. Take the future in your hands. The whole global ecological family stands behind you.
Merci beaucoup mes amis,
Eva Goes