On 10 November 2014 in the capital city of Dhaka in Bangladesh the inaugural function of the Bangladesh-India-Nepal Climate Justice Caravan was held in the chair with Bangladesh Krishok Federation President Badrul Alam. As good as three hundred people including foreign delegates from Australia, Germany, UK, USA, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Sweden and New Zealand attended the inaugural. The inaugural was preceded by the press conference held on 9 November 2014 at Dhaka Reporters Unity. Different Electronic Medias broadcast and quite a number of dailies gave coverage of the news of the press conference.

On 11 November 2014 at BRRI (Bangladesh Rice Research Institute) in Gajipur district, the second stay of the caravan, there was a plenary on GMOs and Bt Brinjal (Egg plant) issue where the resource persons including Badrul Alam of Bangladesh Krishok Federation and Devika from Pesticide Action Network in USA elaborated the issue. The Director General Dr. Jiban Krishna Biswas and Director Research Dr. Ansar Ali of BARRI were present in the plenary. The officials of the institute acknowledged the significance of local variety of seeds and the role of peasants in food production. They added that they invented non-GE (Genetically Engineered) variety of rice which is salt tolerant. Bangladesh Krishok Federation President Badrul Alam emphasized on indigenous seeds which has been promoted by the peasants for thousands of years, which is suitable to the aged old traditional farming method, which is ecology-environment friendly. After the plenary based on the issue the participants split into 4 groups. There were 190 participants in total. Every group went through brain-storming on the GMOs and Bt. Brinjal and its impact on human health, agriculture, ecology and the economy of the country. The participants put emphasis on the local seeds which are sustainable, healthy and safe. The participants in Gajipur had the scope for sight-seeing as well as for witnessing the Bt. Brinjal test filed. They also shared the concern about GMOs with higher officials of BRRI in a dialogue in the evening. They proposed to the authority to ban the Bt. Brinjal keeping in view its negative impact.

On 12 November 2014 at BADC (Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation) in Madhupur, Tangail there was a seminar on agro-ecology; grassroots solutions to climate change; food sovereignty and indigenous peoples land right. 170 participants attended the seminar. After the seminar the whole participants divided into four groups. There were significant numbers of indigenous from the area. The participants expressed their concern about the condition of indigenous peoples’ right. They are of the views that the indigenous people are very close to the nature and preserve the ecology. The indigenous people are seriously victims of global climate change. The outcomes of the group discussion were put forward to the plenary again. The participants visited solar water pump and seed processing center in Madhupur. An interaction meeting with agricultural farm labors followed the seminar and workshops. They were also an evening meeting with organic pineapple tillers in Madhupur, Tangail.

On 13 November 2014 in Iswardi, Pabna a seminar on renewable energy and zero waste in Sugarcane Research Institute took place. The DG of the Institute Dr, ASM Nurun Nahar spoke the seminar expressing solidarity with the caravan. She said that they did not promote any GMOs in their institute. Rather they are trying to promote sugar beet for more production of sugar in order to fulfill the demand of the country. Jarrad Sferruzzi from Australia spoke in the seminar as resource person. He elaborated the coal based energy production and its impact in Australia. He advocated for renewable energy as an alternative to fossil fuel based energy system. He put stress on the recycling use of waste to respond to climate change. The president of Bangladesh Krishok Federation discussed the broader aspect of climate change and proposed to UNFCCC to accept the grassroots people’ thoughts around solutions to climate change. He said that the real solutions lie in the grassroots consisting of community people. He said adding that the use of solar power, windmill, bio-gas, small hydro-electric power generation, charcoal, limited scale geo-thermal power generation can guarantee the clean energy. The seminar rejected the existing energy security based on fossil fuel mining which jeopardizes the usual decoration of nature. He told the audience that nature has become angry to the human being because of over exploitation of it. He also mentioned that extractive industries operated by TNCs are generating the dirty energy which is pushing the planet into destruction instead of energy security. There were 165 participants in the seminar in Iswardi, Pabna. In the end of the seminar, the participants were grouped in into 4 for workshops. After closing of the workshops the participants visited the different sugarcane fields promoted by the institute. The report back of the workshops took place in the field while enjoying the sugarcane juice.

