On June 25-26, members of the CEECEC project met in Rome. On the first day they participated in “Ecological Economics and the Crisis”, a conference organised by Italian partner ASUD (See article “All Roads Lead to a Green Economy“, below, and watch video coverage of the event by press tv “Rome sets stage for International Conference on Ecology, Economy” published in the “Reports” section on June 26th).

On the following morning CEECEC travelled to Caserta in the region of Naples for a first-hand view of the waste crisis in the area, the subject of one of the CEECEC case studies currently under development. Here the group witnessed the endless passage of lorries laden with waste en route to illegal landfills and stocking areas of “eco balls”.

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The afternoon was then spent in Naples at the Italian Institute for Philosophic Studies where Joan Martinez Alier, Omar Bonilla and Supriya Singh of CEECEC took place in a panel discussion entitled “The Misery of Capital”. Other panellists included. ASUD’s Guiseppe de Marzo and Nicola Capone of the Campania Regional Waste Coordination.

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Have a look at the programmes of “Ecological Economics and the Crisis” and “The Misery of Capital” (in Italian).

To read an article in IL Manifesto (in Italian), click here.

ALL ROADS LEAD TO A GREEN ECONOMY

26 June 2009 (MO) – In the heart of Italy, scientists and activists from all over the world gathered to discuss progressive and sustainable answers to the multitude of crises that we face today.  The analysis they made and the tools and positive examples discussed went far beyond “greenwash”. The conference ‘Ecological Economics and the Crisis’ took place in the Provincial Palace of Rome and featured radical speeches coming from local activists and administrative authorities.

Ecological economists are small group of economists who predicted in detail the current convergence of an economic, social and environmental crisis. Some of them have joined forces with CSOs within a broader network called CEECEC: Civil Society Engagement with ECological Economics (ceecec.net).

A founding father of this relatively young science, and the coordinator of CEECEC, Joan-Martinez Alier spoke at the Rome event, highlighting three levels within the economy: the financial, the productive economy and the ecological economy.

Fictitious construction

Even the most persistent classical economists now recognize that the financial level was    a fictitious economy. But the idea that the productive economy, where accidents increase GDP but taking care of children does not, is a misleading social construction is something that Martinez Alier has been explaining to anyone willing to listen for the last 20 years.

Apparently, a crisis of this scale was needed in order for policy makers to understand that while a coastal oil-disaster is good for the ‘real economy’, it is actually problematic for what Martinez Alier calls ‘the real real economy’. The 16 convincing speakers at ‘Ecological Economics and the Crisis’ went beyond these basics to speculate on what an ecological economy would look like, not just in present times, but over time and across geographic boundaries.

Giuseppe De Marzo from the organising Italian activist organisation A Sud referred to the examples of Ecuador and Bolivia to explain how urgent the need for reviewing the Italian constitution is, in order to reverse the current state of affairs. “The economy should serve the people, not the other way around.” Supriya Singh from the well-known Centre for Science and Environment in Delhi gave a very concrete example of a simple village in India where for the past 15 years a visionary local leader has practised many of the principles that ecological economics teaches. As a result of the holistic and sustainable approach to water and soil management: of this village, nobody now lives below the poverty line and the average income household has increased by a factor of 20.

Painful details

On matters closer to home, sharp critiques were voiced on how Italy has dealt with environmental conflicts and the crisis. Journalist Eduardo De Blasi from L’Unità gave painful details of how reckless policy-makers in Naples have dealt with waste management and what the resulting ecological and economical consequences have been. A senior advisor on waste management in Naples turned out to be a 90-year old ex-professor who, at the height of the waste crisis argued that non-treated household waste ought to be used to fertilise the fields.

To the relief of many, Provincial policy-makers in Rome participating in the event illustrated that Italy also has competent, even visionary, individuals in key positions. Massimiliano Smeriglio, responsible for work and education in the region surrounding Rome, told of how a day earlier on a meeting with local business leaders, he rejected the idea of getting Rome out of the current crisis by organising a Formula-1 competition, instead preferring to invest in green jobs. He added in his talk that “it can’t be our goal to go back to the old, neo-colonial economy that lived on the back of the environment and the poor in the South.” One can only hope that such strong statements will make it into newspapers and television amongst the much “sexier” news circulating these days in Italy.

Nick Meynen