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| Marijke Colle delivers her presentation to the participants who are coming from Lanao provinces and Iligan City |
Iligan City- Marijke
Colle, a veteran climate justice activist from Belgium, was the main speaker of
the recently held forum on Climate
Crisis, Ecofeminism and the Alternatives which was participated by more than
200 participants coming from different sectors in Lanao del Sur, Lanao del
Norte and Iligan City.
She spoke on the Ecofeminist Answer to Climate Crisis. She pointed out that the ecological
crisis is not a crisis in nature but it is a human crisis that is responsible
for the destruction of nature. She added that there is a need to identify the main
cause of this ecological crisis.
Colle told the participants that the
growth of capitalism is responsible to the exploitation of nature because it is
interested in producing more goods and profit. In achieving a balanced society,
she proposed that the whole way the people produce goods has to be changed as
the exponential production of goods implies exponential destruction of nature.
While women have been very involve in
food production and care for their family, they remain invisible and labor
division worsen their condition. Colle emphasized that, “the struggle for a
safe, healthy and ecologically sustainable environment combined with the struggle
for social justice, will strengthen and motivate half of humanity, to be the
conscious force for women’s liberation, for the overthrow of capitalism and for
an ecosocialist and ecofeminist alternative.”
For a copy of the presentation of Marijke Colle, click this link.
For a copy of the presentation of Marijke Colle, click this link.
For the local campaign and concrete
alternative actions in the community level, Ma. Gittel Squilabon, the Coordinator
of the Tri-people Program on Food Sovereignty and Peace-building of Sumpay
Mindanao, shared their initiatives specifically on sustainable agriculture
where they work for organic food production while working for the enhancement
of people’s control of land, water, seeds, market and to all things necessary for safe food production
including technology and knowledge.
Professor
Elaine Baulete of the Center for Human Rights Education of the Office of the Vice
Chancellor for Research Extension, MSU-IIT, shared their successful
experience in building collaborative projects involving the community, academe
and government units in mitigating the impact of climate change through
mangrove rehabilitation in Bayug Island in Iligan City.
Some important action points were also
raised during the forum. Among these are the continuing partnerships among
non-government organizations and academic institutions in the promotion of the successful
alternatives; to deal with the ongoing construction in Lanao del Norte of
coal-fired plant for power generation; and the City Agriculturist Office of
Iligan to support the aquamarine culture of the community in Bayug Island which
is currently assisted by MSU-IIT.
The forum was a concerted efforts of Sumpay Mindanao Inc.; Sustainable Alternatives for the Advancement of Mindanao (SALAM), Inc.; Mindanao Tri-people Youth Center (MTPYC); Mindanao Peoples’ Peace Movement (MPPM)- Katawhang Migrante, Liga ng Makabagong Kabataan (LMK); Ranaw Women and Children Resource Center (RWCRC), Inc. in partnership with MSU-IIT’s Political Science Department, Kataastaasang Sanggunian ng mga Mag-aaral (KASAMA), and the Center for Human Rights Education of the OVCRE in coordination with International Institute for Research and Education (IIRE)-Manila. It was conducted in CED Amphitheater, College of Education, MSU-IIT on July 25, 2014.
