|
Official IPC8 Report ~ Conference
The 8th International Permaculture Conference – A Green Economy
The 8th International Permaculture Conference was held on the 3rd floor
of the Bienal Complex in Ibirapuera Park in downtown São Paulo between
16th – 18th of May 2007. The main hall, at 5000 sq meters, exhibited an
exceptionally well crafted bamboo infrastructure installed by
permaculture bamboo experts. An indoor mandala garden covered a section
of the flooring and posters of projects from around the world were
displayed prominently. Food and refreshments were catered on site and
international delegates stayed at a nearby hotel with many walking to
the event each day.
The city of São Paulo was chosen to host the event because it is the
economic hub of Latin America. Additionally with its 18 million
population and attendant urban complexities it blatantly mirrors many
of the issues that Permaculture has to address with immediacy.
Green Economics was selected to be the theme because of the topic’s
emerging influence and strategic potential. As a prelude to the
Conference, the Brazilian Permaculture Network had engaged in dialogue
and developed relationships with progressive banks and business
entities for the previous two years. This initiative created the
credibility and confidence in permaculture that finally cleared the
path for some very prominent members of the national financial
community to speak at the Conference. Thus for those of us working in
the Permaculture movement in Brazil, this was our contribution, agenda,
run up, and the background tapestry to the Conference.
The three day event had three sub themes: the first day began with an
address of the state of the world, the ethical basis for a sustainable
future, the case for Permaculture Design and the experience of
Complementary Currency systems. In the afternoon successful urban
initiatives in four cities in both the North and South were presented.
The second day was dedicated to the progress being made towards
sustainability in the business world and the development of the
increasingly influential carbon credit market. In the afternoon there
were presentations of various alternative forms of economic systems
gaining ground all over the world. The last day we heard of successful
and visionary projects and programs being implemented.
All presentations had simultaneous translations provided through
available headphones. This enriched the proceedings and increased
communications and interactions with the audience immensely. An
ambience of give and take was established with microphones being made
available to the audience, which we have since learned, post
conference, has resulted in several exciting outcomes.
By the last day there was a 500 member audience from 42 countries of
the world from every continent, that included bankers, businessmen,
economists, technologists, teachers, international foundations and
permaculture project directors from a myriad of planetary ecosystems.
It could be said that representatives of all of the pieces of the
global puzzle were there in one room and talking to each other, with
permaculture playing a prominent role.
Some very profound and extraordinary presentations were made. The
mycologist Paul Stamets expressed a brilliantly innovative discourse on
how mushrooms can save the world which dazzled the audience. The
charismatic Tião Rocha, who is reinvigorating popular education in
Brazil and reintroducing the flame of the iconic pedagogist Paulo
Freire to a whole new generation of Brazilians, brought everyone to a
standing ovation.
Our own permaculturists Robyn Francis and Brock Dolman eloquently
presented the excellence of permaculture design and water technologies
as future strategy for sustainable development. The Cubans brought the
evidence on what it took to make the transition to organic farming
possible when they were hit by the Soviet collapse. The subsequent
fossil fuel meltdown during their “Special Period” in the nineties is a
little known period and reveals a fascinating public and governmental
response to disaster.
The Economics panel moderated by Jim Gollin demonstrated equably the
panorama of alternative economic solutions and strategies available to
creative thinking municipalities, towns and neighborhoods. Carlos
Louge, Donna Morton, Declan Kennedy, Scott Pittman with the
participation of a spirited audience presented very valuable
information. Other speakers such as Tony Anderson, Caridad Cruz, spoke
of design strategies for Sustainable City Programs for Copenhagen,
Havana, Winnipeg and in Germany.
From the conventional business world, which we ignore at our peril,
came presentations on the initiatives being taken towards
sustainability by such players as the Banco Real and the Natura
Corporation. It was with interest we learned of the accounts of the
steep learning curve that such structured entities must take to embark
on ecological initiatives.
Aerton Paiva from the high powered Apel Consultancy has pioneered the
introduction of systemic planning for sustainable outcomes in his
business consultancies. He spoke of his work in inventing the computer
software for a self evaluating sustainability index pegged to various
international systems. His offer for free of this software to the
thirty largest corporations in Brazil was accepted and all thirty of
them, including Petrobras and Banco Itau have installed and are
operating the system. In the US green accounting is performed by
external auditors but this is the first such example for computerized
self evaluation in the world and is a critical first step in corporate
responsibility and transparency.
The inestimable Professor George Chan was unable to attend because of
illness but his innovative work with Integrated Food & Waste
Management Systems was presented by his students Eng. Alexandre
Takamatsu and Eric Fedus. This highly relevant and multifaceted
technical information for intensive animal production has already been
implemented in Brazil but evolving contacts with corporate entities
will re-engage a larger scale application.
The Africans from Uganda, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia,
Ethiopia, Malawi and South Africa brought a joyous and infectious
energy to the audience with their song and music. And Jeffrey Bronfman,
one of the first institutional supporters of Permaculture in Brazil
spoke both of the vital role of ethics for our future in plenary
session at the beginning of the Conference and closed the Conference
with a moving spiritual invocation.
In summation we can say that as Conference organizers and conveners we
credibly highlighted permaculture as an emerging global grassroots with
a proven capacity for planetary level information transfer.
Permaculture’s practicality as a sustainable methodology for
development purposes was made clear to various sectors such as major
Brazilian banks, business circles, developmental economists, important
Brazilian agencies, the São Paulo public and other international
players.
Finally the cultural diversity, geography, numerical strength, range of
specialization, the longevity and combined experience of global
permaculture was arrayed in a public international forum in Latin
America.
Some of the immediate post conference outcomes:
The president of Banco Real sent a plane to collect João Rockett a
permaculturist from IPEP in southern Brazil to review their community
based cellulose production program. They will also consult with him in
the design of future community programs.
The Caixa Federal (Brazilian Federal Bank) has solicited a permaculture design course for thirty five of its employees.
Plans have been made to establish a Waldorf School in Manaus in the Amazon and subsequent rental of land to start the process.
Connections made for consultancies in various carbon credit applications in the Amazon and Honduras.
Two newspaper and and two television interviews regarding permaculture were conducted.
< prev | next >
|
