The winning photos were profiled in our trilingual wall calendar, which was distributed through our member groups and through retailers. The winning photos can be viewed on the FoEI website.

The judges for the 2007 competition were the following:
- Yann Arthus-Bertrand, world renowned aerial photographer of the planet's ecosystems
- Bangladeshi photographer G.M.B. Akash, first-place winner of last year’s photo competition and cover photographer of the 2007 calendar.
- Peter Menzel, US photojournalist and author of “Hungry Planet: What The World Eats".
- Akintunde Akinleye, first-place winner World Press Photo 2007 in "Spot News" category, from Nigeria.
- Mariann Bassey, GMO Campaigner from Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria.
- Dr. Juan Almendares, Director of Movimiento Madre Tierra/Friends of the Earth Honduras and member of the Friends of the Earth International Executive Committee.
- Dinar Rani Setiawan, Food Campaigner from WALHI/Friends of the Earth Indonesia.
- Nivia Silva, coordinator of the Landless Movement in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
− Tatiana Roa, Friends of the Earth Colombia.

Winning photo in the 2007 photo competition by Boaz Rottem.

with thanks to our funders: the dutch ministry of foreign affairs and oxfam novib.

The report, titled “Who Benefits from GM crops?” also notes that the “second generation” of GM farm crops with attractive “traits”, long promised by the industry has failed to materialize.
As the report was launched, Nnimmo Bassey of Friends of the Earth Nigeria said, "No GM crop on the market today offers benefits to the consumer in terms of quality or price, and to date these crops have done nothing to alleviate hunger or poverty in Africa or elsewhere.”  Yet the GM crops industry continues to misleadingly claim they have a role to play in solving world hunger.
Furthermore, the report shows that GM crops have increased rather than decreased pesticide use, and do not yield more than conventional varieties.
One blogger who praised the report said, “Unfortunately, GMOs can never be democratic. The age old process of wind carrying seeds, along with the realities of horizontal gene transfer, means farmers and consumers are not getting a choice - even if the jar is labelled”.

The report received excellent press coverage around the world, and is available in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian. 

View the report.

with thanks to our funders: hivos, the sigrid rausing trust, and oxfam novib

In 2007 we oversaw a strengthening of alliances for the FoEI forests campaign. One way we achieved this was through active participation in an April 2007 meeting organised by Via Campesina, on the topic of opposition to eucalyptus plantations. After very fruitful discussions we agreed on initial general actions and to coordinate for some common work.

We continued this type of work with the World Rainforest Movement, participating in their meeting in South Africa. We also provided documentation related to plantations to various governments and to the Forest Stewardship Council.

At the end of 2007 we were in the final stages of releasing a publication on community forest management. This publication will, for the first time, bring together the wealth of community forest management experience around the world, from El Salvador to Greece, from India to Borneo.  The publication proposes not only to inform and raise awareness, but also to work as a vehicle to guide discussions and motivate action. We believe it will to contribute a great deal to the sustainable forest movement.

Climate change affects the populations of the global South and Indigenous communities most severely. Yet their voices are rarely heard. Titled "Voices from Communities Affected by Climate Change,” the publication highlights the challenges, hardships and resilience of these communities in the face of climate change impacts, as well as the responsibility of political decision makers to urgently provide the equitable solutions we need to solve the climate crisis.

The report was launched in November, 2007 as a FoEI side event at the United Nations climate talks in Bali. The side event also hosted a diverse panel of speakers from the global South, including Aldrin Calixte from Haiti, Ambriansyah from Indonesia, and Ursula Rakova from the Carteret Islands. These speakers testified in their own local languages as to the impacts of climate change, and on the solutions we need to tackle it.

The publication is available on-line in English, Spanish and French and is being used as an education tool by FoE member groups across the federation for their public campaigning and community education activities.

View the report.

with thanks to our funders: the isvara foundation, hivos, the sigrid rausing trust dutch ministry of foreign affairs and oxfam novib

Photo credit: Leigh Muething

Attended by more than 500 women and men from 80 countries around the world, the forum strove to design dynamic strategies to implement global and local food systems that support small producers and consumers, rather than transnational companies. The meeting also had the goal to strengthen the global movement for food sovereignty.

