On November 23rd, the 2019 Philanthropy Summit for Sustainable Development was held in Beijing.

Qu Dongyu, the Director-General of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, addressed at the Summit. He said the private sector has an important role to play in building partnerships and working to create a world without hunger in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. “The private sector has shown interest to support sustainable development, and to work with FAO to help the most vulnerable communities, including youth and women, as well as vulnerable smallholders through inclusive pro-poor interventions,” he said.

The sustainable summit brought together business leaders and representatives from China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF), the Ford Foundation, the Paulson Institute, Grameen Foundation, Fondazione FICO, the Chinese Academy of Science, Tsinghua University and other institutions from around the world.

In the dialogue session of "The Mission of Philanthropists and Sustainable Development Strategy", the host asked: Biodiversity is the condition for human survival, the basis of sustainable socio-economic development, and the guarantee of ecological security and food security. How to mobilize everyone to protect biodiversity?

Dr. Zhou Jinfeng, the Secretary-General of CBCGDF replied that CBCGDF was one of the first 16 foundations identified as charitable organizations by the Ministry of Civil Affairs in September 2016. Relevant scholars say that loving animals is not charity. Kindness is the elders' love for the young, and goodness is the love between people. Charity should be lovers in general. Even at public meetings, scholars have publicly stated that you are starving some people in order to keep a few birds from starving.

"I am very happy today; the theme of the summit is charity for sustainable development. Mankind is now facing a climate crisis and a crisis of biodiversity. Promoting sustainable development and protecting biodiversity is a big charity in our opinion. We are not afraid birds starve to death. We are afraid that humans will lose their habitats. The love of elders for future generations must be fair across generations. Because our excessive development of civilized industries has led to a sharp decline in biodiversity, making our human offspring unable to make a living. Humans are facing the sixth biological extinction. We are engaged in the protection of plants and animals. At the same time, we also pay special attention to the protection of local agricultural biodiversity and the work of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA). It is actually for the humanity today and future generations. This is great charity. "

Dr. Zhou said, "I'm the Co-Director of Center of the Ecological Civilization (of the Institute of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era) of Peking University. Studies show that in the initial stage of the construction of ecological civilization, various mechanisms are not complete enough, so that human activities are important for the cultivation and construction of the future, and there is a possibility that human development will not be sustainable. In this context, charity and public welfare are the most important mechanisms. This mechanism can help people come out of the unsustainable reality of industrial civilization, so that human beings can begin to gather more resources and strength and make the efforts we must make to protect our habitat. "

(Photo credit: FAO)

(Photo credit: CBCGDF)

Original Chinese article:

http://www.cbcgdf.org/NewsShow/4854/10542.html

By / Maggie