Call to action - “World People’s Conference on Climate Change and Defence of Life”, Tiquipaya, Bolivia

CONVINCED that as children of Mother Earth, our mission is the responsibility with Life according to what our parents and grandparents taught us.

FEELING that the codes, understanding, knowledge and arts of the ancient peoples from the world were ignored by Western civilization and that now the world needs to rescue all the ancient and ancestral wisdom to restore balance and harmony to Mother Earth.

AWARE that the most serious global threats facing us in the defence of life are related to climate change, and that this issue threatens our very existence as well as Mother Earth, our water, our land, our forests and our food.

UNDERSTANDING the validity and importance of the findings within the Peoples Agreement of the World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth, held in April 2010 in Tiquipaya, Cochabamba, Bolivia; and considering the need for an assessment of what we have achieved since then as well as the need to coordinate our different struggles and strategies for the defence of life.

RECOGNIZING that Pope Francisco in the encyclical “Laudato if” (Thy Name Be Praised) delivered us a message that inspires us to continue our struggle, promoting the care of a communal home through the union of the whole human family and the search for sustainable and comprehensive development, simultaneously taking care of nature and respecting the delicate balances among all living beings that live in this world.

UNDERSTANDING that Paris COP21 shall promote the signing of a new agreement on climate, so that we, the peoples of the world, have to raise our voices again to offer our own visions and solutions to climate change.

REGRETTING that after more than 20 years we have not been able to establish any meaningful international agreement on climate change, and the fact that in COP21 under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is intended to look as an agreement to pretend a global consensus and ambitious commitments from countries, hiding that in reality it does not want to affect the structural causes of climate change.

CONCERNED about the misuse of technology to address the issue of climate change, like in geo-engineering and solar radiation. On the contrary, they create enormous risks for Mother Earth, and transfer the solution to climate change to a technological approach and the wrong vision about humans dominating above nature.

ASSUMING that if we fail to build a universal culture of life, we will only contribute to the destruction of the future of our children and our children’s children.

AWARE of the importance of finding and building joint spaces between leaders of social movements, academics, scientists, government officials and representatives from all continents to agree on proposals for COP 21 Paris and take our responsibilities for the health of our Mother Earth and our own lives.

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PLURINATIONAL STATE OF BOLIVIA, calls, invites and summons the peoples and nations of the world to the “World People’s Conference on Climate Change and Defence of Life” to be held in Tiquipaya, Cochabamba, Bolivia, from October 10 to 12, 2015, to discuss the following topics:

Threats of capitalism against life

1. 1. The agenda of capitalist interests against life. Transnational enterprises and capitalist interests endanger the health of the land, food, water and forests through actions that cause diseases, pests and death of living beings.
2. 2. Threats against life: Geopolitical wars of the empires to distribute our lands and territories. The military machinery of the North has been busy destroying entire villages in an effort to seize the strategic natural resources, feeding the financial architecture of capitalism and the industry of death.

The construction of Living Well and the paths of fife

1. 3. The paths of Living Well as an alternative to capitalism. Living Well in harmony with Nature is in essence the only possible universal way of life.
2. 4. Universal Declaration of Rights of Mother Earth to resist capitalism. Just like human beings are recognized in their rights, all beings must be respected in their rights under the Universal Declaration of Rights of Mother Earth, as an instrument to resist capitalism.
3. 5. Knowledge, practices and technologies of the peoples for climate change and life. Capitalism promotes modern technologies that come from the business and the private sector, Peoples should strengthen ancient and millennial technologies for life.
4. 6. The defense of our common heritage. The peoples strongly defend our natural resources and common heritage from those who trade with life in the name of protecting nature.

Climate change and the culture of life

1. 7. Climate sciences at the service of life. In the face of misleading scientific reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) about causes and impacts of climate change, we need to rescue and build our science about Climate Change.
2. 8. International Court of Climate Justice and Life. The world requires of an international organization to make us responsible for LIFE and with the fulfillment of commitments that countries should assume for its comprehensive protection.
3. 9. Mechanisms for non-commodification of nature. Capitalist countries have proposed internationally, market mechanisms as a cynic proposal to solve climate change, so we must promote mechanisms and instruments for the non-commodification of nature.
4. 10. Capitalism debts: climate debt, social debt and ecological debt. Capitalist countries have produced a set of debts to the peoples; humankind and Mother Earth and they must begin to pay, starting with the climate debt.
5. 11. Interreligious dialogue to save Mother Earth. The religions of the world struggle with a message of peace and dialogue, to solve the climate crisis, to the global capitalist system that destroys our community values.

Continuing in the path of the defense of Life

1. 12. Evaluation of the achievements and advances of Tiquipaya and the peoples’ voice for the COP21 of Paris about climate change. Evaluate the Tiquipaya Conference and raise again our voice proposing our own solutions for climate change and the negotiations of countries in United Nations.

To the peoples and social organizations of the world, it belongs us better and join all our forces, move from our towns to defend life and Mother Earth, rebuild the culture of life, the living well and the harmony with nature.

EVENT PROGRAM

• Opening plenary (in the morning of the 1st day)
• Organisation of 12 working groups (The working groups will take place in the afternoon of the 1st day and in the morning of the 2^nd day)
• Intergroup plenaries (during the afternoon of the 2^nd day)
• Presentation of results in general plenary (in the morning of the 3rd day)
• Meeting with government representatives and international organisations (during the afternoon of the third day)
• Closing ceremony 

Additional events

The event includes the following additional events:

• Discussion panels with topics to be defined.
• Peoples fair for life, including expositions of participants about different subjects expressing their vision on climate change and the defence of life.
• Performance of artistic and cultural expressions.

The participation in the additional events will be with previous registration of interested people and acceptation by the organizers. 

Previous activities

Prior to the event the following activities are to be held:

• Online Distribution of the preliminary document (September 1 to September 20)
• Online registration of participants to the event (September 1 to September 30)
• Twelve online discussion panels, one for each topic, with a moderator to organize the discussion on the preliminary document and inputs from the working group (September 15 to October 1).

For more information in English visit http://www.jallalla.bo/en/