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Romy Sato
works for the Land Portal Foundation.
Nathaniel Don Marquez
works for the Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ANGOC).
APAARIValeria Pesce
works for the Global Forum on Agricultural Research and Innovation (GFAR, but from February on GFAiR).
Towards Structural Changes for Building Responsible Academic Partnerships
Continue reading "Towards Structural Changes for Building Responsible Academic Partnerships"
23-10-31_Stefan Schmitz - Saatgutbanken
An old economic adage warns: “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” But when it comes to agricultural production and securing the global food supply, we are doing just that. We are relying on wheat, rice, maize and potatoes, which together meet over two-thirds of global demand for calories. Agricultural production is geared towards uniformity and standardisation, and diversity is being lost at all levels: in cultivation systems, among crops and within crops.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that plant diversity in fields worldwide declined by 75 % in the past century. One of the most important foundations of human life is disappearing. Diversity is what allows organisms to adapt to changing environmental conditions. Only if we manage to reverse the trend will agriculture become more resource efficient, sustainable, climate resilient and productive.
Historical diversityOver the course of 12,000 years, farmers have bred about 200,000 rice varieties, 120,000 wheat varieties, 4000 potato varieties, 7500 apple varieties and 3000 coconut varieties. All of them trace their ancestry back to wild ancestors. Apart from crops that are well known and appreciated worldwide, there are countless others that are more narrowly distributed. Examples are millet, black-eyed peas, sweet potatoes, amaranth and macadamia nuts. Other underresearched and undervalued crops include teff, fonio, Bambara groundnut, arracacha and star fruit.
The crop diversity that humans have created coexists with related wild species, which nature has produced over millions of years. The future of agriculture – and our food supply – depends on this immeasurable genetic wealth. Any single genetic trait of a plant can hold the key to meeting future challenges that we are not even aware of yet.
Therefore, we must do everything we can to preserve this genetic diversity. Doing so resembles a natural life insurance policy. The first step is to stop further loss of diversity, both in farmers’ fields and in the wild.
Strategies for diversityIncentives for diversifying crops and the designation of protected areas for biodiversity have not made enough of an impact so far. Unfortunately, such “in situ” efforts will probably only have limited success in future too. For that reason, a second strategy to preserve agrobiodiversity should be pursued in tandem: conservation “ex situ” in seed banks.
Over the course of the last century, such “seed libraries” have been established all over the world. They have assembled a considerable amount of agrobiodiversity. However, they need support so that they can collect and save additional crops and varieties. Moreover, they must store wild relatives of crops before they are lost forever. The situation is becoming increasingly urgent as diversity is dwindling “in situ”.
Advantages of seed banksSeed banks are knights in shining armour for our food systems. Their purpose is to help build resilient, sustainable agriculture. They are not only a destination for researchers and plant breeders but can also distribute high-quality seed to farmers and thus contribute to local agricultural development.
The advantages of seed banks are obvious. After an initial investment, the cost to maintain them is relatively low. Seed banks can deliver sufficient quantities of pest- and disease-free seeds across national borders all year long, independent of vegetation cycles. Well-managed collections remain stable over time, unlike varieties that are preserved under “in situ” conditions.
This means seed banks can provide raw material to breeding programmes, together with reliable – and easily accessible – data on each sample’s characteristics, so users can order precisely the materials they need. Ultimately, “ex situ” collections offer a “safety net”. They can bring locally adapted varieties back to fields where they have been lost, whether due to natural disasters or human intervention.
At the same time, it is important that crops keep evolving and adapting to changes in the living environment outside seed banks. Stored seeds do not interact with nature in an evolutionary dynamic. Valuable agricultural knowledge is lost when a variety is only conserved, but no longer cultivated.
Parviz Koohafkan 27.10.2022 Neglected, but essential agricultural heritage National seed banksAccording to the FAO, there are now more than 1750 gene banks around the world. Approximately 130 of them each contain over 10,000 genetically diverse seed samples, or so-called accessions. An estimated 7.4 million accessions are maintained worldwide. Most of the larger collections are managed at the national level. For instance, the national seed banks of Brazil, China, Germany, India, Japan, Canada, Russia, South Korea and the USA contain over 100,000 accessions each. National collections usually house a broad spectrum of plant-genetic resources of the most diverse varieties and species.
