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LuAn Declaration released at the Transcontinental Video Conference on Green Growth in a poor Chinese farmer's house
2014-10-20
Appendix:
LuAn Declaration on Green Development in Poor Regions
Oct 10, 2014
Foziling, LuAn, China
During October 9-10, 2014, the relevant green growth research units of the Development Research Center of the State Council, PRC, European Commission, Arizona State University, and Global Climate Forum jointly organized a transcontinental live-streamed video conference "Unpacking Green Growth". Three venues were respectively set in a poor farmer's house in Foziling village, Huoshan County, LuAn City, a poor region in the middle of China, in the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels, and at Arizona State University in Phoenix, Arizona (USA). The delegates at LuAn conference had two days of intensive and in-depth discussions on the theme of "how green growth can accelerate the development in poor regions", with live-streamed video link to Brussels and Phoenix venues, and came to the following declaration.
1.Since the Industrial Revolution, humankind has begun to overcome many material shortages, and the population of the advanced countries has enjoyed material affluence and prosperity. But their development paradigm, characterized by high resource consumption, high carbon emissions, and high environment depletion has caused serious global crises, including environmental, economic, and social crises. Furthermore, there is considerable evidence that the over-consumption and materialism that prevail in the advanced countries' existing development paradigm cannot really bring happiness----the ultimate purpose of development. Therefore, we must fundamentally rethink the purpose of development and the dominant development paradigm.
2.The industrialization-based development model and life style that goes with it in the developed countries, is unfortunately not only treated by the most developing countries as their target, but also seen as the inevitable pathway of economic development that they must follow. As all the 7 billion people on the planet aspire to achieving such so-called prosperity in the same way, the boundaries of the safe operating space between man and nature is inevitably crossed, and the global development becomes increasingly unsustainable. The crises the world is experiencing show that the industrial countries' development paradigm is neither a law of nature, nor the only pathway of economic development. It is neither sustainable, nor a development roadmap that can bring the entire human population to happiness.
3. Facing the crises caused by this traditional development paradigm, humanity has to look for a new, sustainable development paradigm. All countries, including both developed and developing ones, have to shift to green development with low resource consumption, low carbon emissions and protection of the environment, so as to make a globally shared prosperity possible. The establishment of such a new development paradigm relies on new thinking. As Albert Einstein famously said, "we cannot solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” It is neither possible, nor necessary for the poor regions to follow the traditional development roadmap, which sacrifices the environment. As soon as we jump out of our traditional industrialization thinking, many traditional constraints against development do no longer exist, while many new advantages are emerging.
4. Fortunately, the development of poor regions co-occurs with a major historical transition. Currently, human society is transitioning from the Industrial Era to the Internet Era. This transition is dramatically impacting the traditional development paradigm. Many concepts, from resources to urbanization, from production and consumption to business models, are undergoing unprecedented changes. These changes make it possible for the poor regions to leapfrog to the economy of the future.
5. To some extent, the poverty in poor regions is due to certain inherent limitations of the Industrial Era. Since much of the economy in the Industrial Era was based on material resources and material wealth, rural villages have significantly been undervalued. Rural areas are simply seen as the base providing tangible agricultural products and labor for industries, while their non-material green resources, including environment, leisure, culture, intangible heritage, aesthetics of the landscape, emotion, experience, etc, are largely ignored. Though such rural areas are endowed with many potentially very valuable intangible cultural and environmental resources, it is not just hard to turn these resources into 'gold', but in the process of industrialization these rural areas have been marginalized. The value of rural areas, as well as the opportunities that green growth represents, can only be fully recognized if we jump out of the box of traditional industrialization thinking.
6. The green development of poor regions is showing a promising future. Nonetheless, what that future will exactly be like is yet to be unveiled through hard exploration. The exploration of the new green development paradigm will focus on four domains. First, to establish a new development rationale based on rethinking the problems of the traditional development paradigm and the purpose of development. Second, to establish a new concept of resource, and to identify and utilize the intangible "new" green resources ignored in the past. Third, to use new Internet-based business models and new development policy tools. Fourth, to use this new rationale, these “new” resources, and the new models to produce new products and services that represent different consumption patterns.
7. The delegates had in-depth discussions concentrating on concrete ways to realize the vision, and proposed specific initiatives. For instance, to introduce the best green growth practices into LuAn to make it a “World Showcase of Green Development in China”; to regularly hold a green development forum in Foziling so as to foster the conference economy; to establish green development funds and develop green finance; to explore the possibility to establish a green development college with world leading universities. They also proposed lots of new ideas on how to develop innovative approaches to agriculture, intangible cultural heritage products, conferences, training, health, eco-tourism, leisure, recreation, massive open online courses (MOOC), online medical services, rural e-commerce, renewable energy, green manufacturing, etc.
8. The location of this conference in a typical poor Anhui farmer's house is to send two key messages. First, in the era of the Internet, ICT and high-speed transport, the traditional constraints against development in poor regions, including geographic isolation, are largely being overcome. Second, the intangible and green resources that were ignored in the traditional development model, such as ecosystem assets, local culture, etc., are invaluable assets for rural development. These intangible and green resources can be turned into 'gold'. This conference itself is a test of the vision. If we are able to hold such a trans-continental live-streamed video conference through ICT in a geographically isolated poor village, then it shows that various green businesses and services can be developed in similarly poor regions. Poor regions can then leapfrog to an Internet-based new green economy.
9. Going beyond traditional industrialization thinking and development rationale to embrace green development in the era of the Internet, rural villages in China are witnessing a new era! The success of such a green growth experiment in poor regions in China would have significant implications for the rest of the world.
http://www.drc.gov.cn/ccgg/