On 14 November 2014 in Sadhuhati, Jhenaidah a seminar was held with the participation of local communities on climate change, climate migrants, grassroots adaptation and mitigation. Bangladesh Krishok Federation President Badrul Alam and Anna from Sweden spoke on the issue as resource persons. There were 300 participants in the seminar. From the seminar it was said that the rights of climate migrants should be protected by the UNO convention. The adaptation and mitigation are coming about at different levels in the affected countries but the responsible countries should have deep and drastic cut in their emission level with no delay. They have to pay reparation to the affected country people as their historic and ecological dues. The participants asked all South Asian governments to play active role in order to realize the reparation for the people affected by climate change. Before the seminar the participants went to visit the pesticide and chemical free organic vegetable cultivation in the field. They curiously took part in the harvest of eggplant, cauliflower, bean, etc.

On 15 November 2014 in Cotton Research and Seed Multiplication Farm at Jagadishpur in Chaugachha, Jessore a seminar on grassroots networking in South Asia and next UNFCCC conference in Lima, Peru took place. Bangladesh Krishok Federation President Badrul Alam elaborated the relevance of the grassroots networking for the climate justice. There was a question and answer session at the end of deliberation. Scientific Officer of the institute and other leaders of peasants’ organizations spoke on the issues. Three representatives of local non-government organizations also participated in the seminar. The seminar agreed to form a network with grassroots movements existing in South Asia to combat the climate change. A short visit to the Agricultural Farm Labors’ Union in Seed Processing and Production Farm of BADC in Chuadanga district preceded the Seminar. There was also a short dialogue with the Assistant Director General of the farm.

On 16 November 2014 in the morning the caravan crossed the Indian border to Kolkata, West Bengal. In Bangladesh in a week the caravan travelled around 850 kilometers, 10 districts, stayed in 6 destinations, and touched one station meeting different community people on the way. Throughout the caravan leaf-let, book-let were distributed among the local people so that they can be aware of the objectives of the caravan and the issue of climate change. The whole week was so educational, interactive and experience sharing for the participants. The productivity in terms of lesson-learnt was enormous. The impact of the caravan on the locality will be long lasting. People’s feelings of sustainability in agriculture will bring fruits. It will contribute to the dream of a peasant based agro-ecology hand help the dreams to come true.

On 17 November 2014 in the afternoon, National Hawkers’ Federation led by famous leader Shaktiman Ghosh welcomed the caravan with participation of more than one thousand people hailing from different sectors of Hawkers’ community. The welcome function took place in Chaterjee International Centre in Kolkata. Bangladesh Krishok Federation President Badrul Alam explained the climate issue in details. He said that the need of solidarity among South Asian countries is quite required to cope with the negative effects of climate change. South Indian areas on the coast are in danger due to the rising sea level. In 2007 and 2009 during super cyclone SIDR and Aila the part of Sunderban in the Indian side were affected badly. India as a large country in South Asia should stand for its grassroots victims by protesting the green house gas emitters. India should also stop competing with larger emitter and find renewable alternatives for its energy requirements, added Mr. Alam. Mr. Shaktiman Ghosh demanded fair share for the hawkers from the green climate fund as they are as well extremely impacted by the climate change.

On 18 November 2014 in the afternoon there was exchange of views meeting with leaders of Informal Sector Labor Action Alliance (Asangathito Khethra Sramik Sangram Manch). Comrade Protip, the leader of the alliance expressed his eagerness to build movement in India around the issue of climate change. He also made commitment to help build networking in South Asia. Moreover, there was an evaluation meeting on the caravan activities of Bangladesh part. The entire participants were divided into 4 groups on language base. The outcomes of the group discussion were back to the plenary.

On the same day in the evening the caravan started off for the border between India and Nepal and arrived in the afternoon on 19 November 2014. All participants entered to Nepal except 18 participants who did not have the Nepali visa in their passport because of new circular of Indian authority. The immigration advised them to fly as there is no legal barrier for this. Finally 8 persons out of 18 decided to fly to Kathmandu. The remaining 10 decided to go back to the county. They could have crossed the border but they did not want to break the immigration law. However, they chanted the slogan for a visa free South Asia which is more urgent in the context of climate change. By the way, those who entered Nepal were warmly received by the grass-root movements of Nepal at the border. The leaders of ANPFa and some foreign delegates were tirelessly waiting to welcome the caravan since morning that day.

