Biovision
| Biovision | |
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| Legal form: | Foundation, endowment |
| Purpose: | Promotion of the preservation of the natural foundations of life for present and future generations |
| Chair: | Hans Herren ( Chairman of the Board of Trustees ) |
| Consist: | since 1998 (as an association), 2004 (as a foundation) |
| Seat: | Zurich , Switzerland |
| Website: | www.biovision.ch |
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Biovision - Foundation for Ecological Development is a non-profit organization for project-related, ecological and sustainable development cooperation for people in Africa and promotes the preservation of the natural foundations of life according to the principle of helping people to help themselves. In addition, Biovision is committed to ecological thinking and action in Switzerland and on a global level. The projects contribute to the achievement of various goals of the 2030 Agenda ( UN sustainability goals ). In 2012, Biovision was the first Swiss NGO to receive general consultative status in the Social Forum (ECOSOC) of the UN. A year later, Biovision, together with its President Hans Rudolf Herren, was awarded the Alternative Nobel Prize (Right Livelihood Award).
The Foundation
Biovision was founded in 1998 as a non-profit association by the Swiss insect researcher Hans Rudolf Herren based in Zurich (Switzerland) in order to sustainably improve the living conditions of people in Africa and to preserve nature as the basis of all life. The aid organization has been in operation since 2000. For this purpose, the Biovision Foundation was also established in 2003 as a foundation under Swiss law under the supervision of the Federal Department of Home Affairs.
- The purpose of the foundation is to promote the preservation of natural resources for present and future generations. Projects in Germany and in developing areas of the Third World are supported, which promote the sustainable use of natural resources under social conditions and at the same time serve to preserve the diversity of plants and animals and promote and support ecological thinking and action.
While Dr. Herrens' prize money was used for the 1995 World Food Prize, membership fees, private and institutional donations, legacies and donations now form the financial basis for the foundation's projects. Since 2017, the foundation has had an annual budget of around 10 million Swiss francs.
According to its own information, the foundation promotes ecological thinking and action in both the north and the south, with specific projects and established cooperation partners in Switzerland as well as in Subshara Africa (SSA). As part of the Sustainable Development Goals 2030, the foundation focuses its activities on sustainability goals 1 (no poverty) and sustainability goal 2 (no hunger). The holistic approach serves the overarching goal of a world with enough and healthy food for everyone - in a healthy environment. The focus of Biovision's international development cooperation is particularly on Africa's smallholder society. In this context, the Foundation believes that smallholders are crucial for ensuring adequate and healthy nutrition for the people of this continent, as well as for the design of cultivated landscapes, the sustainable use of natural resources and for the preservation of biodiversity.
Working method
The foundation follows the holistic “4 G plus i” approach as the basis for ecological and sustainable development. “4 G” stands for the health of people, animals, plants and the environment. “I” stands for the dissemination of information and knowledge. In the areas of “people” and “animals”, for example, reducing poverty by combating the ecological causes of infectious diseases transmitted by insects is central . In the areas of “plants” and “environment”, one of the main goals is the spread of biological methods instead of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. In order to ensure the food situation in the long term, Biovision relies on locally adapted ecological methods to protect ecosystems and promote the training of smallholders in order to make them more independent. This with the overriding goal of preserving natural ecosystem services for future generations.
The foundation's work is divided into three priority programs: development projects, sustainability agenda in Switzerland and political dialogue & advocacy. In development projects, together with local partners in Sub-Saharan Africa, scientifically based methods for the sustainable use of natural resources are developed and implemented. These should lead to a concrete improvement in their living conditions for the beneficiaries and demonstrate the effectiveness of the solution approaches. Knowledge gained is processed in information programs in order to make “practical knowledge” for successful solutions accessible to a broader section of the population. Findings from development projects and information programs should also serve to influence the international political dialogue in which the foundation is actively involved. The foundation is essentially based on the recommendations of the IAASTD World Agricultural Report and, as a frame of reference, follows the 2030 Agenda with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which were adopted by the UN in 2015. Together with the Interdisciplinary Center for Sustainable Development and Environment (CDE) at the University of Bern, Biovision set up SDSN Switzerland. The Sustainable Solutions Development Network in Switzerland is an offshoot of the global SDSN. Biovision and CDE were appointed by the executive committee of the international SDSN to establish this network in Switzerland. As part of the implementation of the sustainability goals in Switzerland, Biovision also runs an awareness-raising and education program (including at schools and in municipalities), which brings consumers closer to sustainable consumption, including the interactive traveling exhibition "CLEVER, intelligent shopping with play" .
Projects
Kenya is a priority country for the foundation. The foundation has been supporting various projects here since 1998, mainly in the implementation of ecological methods for health promotion and in agriculture. Examples of this are the educational work on the tropical disease malaria and the spread of the push-pull method , a type of ecological pest control in maize and millet fields. Kenya is also home to the icipe research institute headed by Dr. Hans Rudolf Herren was headed for around 10 years and is one of the most important partner organizations in Africa for Biovision. A project running from 2010, in cooperation with the Borana, brought back camel husbandry in Isiolo County , which had been common there until 80 years before, and built up the marketing of camel milk. In 2014, farmers in West Pokot produced over 99 tons of honey after building a suitable structure.
