Activist Jorge Sanchez of CENSAT-Friends of the Earth Colombia, told Real World Radio that the event was aimed at providing first-hand information to environmental activists and trade unionists on what will be discussed at Rio+20 in June in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

He said there is a lot of interest among Latin American countries to know more about the conference and the implications of the proposal of “green economy” put forward by the developed countries’ governments.

Sanchez mentioned the “false solutions” to climate change such as the Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM), market tools that have failed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

CENSAT’s representative also mentioned the “essential tasks” of the organizations at Rio+20, including building alternatives from the peoples.

“In the case of Colombia there is a training and capacity building process for social organizations that will go to Rio, at the trade unions, universities, indigenous organizations. There is not enough understanding as of today. We need to work hard to spread the word”, said Sanchez, who also wishes to coordinate these processes between different Latin American countries.

Meanwhile, he said there is an “effort” from the governments to “legitimize their policies” and some grassroots organizations have come closer to that position. “We believe that this is not valid in the current scenario because it legitimizes the government and its proposals”, he said in reference to the Social Forum promoted by the official presidents’ summit.