On 20 November in the morning there was a seminar in Kakarvitta, Nepal on Climate Change and Food Sovereignty. Dr. Keshab Khadka conducted the meeting while the ANPFa Vice-President presided over the seminar. Badrul Alam as the key leader of the caravan explained the aims and objectives of the caravan. Besides, representatives from UK, Australia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka. Philippine, Nepal spoke on the topics. All the speakers explained the dreadful consequence of the impact of climate change in South and South East Asia as well. Badrul Alam said that we have to have a strong solidarity among the movements in South Asia in order to realize the climate justice in the form of reparation from the industrially developed countries. He told the audience that the reparation is our right; their historical and ecological dues; not sympathy to the global south at all. He also criticized the developed countries by saying that there remains no significance emission reduction although they are committed in doing so every year. On the same day, the caravan arrived in Sharlahi, Kalikapur. Here the grass-root people gave the caravan traditional reception with the support of mother’s community in Nepal and organized a roundtable on the caravan issue. On behalf of the caravan Badrul Alam depicted the caravan’ aims, objectives and goals. After the caravan there was dairy farm visit where the participants found milking cow, bio-fertilizers made of cow-dung, bio-pesticide, etc. The participants were entertained with fresh organic milk and pea-nut.

On 21 November 2014, in the morning the caravan left for Kathmandu. It is unfortunate that 7 out of 8 persons wishing to fly to Kathmandu buying ticket were intercepted at the airport immigration. They faced further loss of money with non-refundable air ticket. By the way, the caravan arrived in Kathmandu in the evening on 21 November 2014 and stayed in the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC) in Nepal.

On 22 November 2014 at 10:30 am a people’s march took place towards the venue of peoples SAARC. A warm reception to the caravan people had proceeded with floral wreath before the march started. The caravan joined the inaugural function of the P-SAARC. Badrul Alam as the leader of the climate caravan was one of the panel speakers in the inaugural where the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Bam Dev Goutam were present and made an opening speech for the P-SAARC. Badrul Alam explained the experience of the caravan in details. He demanded the visa free South Asia in the interest of lasting peace and democracy within the region. Mr. Alam requested the official SARRC to demand climate justice to the northern developed countries for the benefit of climate affected people in the global south. He asked SAARC to strengthen the food and seed bank mechanism to ensure food sovereignty which will remove the hunger and poverty from South Asia, home of one-fifth of world population.

On 22 November 2014, during the procession towards the P-SAARC Pakistan delegates including Farooq Tariq who is the leader of AWP, joined the caravan.

On 23 November 2014, the caravan participants attended to major workshops. One is on the review of SAARC declaration and statement on climate change and another one on the farmers’ capacity enhancement and South Asian Peasants’ movement.

On 24 November 2014, there were two workshops on food sovereignty, right to food and peoples movement in South Asia; and agriculture and food security in Asia where the caravan participants attended and contributed. In the morning there was a closing ceremony of South Asian Climate Justice, Gender and Food sovereignty Caravan at Conference Hall of Staff College in Kathmandu attended by Netra Timsina who is the member of the organizing committee of P-SAARC and by Mr. Balram Banskota who is the organizing Secretary of ANPFa. The country-wise caravan delegates made comments, suggestion and opinions.

Badrul Alam of BKF made a speech explaining the challenges of climate change in South Asian region as well as in the world. He asked the people to get prepared to combat the long term effect of climate change as there is no short cut way to recover. He added that the major emitters will be held responsible in different ways. They will not be given the scope to evade their historic and ecological dues. All peasants, indigenous people, Dalit, marginalized, subaltern, fisher folk, pastoralists, herders, plantation workers, agricultural workers, agricultural farm workers, women, and youth are becoming united consciously. That is why, very strong movement and campaign should be built in South Asia, Mr. Alam added. He reaffirmed that the struggle would continue and eventually victory is with the people. He read out a caravan declaration adopted and announced the closing of the caravan officially.

---

 Appendix-1: Presentation to the inaugural of PSAARC in Kathmandu, Nepal

Dated 22-24 November 2014

By Badrul Alam, Co-ordinator of the South Asian climate Justice Caravan and President of Bangladesh Krishok Federation

E-mail: gip dhaka.net

Dear Madam Chair, distinguished guests speakers and respectable audience. Heartiest congratulations to all of you on behalf of South Asian Climate Justice Caravan! I would like to share with you the experience of the caravan that we have already done.

The caravan started from Dhaka, Bangladesh on 10^th of November 2014 with 160 participants from different countries like Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, the Philippines, USA, UK, Germany, Australia, Sweden and New Zealand. We arrived in Kathmandu yesterday evening. Today is the 13^th day of our long overland journey. The caravan hosts include Bangladesh Krishok Federation, Bangladesh Kishani Sabha, Bangladesh Adivasi Samity, Bangladesh Agricultural Farm Labor Federation, Ekattra in Bangladesh; National Hawkers Federation, Informal Sector Workers’ Action Alliance and Jana Sanghati Kendra in India; All Nepal Peasants Federation in Nepal.

It is unfortunate that 17 of our participants were stuck on the Indian side of the border as they were not allowed to enter Nepal by the Indian port immigration according to the lame excuse of having no Nepali visa but we all know Nepal gives port entry visa to Bangladeshi citizens. All of our delegates have their multiple entry Indian visas. So, there was no strong reasonable ground for denial. Following the advice of the same Indian immigration authority they bought plane tickets to come to Kathmandu for joining the PSAARC but they were not allowed by the airport immigration except one person who took his visa in Australia. So the immigration pushed them into further big monetary loss as well. They went back home with bitter and painful experience of the immigration personnel. The whole situation reminded again the urgency of visa free South Asia which we have been demanding over the years.

Our caravan was for South Asia, covering three countries: Bangladesh, India and Nepal. It was a caravan on Climate Justice, Gender and Foodsovereignty. The main message of the caravan was to highlight the planetary emergency which is in force. Our only living earth planet so far found in the whole universe is in peril due to the global climate change as well as global warning. Green House Gas (GHG) Emissions account for climate change and industrially developed countries such as the USA, Canada, Australia, Japan and European countries have been emitting GHG for the last 200 years since the beginning of the industrial revolution. So they are the major actors responsible for the global climate change. They have been doing so for their development, life-style and over-consumption. Transnational Corporations (TNCs) are playing pivotal role in Green House Gases effect on the atmosphere and the mother earth. They are doing everything for their own profit and capital. The human beings and existence of the mother earth is below their profit making target. They are just profit-mongers, nothing else. The caravan defended the declaration of the right of mother earth adopted in Cochabamba, Bolivia in 2010 which recognized the living existence of the earth and the importance of its ecology.

Yet climate change has become a great concern at global level because of the continued pressure of the global resistance. The responsible countries could not help but talking on this issue. They (Annex-1 countries) even acknowledged their role in the climate crisis and made frequent commitment to cut in emission in order to keep the average temperature of the earth below 1.5 Degree Celsius. But they do not keep their commitment, rather continuing to emit GHG. Now the average temperature of the earth is nearly 2 degrees Celsius, higher than the average, which is so alarming.

Owing to the adverse impacts of climate change, the entire world is facing devastating super calamities with extreme weather events, like cyclones, storms, water-surges, desertification, droughts, crops failure in agriculture, rising sea level, change in season’s cycles, excess heat, excess cold, excess rainfall, excess snowfall, salinity in the coastal belts, melting of concentrated glaciers in Himalayas and in both north and south pole, and so on.

During the caravan in different workshops, seminars, exchange of opinions and rallies we assessed that the food sovereignty ensured by agro-ecology is under threat in the context of global climate change. The caravan agreed on the fact that peasant-based sustainable agriculture with small scale peasants, family farmers and indigenous people can feed the world with nutritious food without causing any harm to the climate.

The caravan expressed concern about the AR-5 (Assessment Report-5) of IPCC which has given an indication of the dreadful consequences the earth will encounter unless there is no significant change in the carbon reduction level. It has predicted the disappearance of coastal countries and small island states in the world within the 21^st century.

The caravan also expressed concern about the level of carbon in the atmosphere which has crossed the ‘safe’ level, 350 PPM. Now it has crossed even 400 PPM. It is over the tolerant level of the atmosphere which existed for millions of years, presenting an acceptable ecology for human beings. The caravan advocated keeping the carbon level in the atmosphere within 350 PPM by reducing GHG emissions.

The caravan put emphasis on the question of climate justice and gender. It clearly assessed that climate justice is the historical and ecological dues of the responsible countries and they have to pay to the global south in the form of reparation. Women are extremely and disproportionately victimized by climate change and deserved the reparation on the priority.

The caravan argues that South Asia consists of one-fifth of the world’s population and the majority of the population still goes hungry and live in poverty. They have their right to reparation. Following a democratic method, the reparations should go to the people who are affected by the climate change, but have not caused it.

The caravan stressed on the question of building alternatives to climate change from below, not sitting idle. So it has emphasized adopting everywhere agro-ecological farming methods which cool the planet. It also advocated for the use of some renewable energies, namely community controlled solar power, windmills, bio-gas generation, small scale hydro power generation, effective geo-thermal power generation and many more other options instead of fossil fuel-based dirty energy which is contributing to climate change.

The caravan clearly rejected the false solutions like CDM, agro-fuels, REDD+, GMOs, carbon off-setting, smart agriculture, green economy, etc. so far proposed by the UNFCCC as answers to climate change. These will further aggravate the climate crisis. The caravan thinks that the real solutions lie in the grassroots.

60 percent of the world resources have already been used up by the TNCs. The remaining 40 percent is ocean, sea, forest, air. They are also trying to grab these resources. The caravan is strongly opposed to all types of resource grabbing including land, which is the main source of lives and livelihood of the people.

The caravan highly criticized the adoption of GE Bt. Brinjal (Eggplant) in Bangladesh whereas it is banned in India because of its negative consequences. The caravan considered GMOs unethical and they should have no future. It strongly defended the local seeds for our future, guaranteeing our food sovereignty. It underscored to protect, preserve, conserve and restore the indigenous seeds for ecological balance protection.

The caravan expressed the deep concern of the climate forced migrants which is a reality in the whole world. Their right as climate migrants should be protected by the framework of UNO (United Nations Organization). Presently there are 250 million climate migrants in the world and it is on the increase.

During the caravan there were lots of interactions, sharing, lessons-learned among the participants who met thousands of people on the ground who are naturally trying to adapt to and mitigate with the climate change on their own experience. However, it does not mean that the responsible countries should continue with emissions. It is just an example of the capacity of the grassroots people.

The main objective of the caravan is to build a strong grassroots movement network in South Asia which will be a complement to the global campaign on climate justice.

The caravan urged the Official SAARC to demand climate justice to the northern developed countries for the benefit of the global south. It has also demanded to strengthen the food and seed bank mechanism under SAARC for both the reduction of hunger and for the protection of rich bio-diversity and genetic resources in South Asia.

A declaration of caravan is under way. It will be submitted to the official SAARC here in Kathmandu and to the climate conference in Lima, Peru to be held next month, prioritizing the grassroots people’s experiences and a proposal to the solutions to the global climate crisis.

Hereby I am ending my presentation by saying that we have had very fruitful, productive, constructive and effective caravan in terms of outreach, and repercussions amongst the people and the caravan participants. However, still we have a long way to go and the ultimate victory is in the hands of the people. We demand system change, not climate change. We have to go hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder, united. Long live South Asia with peace, prosperity, democracy, non-communality, secularism in a visa-free region with people to people and movement to movement connectivity! Long live international solidarity! Long live South Asian regionalism!

Thank you, Madam Chair and thank you all.

---

 Appendix-2: Declaration Submitted to the People’s SAARC, Kathmandu, Nepal and UNFCCC meeting (COP 20), Lima, Peru

Declaration of the South Asian Caravan 2014 on Climate Justice, Gender and Food Sovereignty Submitted to the People’s SAARC, Kathmandu, Nepal and UNFCCC meeting (COP 20), Lima, Peru.

We men and women, small farmers, Adivasis, agricultural labourers, workers, fishfolk, landless people, plantation workers, hawkers and youth organized a caravan across Bangladesh, India and Nepal to bring people together for climate justice and peoples solutions to the climate crisis. Our 13 day South Asian Climate Justice, Gender and Food Sovereignty Caravan, was organized by the Bangladesh Krishok Federation; Bangladesh Kishani Sabha, Friends of Bangladesh and All Nepal Peasant’s Federation and included these movements as well as the Bangladesh Adivasi Samity, Bangladesh Agricultural Farm Labour Federation, EKOTTRO, National Hawkers’ Federation, Progressive Plantation Workers’ Union, All Nepal Women’s Association, MONLAR, and La Via Campesina which are peoples movements struggling for dignity and the rights of rural and working people. We visited 12 towns and cities of Bangladesh, India and Nepal. We were joined by many in the same struggle from our sister peasant organisations of India; Sri Lanka; Nepal, Indonesia and the Philippines; as well as friends of our struggles from the U.K.; U.S., Germany, Sweden and Australia. Our Caravan culminated in a three day ’People’s SAARC’ held in Kathmandu, Nepal where movements came together to discuss alternative solutions to the climate crisis and hold demonstrations demanding climate justice. Together we are part of the global people’s resistance for climate justice.