The summit attendees affirmed in a joint declaration that, “At Nyeleni during multiple debates and exchanges, we deepened our collective understanding of food sovereignty and have become aware of the reality of the struggles of our respective movements to maintain their independence and regain their powers.” Declaring that the time for food sovereignty had come, they said that, “We now know better the tools needed to build our movement and promote our collective vision.”

Other forum organisers included La Via Campesina, the Network of Farmers’ and Agricultural Producers’ Organizations of West Africa, the World March of Women, the World Forum of Fish Harvesters and Fish Workers, the World Forum of Fisher Peoples, the International Planning Committee on Food Sovereignty, and The Food Sovereignty Network.

More information

Download the report of the forum (PDF)

with thanks to our funders: hivos, the swedish society for nature conservation, and oxfam novib

regional policy push: In January 2007, an Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) ministerial conference on Biotechnology and Biosafety took place in Ghana, with the aim of adopting a regional policy on these matters.  FoE groups held a parallel conference in Ghana; there the ECOWAS draft policy was roundly rejected by the alliance of NGOs and Consumer groups, led by FoE Africa groups.

foei report’s african success: FoEI also released a100-page report “Who benefits from GM crops?" The report concludes that the increase in GM crops in a limited number of countries is largely a result of aggressive biotech industry strategies, rather than any stated benefit from GM technology. The launch of this report was very successful in the region.

liberty link threat exposed: Another of our key activities was monitoring long grain rice imports from the USA, to check for the presence of Bayer’s genetically modified LibertyLink Rice 601. Though illegal in the region, the GM rice was found in Ghana and in Sierra Leone. The campaign generated by this monitoring exercise was massive and created deeper public awareness on GMOs in the African region.

food sovereignty forum: African FoE groups also participated in the Food Sovereignty Forum, Nyeleni 2007, held in Mali in February. More than 600 fisherfolk, farmers, consumers, environmentalists, workers and pastoralists from seven regions attended the conference. The aim was to deepen and strengthen the understanding of and movement toward food sovereignty. FoE Mali was part of the local organizing committee, while FoE Nigeria’s Nnimmo Bassey and Edith Abigolo served on the international steering committee.

with thanks to our funders: hivos, the sigrid rausing trust, and oxfam novib

This project aimed to fill this gap, by carrying out an interdisciplinary mining conference and regional skillshare. The overall goal was to increase critical engagement and link local community experience to discussions on social movement building, development and alternatives.

what happened: The conference and skillshare were held in the Philippines from November 26 to December 1, 2007. The open public conference, held in Quezon City, had 109 registered participants from 20 countries, many of them from local mining-affected communities. Areas covered included legal regimes governing mining; global and regional industry trends; the actual economic contribution of mining to resource-rich developing countries; and the impacts of mining, from the social, cultural, political, environmental and gender points of view. 

The regional mining skillshare had 176 registered participants, plus others invited from mining-affected communities in the Philippines. It was held in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, a province affected by activity of at least three mining companies. On the last day of the skillshare, participants were invited to visit one of several of the province’s mining-affected communities, to witness mining’s affects, and express solidarity with community members. 

what is changing: To a large extent the objectives were met. Invited attendees provided good, critical commentary. Indicating the threat that mining companies perceive in our work, Friends of the Earth Philippines was criticized by a mining company for rejecting the registration of a mining company representative; and a gold mining company even organised a picket which “greeted” our skillshare participants on their first day.  Yet the skillshare also demonstrated to these companies that local mining-affected communities have international support!

The back-to-back activities inspired participants, and started or boosted networking amongst them; one exciting example is the discussions that were held with Chinese activists that could underpin future work around Chinese mining companies. International solidarity work was thus strengthened, and given a concrete initiative: the Global Day of Action against Mining. According to Judy Pasimio of FoE Philippines, “The seeds of global solidarity for people-oriented, just and equitable development have been planted.”

The conference highlighted the need for, and furthered, urgently-needed collaboration and solidarity between social activists/campaigners and academia. Materials from the conference were made available on the web and to various support/solidarity groups, activists and the general public.  These events also broke the perception held by many mining-affected communities that their situation is unique; now they know their experience is shared, and that victories, large and small, are possible for them too.

what we learned: Due to insufficient funding the group was unable to invite more people from the global academic and scientific community, including North America and Europe. Better funding could have contributed to greater information sharing, debates, and formation of alliances with people living in countries where most Asia-Pacific mining operators have head offices and shareholders. On a positive note, these events created an opportunity for Friends of the Earth campaigners on mining issues and community representatives to strengthen alliances, to become more familiar with each others’ work, and push the network’s campaign forward. This interaction with other FoE network members also strengthened the capacity of FoE Philippines staff who work on mining.

what next: Generally speaking, prompt and deliberate follow up is required if the seeds sown at the conference and skillshare are actually to yield lasting impacts.  On another note, these events gave the Working Group on Gender Programme an opportunity to jump-start the “Women Resisters against Mining” video project.  Video interviews were held with women from around the world who carry out resistance against mining in many countries, and are now being edited to produce a 10-minute video.

with thanks to our funders: hivos, oxfam novib, and the dutch ministry of foreign affairs

To combat this threat, a strong and coordinated civil society effort is required. These efforts must strive to protect biodiversity, as required under the Biodiversity Convention to which both Ghana and Togo are signatories.  This is especially pertinent given lobbying efforts by western biotechnology institutions and their government backers with regard to Ghana’s Biosafety Bill, which has not yet been passed.

what happened:  Friends of the Earth Ghana and Friends of the Earth Togo received funding to carry out joint capacity building, networking and campaigning on GMOs. Their goal was to protect traditional agriculture and the integrity of biodiversity through the establishment of responsible policy that discourages GMO introduction and ensures food security, food sovereignty and farmers’ rights to livelihoods. They also aimed to increase the effectiveness of the GMO campaign of Friends of the Earth International in terms of sustainable development targets and poverty reduction.

Key activities included reviewing current Biosafety Bill legislation. They also carried out awareness and skillshare workshops for institutions and members of the media. Finally, they held strategy meetings for campaigning and advocacy to build their network.

what is changing: This work has highlighted lapses in the Biosafety Bill. This information has made a positive contribution to media awareness, and countered information put forward by the government and its supporting external agencies, such as USAID, which promote GMOs in Africa.

This project also enhanced farmers’ awareness of the inadequacies in GMO policy, described by some farmers as a “policy trap”. Some farmers have used this information to question the source of seeds and whether they can be replanted – a line of questioning which could discourage GM seed entrepreneurs. In addition, the knowledge and capacity of FoE Ghana and its members was enhanced, and capacity was built for future collaboration. The project also fostered a closer relationship between members of the media between the two countries.

The gaps that the groups identified in the legislation were highlighted at engaging public debates in government-sponsored forums; furthermore, they were not countered by any convincing arguments from the government.  The information from the FoE review is also available to other civil society groups, government agencies and individuals, to further enhance their capacity through information sharing, advocacy and outreach programs.

Although this work has not yet been reflected in the political landscape, the groups believe pressure from farmers, consumer groups and other stakeholders will be brought to bear on Ghana and Togo’s governments as anti-GMO momentum builds.

what we learned: This project has built FoE teams’ capacity on GMOs, and strengthened the connection between GMOs and other campaign issues under FoEI’s Economic Justice - Resisting Neoliberalism Program. They envision sustainable agriculture, desertification, gender and development as other areas of connection; this project has furthermore built enthusiasm to forge a synergy among these campaign issues, using the GMO campaign as a key entry point.  The work done in this project also lends additional support to the regional African GMO campaign, of which FoE Ghana is an active member; FoE Ghana is now better able to provide strategic support for campaign planning and implementation to other regional groups.

However, this collaborative project faced challenges in terms of difficulty traveling between the two countries, imposed by poor roadways, language barriers, and border controls. This affected the project’s timeframes and planning.  The groups realize that they face a significant challenge in terms of the Togo and Ghana governments’ very positive stance toward multinational business, a stance that makes them sympathetic to pro-GMO agri-business; thus far their governments have not indicated opposition to GMOs.

what next: FoE Ghana matched FoEI’s support for this project; however, FoE Ghana and FoE Togo are now seeking further funding for GMO campaigning from agencies in their countries. Another important goal is to further share the results of their policy review with FoEI members, as well as farmers, consumer associations, policy makers and academics.

with thanks to our funders: the dutch ministry of foreign affairs and oxfam novib

