Donostia Declaration - Stakeholder Forum

Stakeholder Forumfor a sustainable future3 Bloomsbury Place London WC1A 2QL www.stakeholderforum.orgA GLOBAL GREEN NEW DEAL“A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungsof our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people.”President Franklin D. Roosevelt“Integratingeconomic,environmentaland socialsustainabilityand thepromotion ofnatural andculturaldiversityshould be theorganisingprinciples forthe 21stcentury”In this new millennium, the world needs a new and challenging vision forachieving sustainable development, based on green, prosperous andequitable societies, rather than returning to the unsustainable productionand consumption patterns of the past. The current economic crisis offers theopportunity to adopt a new development paradigm that leads to a liveableworld, where all of its people and countries feel they are recognized asstakeholders with a share in the planet.Economic globalization and uncontrolled free trade has been the organisingprinciple of international economics until this point. Integrating economic,environmental and social sustainability and the promotion of natural andcultural diversity should be the organising principles for the 21 st century.This is the only way to make use of the innovative mechanisms required todeal with the critical challenges presented by the current economic modelwhich has resulted in an increased disparity between rich and poor,accelerated climate change; desertification, loss of biodiversity; degradationof ecosystems; and threats to food, water and energy security.The financial crisis presents a real and tangible opportunity to reform theBreton Woods Institutions around the promotion of sustainabledevelopment. A reformed World Bank and International Monetary Fund thathave at their hearts the promotion of sustainable development wouldensure more socially equitable, economically stable and environmentallysound global development. An ‘International Sustainable DevelopmentFund’ (ISDF) and a ‘World Sustainable Development Bank’ would go a longway to ensure a more sustainable approach to global development andfinance.8