Dear all,
I have been at the World Social Forum in Tunis and had a thrilling conversation with Ashish Kortari, http://kalpavriksh.org/
We shared the idea, that the convergences (of different alternatives) can only take place at the level of principles. And many organisations worldwide have been moving forward with that idea and they came up with a set of principles I want to share with you here and to suggest them as the basis for further discussion and adaptions for our purposes:
Here they are:
Please comment intensively
- what you like
- what you donāt like and why
- what you can and cannot agree with
- suggest reformulations and share the arguments you have for a new suggestion.
I will then take care of incorporating it into the set of principles.
Here we go!
PRINCIPLES
(taken from the key principles of Radical Ecological Democracy and the Peopleās Sustainability Treaties as formulated here http://sustainabilitytreaties.org/draft-treaties/radical-ecological-democracy/; this principles are constantly updated)
#1: Ecological integrity
The functional integrity of the ecological processes (especially the global freshwater cycle), ecosystems, and biological diversity that is the basis of all life on earth.
#2: Deep equity and justice
Equitable access of all human beings, in current and future generations, to the conditions needed for human well-being (socio-cultural, economic, political, ecological), without endangering any other personās access; equity between humans and other elements of nature; and social, economic, and environmental justice for all.
3: Right to meaningful participation
The right of each citizen and community to meaningfully participate in crucial decisions affecting her/his/its life, and to the conditions that provide the ability for such participation, as part of a radical, participatory democracy.
4: Responsibility
The responsibility of each citizen and community to ensure meaningful decision-making that is based on the twin principles of ecological sustainability and socio-economic equity.
5: Diversity
The integrity of the diversity of environments and ecologies, species and genes (wild and domesticated), cultures, ways of living, knowledge systems, values, livelihoods, and polities (including those of indigenous peoples and local communities), in so far as they are in consonance with the principles of sustainability and equity.
6: Collective commons and solidarity
Collective and co-operative thinking and working founded on the socio-cultural, economic, and ecological commons, respecting both common custodianship and individual freedoms and innovations within such collectivities, with inter-personal and inter-community solidarity as a fulcrum.
7: Rights of nature
The right of nature and all species (wild and domesticated) to survive and thrive in the conditions in which they have evolved, and respect for the ācommunity of lifeā as a whole.
8: Resilience and adaptability
The ability of communities and humanity as a whole, to respond, adapt and sustain the resilience needed to maintain ecological sustainability and equity in the face of external and internal forces of change, including through respecting the conditions enabling the resilience of nature.
9: Subsidiarity and ecoregionalism
Local rural and urban communities (small enough for all members to take part in decision-making) as the fundamental unit of governance, linked with each other at bioregional and ecoregional levels into landscape, regional, national and international institutions that are answerable to these basic units.