By IPS Correspondents
FLORENCE, Apr 6 2004 (IPS)

A new approach to sustainable development and "best practices" was set out at a four-day conference in Florence last week..

The event Terrafutura (Future Earth) sought ways to promote economic, social and environmental sustainability.

The meeting at Da Basso Fortress where the first European Social Forum was held in November 2002, was organised by the Ethical Bank (Banca Popolare Etica) with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

"Guarantee a future to the earth and do it together" was the slogan of the conference.

"In these days we have shown that living well and with less resources is possible starting with ourselves," Ugo Biggeri, president of the non- governmental organisation Foundation Ethical Responsibility which supported the event told the conference. "We have the task to work together to build a human-centred development model." More than 35,000 people attended the conference, which included 50 cultural events. About 400 speakers addressed meetings at the event.

The conference took a novel approach by setting out five areas to address for an equitable and sustainable world. These areas are Dwelling, Producing, Cultivating, Acting and Governing. Each of these issues was addressed in turn.

"From consumers to producers in another economy, we are creating an alternative system," said a member of Gruppi di Acquisto Solidale (GAS) a consumers group at a meeting held at the conference.

Organisers spoke of ‘Producing’ as the private sector’s involvement in the creation of a better world, but with respect to humankind and nature. This could cover issues such as renewable energies, fair trade and ethical finance.

"We must introduce the ethic of sufficiency, committing ourselves not to use more resources than those we need," Wolfang Sachs from the German Wuppertal Institut said at the meeting.

"I’m sure that beyond the promotion of cooperation we need to commit private profit sector to social responsibility," said Marco di Gregorio, president of Lush Italia, a firm producing natural cosmetics.

Lush has set up a Unopercento (one percent) Foundation which will ask businesses to invest 1 percent of their income in social initiatives.

‘Cultivating’ is inevitably about food and its future, and covers international trade, biodiversity, rural communities and the protection of nature.

Terrafutura is promoting the ‘future of food manifesto’ prepared by a special international commission supported by the Tuscany region, with Florence as its capital. The manifesto is based on the resolutions of the Forum of Alimentary Sovereignty, the counter-forum organised during the FAO meeting in Rome in 2002.

Terrafutura opposes genetic modification of food. "Genetically Modified Organisms will not solve the problem of world hunger," Indian activist Vandana Shiva told the conference.

‘Acting’ proposes "a series of practices to challenge the individualistic model of the consumer society." That means support among other things for free software and fair trade, and action through political participation and campaigns to change what is seen to be wrong.

The Lilliput network, a civil society group campaigning against injustice explains the principle for action. "As the little Lilliputians were successful in stopping the giant Gulliver, with each tying down a single hair of the predator, so we try to stop the economic tyrant by each fighting in collaboration with others for a fair economy," says the manifesto of the organisation.

A small start was made in Florence itself by way of a signature campaign to seek reform of the EU agriculture policy.

‘Governing’, the last of the five, is not about getting governed – it is about participatory democracy and local administration, which must be linked to environmental policies and to global sustainability.

To that end Terrafutura hosted the sixth Environment Conference of the Regions of Europe under the title ‘A better world is possible: contributions from the Regions’.

Excerpt: