Western Sahara - The destruction of biodiversity by modern colonialism by Axel Goldau, Translated by Nele Saworski
With delicate fine paintings by the Sahrawian artist Fadel Jalifa
Kritische Oekologie Special, May 2008
The Ninth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD)(COP9) and the Fourth Meeting of Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (MOP4), will both take place in May 2008. Delegates from all the 190 member states of the Convention will be on the conference hosted by Germany from 19 to 30 May 2008.
The term ‘colonialism’ will not be mentioned neither on the Conference (COP9) nor on the Meeting (MOP4.) And the problems concerning biodiversity that result from “modern colonialism” will not be addressed.
It may or may not be a coincidence that the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1991 / 1992 and the founding of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) have set in motion important processes. But so far, these processes have not led to any solutions to the problems the organisations set out to solve. The loss of biological diversity has quickened its pace. International pharmaceutical and agro- corporations threat the existence of people all around the world, and the UN completely failed to decolonize Western Sahara. The former Spanish colony is still one of 16 countries on the United Nations list of non- self governing territories. Apart from St. Helena it is the last on the African Continent.
--> read the full text: PDF - with paintings or Word - without.