In contrast, seed banks that are linked to international research institutes often focus on a few important crops and their wild relatives. The most important institutes of this kind belong to the CGIAR (Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research) consortium. The diversity stored in their seed banks is considered a global public good, a “common heritage of humanity”, which the international community has given to the institutes to hold in trust.
The importance of secure seed banks was demonstrated when the important collection of the International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA) in Aleppo was destroyed during Syria’s civil war. Fortunately, ICARDA had previously deposited backup copies of its seeds in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault on Spitzbergen. Located north of the Norwegian mainland, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault stores samples under geologically stable conditions at a depth of 120 metres in permafrost. Thanks to the copies, ICARDA was able to resume its research and breeding work at new locations in Morocco and Lebanon.
Kira Crome 04.08.2023 Our coffee is in dangerStefan Schmitz is the executive director of the Crop Trust, the international foundation dedicated to conserving crop diversity.
stefan.schmitz@croptrust.org
Technology assessment in a multilateral science, technology and innovation system
Technology Assessment (TA) as a scientific discipline is rather well established in the industrialized regions of the world. Here it can be seen as an integral part of national innovation systems. Usually TA has the goal of informing policy making to better help raising the potentials of emerging or new technologies for sustainable development and avert related riks. In the face of the grand challenges of our time (e.g. food security, climate change, ocean comtamination) the role of TA is increasingly important. New technologies (e.g. CRISPR-CAS 9 to make food systems more resilient to global warming) can be seen as important new pathways, while others stress potential risks. Grand challenges are mostly global, but TA is still carried out on the national level. This is a great disadvantage for developing countries, as they may weigh the opportunities and risks of technologies differently than industrialised nations. On the other hand, they lack scientific-technological competences and capacities to carry out TA in new and complex technologies themselves. And in a globalised world, they might be affected by new technologies, without having weighed up the opportunities and risks beforehand. For instance, this is the case when international investors introduce a technology on their land in developing countries. The book chapter analyses the situation and develops a model for TA at a global level.
Savio Rousseau Rozario
coordinates the Locally Led-Adaptation (LLA) Programme at the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) in Dhaka.
Context matters: the implications of the mode of service provision for structural and relational integration of refugees in Ghana and Ethiopia
The ever-increasing protracted refugee situations globally have put local integration of refugees into hosting societies high on the international agenda. While recent international frameworks have called for a deeper integration of refugees through the mainstreaming of refugee service provision into national service provision systems, little attention has been paid to the structures and arrangements— the so-called opportunity structures—specifically to how these can either promote or impede integration into host countries. We focus on the mode of social service provision to refugees and how this shapes the context of refugee integration in Ghana and Ethiopia taking into account the implications for structural and relational integration of refugees. We hold the view that mainstreaming service provision to refugees in camps into national systems does not necessarily lead to better refugee integration outcomes. Differences in the quality-of-service provision between humanitarian actors and hosting countries have the potential to determine integration outcomes.
23-10-30_Derrick Silimina - Zambia - pension savings
“We have signed into law the National Pension Scheme Amendment Bill 2023, which is in line with our promise to the Zambian people. The new law will allow citizens to reinvest the funds into various ventures and assets of their choice,” Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema said recently.
The effects of the legislation have been instant as hundreds of workers keep queueing up or going online to verify if they are eligible for benefits. As of June 2023, the pension-scheme authority has paid out 7.5 billion Zambian kwacha (ZK) (€ 300 million) to more than 316,000 members. The government set aside a total of around ZK 11 billion (€ 480 million) to pay 600,000 eligible members, according to the pension authority. The body projects that the least projected withdrawal will be ZK 5,000 (€ 220) and the maximum ZK 160,000 (€ 7015) per contributor.
Lackson Chota, a civil servant, bubbled with excitement after finding out that he is eligible for pre-term benefits. “After I got mine recently, I invested the money in building a boarding house for students. Student accommodation is in demand. I am guaranteed a threefold return from my initial investment of ZK 100,000. I plan to reinvest the income into building a block of flats,” Chota says.
Equally, Ruth Tembo, an employee at a Chinese clinic in Lusaka’s Roma suburb, is optimistic that the pension pay out will have a positive impact. “I have always wanted to start a poultry business. Once I withdraw my cash, I want to build a poultry house and buy other inputs to run the venture. I think the payment will help many people to take the step into entrepreneurship.”
This is the first time employees in Zambia have been able to access their benefits earlier. Economists argue that the move will spur economic development and reduce rising poverty. Disposable incomes will increase trade and commerce and contribute to relief, especially in the private sector.