Given the crucial nature of the talks, Friends of the Earth climate campaigners from around the world converged in Bali, and Friends of the Earth International carried out many activities to emphasise the need for climate justice. We also highlighted key forest issues related to the climate change agreements, and shed light on the threats posed by the fast-growing biofuel trade. Last but not least, we used this opportunity to build up unity and cooperation within the international civil society movement on climate change.

spotlight on biofuels: On November 29, before the climate talks began, FoEI urged governments not to promote biofuels as a solution to climate change, citing disastrous environmental consequences on all continents.  The growing biofuel trade would result in "displacing entire communities and Indigenous Peoples — simply to fill the tanks of cars," according to Hildebrando Velez of FoE Colombia.

solidarity village: Peoples from all over the globe took part in the Solidarity Village for a Cool Planet in Bali from December 7-10.  FoEI and other civil society movements organised this initiative to provide a space for affected communities, indigenous peoples, women and peasants to give testimony and build relationships among themselves. People spoke about their direct experiences of climate change and of real solutions. Key issues included enforcement of land rights for forest conservation, food and energy sovereignty, privatisation, trade liberalization and agrofuels. However, an overriding theme running through all these issues was that of corporate globalization taking over the climate agenda, and the need to resist this agenda with an alternative one to realize sustainable societies.

international day of action: On December 8, 2007 people from social organizations and movements around the globe took the fight for social, ecological and gender justice onto the streets for an Global Day of Action. FoE Indonesia were the local hosts of the action in Bali, which saw hundreds of locals join international activists to march in the hot afternoon sun in Bali’s capital of Denpasar. They waved banners, danced and sang for climate justice, sending a strong message to negotiators on the need for urgent action to address climate change. View a video of the action here.

unveiling tricky trade talks: Also on December 8, FoE groups warned that informal trade talks taking place behind "closed doors" on December 9-10 were "deeply worrying" and must not derail progress on tackling climate change. Convened by the Indonesian government, with trade ministers from 30 countries including the US, EU, Brazil, India
and China, the talks will cover "mutual supportiveness" between the WTO and the UNFCCC regimes, among other issues.

world bank: hands off our forests! On December 10th, FoEI coordinated an action and press work urging governments to reject a new World Bank initiative that promotes the inclusion of forests in carbon markets. This carbon trading proposal, called the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility, claims to promote forest protection by subsidizing industrial tree plantations. Yet this will happen at the expense of communities, ecosystems and food production, and will actually result in more indigenous peoples being displaced, and more carbon emissions.

Read the statement and a list of endorsing organizations here.

bali movement building – climate justice now! 
FoEI took a lead role in initiating “Climate Justice Now!”, a new coalition of many social movements and groups that came together at Bali.  Our goal is to enhance information exchange and cooperation, in order to intensify actions to prevent and respond to climate change. We all agree that the fundamental principle of justice must lie at the heart of all measures to tackle climate change, and that this principle must in no way be sacrificed.  This new coalition has greatly increased our capacity for movement building and justice-based lobbying for future climate and energy campaign work.

See more here.

other key events with FoEI/WALHI participation included, along with other NGOs, a Financial Institutions and Climate Change conference (December 6-7), and screening of the Friends of the Earth International "Lost in Palm Oil" documentary by Inge Altemeier at the IIED mini film festival.

focus on negotiations: In terms of lobbying and media work, Friends of the Earth International chose to focus on Annex I (global North) obligations relating to emission reductions, technology sharing, deforestation and adaptation.  This included a communication on December 4, when FoEI urged all delegates to achieve a clear plan for action and a strong mandate to tackle climate change at the crucial UN climate change talks. Negotiators at Bali did eventually reach a deal to take the Kyoto Protocol forward. However, FoEI expressed deep disappointment at the weak content that followed on from numerous attempts by some delegations to derail the talks. Fortunately the European Union, Australia and developing countries stood their ground in a united front calling for emissions cuts in the range of 25 - 40 percent, as demanded by climate scientists. This provides some indication of ambition but still leaves much work to be done.

An full analysis of the Bali meeting by FoEI can be found here.

with thanks to our funders: the dutch ministry of foreign affairs, the c.s. mott foundation, the wallace global fund, the isvara foundation, hivos, oxfam novib, and the swedish society for nature conservation.