In preparation for the upcoming Earth Summit, officially called Rio+20, Solidaridad together with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands organized in Buenos Aires, Argentina a seminar on “Smart and Sustainable Land Use.”
The objectives of the seminar were to discuss the approach towards smart and sustainable land use in Argentina based on three transitional strategies. These are “More with Less”, the “Bio-based Economy” and “Sustainable Natural Resource Governance.” The seminar was also a platform to present Solidaridad’s programme on REDD + (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation plus) a mechanism established by the United Nations. The programme aims to lower global emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.
The Executive Director of Solidaridad Network, Nico Roozen, said in the opening of the seminar that the Foundation promotes a strategy focusing on optimization in the agricultural production. That means to produce more food, fiber and biofuels, but with less water, fertilizer, pesticides and less pollution for lower greenhouse gas emissions. Roozen, further noted that the Foundation has assumed “an active role in supporting the transition to a more sustainable economy", helping to establish public-private partnerships necessary for effective market transformation.
Jeroen Douglas, the Executive Director of Solidaridad in South America and Solidaridad Program Manager in South America, Miguel Hernandez also participated in the seminar, which took place in May. Other speakers were Mr. Hein de Vries, Ambassador of Kingdom of the Netherlands in Argentina, Mr. Leandro Fernandez, from the Department of Environment and Sustainable Development of Argentina, Ms. Anna Di Pangracio, from the Natural Resources Foundation (FARN) and Mr. Ramiro Aznar, from the Lucci Group.