The Pensions and Insurance Authority however advises workers in Zambia to be careful with the use of their savings. People should rather look for investment opportunities instead of spending the money on consumer goods.
Amos Kunda, a mine worker from the north-western province, has taken the advice. “I decided to invest my 20 % in government bonds and once they mature, I will be able to use interest to invest in my children’s education,” he says.
Financial analyst Kelvin Chisanga believes the country will witness an increase in trade and commerce that will boost government revenue. “The ZK 11 billion to be injected into the economy will create aggregate demand,” Chisanga says.
Derrick Silimina is a freelance journalist based in Lusaka.
derricksilimina@gmail.com
23-10-29_Hans Dembowski - Edito Ernährungssicherheit
The Financial Times recently reported that cocoa prices had reached a level not seen in four decades and the international sugar price had hit a 12-year high. The reason, according to the newspaper, was markets’ expectation of global supply declining due to climate impacts. The FT also pointed out that coffee prices were likely to rise further from an already high level.
Nobody starves when they do not get chocolate or coffee. However, consumers in high-income countries tend to pay attention to the prices of these goods, so increases feed inflation fears. The main tool central banks have for controlling inflation is raising interest rates. Food prices, however, hardly respond to interest-rate changes and are generally very volatile. Therefore, economists do not worry much about the cost of food items when assessing how dangerous inflation is. Accordingly, spiking food prices are an issue for agricultural policymaking, but not macroeconomic management.
In recent decades, agriculture has consistently produced enough food for feeding everyone. Nonetheless, about 10 % of the world population do not get enough to eat. Small-scale farmers are particularly affected by hunger and malnutrition. Their purchasing power, which is sometimes only slightly above zero, is so small that they rely on what they grow on their fields.
Integrated rural developmentDevelopment experts have therefore been discussing rural poverty for decades. In the 1980s, the general motto was “integrated rural development”. The basic idea was to do several things at once. The most important issues included – and still include:
- better support for farms in terms of advice, inputs and irrigation,
- better transport infrastructure to improve access to markets,
- better access to financial services and
- better healthcare and education to enable people to grasp opportunities.
Unfortunately, it is easier to demand integrated rural development than to actually get it started. Synergies only arise when progress in one area supports progress in others. And in view of the climate crisis, the challenges have actually become greater. Some farming inputs – in particular pesticides and fertilisers – must be used very sparingly, if at all.
In spite of many problems, scholars say integrated rural development can be done sustainably. Common sense tells us it must be done because things will fast become much more difficult if extreme weather events wipe out harvests in several of the world’s most important production areas at the same time. Once that happens, food prices will spike to unprecedented levels, and central banks will not be able to do anything about it. That means that agricultural investments today have a huge macroeconomic relevance in the long term.
Economists generally assume that everything stays equal apart from the variables they want to assess in a model they design. In our time of severe environmental crisis, this assumption has become obsolete – and so have some conventional economic models. If global boiling is allowed to continue, nothing will stay the same. If we don’t take action today, we will see more and worse calamities tomorrow.
Joachim von Braun 25.10.2023 How to safeguard food security in climate crisisGlobal food security depends on environmental protection, which in turn depends on investments in sustainability in each and every sector. Failure to act is recipe for disaster, with the cost of food rising to frightful levels. Coffee and chocolate prices will be of minor relevance for many consumers even in high-income countries.
Hans Dembowski is editor-in-chief of D+C/E+Z.
euz.editor@dandc.eu
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Worum es diesen Monat geht:23-10-27_Johannes Münch - Grundwasser Afrika
In past decades, groundwater resources have been massively overused – particularly in agriculture – in many world regions, including the Middle East, the Mediterranean, Asia and the USA. Falling groundwater levels and depleted water sources are the result. In view of this situation, donor countries and institutions have been very reluctant recently to promote rural irrigation with groundwater.
Nevertheless, more intensive use of groundwater resources offers considerable opportunities in many countries. It could contribute to food security, economic development and resilience to the climate crisis. Overexploitation can be avoided with appropriate water management and governance.
One region that would benefit from such a nuanced approach is sub-Saharan Africa. According to the British Geological Survey (BGS), the region uses less than a fourth of its renewable groundwater on average for drinking water, agriculture and industry. In some countries it is even less than 10 %. At the same time, over 400 million people lack access to clean drinking water. Droughts and crop failures are making matters worse. The need is enormous.
