Marking World Biodiversity Day
Enduring cooperation is not always easy but when our actions are informed by the wisdom of nature and the resilience of thriving ecosystems, our beliefs and cultures can be celebrated and protected as sacred, integrated, and whole. In our efforts to create cultures of peace, justice and healing, here are three aspects of caring for Earth and one another that feel especially important:
1. Encourage each other in the network - CCs and individual members – in their collaborating and advocating for ecological restoration, nature’s rights, and the protection of sacred lands and cultural heritages.
The Quinaroes CC in Venezuela and the collaborative biodiversity protection work the Indigenous people have initiated with other groups who also visit the area.
URI Latin America and the Caribbean Region: Quinaroes CC, Venezuela
Here, in the Castán hydrographic basin (Tropical Andes), Quinaroes has formed a partnership between the Indigenous people, mountain biking groups and local inns to provide biodiversity education about the more than 450 species of fauna and flora living here -- including 13 migratory birds.
2. Encourage each other - CCs and individual members - to engage music, arts, dance, and collective healing rituals or practices to strengthen their connections with Earth and community resilience.
URI SEA-Pac Region: Bohol Goodwill Volunteers, Philippines
Vulnerable to coastal climate disasters, restoring mangroves, protecting the coastline and growing trees are some of the activities for the youth training offered by the Bohol Goodwill Volunteers that include theatre workshops and climate adaptation education.
The Bohol Goodwill Volunteers and theatre camps they are doing with youth to build community and provide nature education.
3. Emphasize the leadership of intergenerational, youth, women, and Indigenous in Cooperation Circle collaborations to advance environmental justice and the development of ecologically sustainable livelihoods.
Great Lakes Region: NASACURI CC, Uganda
In Mityana district, near Lake Wamala, this demo site welcomes people of diverse cultures to learn about Indigenous land tending, traditional medicines, agroecology, and sacred plant and seed protection. The trainings put women, youth, and children at the center for inter-generational knowledge transfer.
Asia Region: Strengthening Woman Economy & Create New Entrepreneurship CC, Sri Lanka
Healing the soil to make it fertile is essential in Kurunagala where it’s very hot & always dry. One biodiverse garden inspired each youth to create their own at home. There are 16 gardens now, being fed with food scraps & growing food in the compost-rich soil. Meditation while tending the plants is part of the practice shared daily between the gardeners and their families.
