Moy Hitchen
Edmund Rice International, Sep 22, 2011
It is only appropriate, in this Year of the Forests, that we should end up looking to the mother of all forests on the planet, the rainforests of the Amazon Basin. I refer to the Rio Earth Summit, to be held on June 4 – 6, 2012, also known as the UN Conference on Sustainable Development or 'Rio + 20', as it celebrates twenty years since the first Earth Summit was held in Rio, in 1992.
The key link is: www.uncsd2012.org/rio20/
Edmund Rice International is not planning a presence at the Rio Summit, but we hope to send a submission, as part of the preparations for it. I hope to gain your support for this, and any contributions you and your section of the Edmund Rice Network (ERN) (household, community, ministry, or school) wish to make.
First, a tiny bit of history. The first Earth Summit (1992), which was 12 days long, was widely considered a success or a failure, or both, depending on whom you listen to. Two international conventions emerged from it (on Biodiversity and Climate Change), and many other documents (including Agenda 21). The States tended to avoid any binding agreements (odd!) and polarised bitterly over the wealthy/poor divide. From its ashes (and through the work of NGOs) the Earth Charter arose, and was launched in 2000.
The Christian Brothers Congregation Chapter of 2002 called on the ERN to support the Earth Charter, and the Promoter of Eco-Justice (myself) and many others spent three years explaining and promoting it around the ERN. The second Earth Summit (in Johannesburg, in 2002) had the Earth Charter on its agenda, but it did not make it to the floor for debate, due to vigorous lobbying by a few countries.
For the Earth Charter, the link is: www.earthcharter.org
My question to you is: Twenty years later, what has the ERN to offer the world on sustainable development? Since 2002, both Presentation Brother (in 2005 and 20011) and Christian Brother (in 2008) Congregation Chapters have endorsed exploring an eco-spirituality and committing to 'ecological best practice', in the happy phrase from the Presentation Brothers. For a network largely engaged in working for (and with) marginalised youth, this gives us a unique agenda.
So, I suggest, we can make a brief submission on these two policy commitments (and our ten years of experience in implementing them). I intend to write on two issues:
the importance of some guiding ethical principles in sustainable development (in effect, the Earth Charter principles, which is what 'eco-spirituality' sounds like in secular terms)the importance of introducing sustainability as a policy at all levels of governance systems (as we have been trying to do now for ten years).
Our time is short. Submissions are due on November 1, 2011. If you have any immediate responses or reactions, please send them to me. I don't mind 'veto' motions either! As often happens, silence will be taken as (in general) consent. I'll send you a draft submission, should you wish to check the wording. But it will be a document from ERI to Rio + 20, not from the whole ERN, of course. Our advocacy always requires consultation with you.
I am also using the ERI GEG (Global Ecojustice Group) for more detailed comments and feedback.
Moy Hitchen cfc
EDMUND RICE INTERNATIONAL
mmhitchen@edmundrice.org