The sixth UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) aims to ensure the availability of water and sanitation for all. As a decentralised resource, groundwater can help. A broader water supply can be established in cities and access to drinking water in rural areas can be provided – without building costly new infrastructure. A project team from the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), working on behalf of Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), is researching how to sustainably exploit sub-Saharan Africa’s groundwater resources.
Prince Thompson 08.09.2023 At current trends, water SDG will not be achieved Potential for agricultureThere is enormous potential for agriculture. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), only three percent of cropland in sub-Saharan Africa is irrigated and only five percent of that is irrigated with groundwater. Most irrigated farms depend on surface water. Areas that are far from rivers or lakes have little scope for irrigation. They are thus particularly at risk from droughts and all that they entail. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rate of malnutrition in the world. Many countries in the region rely on expensive food imports.
Agricultural irrigation with groundwater also has great socioeconomic potential. Agriculture accounts for about 30 % of the region’s gross domestic product (GDP) and employs about 65 % of the working population. More irrigation would increase yields, leading to economic growth and new jobs.
Good availabilityGroundwater is relevant in the context of the climate crisis. In contrast to surface water, it remains stored in cavities in rocks underground after rainy periods. At a certain depth, it is protected from evaporation and contamination. Therefore, it is also available during extremely dry periods, which are expected to increase as a result of the climate crisis. Used sustainably, groundwater resources can help lessen the impact of recurring droughts. It can also alleviate urban water crises, like the one Cape Town experienced in 2017.
There are significant challenges, however. One issue is poor knowledge of hydrogeological conditions. How deep in the ground is the water? What is its quality? How much can be extracted? Observation wells are often largely non-existent, no longer work or have not been read for years. The result is inadequate data on current groundwater levels.
Digitising geological dataHowever, geological data regarding aquifers is often available from studies done in the past. Scientists at three major geological surveys in France (BRGM), the UK (BGS) and Germany (BGR) have found a lot of information from the past 150 years in their archives. Unfortunately, it is often only available in analogue form and cumbersome to analyse. It would make sense to digitise it – perhaps using artificial intelligence (AI) – and give it to local authorities. AI could also help predict the quality and availability of the water from this data.
According to studies by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), sub-Saharan Africa has significantly lower capacity to manage groundwater compared to surface water. As a result, donor institutions and planning authorities have so far largely underestimated or even ignored the potential for socio-economic development.
Yet the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) called for groundwater resources to be developed back in 2018. AMCOW is a body of the African Union (AU) with over 50 member states. The BGR is supporting AMCOW on behalf of Germany’s Federal Government to develop a strategic groundwater programme. This programme should help AU members to:
- recognise the socio-economic potential of their groundwater reserves,
- mobilise investments and
- strengthen their capacities for sustainable water management.
It is important to underpin the water requirements of countries’ national development plans with management goals for expanding drinking-water supply, agricultural irrigation and other water-dependent activities like mining. It is essential to always take into account the availability of water resources. In order to also reach social and economic development goals, the most effective uses must be identified.
For this kind of strategic planning, AMCOW, with support from the BGR, developed a planning instrument and tested it in Namibia. In future it should help AMCOW member states make the best possible use of groundwater resources for development goals like water security, food security and economic development. A macroeconomic model by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) that predicts the socioeconomic impact of groundwater use is helpful too. It allows effects on GDP, the labour market and poverty reduction to be evaluated.
Significant investment neededUsing groundwater is comparably cheap, but sustainable schemes will still require significant investment, particularly in infrastructure and specialist training. It is therefore important to model impacts in order to convince both finance ministries and private investors.
Groundwater is typically managed locally and exploited decentrally. Financing models must take this into account. The BGR is working with the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), which specialises in financing municipal and decentralised structures. The UNCDF has developed an approach to identify actors and financing needs at the local level.
Moreover, a legal framework as defined in laws on water distribution and protection tends to be missing or inadequate. Even where sensible rules exist, their enforcement is far from guaranteed. Moreover, there are not enough experts and technical capacities for exploitation. Effective agencies are needed too.
The training and further education of specialists and the creation of strong institutions are vital for ensuring that groundwater resources are used, but not overused. The BGR supports local authorities in its partner countries with geoscience expertise. In Zambia, for example, the focus is on advanced training in well construction at a certified training institute.
For external specialists, the BGR worked with international partners to develop web-based training modules on groundwater management and well construction. The trainings are aimed at interested parties from water authorities, NGOs and private industry, including well-construction companies.
LINKS
Online course: “Groundwater Resources Management”: https://cap-net.org/grm/
Online course: “Professional Drilling Management”: https://cap-net.org/pdm/
Johannes Münch works for the BGR in the field of groundwater for agriculture.
johannes.muench@bgr.de
Ramon Brentführer is a project manager at the BGR.
ramon.brentfuehrer@bgr.de
Michael Eichholz is an expert on groundwater governance at the BGR.
michael.eichholz@bgr.de
CSIPM Women and Gender Diversities Working Group’s Statement at #CFS51
Original link and Spanish and French versions here.
- Statement delivered by Paola Romero (FIAN Colombia) and Paula Gioia (La Via Campesina) on behalf of the CSIPM Women and Gender Diversities Working Group on 24 October 2023, during the endorsement of the CFS Voluntary Guidelines on Gender Equality and Women’s and Girls’ Empowerment in the Context of Food Security and Nutrition by the CFS Plenary.
Chair, representatives of member states, observers, colleagues, persons of all genders, sexual orientations, classes, castes, ethnicities, races, abilities, and ages.
On behalf of the Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples’ Mechanism (CSIPM) we start by expressing our solidarity with all the civilians in areas of conflict and protracted crises, especially those in Gaza, currently deprived of shelter, medical assistance, water, and adequate food.
The Women and Gender Diversities Working Group of the CSIPM thanks the chairs for the Gender Equality and Women’s and Girls’ Empowerment Workstream. We also thank the CFS chair and the secretariat and the other UN agencies who supported the process.
We have participated in this workstream with full commitment, bringing together a beautiful mosaic of people and experiences from around the world. We learned what true solidarity is; and how to support a diversity of people who experience multiple and intersecting oppressions. We learned how much it means to make visible those who are made invisible and to care for all people.
The negotiation process was emotionally draining for us and the space was often violent, bringing many in the room to tears. While we were negotiating and as we speak here now, many lives in our homelands are suffering gender-based violence and sexual violence. Millions are still not able to realize their right to food, and are even being killed for being who they are. We had high hopes for an ambitious and progressive outcome for these Guidelines.
Our participation made a difference not only in this UN space but also in the lives of some of the people we carry in our hearts and thoughts.
Despite the significant tensions and difficulties, we recognize that the final outcomes will have positive repercussions, also for some of the members of our communities. We succeeded in bringing a human rights framework into the document as well as important references to the role of women’s organizations and social movements. Indigenous Peoples and peasants, two very important constituencies of the CSIPM, are also recognised in the guidelines. Along with several other aspects.
However, the final text contains many omissions that diminish our hopes and leave us unsatisfied. These include:
-
- The recognition of land as a commons
- Free prior and informed consent for Indigenous Peoples
- The rights of LGBTQIA+
- The redistribution of unpaid care work
- Agroecology
- Intersectionality
- Addressing women and diversities under occupation
- Universal social protection is a crucial right in the realisation of the right to food.
Those aspects are not addressed, exploitation of, and violence against the most disaffected in our communities will continue. Therefore, as long as some of us are excluded, marginalised, and made invisible, we cannot truly celebrate.
At the same time, CSIPM avoids the trap of political polarization and the dichotomy between good and bad. We prepared an extensive evaluation document available on the CSIPM website and we have drafted an explanatory note to be added to the Annex, expressing our concerns, while also recognising this document as a starting point for continuing discussions in the CFS to achieve gender equality in food systems. This explanatory note has already been shared with the CFS Secretariat, and we seek member states’ support for its inclusion in the Annex.
With these clarifications, the CSIPM supports the endorsement of the Guidelines on Gender Equality and Women’s and Girls’ Empowerment. We will contribute to their dissemination and use them in our future advocacy. The upcoming MYPoW presents us with plenty of opportunities to keep advancing towards the real transformation of the lived realities of so many marginalized peoples and address gender as a transversal and intersectional aspect of the progressive realization of the Right to Food.
We exist! We will continue to demand our rights in our communities and societies, from our governments, in the CFS, and in all spaces in the United Nations, and we also truly commit to bringing these achievements back home.
Thank you.
