Environment & Poverty Times


06 2009


UNEP/GRID-Arendal


30 31


In just three years, the Transition Network has evolved into an international grassroots movement with enormous visibility.


Mike Grenville.


During the dialogue with the EPT, Brangwyn was clearly critical of the current global economic model: “Selling developing coun- tries models of consumerism disguised as development as a way towards a happier life is just not the way towards sustainability. What communities need is assistance for securing their food and energy systems, and their community life.”


Developing countries He noted that efforts towards re-localiza- tion in developed countries (such as the Transition approach), can have important indirect effects in developing countries. By reducing levels of demand through re-localization efforts, developed nations would diminish their pressure on energy and material resources that are currently being imported from developing nations, and would cease exporting wastes and pollution to these countries. “It is perhaps through this change of paradigm – re-local- ization in developed nations – that Transi- tion approaches can best help developing nations.” It will also be a key step towards addressing inequality in global energy and material use, and a move towards a system of fair shares.


Networks and knowledge sharing In just three years, the Transition Network has evolved into an international grass- roots movement with enormous visibility. The network is currently very active in the development of international knowledge sharing and networking platforms. The Transition Web project will link transitioners everywhere and allow users to have better ac- cess to information on transition initiatives worldwide. Another project – Transition Learning Connections – is already being piloted on the School of Everything web plat- form8, to connect people who offer training


for transition and support for initiatives with those who want it.


A significant indicator of the rapid growth of the transition movement was the number of participants at the Transition Conference 2009. More than 350 transitioners repre- senting several communities and countries gathered on 22–24 May 2009 in London to network and share experiences.


The main part of the conference included not only planned but also spontaneous workshop sessions where delegates initi- ated conversations on topics of interest. The thematic workshops allowed for discussion on diverse topics as “engaging with local au- thorities”, “urban food production”, “Transi- tion Universities”, and “cities in transition”. Furthermore the UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Ed Miliband, asked to attend the conference. The Transi- tion Network agreed, on the condition that he came as a keynote listener – to which he agreed – making no speeches but instead attending several open-space meetings and engaging in small-scale discussions.


The main ambitions of the Transition Net- work for next year include further engaging with government in the UK at the local, municipal and national level, but as Brang- wyn explained, “without handing over any power, so that Transition continues to be an initiative led by the communities for the communities”.


About the authors: Tomas Marques works as Associate Programme Officer at the United Nations Environment Programme in Paris and Anne Solgaard is a Capacity Development Of- ficer for UNEP/GRID-Arendal in Norway. The authors wrote this article in personal capacity. Both find great inspiration in the work of the Transition Network.


The Transition Network ‘In Transition’ Teaser Trailer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkxJssl950w


The Transition Handbook: From Oil Dependency to Local Resilience, A guide to preparing for a post-peak oil society, by Rob Hopkins (2008)


“If your town is not yet a Transition Town, here is guidance for making it one. We have little time, and much to accomplish.” Richard Heinberg, Post Carbon Institute, Santa Rosa, California, author of Power Down and Peak Everything.


We live in an oil-dependent world, and have got to this level of dependency in a very short space of time, using vast reserves of oil in the process – without planning for when the supply is not so plentiful. Most of us avoid thinking about what happens when oil runs out (or becomes prohibitively expensive), but The Transition Handbook shows how the inevitable and profound changes ahead can have a positive outcome. These changes can lead to the rebirth of local communities, which will grow more of their own food, generate their own power, and build their own houses using local materials. They can also encourage the development of local currencies, to keep money in the local area.


There are now over 180 Transition Initiatives in 18 countries, with more joining as the idea takes off. With little proactivity at government level, communities are taking matters into their own hands and acting locally. If your town is not a Transition Town, this upbeat guide offers you the tools for starting the process.


For more information on the transition town phenomenon, see www.transitionculture.org. Publisher: Green Books. ISBN: 978-1900322188.


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