Natural Resource Policy, Dehradun, India. This is a last chance for the people to survive and live with dignity. What we are talking about ultimately is survival, humanity, dignity and democracy. As national development agencies we in the South have spent a lot of our energy broadening the democratic spaces in our national societies, removing the barriers to people s participation, helping social movements regain their right to land, to good health and adequate nutrition, to safety, housing and a sustainable environment. We now realize that the fight for democracy must also be extended to the international arena, where the lack of democracy is so obvious.
International democracy is needed just as much as national democracy.
Until there are moves towards a more balanced world economic order there is little hope for any genuine partnership on environment. These institutions, which make the decisions that affect so much of our lives, must be made much more accountable to the public. Local communities in our countries must also have the opportunity to participate. Environmental and economic issues have to be resolved simultaneously. The operating principles must be ecological sustainability and social equity.