{"history":[],"article":{"id":"bf96e49d-2729-4f5f-abfc-8e203e3b2bbd","title":"Earth Charter","slug":"earth-charter","content":":::summary\n:::\n\n# \nThe **Earth Charter** is an international declaration of fundamental values and principles considered useful by its supporters for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society in the 21st century.\nCreated by a global consultation process, and endorsed by organizations representing millions of people, the Charter \"seeks to inspire in all peoples a sense of global interdependence and shared responsibility for the well-being of the human family, the greater community of life, and [future generations](https://bliptext.com/articles/future-generations).\"\nIt calls upon humanity to help create a global partnership at a critical juncture in history.\nThe Earth Charter's vision proposes that [environmental protection](https://bliptext.com/articles/environmental-protection), [human rights](https://bliptext.com/articles/human-rights), equitable [human development](https://bliptext.com/articles/human-development-humanity), and [peace](https://bliptext.com/articles/world-peace) are interdependent and indivisible.\nThe Charter attempts to provide a new framework for thinking about and addressing these issues.\nThe [Earth Charter Initiative](https://bliptext.com/articles/earth-charter-initiative) organization exists to promote the Charter.\n\n# History\nThe idea of the Earth Charter originated in 1987, by [Maurice Strong](https://bliptext.com/articles/maurice-strong) and [Mikhail Gorbachev](https://bliptext.com/articles/mikhail-gorbachev) as members of The [Club of Rome](https://bliptext.com/articles/club-of-rome), when the [United Nations](https://bliptext.com/articles/united-nations) [World Commission on Environment and Development](https://bliptext.com/articles/world-commission-on-environment-and-development) called for a new charter to guide the transition to [sustainable development](https://bliptext.com/articles/sustainable-development).\nIn 1992, the need for a charter was urged by then-[Secretary General](https://bliptext.com/articles/secretary-general-of-the-united-nations) [Boutros Boutros-Ghali](https://bliptext.com/articles/boutros-boutros-ghali) at the [Rio de Janeiro](https://bliptext.com/articles/rio-de-janeiro) [Earth Summit](https://bliptext.com/articles/earth-summit), but the time for such a declaration was not believed to be right.\nThe [Rio Declaration](https://bliptext.com/articles/rio-declaration) became the statement of the achievable consensus at that time.\nIn 1994, Strong (Chairman of the Earth Summit) and Gorbachev, working through organizations they each founded (the Earth Council and [Green Cross International](https://bliptext.com/articles/green-cross-international) respectively), restarted the Earth Charter as a [civil society](https://bliptext.com/articles/civil-society) initiative, with the help of the government of the [Netherlands](https://bliptext.com/articles/netherlands).\nStrong died in November 2015.\n\"The [Ark of Hope](https://bliptext.com/articles/ark-of-hope) was created for a celebration of the Earth Charter held at Shelburne Farms, Vermont on September 9, 2001.\"\n\n# Drafting\nThe drafting of the text was done during a six-year worldwide consultation process (1994–2000), overseen by the independent Earth Charter Commission, which was convened by Strong and Gorbachev with the purpose of developing a global consensus on values and principles for a sustainable future.\nThe Commission continues to serve as the steward of the Earth Charter text.\nOne of the members of the Earth Charter Commission and Steering Committee was [Steven Clark Rockefeller](https://bliptext.com/articles/steven-clark-rockefeller), who, among other things is professor emeritus of Religion at [Middlebury College](https://bliptext.com/articles/middlebury-college) and an advisory trustee of the [Rockefeller Brothers Fund](https://bliptext.com/articles/rockefeller-brothers-fund).\nAccording to a 2001 interview with Rockefeller, he \"chaired the Earth Charter international drafting committee\".\nOther members included [Amadou Toumani Touré](https://bliptext.com/articles/amadou-toumani-tour) (Mali), [Princess Basma bint Talal](https://bliptext.com/articles/princess-basma-bint-talal) (Jordan), [Mohamed Sahnoun](https://bliptext.com/articles/mohamed-sahnoun) (Algeria), [A. T. Ariyaratne](https://bliptext.com/articles/a-t-ariyaratne) (Sri Lanka), [Wakako Hironaka](https://bliptext.com/articles/wakako-hironaka) (Japan), [Erna Witoelar](https://bliptext.com/articles/erna-witoelar) (Indonesia), [Ruud Lubbers](https://bliptext.com/articles/ruud-lubbers) (The Netherlands), [Federico Mayor](https://bliptext.com/articles/federico-mayor) (Spain), [Mercedes Sosa](https://bliptext.com/articles/mercedes-sosa) (Argentina), [Leonardo Boff](https://bliptext.com/articles/leonardo-boff) (Brazil), [Yolanda Kakabadse](https://bliptext.com/articles/yolanda-kakabadse) (Ecuador), [Shridath Ramphal](https://bliptext.com/articles/shridath-ramphal) (Guyana), [Elizabeth May](https://bliptext.com/articles/elizabeth-may) (Canada), [Severn Cullis-Suzuki](https://bliptext.com/articles/severn-cullis-suzuki) (Canada), and others.\nThe final text of the Earth Charter was approved at a meeting of the Earth Charter Commission at the [UNESCO](https://bliptext.com/articles/unesco) headquarters in Paris in March 2000.\nThe official launch was on 29 June 2000 in a ceremony at The [Peace Palace](https://bliptext.com/articles/peace-palace) in [The Hague](https://bliptext.com/articles/the-hague), Netherlands.\n[Queen Beatrix](https://bliptext.com/articles/queen-beatrix) of the Netherlands attended the ceremony.\n\n# Contents\nThe approximately 2,400 word document is divided into sections (called pillars), which have 16 main principles containing 61 supporting principles.\nThe document opens with a preamble and ends with a conclusion entitled \"The Way Forward\".\n\n## Preamble\nWe stand at a critical moment in Earth's history, a time when humanity must choose its future.\nAs the world becomes increasingly interdependent and fragile, the future at once holds great peril and great promise.\nTo move forward we must recognize that in the midst of a magnificent diversity of cultures and life forms we are one human family and one Earth community with a common destiny.\nWe must join together to bring forth a sustainable global society founded on respect for nature, universal human rights, economic justice, and a culture of peace.\nTowards this end, it is imperative that we, the peoples of Earth, declare our responsibility to one another, to the greater community of life, and to future generations.\n\n## Principles\nThe four pillars and sixteen principles of the Earth Charter are:\n**I. Respect and Care for the Community of Life**\n

