Environment

WEED is an independent NGO and was founded in 1990. Our goal is to create more awareness in Germany for the causes of worldwide poverty and environmental problems. WEED is committed to national and international networks and unites organisations and initiatives in the North and South.

Our focus is on:

• international indebtedness, debt clearance initiatives and Germany's role in this context;
• politics, projects and programmes of the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and the World Bank;
• reforming and democratizing the international financial markets;
• international trade policy and WTO (World Trade Organisation);
• the North-South policy of the European Union, and international environmental and development policy

WEED performs research, collects background material, and writes working papers, including for example, the WEED-Schuldenreport (the Weed debt report) that is published on a regular basis and provides information on indebtedness. WEED runs campaigns, talks to political decision-makers and intervenes in political decision-making processes. WEED wants to draw attention to these problems by organizing seminars, workshops and conferences, by collaborating with the media and through public relations. WEED works together with national and international NGOs, and supports and completes the work of other environmental and developmental organisations.

Lower Saxony is committed to a range of activities in Sub-Saharan Africa and thus assumes responsibility for sustainable global development. The aim is to learn as much as possible from and with one another in the context of a global partnership and responsibility with
cosmopolitanism and cross-cultural competence.

Lower Saxony focuses on three priority areas of development cooperation:

1. Partnership with the Eastern Cape (South Africa) since 1995
2. Project cooperation with Tanzania since 2010
3. Development educational and information work

As part of the development policy information and educational work within Lower Saxony, the State Chancellery promotes the Association Development Policy Lower Saxony (Verband Entwicklungspolitik Niedersachsen e.V. - VEN). The VEN is the network of development
NGOs, initiatives and so-called One-World-Shops (Weltläden). The main focus of the VEN is the development educational and information work. The funds are directed to the implementation of „IBQ - projects“ (information, education and skills) of NGOs in Lower Saxony in the field of development cooperation.

Since 2014 Lower Saxony has been co-financing the nationwide Promoter-Program (Promotorenprogramm). The aim is to raise awareness on development issues in Lower Saxony. The continuation of the program up to 2018 has been decided upon in 2015 and the financial means are guaranteed.

As part of a special program for humanitarian aid, Lower Saxony has decided to take in 70 traumatized women and children from northern Iraq in 2015. They are victims of extreme violence by fighters of the terrorist organization Islamic State, whom Lower Saxony is going to ensure a safe stay over the next two years. The regional government has decided to allocate 1.1 million euros in 2015 and 6.8 million euros for the following years for the reception, accommodation and health care of these women and children.

2016 is planned to focus on the implementation and consolidation of the new Development Policy Guidelines and their linking with the Strategy for Sustainability of Lower Saxony, which is currently under revision. The intensified cooperation with development policy actors within the civil society - a positive effect of the process of drafting the guidelines - will be continued by, for example, giving these organizations an active part in developing the implementation strategy.

Furthermore, Lower Saxony participates in the newly established Bund-Länder-Program. With the involvement of GIZ’s office in Lower Saxony (Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit) project opportunities are currently being examined and planned to be approved
by the end of January 2016.