In the towns and cities we held meetings, workshops and seminars on the key issues facing our communities. Through this caravan it became clear to us that our problems are shared by our brother and sister farmers in South Asia and across the world. These are dominated by the planetary emergency created by the climate crisis. Our very existence is becoming precarious through landlessness; land grabbing by elites; local government corruption; gender inequality and discrimination (especially women’s dual labour in the household and in the fields), and the imposition of industrial market-based agricultural methods (including the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers) which have increased our production costs and debts and forced peasants from their lands and livelihoods.

Climate change is aggravating such problems and also making farming difficult due to flooding; salt water inundation; cyclone damage; desertification and drought; and unseasonal and unpredictable weather. These are being caused by excessive greenhouse gas emissions and unsustainable exploitation of natural resources particularly from the wealthy industrialized countries, but also from industrialized elites in countries such as China, India and Brazil. They bear the responsibility for climate change but the poor in the Global South are bearing the burden and suffering of climate change. Given these crises faced by us we totally reject the market-based interventions into Bangladeshi, Indian, Nepali and Sri Lankan agriculture that aim to further worsen our conditions. The false solutions to the climate crisis that world leaders are pushing at the ineffective UNFCCC process are an attempt by multinational corporations that have caused climate change in the first place to further take over what is left of our lands and livelihoods.

In farming they are pushing through false solutions like climate ready GMOs (such as Bt. Brinjal in Bangladesh after it was rejected by India following farmers’ resistance); petrol based polluting fertilizers; biochar; agrofuels at the cost of food; increasing monocultures; and programmes such as the framework of Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) and the Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM). The polluters think that by throwing money at poor countries through loans tied to promoting these false solutions, they can continue to emit carbon and at the same time take over our agriculture. We reaffirm our rejection of, and struggle against, all transnational corporations that pursue profits before people’s livelihoods. We demand that the efforts of the people be supported to enable real peoples’ solutions to the climate crisis.

WE DEMAND

(i) comprehensive land reform including land and land titles for the landless; all land grabbing by elite interests and multi national corporations needs to be stopped.

(ii) government support for small farmers that feed the world and cool the planet - small farmers need fair prices for their produce, interest free credit, subsidies, guaranteed markets, insurance against disasters, self reliant ecological agricultural methods such as traditional farming methods which need state sponsored research. Small farmer agriculture needs support for food sovereignty of our nations. We oppose dependence on food produced by polluting industrial agriculture and imports.

(iii) recognition of peasant women’s dual burden of farming and household labour and the end to all gender discrimination and inequality.

(iv) constitutional recognition and rights for Adivasi peoples and support to indigenous farming.

(v) reparation rather than loans paid to the governments of Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka and the rest of the Global South as part of the climate debt owed by industrialized countries of the Global North.

(vi) all adaptation measures to climate change to include full participation and consultation with local communities.

(vii) a legally binding agreement to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions signed by all governments responsible for those emissions.

(viii) a full and just transition to community-controlled renewable energy.

(ix) legal rights for all climate refugees.

(x) a visa-free South Asia.

(xi) protection of, and end to the privatization of, all biodiversity and genetic resources in South Asia.

(xii) respect for the rights of Mother Earth.

Our demands form part of the wider movement for climate justice emerging across the world enshrined in the 2010 Cochabamba Declaration. We call for a further intensification of international solidarity between farmers’ movements and networks (such as La Via Campesina; Asian Peasant Coalition; South Asian Peasant Coalition; People’s Coalition on Food Sovereignty, Jubilee South Asia and the Pacific on Debt and Development) Climate Justice Networks such as Climate Justice Now! and Climate Justice Action; trade unions; and indigenous and Dalit peoples movements.

We demand system change, not climate change.

The South Asian Caravan 2014: Climate Justice, Gender and Food Sovereignty November, 24^th, 2014, Kathmandu, Nepal.

---