Respect Earth and life in all its diversity.

Care for the community of life with understanding, compassion and love.

Build democratic societies that are just, participatory, sustainable and peaceful.

Secure Earth's bounty and beauty for present and future generations.

\n\n'''II.\nEcological Integrity'''\n

Protect and restore the integrity of Earth's ecological systems, with special concern for biological diversity and the natural processes that sustain life.

Prevent harm as the best method of environmental protection and, when knowledge is limited, apply a precautionary approach.

Adopt patterns of production, consumption and reproduction that safeguard Earth's regenerative capacities, human rights and community well-being.

Advance the study of ecological sustainability and promote the open exchange and wide application of the knowledge acquired.

\n\n'''III.\nSocial and Economic Justice'''\n

Eradicate poverty as an ethical, social and environmental imperative.

Ensure that economic activities and institutions at all levels promote human development in an equitable and sustainable manner.

Affirm gender equality and equity as prerequisites to sustainable development and ensure universal access to education, health care and economic opportunity.

Uphold the right of all, without discrimination, to a natural and social environment supportive of human dignity, bodily health and spiritual well-being, with special attention to the rights of indigenous peoples and minorities.

\n\n'''IV.\nDemocracy, Nonviolence, and Peace'''\n

Strengthen democratic institutions at all levels, and provide transparency and accountability in governance, inclusive participation in decision-making, and access to justice.

Integrate into formal education and lifelong learning the knowledge, values and skills needed for a sustainable way of life.

Treat all living beings with respect and consideration.

Promote a culture of tolerance, nonviolence and peace.

