Current development strategies
How are future generations and environment/ecosystems addressed in present development strategies, and how can OF contribute to reaching the goals? I have chosen to focus on two documents which create a basis for formulation and evaluation of current development strategies and projects among others in Denmark, namely the Millennium
Most of the MDGs can claim to target future generations through an assumption that when these goals are reached for the present generation, the situation will remain for the future generations.Goal 7, including the four sub-goals, explicitly targets what this article calls the silent actors, namely future generations and ecosystems, biodiversity and species and varieties threatened with eradication. The strategies expressed in the Paris Declaration both are based on and target collaboration between countries and the forms in which development is brought about. All aid initiatives must build on the recipient countries’ own strategies, policies and ownership of the processes. There is no explicit mention of future generations or the environment in terms of threatened species or vulnerable ecosystems. This leads to a conclusion that implementation of development strategies where the interests of the silent actors are included presupposes existing strategies and policies that include these interests in national and regional strategies. It furthermore raises the important question: Who is responsible for raising a voice for sustainability--in the meaning of the word expressed in the Brundtland report--and embracing the voiceless and those with no present power or financial interests?
Properly implemented organic farming based on the four principles seems to create a basis for a fair farming and food system, one which both meets the needs of the present and builds a framework which enables future generations to meet their needs in terms of food security, social capital and fair trading systems.