[p2p-research] Fwd: Achievements of the UN Action Team on the Commons

[Michel Bauwens]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Commons Action Planning <planning at becommons.org>
Date: Mon, Aug 2, 2010 at 2:06 PM
Subject: Achievements of the UN Action Team
To: Commoners <good.thinking at yahoo.com>


 Dear Friends,

I have often conducted actions at the United Nations. I have never had the
pleasure to work with such a proactive team as the one we have now. Please
find attached a one-page summary of this team's activities during the UN CSD
18 and the first preparatory meeting of the Rio+20 Summit.

Our objective for May 31st was to be working synergistically with 1000
people. At that time, we had 11 Founding Members, 11 "Interested Parties",
and had worked with some 27 people mostly representing diverse organizations
at the 2 UN Conferences our team attended in May of this year. We are now
also engaged in a global commons action with some 16 people, many
representing organizations in the Netherlands. There are therefore at least
1000 people involved with Commons Action for the United Nations, either
directly or via their organizations.

Synergy is a highly rewarding *ongoing* process that must constantly be
deepened. It can only be achieved by *doing.  *And so the challenge remains.

I look forward to working with you all to further promote our common goals.

With warmest best wishes,

Lisinka Ulatowska

-- 
Dr. Lisinka Ulatowska
UN Rep. Association of World Citizens;
Institute for Planetary Synthesis
www.ipsgeneva.com
www.globalcommonstrust.org
www.worldcitizensaction.com
www.allwinnetwork.org


REPORT


*COMMONS ACTION FOR THE UNITED NATIONS*

*Report on CSD 18 and Prepcom 1 Rio+20 *

Team Members: Lisinka Ulatowska, Richard Jordan, Jay Bender, Rob Wheeler,
Kathleen Quain, Mary Beth Steisslinger, Quisia Gonzalez, Anthony Robinson,
Alex Dale, Amy Scarbrough, Maritza Mosquera (Deep Listening Workshop)**

Our objectives were

   1. To make the concept of the global commons and its components known
   among delegates and civil society organizations.
   2. To get them mentioned in the (Co-) Chair’s Summaries. There were 2 for
   CSD 18 and one for Prepcom 1—in all 169 pages.
   3. To form synergistic relationships with 1000 people by May 31, 2010.
   4. For our team to grow into a commons in embryo to steward the global
   commons.
   5. To build commons awareness with other civil society organizations
   (with the longer term goal of enabling humanity to steward diverse aspects
   of the global commons by allowing people to see themselves as sovereign over
   their common resources).
   6. To promote the concept of a rights and values based global economy.

Our objectives were met to the extent that…**

*1. *We networked with many NGO representatives, participated in 4 of 9
major groups and enabled commons language and concepts to be mentioned in a
number of interventions, including:
http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/resources/res_pdfs/csd-18/11may/multi-stakeholders-partnerships/NGO.pdf,
Implementation:
http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/resources/res_pdfs/csd-18/13may/interactive-ministerial-dialogue/NGO.pdf,
and two interventions on Green Economy:
http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/rio20/resources/pdfs/statements_18may/green_economy/NGO1.pdfand
http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/rio20/resources/pdfs/statements_18may/green_economy/NGO.pdf
**

2. Our influence was pervasive, although we do not claim to be the catalyst
for all of the following language in the Chair’s (CS) and Co-Chairs’
Summaries (CCS), and although the actual words ‘*global commons’* were not
used. For instance: “The need to decouple economic growth from resource use
and environmental degradation” (54 CCS); “reservations about a…green economy
which was equated with “marketization”of nature and natural
resources…unregulated markets have been a contributing factor to
environmental degradation and thus their contribution to a solution is
questionable” (58 CCS). “A Green economy should not be …privatizing nature
and natural assets” (11 CCS).

*Useful Green Financing Mechanisms: *“[The] need to explore innovative
financing mechanisms...” (CCS 58). “Ecological tax reforms” (77
CCS).”Polluter pays” (77,139,281,282 CS), “extended producer responsibility”
(127,131,139, 258 282 CS), “internalization of external costs” (59, 77CS)
,“rehabilitation funds for mining” (158 CS), and “public investment in…
natural capital to restore, maintain, and… where possible enhance the stock
of natural capital” (77 CCS).

*Values:* “The current GDP indicators are inadequate to measure
vulnerabilities of countries to the different crises confronting
them…Developing vulnerability indicators,…and health surveys” (29 CCS). Also
“indicators of wellbeing” (37 CCS) and Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness (52
CS). “In the view of one delegation the ecological crises…arise from
treating Earth as a thing rather than as a home, failing to recognize that
we humans are part of the earth system” (37CCS).

*Decision making: *“All Major Groups must contribute to help decoupling
economic growth from natural resource use and environmental impacts and
achieve SCP” (314 CS). “CSD decisions must take into account the groundswell
of innovation at local, national and regional levels. A mobilized civil
society can play an effective role in the design and implementation of
sustainable development efforts, creating ownership at the community level
(246 CS). (Similar ideas: 11, 148, 165, 168, 296, 301, 314 CS).**

*3.* We initiated the development of a collaborative, synergistic effort of
12-15 civil society groups and organizations called “Our Common Future
Fulfilled”. This has been difficult to maintain after returning to our
various countries.**

*4. *The UN Commons Action Team is practicing what we are professing by
commoning: implementing commons practices such as recognition of shared
purpose and value creation, openness, self-selecting leadership,
co-governance through transparent processes, information sharing and
decision-making with an emphasis on consensus, all-win principles, and right
relationship.**

*5. *To enable people to see themselves as sovereign over their commons
resources, we distributed hundreds of position papers on commons-based
initiatives relating to the CSD 18 themes of Mining, Transport, and
Waste.  Additionally,
Jay and Mary Beth are working on a proposal to partner with UNCSD Major
Group members to aid them in the development of social charters to protect
their commons and gain legal legitimacy for the formation of commons trusts.
**

Next Steps:* to highlight existing examples of commons models and proposals
to show people how things might work or are working; to expand our
synergistic collaboration and commoning with existing and new partners to
involve 8000 people; and work with delegates and civil society so that
agreements and reports issuing from CSD 19 and Rio+20’s prepcom 2 will be
dominated by commons concepts and direct references to the global commons.


-- 
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