A MESSAGE FROM THE
CHAIR
First of all, for those readers who do
not know me, my name is Ricardo Navarro and
I was elected chair of Friends of the Earth
International in November. I have been
active in FoEI for nearly a decade through
the organization I founded in 1988 in El
Salvador, CESTA. I am honoured to be
heading this vibrant, distinctive network,
and plan to represent FoEI in various fora
around the world in the coming period.
I have recently returned from a visit to
Hiroshima organized by the Japanese Peace
Boat (see photo). I was able to meet with
survivors of the atomic bombing and listen
to their grisly and moving tales about the
consequential human and environmental
damage. I also visited the site of a more
recent nuclear disaster in Tokaimura, and
have returned inspired to strengthen the
links between the peace and environmental
movements as we call for the abolition of
the nuclear industry.
This issue, the first issue of LINK in
the new millennium, takes a look at some
recent victories and identifies a host of
upcoming challenges. Is there change in the
air? The Seattle protests and collapse of
the WTO talks, the unexpected success of
the Biosafety Protocol negotiations in
Montreal, and the increasing blows dealt by
campaigners and the public to the
biotechnology industry are a few fresh and
exciting successes for the environmental
movement. Many FoE campaigners have also
contributed their visions of our greatest
challenges in the coming period; these
include mitigating climate change, reducing
mining, dealing with the ecological debt,
and increasing transparency and
participation in diverse undemocratic fora
such as the World Economic Forum and the
Middle East peace process. Outgoing chair
Kevin Dunion also provides food for thought
in his analysis of North-South relations
within FoEI.
We hope that you find this issue
enjoyable, motivating and useful. Upcoming
issues in 2000 will feature Biotechnology
(April/June), Debt (July/September) and
Forests (October/December). For deadlines
and other questions, please contact Ann
Doherty (info@foei.org).
Ricardo Navarro, FoEI
Chair
