Civil society/academia/policy roundtable

Despite improvements in recent years of the eco-efficiency of technology, the impacts of such improvements on the rate of "decoupling" between ecological degradation and economic growth has been negligible. Contraction economics - décroissance or ’de-growth’ has become a major subject of debate, not just within the counter-globalisation movement but in the wider world. ‘De-Growth’ is not as such a concrete project writes Serge Latouche, but rather a keyword used by its proponents, radical critics of growth theory, to enable us to think beyond the prevailing economic dogma that prevents us from proposing alternative and coherent projects for post-development politics. De-Growth calls for nothing less than the creation of integrated, sustainable and materially responsible societies in both the North and the South, asking challenging questions including: whether actual policies of economic development in developed countries cause social and environmental problems; what type of economic institutions would enable "economic de-growth" to become a viable paradigm for our societal development; and under which conditions these transformations would be socially acceptable.

Similar questions are being raised by ecological economists and increasingly by members of civil society organisations (CSOs) throughout the world, and to the extent that their interests have converged, collaboration across these domains has increased. Participants in this round table will consist of accomplished researchers from the field of ecological economics, representatives of international CSOs experienced in applying the principles, tools and methods of the field to their work in sustainable development and environmental conflict, and others active in the realm of policy.

Sustainable De-Growth refers to the goal of socially sustainable economic de-growth. This panel session will aim to present an overview of European and International Sustainable De-Growth and alternative economic movements, with emphasis on how de-growth theory addresses both Northern issues and Southern concerns. The round table will discuss: a) how it might be best for civil society and researchers to approach and engage with international organizations (including the United Nations) and policy makers in Europe b) potential for the co-development of strategies, indicators and tools (including a ‘universal’ Position on Growth) for the influence of policymaking for equity and sustainability; and c) the essential elements of concrete policy proposals that enable De-Growth ‘in practice’ in the North and give the environment a more important position in government circles in the South.

Participants:

Chair:

• Joan Martinez-Alier, UAB, Spain

Joan Martinez-Alier is a full professor of economics and economic history at UAB, Deputy Director of ICTA, member of the scientific committee of the European Environment Agency, and President of the International Society for Ecological Economics.

CSOs:

• Leida Rijnhout, VODO, Belgium

Leida Rijnhout is a social anthropologist, who studied at the University of Utrecht and Wageningen. She has worked in the sector of international cooperation for ten years, focusing on farmer organisations in Latin America. Since 2000, she has been the director of VODO, the Flemish Platform on Sustainable Development. Within VODO Ms Rijnhout is responsible for global topics such as ecological debt, environmental justice, ecological economics and indicators.

• Sara Vegni, ASUD, Italy

Sara Vegni is a member of the management committee of A SUD, campaign coordinator, co-founder of the Italian Forum of the Movements for Water, and a researcher on common goods.

• David Woodward, UK

David Woodward is the former Head of the new global economy programme at nef. Previously, he worked at Save the Children (UK) where he was Economic Policy Adviser. David’s career also includes time at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as an economic advisor working on debt, structural adjustment and other development issues, and on Latin America and South East Asia; technical assistant to the UK Executive Director to the IMF and World Bank; research coordinator on debt for Save the Children (UK); policy officer for Asia at the Catholic Institute for International Relations; and development economist in the Strategy Unit of the World Health Organisation.

Research:

• Paula Antunes, FCCT - UNL, Portugal

Paula Antunes is Associate Professor and the Director of the ECOMAN unit. She works in sustainable development, environmental management, and environmental assessment and modelling. She is currently Vice-President of ESEE, chairing the Education Committee.

• Gregor Meerganz von Medeazza, UAB, Spain

Gregor Meerganz von Medeazza has a background in Civil and Environmental Engineering (Imperial College, London) and obtained his PhD in Ecological Economics and Environmental Management (ICTA, Barcelona). Gregor undertook research in North Africa, the Gaza Strip and South India and currently works on the sustainability issues of biofuels in Latin America. Ecological and social limits to growth has been a recurrent field of interest.

• Francois Schneider, R&D, France

Francois Schneider is a co-founder of Research and Degrowth; and a member of SERI . He has also worked at INSA-France, CML in Holland, IIÖ in Austria, with the Estonian Nature Fund, and INETI-Portugal.

Policy:

• Sara Kjellstrand, European Commission Programme Officer, Sustainable Development Unit, Directorate General - Research