The "Pascual Carrión" World Forum on Agrarian Reform (WFAR)New challenges for land management and access to
natural resources in the 21st century
The issue of agrarian reform seems to have lost importance in recent decades - after occupying a prominent position during most of the 20th century in the social struggles of peasants' movements, on the agendas of international organisations and in the development policies of many countries. This has happened despite major social tensions linked to poverty, hunger and the struggle for land and water which now face humanity with the risk of future conflicts greater than those occuring now. The major global challenges arising out of neo-liberal globalisation call for new policies for access to and management of land. Also needed is a new reflection about the agrarian reform issue leading to new approaches which can reduce inequalities and guarantee the fundamental human rights of all the world's inhabitants.
Scope and focus of the WFAR
WFAR identifies itself as a space for dialogue, exchange of experiences and reflection, as well as for the construction of processes and proposals, where agrarian and social organisations, experts, NGOs and governmental organisations from various continents will address the question of land, positing the influence of agrarian reforms in social and economic processes aimed at attaining food sovereignty, the fulfilment of human rights and the creation of conditions necessary for world sustainable development.
Objectives
WFAR's main objectvies are to:
- Help situate the land question on the priority agenda of world social movements.
- Contribute to developing a new paradigm for agrarian reform in the 21st century and demonstrate that these policies are justified both for reasons of social justice and for economic reasons as well as to debate the new approaches to land policies required within the present context .
- Strengthen social processes and alliances between various sectors seeking to bring about new policies for access to land and natural resources management.
Content
WFAR will endeavour to answer the question: what new approaches are needed for agrarian reform under present conditions? To arrive at the answer, the following major themes will be addressed:
> The analysis of 20th century agrarian reform experiences, their social, political and economic context, of successes, failures counter-reforms, derived from a range of cases selected as a function of their contemporary relevance.
> The need for agrarian reforms and suitable tools for their implementation at the dawn of the 21st century. A detailed examination will be made of existing relationships between the land issue, food sovereignty, sustainable development and ecological balance.
The event
The WFAR will take place in Valencia, Spain from the 5th-8th of December 2004.
The programme will comprise lectures, seminars and workshops. Spaces will also be available for self-organised activities related to Forum issues.
WFAR participants will include farmers', indigenous peoples' and fisherfolks' organisations, experts, researchers and non-governmental organisations. Also invited will be consumer and environmental organisations, international institutions and development co-operation agencies.
The WFAR International Executive Committee (IEC) is responsible for decisions about the programme and its implementation. The IEC will be assisted by an executive secretariat elected from its members.
WFAR is set in the dynamic of thematic fora arising out of the spirit of the Porto Alegre World Social Forum and adopts it's Charter of Principles.
WFAR technical secretariat (CERAI - Spain)
Sergio Escribano ...................... fmra@cerai.es (Tlf. : 00 34.96.352.18.78)
Elba García .............................. fmra@cerai.es (Tlf. : 00 34.96.380.98.27)
Carmen Prats ........................... fmra@cerai.es (Tlf. : 00 34.96.380.98.27)
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