Frances Moore Lappé – Recent publications
WFC Councillor Frances Moore Lappé is featured as The Movement Mother in the New York Magazine’s summer guide 2009, a Q&A with her son Anthony Lappé. She also appears in the Natural Health Magazine. Moore Lappé’s article for Boston University’s Pardee Center is published: Seeing Hunger through New Eyes: From Lack to Possibility and can be downloaded for free. Moore Lappé recently returned from a book tour in Germany to promote the launch there of Getting a Grip: Clarity, Creativity and Courage in a World Gone Mad. She writes about her perceptions of Europe in her Huffington Post blog.

Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah – Peacemaking for the 21st Century
Some of the world's most experienced mediators, high-level decision makers and key peace process actors, including WFC Councillor and Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Somalia Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, met last month in Oslo, Norway, to share their experiences of peacemaking and reflect on current mediation processes. The focus of this year's forum was "Reasserting diplomacy and mediation in a fragmented world", focusing on the utility of mediation versus that of military force to resolve conflicts. How can mediation and diplomacy be made more relevant and effective? Issues included experiences of negotiating with organised Islamist groups; assessments of the potential for dialogue in Afghanistan and Pakistan; and the threat of North Korea's nuclear proliferation to peacemaking.

Anders Wijkman – Ecosystems management is a moral imperative
Sustainable management of ecosystems, as an integral part of climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction plans, must be at the centre of all development activity, concluded the second Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction (GP09) Geneva, Switzerland. Speaking at the panel, WFC Councillor Anders Wijkman said: "Although our well-being depends entirely on the services of nature, in the majority these goods have no markets and consequently no prices. We ought to be aware, however, that by destroying these natural resources, life-supporting systems could collapse. It is time that we grasped the consequences of our actions and start acting today. Everyone from all walks of life needs to be a player in addressing this challenge. Closing the gap between science-policy and advocating action is imperative."

Ashok Khosla – We have run out of time to halt dangerous warming
New scientific research suggests that climate change is taking place faster than previously foreseen; "We have run out of time," believes Ashok Khosla, WFC Councillor and IUCN president. If nothing changes to stop global warming, by 2065 no region will have corals. Khosla, participating in the international forum on climate change organised by GLOBE in June, said that conventional wisdom on climate change is that the average rise in temperatures should not go beyond two degrees Celsius in order to keep rising concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere below 400 parts per million (ppm). "But we are already at 387 ppm and have practically no time to stop this growth of greenhouse gases emissions." Khosla said the world is ravaged by a demographic crisis and by an unjust concentration of income, closely linked to a dramatic degradation of the environment. New global policies must, he said, aim to increase human development in the poorest countries to solve "the climate change paradox: by 2050, the world will have several billion extra tonnes of carbon emissions, unless the poorest populations have access to higher levels of energy services." This is only possible with "human, sustainable development, now, and for all inhabitants of the world."

Bianca Jagger – Denouncing violations of human rights
WFC Chair Bianca Jagger published an article for the German news magazine Der Spiegel on June 15th. She wrote about how artists raise awareness on human rights and fight human rights violations through their work: “Artists do not live in a vacuum. They are an integral part of the fabric of society in which they live and if they choose to, they can have a great impact… shouldn’t they be encouraged rather than disapproved of when they show us its horrors, when they denounce atrocities … when they wake us up to the darkest acts men are capable of, when they make us want to react and act for the world to become a better place; a world where the rule of law and respect for human rights prevails?”
On June 21st, Bianca Jagger participated in the Instigate Debate Event in London, with Adam Price MP from the Culture, Media and Sport House of Commons Select Committee, and Joe Corre, founder of Agent Provocateur. The debate, entitled ‘Taking Liberties: Is the price right for Freedom?’ focused on the erosion of civil liberties and human rights since September 11th.

Hermann Scheer – Desertec project not Europe’s energy solution
Hermann Scheer, WFC Councillor and president of Eurosolar, the European Association for Renewable Energy, last month called the Desertec project to harness solar power in the deserts of North Africa and transport the clean electricity to Europe "highly problematic". He said costs would be vastly higher and deadlines would be missed due to logistical problems such as sand storms and dealing with many different countries. "I would urge the investors to stay clear of it," he told UK’s Guardian newspaper. Scheer was also critical of the fact that the project would "duplicate the current system" whereby energy distribution is concentrated in the hands of a few multinational companies. "We should be looking instead at decentralising the system, and looking closer to home for our energy supplies, such as solar panels on homes or harnessing wind energy on the coasts, or inland," he said.

Vandana Shiva – Theft of traditional farming knowledge must stop
A new report commissioned by the organisation Navdanya called "Biopiracy of climate resilient crops” puts the spotlight on poor farming communities. WFC Councillor Vandana Shiva, founder of Navdanya, said that climate resistant traits are found in many conventionally grown crops around the world, particularly in tropical and sub-tropical countries. These crops are traditionally bred by farmers. Vandana Shiva accuses multinational seed companies of effectively robbing the farmers of this traditional knowledge and patenting the traits. Some of the companies are trying to develop second generation genetically modified (GM) crops based on these traits. Navdanya calls for a stop to the patenting of climate resilient traits.