November 22-25, 2006
Loei, Thailand

Theme: Asserting people's sovereignty over natural resources; people and planet over profits!

Organized by: Asia Pacific Research Network (APRN)

Local hosts:
Sustainable Development Foundation
Asia Pacific Forum on Women Law and Development
Thai NGO Coordinating Committee on Development

What is the People's Convention on Natural Resources?

Over the last two decades, the world is witness to the rapid depletion and degradation of the environment. This affects the world's poor the most as they face a host of problems that seriously impact on their lives and livelihoods. Peasants, workers, fisherfolks, and indigenous peoples bear the ill-effects of the intensification of resource extraction that come with the promotion of corporate-led globalization.

Grassroots organizations and social movements were instrumental in raising public awareness and involvement on environmental issues, and have had notable victories in thwarting TNC inroads and asserting public control over the world's resources. This, however, is threatened by the aggressive attempts of corporations to regain the momentum and further their liberalization and privatization agenda.

There is now a need to assess, learn and promote new initiatives in exercising people's sovereignty in natural resources issues. More importantly, there is a need to elevate environmental action from a concern of environmentalists into a synergy of people exercising their sovereignty as the moral authority and the power from which national sovereignty emanates.

This coming together of people including stakeholders in natural resources concerns such as labor unions and community based enterprises is essential to address issues and concerns that may seem in conflict in order to develop a common platform for people's domain and national patrimony versus TNC control and exploitation on the theme of people and planet over profit.

As a People's Convention, the program is designed specifically for the participation and expression of grassroots sectors along three main themes: land and genetic resources, freshwater and marine resources, and forests and mineral resources. The People's Convention on Natural Resources aims to put forward a People's Agenda or Manifesto that will be a general presentation of the concerns and aspirations of the people on the natural resources and environment issue.

What are the aims of the People's Convention?

• Achieve a common understanding of the issue of natural resources overexploitation in the context of corporate globalization;
• Develop researches on various aspects of the issue of natural resources and promote coordination on research and information sharing in these aspects;
• Bring different stakeholders among the people into a common discussion to build a policy advocacy platform based on the principle of people and planet over profit to stop overexploitation by corporations; and
• Explore possible international alternative people-powered mechanisms for protecting the environment in the framework of sustainable utilization of natural resources for the benefit of the community.

Who will be involved?

The Convention is organized by APRN and will be hosted by the APRN members in Thailand: the Thai NGO Coordinating Committee on Development, Asia-Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development, Sustainable Development Foundation, and the coalition of Northeast organizations and movements of Thailand. The Convention is open for cosponsorship and participation by international organizations within and outside Asia Pacific.

About 500 peasants, workers, fisherfolks, indigenous peoples and NGO participants from Asia Pacific and from other global regions are expected to attend the People's Convention on Natural Resources.

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