\n\n\n# Reaction\nThe Charter has been formally endorsed by organizations such as the [UNESCO](https://bliptext.com/articles/unesco), over 250 universities around the world, the [World Conservation Union](https://bliptext.com/articles/world-conservation-union) of IUCN, the Indian National Capital Territory of [Delhi](https://bliptext.com/articles/delhi), the 2001 [U.S. Conference of Mayors](https://bliptext.com/articles/united-states-conference-of-mayors), and dozens of youth organizations.\nVarious religious groups from a wide range of religions support the Earth Charter.\nThe [Soka Gakkai International](https://bliptext.com/articles/soka-gakkai-international), representing more than 12 million Buddhists worldwide, has supported the Earth Charter since its inception.\nThe [Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations](https://bliptext.com/articles/unitarian-universalist-association) representing over 1000 Unitarian Universalist congregations in the United States supports the measure.\nThe official body of the [Baháʼí Faith](https://bliptext.com/articles/bah-faith) religion reacted by saying \"While not officially endorsing the Earth Charter, the Baháʼí International Community considers the effort toward drafting it and activities in support of its essential objectives to be highly commendable, and it will continue to participate in related activities, such as conferences, forums and the like.\"\nThe World Pantheist Movement, which supports a naturalistic view of religion, endorses the plan.\nThe [Leadership Conference of Women Religious](https://bliptext.com/articles/leadership-conference-of-women-religious), a Catholic organization in the United States approved the measure in 2004.\nThe [Episcopal Diocese of Newark](https://bliptext.com/articles/episcopal-diocese-of-newark) (New Jersey), an Episcopalian Christian organization, endorsed the Earth Charter in 2009.\nIn May 1992, more than 650 representatives of [indigenous peoples](https://bliptext.com/articles/indigenous-peoples) adopted their own 109-point Indigenous Peoples Earth Charter.\nRepresentatives of indigenous peoples also participated in the Earth Charter consultations in 1996.\nIn 2000, the Russian Association of the Indigenous Peoples of the North (RAIPON), representing 31 indigenous peoples living in Siberia and far eastern Russia, formally endorsed the Earth Charter.\nMayor Hsu of [Tainan](https://bliptext.com/articles/tainan-city), a city of 750,000 in [Taiwan](https://bliptext.com/articles/taiwan), endorsed the charter in 2007.\nThe cities of [Corvallis](https://bliptext.com/articles/corvallis-oregon) (Oregon), Berkeley (California), Pickering (Canada) and 21 towns in Vermont have endorsed the measure.\nNine other towns in Vermont rejected measures endorsing the Earth Charter.\n[Engineers Without Borders](https://bliptext.com/articles/engineers-without-borders), an international association whose mission is to help its member groups assist poor communities in their respective countries and around the world, also endorses the Earth Charter.\nThe Green Party of [Botswana](https://bliptext.com/articles/botswana) supports the plan.\nThe [African Conservation Foundation](https://bliptext.com/articles/african-conservation-foundation) describes the Earth Charter movement as a \"partner\".\nIn the UK, Bournemouth Borough Council endorsed the Charter in 2008.\nEarth Charter International, the organization responsible for promoting the Charter, states in its literature that the Earth Charter is respectful and inclusive of all religious traditions.\nThey say that the Charter itself makes no statements to support claims of intent to supplant any of the world's religions or to create a world government.\nECI asserts that the Charter is a statement of common ethical values towards sustainability, that recognizes humanity's shared responsibility to the Earth and to each other.\n\n## Criticism\nThe Charter has received opposition from several groups.\nFor example, in the [United States](https://bliptext.com/articles/united-states), members of religious groups, such as the [Religious Right](https://bliptext.com/articles/christian-right) have objected to the document on the grounds that it is [secular](https://bliptext.com/articles/secularism), and espouses [socialism](https://bliptext.com/articles/socialism).