Nairobi RomeDrug War Myths, Part 2
The US government has spent an estimated $1 trillion on their ‘war on drugs.’ But over 50 years later, the cross-border flows of illegal drugs, arms and money have increased. In the second part of a two part series, we look at the failed so-called ‘war on drugs’ - the movement to decriminalise, regulate and tax - opportunities, challenges for lower income nations, and the role of tax justice.
Featuring:
Associate Professor of International and Organised Crime at Bristol Law School, Dr Mary Young
Zara Snapp, co-founder of Instituto RIA
Sergio Chaparro Hernandez of the Tax Justice Network
Martin Drewry of Health Poverty Action
Max Gallien of the International Centre for Tax and Development and the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex
Eric Gutierrez, of the International Centre of Human Rights and Drug Policy
Taxcast host Naomi Fowler, co-produced with Jo Barratt of the Tax Justice Network
A transcript of the show available here: (some is automated) https://taxjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/The-Taxcast_Transcript_Oct_23.pdf
Further reading:
Invest in Justice, Jamaica Case Study https://www.investinjustice.net
Cannabis taxation – A new revenue source for development? https://www.ictd.ac/blog/cannabis-taxation-revenue-development/ Max Gallien and Giovanni Occhiali
Diverse models of legalisation https://newleftreview.org/sidecar/posts/high-income
Inside Mexico’s war on drugs: Conversations with ‘el narco’ https://theconversation.com/inside-mexicos-war-on-drugs-conversations-with-el-narco-129865
Poverty, gender and violence in the narratives of former narcos: accounting for drug trafficking violence in Mexico (Karina Garcia-Reyes) https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/193726176/Final_Copy_2018_11_06_Garcia_K_G_PhD_Redacted.pdf
Debunking the Narco Myth: https://www.mexicoviolence.org/post/debunking-the-narco-myth
A world fit for money laundering: The Atlantic alliance’s undermining of organised crime control: Young, Mary Alice; Woodiwiss, Michael https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/5935899
Organised crime and security threats in Caribbean Small Island Developing States: A Critical analysis of US assumptions and policies: Young, Mary; Woodiwiss, Michael https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/849208
Deutschland sollte zu einer internationalen Geberkonferenz einladen, um für die Zukunft zu planen
Der erbarmungslose Krieg, der infolge der Ermordung und Entführung israelischer Zivilisten durch die Hamas am 7. Oktober 2023 begann, wird keine Lösung im langjährigen israelisch-palästinensischen Konflikt bringen, sondern die Kluft zwischen den gegnerischen Lagern nur noch vertiefen. Israels Besetzung palästinensischer Gebiete und Einmischung in den politischen Alltag der Palästinenser*innen bleiben bestehen, solange Israel die bestehenden internationalen Vereinbarungen über deren Rechte missachtet. Der schwachen und korrupten Palästinensischen Autonomiebehörde fehlt es an Legitimation, um die Interessen ihres Volkes zu vertreten. Und die Hamas ist ein Himmelfahrtskommando, das am 7. Oktober im vollen Bewusstsein der unvermeidlichen Reaktion Israels und der Folgen für die palästinensische Zivilbevölkerung seinen Angriff startete. Die Terroranschläge der Hamas und die israelischen Vergeltungsmaßnahmen verfestigen die Spaltung in ein "wir-gegen-sie", auch auf internationaler Ebene, auf der sich seit 2020 die israelisch-arabischen Beziehungen normalisierten.
Die internationalen Organisationen der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit müssen sich Gedanken machen, wie sie den Teufelskreis der Polarisierung durchbrechen und die palästinensische Bevölkerung in Zukunft unterstützen können. Aus beiden Gründen sollte so bald wie möglich eine internationale Geberkonferenz stattfinden, an der die Europäische Union und ihre Mitgliedsstaaten, die USA, die multilateralen Geber, aber auch arabische Geber teilnehmen. Eine Entwicklungsstrategie für die nächsten Monate und Jahre könnte den Palästinensern, Israelis und ihren Nachbarstaaten etwas Hoffnung geben.
Um die Radikalisierung der nächsten Generation entwurzelter Palästinenser zu verhindern, müssen Entscheidungen über drei Dimensionen der internationalen Unterstützung für das palästinensische Volk getroffen werden: humanitäre Hilfe, technische Zusammenarbeit durch Zuschüsse und längerfristige Investitionspartnerschaften.
