Fwd: CEESP Theme on Business, Best Practice and Accountability -- calls for interest
Caroline Seagle
Dear Colleagues,
We, Masego Madzwamuse and Caroline Seagle, are excited to send out this first communication as Chair and Deputy Co-Chair of the IUCN Commission on Environment, Economics and Social Policy (CEESP) Theme on Business, Best Practice and Accountability, formerly the Theme on Social and Environmental Accountability in the Private Sector and Extractives, led by Diana Shand. We spent the past couple of months reviewing previous work and consulting a few individuals who were actively involved in former working groups. We have deep gratitude for colleagues such as Diana Shand, Doris Cellarius and others, and are excited to continue the work of SEAPRISE.
We
would like to thank all those of have renewed their membership, and although we
have taken a while to get to this point, we hope to immediately revive the
theme and develop it further at the Halifax conference in May. We take this opportunity to briefly introduce ourselves;
Masego Madzwamuse is the Team Leader for the Economic and Social Justice Cluster at the Open Society Initiative of Southern Africa. She is widely experienced social and economic policy analyst focusing on women’s rights, sustainable development and economic justice, environment and climate change. She supports social movements advocating for community rights, economic inclusion and rights based approaches to development in Africa.
Caroline
Seagle is
a PhD candidate in the department of Anthropology at McGill University, Canada.
Her research focuses on human-environment interactions and large-scale mineral
extraction in Madagascar. An active member of CEESP-TGER, she acted as
Rapporteur for the New Social Compact dialogues on extractive industries and
development at the 2014 WPC in Sydney. She has a strong interest in
rights-based approaches to conservation and environmental justice.
We have briefly outlined three general areas of interest (attached) we would like to pursue in this theme. Please take a look at the document, and we welcome any feedback or suggestions.
IMMEDIATE ACTION PLANS (to be discussed with the CEESP SC soon)
1) Discussion of Theme Name
The new Theme will be discussed at the Halifax meeting in late May. Some concerns were brought up by CEESP members about the name of the Theme and language of ‘best practice’; the naming of the Theme will be discussed in the coming weeks and months.
2) Working Groups (please also refer to working document, attached)
We have outlined three Working Groups and areas of interest for the Theme, which we will actively pursue in the coming months:
1) WG1: Accountability in the Extractive and Business Industries;
2) WG2: Natural Capital;
3) WG3: Environmental Defenders;
We also discussed how the broader phenomenon of the Financialisation of Nature cuts across all of these Working Groups, particularly that of Natural Capital. Market-based approaches, including offsets (carbon and biodiversity) and how they are used by business and extractive industries, as well as how IUCN and other environmental groups have approached them, have drawn the attention of both IUCN members of IUCN and broader civil society groups.
3) Policy Matters issue on Environmental Defenders
We envisage a future issue on environmental defenders. Global Witness states that, in 2015, more than three people were murdered per week defending their lands from ‘land grabbing’ or environmentally destructive industries. This was said to be the deadliest year on record. The human rights lens that we bring into this space means the conservation movement can no longer turn a blind eye; we will look at the role of business and its intersections with human rights abuses. Opportunities to build alliances between the human rights actors and environmental defenders will be explored in relation to this theme. The UN Rapporteur on Human Rights and Environment, John Knox, has been consistently calling for these forms of alliances. This timely issue of Policy Matters will address this crucially important topic.
OTHER PRACTICAL INFORMATION
HOW TO JOIN THEME
In order to join the Theme, please send us an email directly (mmadzwamuse@gmail.com; carolin...@gmail.com) to help us compile a list of those interested. Our understanding is that it is not possible to join via the IUCN portal.
You can also join the theme by renewing your CEESP membership (see below) if you have not already done so.
GROUP SURVEY
To help us make this theme focused and effective, we see value in completing a brief survey to identify who we are as members, what each of us are working on, and related needs, challenges and opportunities within our global community. This will help us shape the topics or projects that we all would like to pursue as a theme. Thank you to those who have already completed the survey.
Please complete this brief online survey (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SS7TQF3) to help us settle on an initial Work Plan for the IUCN Quadrennial 2017-2020.
LISTSERV COMMUNICATION
We also invite you to email the CEESP Theme on Business, Best Practice and Accountability (TBBPA) listserv directly and let people know who you are, what you're working on and how you would like to participate in or contribute to the Theme.
Listserv Address: BIZ-BESTPRACTICE-ACCOUNT...@LISTS.IUCN.ORG
You are welcome to use the listserv at any time to share information, publications, or to publicize events, job postings, or funding opportunities that might be of interest to other members. Please keep in mind, the 'CEESP Net Ethics Policy' - adopted by the CEESP Steering Committee in 2012, to guide members on the appropriate way to communicate via emails and listservs.
IUCN PORTAL
Please ensure that you have access to your account on the IUCN Portal and that everything listed there is up-to-date and accurate. Our membership database is extracted from the Portal, so be sure to post any changes in information. You can also use the Portal to identify and reach out to other TBBPA members near you or in the places you travel/visit. The more we know each other, the better we will work together!
NETWORKING
We encourage you to attend relevant events, meet other Theme members who are participating, and to share a brief report on such activities with the group when you return, including any suggestions you might have on how we can follow up as a Theme.
We are actively looking for individuals who might be able to invest the time and energy to be part of the above-mentioned working groups. Please let us know as soon as possible if you would like to be involved.
RENEWING CEESP MEMBERSHIP
If you have not yet renewed your CEESP membership, you can do so here: https://www.iucn.org/commissions/commission-environmental-economic-and-social-policy/join-ceesp
You can list anyone else you know in CEESP as a referee, or you can contact us, in which case we may be able to act as referees.
For those of you who enjoy social media, CEESP has a LinkedIn Group and a FaceBook Group, so please join and engage in the conversations there.
We aim to encourage a robust and interactive community around this theme. Please ask questions, let us reach out, learn and share together. We look forward to an exciting and productive quadrennial full of collaboration linking peace and the environment.
Best wishes,
Masego Madzwamuse and Caroline Seagle