ENVIRONMENT/HABITAT

This pathway includes:

“Living” systems and structures that integrate sustainable human needs with renewable material resources. Fulfilling basic human needs and restoring the natural environment. Climate change, decolonization, homelessness, pollution of oceans, and sustainable development.

PEACE THROUGH ENVIRONMENT/HABITAT has broad implications for our world today and for the planet our children will inherit. Peacebuilding demands the recognition of our interconnectedness with all living things. We live and work in a global community, and we are global citizens in a global economy. If any one of us is suffering, it results in suffering of the whole. Planet earth is suffering from short-term actions that benefit the few and ignore long-term consequences for most earth’s inhabitants. Our land/our home is connected to our culture and who we are as a people.

Thousands of indigenous groups around the world are fighting against colonial governments to maintain their land and culture and to improve their lives. According to the World Bank, although these groups comprise only 5% of the world’s population, indigenous communities account for 15% of the world’s extreme poor.

In 1960, the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, known as the Declaration on decolonization. The Declaration stated that all people have a right to self-determination and proclaimed that colonialism should be brought to a speedy and unconditional end. In 1962 the General Assembly established the Special Committee on Decolonization to monitor implementation of the Declaration and to make recommendations on its application. In 1990, the General Assembly proclaimed 1990-2000 as the International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism and adopted a Plan of Action. In 2001, the Second International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism was proclaimed. In 2011, the General Assembly proclaimed 2011-2020 as the Third International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism. There is international recognition of the need to end colonization and some accomplishments have been made, however, there much work remains to be done.

Climate change is at the top of the international agenda because of the threat that it represents to society and the magnitude of the response required.

“Climate Change is the defining issue of our time and we are at a defining moment. From shifting weather patterns that threaten food production, to rising sea levels that increase the risk of catastrophic flooding, the impacts of climate change are global in scope and unprecedented in scale. Without drastic action today, adapting to these impacts in the future will be more difficult and costly.” – The United Nations on Climate Change

Environment and habitat are in the forefront of our Peacebuilding activities as they are affecting all people, as well as our planetary home. Our water is scarce, our oceans are warming, ongoing warfare is destroying homelands, homelessness has become an international problem, and unsustainable development is having a negative impact on our environment, our habitat, our communities, and our nations. “Throw-away” cultures are thinking about conservation of consumable goods and products.

Environmental sustainability and sustainable development have the common goal of conserving natural resources and creating more energy efficient projects and practices. Sustainable development transforms global energy use to create a clean, prosperous, and secure low-carbon future for a more sustainable environment and healthier habitats.

Housing can be made more harmonious, using the materials and designs of indigenous peoples. Housing should provide shelter, but also be safe and healthy, and supportive of cultural habits and norms.

Eco-villages, particularly those that are being created in the aftermath of war, become examples of the resilience and innovation of humans and their enduring connection to their land. The Global Ecovillage Network envisions a world of empowered citizens and communities, designing and implementing pathways to a regenerative future, while building bridges of hope and international solidarity. Empowered and engaged citizens and communities, hope, and international solidarity – those are the key ingredients to effective Peacebuilding!

The environment and the recognition of the importance of habit are now recognized as primary in importance in our efforts to create harmony on the planet. We have nothing — life itself vanishes — if we destroy our Earth. In the Pathway to PEACE THROUGH ENVIRONMENT, we respect the importance of the environment as the support for our lives and we nourish and protect whatever aspects of our environment we are responsible for. Globally, we need to embrace a voluntary simplicity, as well as reverence for all life and the life of the Planet. All growth should be in harmony with nature’s Laws.