\nIn addition, some conservatives cite an informal comment by Mikhail Gorbachev that the document is \"a kind of [Ten Commandments](https://bliptext.com/articles/ten-commandments)\"; and point to the fact that at the 2002 [World Summit on Sustainable Development](https://bliptext.com/articles/world-summit-on-sustainable-development) in [Johannesburg](https://bliptext.com/articles/johannesburg), [South Africa](https://bliptext.com/articles/south-africa), a copy of the document was placed symbolically in an \"Ark of Hope\" — an independent project by the American artist Sally Linder.","current_revision":null,"created_by":"kACnuQmH5k9Nr5VNVEpVeg7XpvUmMctD","created_at":"2025-01-25T20:00:21.554Z","updated_at":"2025-01-25T20:00:21.554Z","search_vector":"'charter':2 'earth':1","search_content":" \n \n\n# \nThe **Earth Charter** is an international declaration of fundamental values and principles considered useful by its supporters for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society in the 21st century.\nCreated by a global consultation process, and endorsed by organizations representing millions of people, the Charter \"seeks to inspire in all peoples a sense of global interdependence and shared responsibility for the well-being of the human family, the greater community of life, and [future generations](https://bliptext.com/articles/future-generations).\"\nIt calls upon humanity to help create a global partnership at a critical juncture in history.\nThe Earth Charter's vision proposes that [environmental protection](https://bliptext.com/articles/environmental-protection), [human rights](https://bliptext.com/articles/human-rights), equitable [human development](https://bliptext.com/articles/human-development-humanity), and [peace](https://bliptext.com/articles/world-peace) are interdependent and indivisible.\nThe Charter attempts to provide a new framework for thinking about and addressing these issues.\nThe [Earth Charter Initiative](https://bliptext.com/articles/earth-charter-initiative) organization exists to promote the Charter.\n\n# History\nThe idea of the Earth Charter originated in 1987, by [Maurice Strong](https://bliptext.com/articles/maurice-strong) and [Mikhail Gorbachev](https://bliptext.com/articles/mikhail-gorbachev) as members of The [Club of Rome](https://bliptext.com/articles/club-of-rome), when the [United Nations](https://bliptext.com/articles/united-nations) [World Commission on Environment and Development](https://bliptext.com/articles/world-commission-on-environment-and-development) called for a new charter to guide the transition to [sustainable development](https://bliptext.com/articles/sustainable-development).\nIn 1992, the need for a charter was urged by then-[Secretary General](https://bliptext.com/articles/secretary-general-of-the-united-nations) [Boutros Boutros-Ghali](https://bliptext.com/articles/boutros-boutros-ghali) at the [Rio de Janeiro](https://bliptext.com/articles/rio-de-janeiro) [Earth Summit](https://bliptext.com/articles/earth-summit), but the time for such a declaration was not believed to be right.\nThe [Rio Declaration](https://bliptext.com/articles/rio-declaration) became the statement of the achievable consensus at that time.\nIn 1994, Strong (Chairman of the Earth Summit) and Gorbachev, working through organizations they each founded (the Earth Council and [Green Cross International](https://bliptext.com/articles/green-cross-international) respectively), restarted the Earth Charter as a [civil society](https://bliptext.com/articles/civil-society) initiative, with the help of the government of the [Netherlands](https://bliptext.com/articles/netherlands).\nStrong died in November 2015.\n\"The [Ark of Hope](https://bliptext.com/articles/ark-of-hope) was created for a celebration of the Earth Charter held at Shelburne Farms, Vermont on September 9, 2001.\"\n\n# Drafting\nThe drafting of the text was done during a six-year worldwide consultation process (1994–2000), overseen by the independent Earth Charter Commission, which was convened by Strong and Gorbachev with the purpose of developing a global consensus on values and principles for a sustainable future.\nThe Commission continues to serve as the steward of the Earth Charter text.\nOne of the members of the Earth Charter Commission and Steering Committee was [Steven Clark Rockefeller](https://bliptext.com/articles/steven-clark-rockefeller), who, among other things is professor emeritus of Religion at [Middlebury College](https://bliptext.com/articles/middlebury-college) and an advisory trustee of the [Rockefeller Brothers Fund](https://bliptext.com/articles/rockefeller-brothers-fund).\nAccording to a 2001 interview with Rockefeller, he \"chaired the Earth Charter international drafting committee\".