Ethiopia has been another priority country since 2001. Projects in the implementation of ecological methods for health promotion and in sustainable agriculture and land use are supported. The foundation works with local partner organizations and the icipe branch in Addis Ababa. As in Kenya, honey production projects are intended to provide farmers with an additional source of income.
In Tanzania , the foundation has been concentrating on the conservation of biodiversity and the careful use of natural resources since 2006. There is also a collaboration with the Eastern Arc Mountains Conservation Endowment Fund (EAMCEF). The organization Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania (SAT) has also been one of Biovision's important partners for years. She maintains an established connection to Sokoine University in Morogoro and is committed to better education of the local population in the field of agroecology. To this end, SAT operates, among other things, its own training center for farmers in organic farming in Morogoro.
The foundation has been active in Uganda since 2009 . By supporting traditional healers in the use and cultivation of local medicinal plants, the foundation helps protect the biodiversity of the surrounding forests.
In 2009 the partner organization of Biovision in Kenya was founded: Biovision Africa Trust. The Biovision Foundation took part in setting up a "sister organization" in East Africa. The Biovision Africa Trust is an independent organization registered in Kenya and recognized as a non-profit organization under Kenyan law. Based in Nairobi, this trust is active in the implementation, promotion and dissemination of ecological methods for fighting poverty and strengthening food security in Africa.
According to the foundation, the all too careless handling of natural resources and the preservation of biodiversity cannot be achieved locally. That is why the Biovision Foundation, together with the Biovision Africa Trust and the Millennium Institute, is involved in policy dialogue and information in cross-border programs. The foundation advocates a change of course in global agricultural policy. E.g. at the global environmental conference of the UN and the environmental summit Rio 2012 ( Rio + 20 ) as well as at the level of the Economic and Social Council of the UN (ECOSOC) in New York. With the promotion of agroecology as a beneficial, comprehensive and sustainable approach, the Biovision Foundation uses experience and practical knowledge in political dialogue about solutions to global challenges such as climate change, increasing soil and biodiversity loss, rural exodus, health and poverty reduction in a global and regional context to achieve the Goals of the 2030 Agenda.
Awards
In 2010, the Biovision project Muliru Farmers Conservation Group, Kakamega, Kenya received the UNDP Equator Prize for improving the local livelihood through commercial cultivation and processing of indigenous medicinal plants while preserving biodiversity.
In 2010, Biovision with Hans Herren and the push-pull farmers in Kenya received the One World Award.
In 2013, the foundation and its founder received the Right Livelihood Award , also known as the Alternative Nobel Prize. The jury justified the decision with Hans Rudolf Herrens scientific competence and significant practical work as a pioneer for a "healthy, safe and sustainable global food supply."
Literature, DVD
- How Hans Rudolf Herren saved 20 million people - the ecological success story of a Swiss man . Herbert Cerutti, Orell Füssli (Zurich), 2011 (out of print)
- Help for self-help: people - animals - plants - environment . DVD g / e / f 33 min., Biovision 2008.
- This is how we feed the world , Hans Rudolf Herren, Verlag Rüffer und Rub, 2017
Web links
- Website of the Biovision Foundation
- Infonet-Biovision: Information platform for ecological agriculture, pest control and disease prevention
- Portrait at rightlivelihoodaward.org (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Board of Trustees , on biovision.ch, accessed on December 22, 2018
- ↑ UN Decision 2012/218 . 23 July 2012, p. 109–218 ( un.org [PDF; accessed December 21, 2018]).
- ^ Hans Herren / Biovision Foundation. In: The Right Livelihood Award. Retrieved December 21, 2018 (American English).
- ↑ Hans Rudolf Herren - Development Apostle , NZZ, March 3, 2010
- ↑ Entry in the commercial register of the Canton of Zurich. Retrieved December 21, 2018 .
- ↑ Purpose of the foundation in the commercial register. Retrieved December 21, 2018 .
- ↑ Biovision Annual Report 2017 (PDF) Accessed December 21, 2018 .
- ↑ a b Biovision Foundation: Biovision Strategy 2016. (PDF) Retrieved on December 21, 2018 .
- ↑ Biovision Strategy 2015
- ↑ Projects Kenya , on biovision.ch, accessed on December 22, 2018
- ↑ Projects Ethiopia , on biovision.ch, accessed on December 22, 2018
- ↑ projects Tanzania , on biovision.ch, accessed on 22 December 2018
- ↑ Biovision Board visits SAT and farmers' groups , at screenrant.com, accessed December 22, 2018
- ↑ projects Uganda , on biovision.ch, accessed on 22 December 2018
- ^ Biovision Africa Trust
- ↑ Millennium Institute
- ^ Biovision: Political Dialogue and Advocacy. Retrieved December 21, 2018 .
- ^ Biovision: Change of course in agriculture. Retrieved December 21, 2018 .
- ↑ Agroecology Pool
- ↑ Muliru Farmers Conservation Group , on equatorinitiative.org, accessed on 22 December 2018
- ^ One World Award winner. Retrieved December 21, 2018 .
- ↑ Right Livelihood Award Winner. Retrieved December 21, 2018 .
- ↑ Orell Fuessli: This is how we feed the world. Retrieved December 21, 2018 .