Was die humanitäre Hilfe anbelangt, so führen die Zerstörungen durch die israelische Militäraktion zu einer humanitären Katastrophe im Gazastreifen, die dauerhaften Unterstützungsbedarf im Bereich der Grundversorgung nach sich ziehen wird. Die Ressourcen der in den palästinensischen Gebieten operierenden UN-Organisationen sind seit Jahren zu gering; sie werden jetzt erst recht mehr finanzielle Mittel und Durchführungskapazitäten vor Ort benötigen, um ihre Mandate erfüllen zu können. Lokale und internationale Nichtregierungsorganisationen (NRO) benötigen Ausstattung und Schutz, damit humanitäre Hilfe die Bedürftigen erreichen kann, ohne ungewollt terroristische Gruppen zu stärken.
Zuschüsse für technische Zusammenarbeit werden in der Regel im Rahmen von Regierungsvereinbarungen gewährt, auf deren Grundlage gemeinsame Prioritäten festgelegt und die Aufträge für Entwicklungsprojekte vergeben werden. Dies war in den palästinensischen Gebieten nicht möglich. Um zu vermeiden, dass die Gelder über die Hamas-Verwaltung fließen, wird die technische Zusammenarbeit für den Gazastreifen seit langem über internationale Durchführungsorganisationen wie die deutsche GIZ oder NROs geleistet. Im Westjordanland haben internationale Geber die Regierungsfähigkeit der Palästinensischen Autonomiebehörde unterstützt, allerdings mit gemischten Ergebnissen. Diese Entwicklungsprogramme müssen geprüft und möglicherweise umgestaltet werden, um ihre Wirksamkeit zu verbessern, insbesondere im Hinblick auf die Stärkung palästinensischer Gegengewichte zur Hamas. Ebenso sollte Möglichkeiten der Zusammenarbeit mit Gebern aus der Golfregion geprüft und, wo sinnvoll, multilaterale Programme und Projekte kofinanziert und gemeinsam durchgeführt werden.
Investitionspartnerschaften haben vielleicht das größte Potenzial, der palästinensischen Bevölkerung sozioökonomischen Nutzen zu bringen und bieten vielleicht sogar Anreize für einen Ausweg aus dem festgefahren Konflikt. Möglicherweise haben die Abraham-Abkommen zur Normalisierung der israelisch-arabischen Beziehungen und insbesondere das potentielle Abkommen zwischen Israel und Saudi-Arabien den Zeitpunkt des Hamas-Angriffs auf Israel beeinflusst. Mit den verbesserten Beziehungen zwischen Israel und dem Golf ist nämlich der Plan verbunden, einen Wirtschaftskorridor von Indien über die Golfstaaten und Nahost bis nach Europa einzurichten, der die Palästinenser*innen sowohl wirtschaftlich als auch geopolitisch weiter isolieren würde. Derzeit ist in Brüssel oft die Rede von „Konnektivität“ und Infrastrukturpartnerschaften im Rahmen der EU Global Gateway Strategie. In Anbetracht des Potenzials für die An- und Einbindung der Palästinenser*innen in globale Wertschöpfungsketten und den Risiken, die mit ihrer weiteren Ausgrenzung verbunden sind, muss jede langfristige Entwicklungsstrategie für die palästinensischen Gebiete Investitionspartnerschaften umfassen, idealerweise unter der Beteiligung von Regierungen und Entwicklungsbanken der Golfstaaten.
Die Legitimität Deutschlands in der arabischen Welt hat seit dem 7. Oktober gelitten, da wohl der Eindruck entstanden ist, dass die Regierung Israel unkritisch unterstützt. Um dem entgegenzuwirken, könnte Berlin eine führende Rolle bei der Entwicklung der palästinensischen Gebiete übernehmen. Die deutsche Regierung hat bereits Geberkonferenzen für andere konfliktbetroffene Länder organisiert und ausgerichtet, unter anderem für Libyen in den Jahren 2020 und 2021. Deutschland könnte eine ähnliche Initiative für die palästinensischen Gebiete ergreifen. Wie die Libyen-Konferenzen gezeigt haben, können solche Veranstaltungen allein keine Konflikte lösen. Dennoch kann eine Geberkonferenz Palästinensern, Israelis und ihren Nachbarn helfen, über mögliche Auswege aus der momentanen Sackgasse nachzudenken auf dem Weg in eine Zukunft helfen, die von Entwicklung und Zusammenarbeit statt von Konflikten geprägt ist.
New UN Advisory Body aims to harness AI for the common good
New UN Advisory Body aims to harness AI for the common good
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