Sunday, February 05, 2012

The Earth Charter and Agenda 21

The differences. The similarities.

"Unlike Agenda 21, which is a document that provides a framework for hard laws, the Earth Charter is a set of principles that underscore and facilitate the strengthening and implementation of those laws. The Charter “was drafted in coordination with a hard law treaty that is designed to provide an integrated legal framework for all environment development law and policy.” This hard law treaty is called the International Covenant on Environment and Development and is being prepared by the Commission on Environmental Law at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a behemoth agency which oversees 700+ governmental agencies worldwide. Interestingly, Maurice Strong is on the IUCN’s Board of Directors." (Link)

Lots of religious language in the environment worshipers. The Charter sounds like the Gospel; and the Agenda 21 the Law. In the old days, it was just plain old pantheism.

The Earth Charter is the outcome of a process initiated in 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Eight years later, in 2000, it was promulgated in Paris by UNESCO. According to Boff (2006) it is intended that the Charter will eventually be added to the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Charter is an attempt to expound a global ethic for the twentyfirst century based upon sustainability and the interconnectedness of all on planet earth – all living entities and the systems upon which all life depends. It makes and invites commitments to ecological integrity, social and economic justice, democracy, non-violence and peace. A sense of the tone of the Charter can be glimpsed from its Preamble. . .
British Journal of Religious Education

No comments: