Slow Life Symposium 6th – 9 Oct Soneva Fushi Maldives

Over 4 days fun and serious discussion was had at Soneva Fushi hosting the Six Senses S.L.O.W. L.I.F.E. Symposium. www.slowlifesymposium.com

Friendships were formed with a diverse range of people from actors to Government officials and all having the one thing in common …. A desire and a commitment to solutions so we can all enjoy the natural world in the future. It was such a special place to be feeding off the energy and learning more.

Edward Norton and Michael Walker discussed for many hours responsible waste management, who would of though their focus is on managing bio wastes into clean usable water and fertilizer??? When surfing with them in the clear Indian oceans along with Takuja Masuda it all makes sense as we have to stop outpour of all wastes into our oceans.

Daryl Hannah was the only Permaculturist beside me and as her partner Rami Jaffee (Foo Fighters) said she has changed since doing her PDC. Looking at nature with a designer’s eye and passing comment on unsustainable practices…!!

World leaders in sustainability and climate change from John Hardy the Co-Founder of Green School and Green Village, both based in Bali, Indonesia. Green School is built almost entirely from bamboo, a fast-growing, natural, local and renewable resource, and the classrooms are without walls. John has partnered with his daughter, Elora, to create Green Village, a planned community based on design concepts and sustainable principles established by the artisans and craftsmen that built Green School.  

 Tim Smit Chief Executive and Co-Founder of The Eden Project, one of the UK?s most visited tourist attractions. Built in a disused clay pit, Eden includes the world’s largest greenhouse. Tim was voted „Great Briton of 2007? in the Environment category of the Morgan Stanley Great Britons Awards.

Peter Head  the Founder of the Carbon Sequestration Trust, a charity bringing together the world?s top scientists, engineers , economists, financiers and other specialists to quickly plan, design and implement regional scale demonstration projects in the world?s fastest growing economies, using low carbon urban-rural development models which are energy, water and food secure

The president of the Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed spoke on a Carbon Neutral Nation saying the Climate change issue was no longer an Earth Science issue, now it is an Economic Development Security and Safety issue. In the past a Presidents job involve a lot of clapping, shaking hands and opening power stations NOW IT HAS TO BE OPENING RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS. The role of rich nations is to reduce Co2 and the poor to increase production of renewable energy.

In short if we do destroy the reefs of the Maldives we destroy the islands then the homes and the people.

Eric Scotto the Chairman and Co-Founder of Akuo Energy Group, a global producer of electricity and energy exclusively from renewable resources. currently working in partnership with the administration of Reunion Island to deliver Green Energy Revolution – Reunion Island (GERRI), a project aimed at achieving integrated energy self-sufficiency by 2030  along with the Jean Ballandras  Secretary General of Reunion Island, where he has devised GERRI (Green Energy Revolution - Reunion Island), a project aimed at integrating all innovations and technologies in the field of renewables on one small island of 800,000 inhabitants, to reach self-sufficiency. GERRI's achievements so far are a very strong boost to prove that islands can become smart testing grounds for renewable innovations, by building "small size, but full scale experiments" made a powerful presentation putting on the table a list of achievement over the past 12 months that included 60,000 tons of Co2 avoided, over 30 % of the country being run on renewable energy coming from wind, hydro, solar and bio mass. Under the solar they have developed over 140,000 acres of organic food production and water collection.

 Richard Branson talked on the future of alternative fuel sources and carbon fiber technologies as over 70% of carbon is generated from air transport.

Outcomes from the Symposium on a personal level was the acknowledgement of the Permaculture sustainable agriculture work the team are doing on Soneva Fushi especially the focus on “Growing Soil”. The President has asked for me to keep in touch as there is the possibility of a programme to start with John Hardy on a local island for food production.

The overall message I got from the event was we need as individuals do what ever we can to lead a non polluting sustainable life and at the same time work together to force policy change within governments and companies to commit to a 350 ppm of Co2 in the atmosphere.

Mark Lynas an environmental author and Climate Change Advisor to the President of the Maldives involved in the Maldives? effort to be the first carbon neutral country on Earth by 2020 said we are (The Maldives) the master of our own destiny and we cannot rely on others.

 Jakob von Uexkull the Founder of the World Futures Council, which supports political decision-makers with the goal of ensuring that their decisions and policies are always made with sustainability and inter-generational fairness in their minds. Jakob is a patron of Friends of the Earth International and a member of the Global Commission to Fund the United Nations goes further to say no part of the world will not be affected by Climate Change and a global war could result from inaction as African refugees need somewhere to live.

“It is not enough to do our best but what is necessary” Winston Churchill