Energy, climate and the environment
Large-scale deforestation, water pollution, global warming and loss of local crops show us that sustainable development is impossible without the use of sustainable energy and the maintenance of biodiversity and traditional crops. Hivos makes energy accessible to the poor and ensures responsible energy production, for example with the Hivos Climate Fund.
Energy plays an important role not only in the development of agriculture and industry but also in households and schools. Hivos works on clean and sustainable projects in developing countries, for example hydropower plants, biogas installations and sustainable wood furnaces. The Hivos Climate Fund consists of funds from private individuals and businesses in the Netherlands, and the money is allocated to sustainable energy projects in Asia, Africa and Central America.
Other environmental activities of Hivos and its partner organisations are mainly related to the issues of the use of pesticides and the genetic modification of crops. Small producers do not need genetically modified crops because they have developed their own varieties over the years that are best suited to the conditions in which they grow. These farmers would prefer to continue to use these seeds.
Hivos supports groups that advocate for nationally and internationally binding agreements on pesticides, gentechnology, and access to seeds and energy. For example, together with various environmental and development aid organisations, Hivos has created the www.gentech.nl website to inform the general public of the latest news and background situations regarding the genetic modification of crops.
Climate change and sustainable energy production are high on the international agenda. This became particularly apparent at the major climate conference of the United Nations on Bali in December 2007. Prior to the Bali conference, Hivos and the Nature and Environment Foundation published a collection of visions for developing countries: The Bali Guide on CDM: Towards a sustainable CDM.
The Hivos approach in a nutshell:
-Hivos supports partners in obtaining access to – in particular renewable – energy;
-Hivos supports initiatives to help poor and marginalised people keep their crops and seeds;
-Hivos suggests energy-saving methods for production processes;
-Hivos influences the environmental policy of organisations in Europe and the Netherlands.
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