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I want the Agricultural Working Group of the VCSI to adopt a statement against financing the conservation of land in VT, and / or coordinating the VCSI process, with carbon credits and / or through offset markets. Instead, I want to see the meaningful inclusion of indigenous and agrarian peoples, and the development of policies that protect community sovereignty over land, that grow our agricultural land base, and that protect farmland for farmers by facilitating affordable farmland and housing for farmers and farmworkers.
In doing so, the Ag Working Group saves significant public dollars by avoiding any duplicacy to the processes of the Payment for Ecosystem Services & Soil Health Working Group by aligning with the consensus reached during that process for the State of Vermont to not further invest in financializing and "measuring outcomes of agricultural practices," “payment for ecosystem services,” “natural capital,” the “financialization of nature” and the “privatization of the commons.”
Around the globe, developments in conservation planning paired with PES/ carbon market financing schemes represent an alignment of the interests of corporate investors with development agencies, conservation organizations, research institutions, national economies, and consumers, around the potential to profit from the creation of new asset classes in ecosystem function. These are not solutions to climate change nor the biodiversity crisis. These solutions do not offer equitable solutions to indigenous communities, farmers and farm workers and neither do they maintain community sovereignty over land, land use, and critical natural resources.
For the purposes of protecting agricultural land and the autonomy and independence of our communities and farmers, the Ag Working Group can recommend reforms to the tools available in land use planning to approach a vision and goal of advancing support for the working lands and biodiversity through land conservation so that all agricultural land can count in acres towards the 30x30 & 50x50 goals in a way that aligns with the needs of our region related to human rights, food security and democratic control of our essential resources.
Stacy Cibula, facilitation VHCB s.cibula@vhcb.org
Ryan Patch, co-facilitation VAAFM Ryan.Patch@vermont.gov
Eric Clifford, Champlain Valley Farmers Coalition info@champlainvalleyfarmercoalition.com
Mike Snow, CT River Watershed Farmers Alliance crwfa.info@gmail.com
Scott Magnan, Franklin Grand Isle Farmers Watershed Alliance FarmersWatershedAllianceNW@gmail.com
Dave Blodgett, Natural Resources Conservation Service david.blodgett@usda.gov
Jen Miller, Nofa-VT jen@nofavt.org
Caroline Gordon, Rural Vermont caroline@ruralvermont.org
Rosalind Renfrew, ANR (Fish & Wildlife) rosalind.renfrew@vermont.gov
Marli Rupi, ANR (DEC) marli.rupe@vermont.gov
Darlene Reynolds, VT Dairy Producer Alliance vdpa16@gmail.com
Jackie Folsom, VT Farm Bureau vtfb@gmavt.net
Stephen Leslie, Cedar Mountain Farm representing Vermont Healthy Soils Coalition hartlandyoga@yahoo.com
Tyler Miller, Vermont Land Trust tyler@vlt.org
Jennifer Byrne, White River Conservation District whiterivernrcd@gmail.com
Holly McClintock, VHCB staff h.mcclintock@vhcb.org
Isaac Bissell, VHCB staff I.Bissell@vhcb.org
Trey Martin, VHCB staff t.martin@vhcb.org