WSSD - Coalition Activities at the PrepComs

PrepComs II and III (New York)

Representatives of the Coalition secretariat participated at the meetings of PrepComs II and III. In collaborating with networks and actively participating in major group caucuses, the Coalition forged new alliances with a number of CSOs and other major groups — many of which had divergent priorities but were willing to cooperate on the crosscutting issue of access to land. During the course of the preparatory process and the final negotiations in Johannesburg, the Coalition prepared briefs, letters, articles and press releases for distribution to delegates, mission offices and major group caucuses, and proposed additional text for governments to negotiate into the final WSSD Plan of Implementation. These activities were aimed at ensuring that the final outcome document would make specific reference to the importance of access to land and related production means, thus ensuring that the Plan of Implementation would become the basis for Coalition partners to work with their governments in this regard.

PrepCom IV (Bali)

During PrepCom IV, the Coalition co-organized a half-day parallel event, attended by more than 120 CSOs, together with its Indonesian partner Konsorsium Pembaruan Agraria/Consortium for Agrarian Reform (KPA). Panellists included Bruce Moore (Coordinator, Popular Coalition ), Noer Fauzi Rachman (KPA), Wellington Thwala (National Land Committee (NLC) of South Africa), Marta Benavides of El Salvador (representing Women’s Caucus and Women’s Environment and Development Organisation (WEDO)) and Den Upa Rombelayuk from the indigenous people’s organization Alians Masyarakat Adat (Archipelago Indigenous Peoples Alliances), Indonesia. Views expressed at the event were presented at a joint IFAD/Popular Coalition side-event held the following day. As a result, links and ties were strengthened between KPA and NLC, leading to joint action at Johannesburg and beyond. Such exchanges between and among partners, for which WSSD provided an excellent opportunity, are the cornerstones of the Coalition’s knowledge network.

IFAD and the Coalition organized a presentation on the Coalition’s goals, as described in A Common Platform on Access to Land and LAND Partnerships. Vera Weille-Hallé of IFAD acted as chairperson. In his opening address, Dr. Emil Salim (chairperson of PrepCom IV) praised both the Coalition’s work and A Common Platform on Access to Land as crosscutting to the overall poverty eradication goals of WSSD. Bruce Moore gave an overview of A Common Platform on Access to Land, and representatives of four Coalition partners (Noer Fauzi Rachman (KPA), Wellington Thwala (NLC), Jocelyn Dow (WEDO) and Vicky Tauli-Corpuz (Tebtebba Foundation)) made presentations. The event also highlighted the uniqueness of the Coalition in being able to call upon its members to be inside the process. It also received front-page coverage in the official bulletin distributed to delegates, and confirmed IFAD and WSSD support for the Coalition’s work. A copy of the article can be found on http://www.iisd.ca/2002/pc4/enbots/may31.html

Many more NGOs were present at PrepCom IV than at previous sessions, thanks to increased availability of funding from governments and foundations (for example, the Ford Foundation mobilized approximately 800 CSO participants). Representatives of the Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems (SAFS) caucus provided major logistical support to Ford Foundation delegates and acted as a conduit for linking up groups working on common themes. These links proved very useful, particularly those with the Pan African Network, NLC and the Landless People’s Movement. Land caucuses were organized, a common position was taken, and joint language was written up and used to lobby governments in preparation for Johannesburg. The ensuing collaboration set the stage for the Coalition to support major activities related to NLC plans and activities with the Landless People’s Movement in Johannesburg. Other Coalition partners present at PrepCom IV were Pakisama (The Philippines) and the Caribbean Network for Integrated Rural Development.

The Coalition acknowledges the importance of its collaboration with major groups through WEDO (convenor of the women’s caucus); Tebtebba Foundation and the Indigenous and Environmental Network (convenors of indigenous peoples caucus); the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (actively engaged in organizing the farmers’ caucus); International Partners for Sustainable Agriculture (convenor of the SAFS caucus); and the International Union of Food, Agriculture, Hotel, Restaurants, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Association (IUF) (active in organizing worker and trade union caucuses). By stressing the links between hunger, poverty, gender, indigenous peoples, farmers, agricultural workers, sustainable rural development and access to land, the Coalition enjoyed wide support from representatives of various sectors.

The Coalition is also grateful to its intergovernmental partners, particularly IFAD and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), for their enormous contributions to supporting the Coalition’s agenda at the WSSD. It goes without saying that this support contributed significantly to what the Coalition’s achieved at WSSD.

During the WSSD PrepCom process, the Coalition forged close links with the Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development (SARD) caucus of WSSD and the FAO/SARD focal point with regard both to its task manager role as described in Agenda 21 (Chapter 14) and its support for the Coalition’s work on access to land. There were substantial exchanges of knowledge between FAO/SARD and the Coalition throughout the various WSSD processes. The SARD e-forum facilitated electronic dialogue regarding inputs to A Common Platform on Access to Land.