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The Earth Charter is, to me, an inspiring
document whose time in history has come.
It was created by tens of thousands of people in 78 countries
through an extraordinary grassroots drafting process lasting over 12
years. It was approved for
worldwide public dissemination by the International Earth Charter
Commission in 2000, and has now been endorsed by over 8000
organizations, and many more thousands of individuals worldwide.
It contains a preamble, 16 main principles,
and 61 supporting principles which are intended to help guide humanity
toward a sustainable global society founded on “respect for nature,
universal human rights, economic justice, and a culture of peace.”
The Charter’s inclusive ethical vision recognizes that
environmental protection, human rights, equitable human development,
peace and justice are interdependent and indivisible.
Its values are drawn from many sources,
including contemporary science, international law, the teachings of
indigenous peoples, the wisdom of the world’s great religions and
philosophical traditions, the declarations of the |
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seven UN conferences
held during the 1990’s, the global ethics movement, and numerous NGO
declarations and people’s treaties over the last three decades.
It is being used as an educational tool, a values
framework, an instrument for designing codes of conduct, a catalyst for
dialog, a call to action and guide to sustainable development.
It is increasingly being included in educational curricula and
sustainable community projects. The
entire earth charter document can be viewed at the international website
www.earthcharter.org.
The Earth Charter is infused with spiritual
values and calls for building a more sustainable world.
In fact, it contains 11 references related to spirituality, and
15 specifically related to sustainability.
I will be speaking about the earth charter at the MAGNT Meeting
June 12 and will be highlighting these relationships, and looking
forward to dialog
and discussion about them. Your
ideas and inputs are solicited. Hope
to see you there.
T.
Jack Heckelman |