\nOther members included [Amadou Toumani Touré](https://bliptext.com/articles/amadou-toumani-tour) (Mali), [Princess Basma bint Talal](https://bliptext.com/articles/princess-basma-bint-talal) (Jordan), [Mohamed Sahnoun](https://bliptext.com/articles/mohamed-sahnoun) (Algeria), [A. T. Ariyaratne](https://bliptext.com/articles/a-t-ariyaratne) (Sri Lanka), [Wakako Hironaka](https://bliptext.com/articles/wakako-hironaka) (Japan), [Erna Witoelar](https://bliptext.com/articles/erna-witoelar) (Indonesia), [Ruud Lubbers](https://bliptext.com/articles/ruud-lubbers) (The Netherlands), [Federico Mayor](https://bliptext.com/articles/federico-mayor) (Spain), [Mercedes Sosa](https://bliptext.com/articles/mercedes-sosa) (Argentina), [Leonardo Boff](https://bliptext.com/articles/leonardo-boff) (Brazil), [Yolanda Kakabadse](https://bliptext.com/articles/yolanda-kakabadse) (Ecuador), [Shridath Ramphal](https://bliptext.com/articles/shridath-ramphal) (Guyana), [Elizabeth May](https://bliptext.com/articles/elizabeth-may) (Canada), [Severn Cullis-Suzuki](https://bliptext.com/articles/severn-cullis-suzuki) (Canada), and others.\nThe final text of the Earth Charter was approved at a meeting of the Earth Charter Commission at the [UNESCO](https://bliptext.com/articles/unesco) headquarters in Paris in March 2000.\nThe official launch was on 29 June 2000 in a ceremony at The [Peace Palace](https://bliptext.com/articles/peace-palace) in [The Hague](https://bliptext.com/articles/the-hague), Netherlands.\n[Queen Beatrix](https://bliptext.com/articles/queen-beatrix) of the Netherlands attended the ceremony.\n\n# Contents\nThe approximately 2,400 word document is divided into sections (called pillars), which have 16 main principles containing 61 supporting principles.\nThe document opens with a preamble and ends with a conclusion entitled \"The Way Forward\".\n\n## Preamble\nWe stand at a critical moment in Earth's history, a time when humanity must choose its future.\nAs the world becomes increasingly interdependent and fragile, the future at once holds great peril and great promise.\nTo move forward we must recognize that in the midst of a magnificent diversity of cultures and life forms we are one human family and one Earth community with a common destiny.\nWe must join together to bring forth a sustainable global society founded on respect for nature, universal human rights, economic justice, and a culture of peace.\nTowards this end, it is imperative that we, the peoples of Earth, declare our responsibility to one another, to the greater community of life, and to future generations.\n\n## Principles\nThe four pillars and sixteen principles of the Earth Charter are:\n**I. Respect and Care for the Community of Life**\n Respect Earth and life in all its diversity. \n Care for the community of life with understanding, compassion and love. \n Build democratic societies that are just, participatory, sustainable and peaceful. \n Secure Earth's bounty and beauty for present and future generations. \n \n'''II.\nEcological Integrity'''\n Protect and restore the integrity of Earth's ecological systems, with special concern for biological diversity and the natural processes that sustain life. \n Prevent harm as the best method of environmental protection and, when knowledge is limited, apply a precautionary approach. \n Adopt patterns of production, consumption and reproduction that safeguard Earth's regenerative capacities, human rights and community well-being. \n Advance the study of ecological sustainability and promote the open exchange and wide application of the knowledge acquired. \n \n'''III.\nSocial and Economic Justice'''\n Eradicate poverty as an ethical, social and environmental imperative. \n Ensure that economic activities and institutions at all levels promote human development in an equitable and sustainable manner. \n Affirm gender equality and equity as prerequisites to sustainable development and ensure universal access to education, health care and economic opportunity. \n Uphold the right of all, without discrimination, to a natural and social environment supportive of human dignity, bodily health and spiritual well-being, with special attention to the rights of indigenous peoples and minorities. \n \n'''IV.\nDemocracy, Nonviolence, and Peace'''\n Strengthen democratic institutions at all levels, and provide transparency and accountability in governance, inclusive participation in decision-making, and access to justice. \n Integrate into formal education and lifelong learning the knowledge, values and skills needed for a sustainable way of life. \n Treat all living beings with respect and consideration. \n Promote a culture of tolerance, nonviolence and peace. \n \n\n# Reaction\nThe Charter has been formally endorsed by organizations such as the [UNESCO](https://bliptext.com/articles/unesco), over 250 universities around the world, the [World Conservation Union](https://bliptext.com/articles/world-conservation-union) of IUCN, the Indian National Capital Territory of [Delhi](https://bliptext.com/articles/delhi), the 2001 [U.S. Conference of Mayors](https://bliptext.com/articles/united-states-conference-of-mayors), and dozens of youth organizations.\nVarious religious groups from a wide range of religions support the Earth Charter.\nThe [Soka Gakkai International](https://bliptext.com/articles/soka-gakkai-international), representing more than 12 million Buddhists worldwide, has supported the Earth Charter since its inception.\nThe [Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations](https://bliptext.com/articles/unitarian-universalist-association) representing over 1000 Unitarian Universalist congregations in the United States supports the measure.\nThe official body of the [Baháʼí Faith](https://bliptext.com/articles/bah-faith) religion reacted by saying \"While not officially endorsing the Earth Charter, the Baháʼí International Community considers the effort toward drafting it and activities in support of its essential objectives to be highly commendable, and it will continue to participate in related activities, such as conferences, forums and the like.\"\nThe World Pantheist Movement, which supports a naturalistic view of religion, endorses the plan.\nThe [Leadership Conference of Women Religious](https://bliptext.com/articles/leadership-conference-of-women-religious), a Catholic organization in the United States approved the measure in 2004.\nThe [Episcopal Diocese of Newark](https://bliptext.com/articles/episcopal-diocese-of-newark) (New Jersey), an Episcopalian Christian organization, endorsed the Earth Charter in 2009.\nIn May 1992, more than 650 representatives of [indigenous peoples](https://bliptext.com/articles/indigenous-peoples) adopted their own 109-point Indigenous Peoples Earth Charter.\nRepresentatives of indigenous peoples also participated in the Earth Charter consultations in 1996.\nIn 2000, the Russian Association of the Indigenous Peoples of the North (RAIPON), representing 31 indigenous peoples living in Siberia and far eastern Russia, formally endorsed the Earth Charter.\nMayor Hsu of [Tainan](https://bliptext.com/articles/tainan-city), a city of 750,000 in [Taiwan](https://bliptext.com/articles/taiwan), endorsed the charter in 2007.\nThe cities of [Corvallis](https://bliptext.com/articles/corvallis-oregon) (Oregon), Berkeley (California), Pickering (Canada) and 21 towns in Vermont have endorsed the measure.\nNine other towns in Vermont rejected measures endorsing the Earth Charter.\n[Engineers Without Borders](https://bliptext.com/articles/engineers-without-borders), an international association whose mission is to help its member groups assist poor communities in their respective countries and around the world, also endorses the Earth Charter.\nThe Green Party of [Botswana](https://bliptext.com/articles/botswana) supports the plan.\nThe [African Conservation Foundation](https://bliptext.com/articles/african-conservation-foundation) describes the Earth Charter movement as a \"partner\".\nIn the UK, Bournemouth Borough Council endorsed the Charter in 2008.\nEarth Charter International, the organization responsible for promoting the Charter, states in its literature that the Earth Charter is respectful and inclusive of all religious traditions.\nThey say that the Charter itself makes no statements to support claims of intent to supplant any of the world's religions or to create a world government.\nECI asserts that the Charter is a statement of common ethical values towards sustainability, that recognizes humanity's shared responsibility to the Earth and to each other.\n\n## Criticism\nThe Charter has received opposition from several groups.\nFor example, in the [United States](https://bliptext.com/articles/united-states), members of religious groups, such as the [Religious Right](https://bliptext.com/articles/christian-right) have objected to the document on the grounds that it is [secular](https://bliptext.com/articles/secularism), and espouses [socialism](https://bliptext.com/articles/socialism).\nIn addition, some conservatives cite an informal comment by Mikhail Gorbachev that the document is \"a kind of [Ten Commandments](https://bliptext.com/articles/ten-commandments)\"; and point to the fact that at the 2002 [World Summit on Sustainable Development](https://bliptext.com/articles/world-summit-on-sustainable-development) in [Johannesburg](https://bliptext.com/articles/johannesburg), [South Africa](https://bliptext.com/articles/south-africa), a copy of the document was placed symbolically in an \"Ark of Hope\" — an independent project by the American artist Sally Linder.","revisionCount":0},"hasMore":false,"nextCursor":null}