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Harmony with Nature WFUNA International Model United Nations A(WIMUN)/6/4 ​ ​ General Assembly Distr.: Limited Jan 7, 2020 Original: English Sixth Session Agenda Item 8 Sustainable Development Harmony with Nature Report of the Secretary-General Summary Harmony with Nature aims to inspire citizens and societies to reconsider ​ how they interact with the natural world. It is based on the premise that we are part of Nature, never above it and marks a paradigm shift in the relationship between humankind and Nature. While a human-centered worldview is based on the notion that the Earth’s resources can be exploited at will for our exclusive benefit, an Earth-centered worldview is based on the notion that our well-being is derived from the well-being of the Earth. In other words, human rights are dependent on Nature's rights. For the greater part of human existence on this planet, priority has been placed solely on human life to the disadvantage of the Earth and its ecosystems. It has been established that the harm being caused to nature and the environment stems from humanity’s disregard for sustainable production and consumption processes. The importance of law, policy, and education in promoting a non-anthropocentric relationship between humans and nature cannot be stressed enough. The Earth, like humans, has rights that are increasingly being advanced by governments. Experts on the emerging movement known as Earth Jurisprudence have recommended that its principles be applied in the implementation of all 17 Sustainable Development Goals. 1/ WFUNA International Model United Nations A(WIMUN)/6/4 ​ I. Introduction 1. Public concern over the environment first emerged in the 1960s as a result of major oil spills that occurred when petroleum exploration intensified. It was within this context that Sweden proposed, in 1968, that the United Nations convene an international conference on the human environment that was eventually convened in 1972. 2. The 1972 Stockholm Declaration adopted at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, marked the beginning of an era when international agreements started to emerge to limit damages to the environment. 3. In 1982, the United Nations adopted the World Charter on Nature comprised of “five principles of conservation by which all human conduct affecting nature is to be guided and judged.” The first principle (“Nature shall be respected and its essential processes shall not be impaired”) is the precursor to an critical element of Harmony with Nature which stresses that importance of recognizing the rights of nature as a prerequisite of achieving Sustainable Development. 4. The World Charter for Nature acknowledged another important element that is important for understanding the underpinnings of Harmony with Nature, i.e., that “mankind is a part of nature and life depends on the uninterrupted functioning of natural systems which ensure the supply of energy and nutrients.” In other words, mankind is a part of Nature — not above it. 5. The World Charter for Nature goes on to acknowledge that our actions have the potential of being irreparably detrimental to life forms in general “owing to excessive consumption and misuse of natural resources.” The World Charter, therefore, addresses the responsibilities not only of states, but also of international organizations, corporations, groups, and individuals to protect the environment. 6. The World Charter for Nature called for the protection and conservation of nature in all its forms and “that man must acquire the knowledge to maintain and enhance his ability to use natural resources in a manner which ensures the preservation of the species and 1 ecosystems for the benefit of present and future generations.” 7. To reach the goals set forth by the World Charter for Nature, it articulated a number of recommended actions. First among these recommendations is that the decision-making process determining economic policies must take into consideration “that man’s needs can be met only by ensuring the proper functioning of natural systems.” 8. One decade after the World Charter for Nature was adopted, the UN Conference on Environment and Development (otherwise know as the Earth Summit) was held in in Rio ​ de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992 and asserted, like the World Charter before it, that economic ​ policies of the day were resulting in a deterioration of ecosystems that in turn were leading to increasing levels of poverty, hunger and ill health. 1 World Charter for Nature, Available at https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/39295 ​ ​ ​ ​ 2 WFUNA International Model United Nations A(WIMUN)/6/4 ​ 9. A number of groundbreaking documents were adopted at the Conference which included a non-binding declaration, called Agenda 21 which reinforced the need to take environmental concerns into consideration when making decisions on economic policies just as the World Charter for Nature had recommended one decade earlier. 10. Another seminal document adopted at the conference was the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. The Declaration consists of twenty-seven (27) principles that recognize the importance of protecting the environment and set guidelines for doing so. The Declaration is grounded in the idea that the only way to have any form of long term economic growth is to ensure that the environment is properly protected. 11. The Declaration also highlights the connection between eradicating poverty and Sustainable Development. As Principle 5 clearly states: “All States and all people shall cooperate in the essential task of eradicating poverty as an indispensable requirement for sustainable development, in order to decrease the disparities in standards of living and better meet the needs of the majority of the people of the world.” This principle was a central component in the Millennium Development Goals and is now a central component of the Sustainable Development Goals. 12. The Rio Declaration has served as the foundation for the legal framework of subsequent documents and resolutions on the environment and development. 13. Actions taken by the international community since the 1960s marked a significant shift in the development agenda from its initial narrow focus on how to spur economic growth around the world (without regard to whether everyone was benefiting equally or how it impacted the environment) to a broader recognition that development must be sustainable. This is most visible in Principle 4 of the Rio Declaration which states: “In order to achieve sustainable development, environmental protection shall constitute an integral 2 part of the development process and cannot be considered in isolation from it.” 14. Subsequent discussions on how to implement Agenda 21 and the Rio Declaration ultimately culminated in the the establishment of International Mother Earth Day on 22 April each year as proclaimed in the 2009 GA resolution A/RES/63/278. Earth Day offers an opportunity for all Member States to reflect upon the damages inflicted upon the Earth and to pay tribute to our home and the source of human life. 15. This resolution reflects the United Nations commitment to promote a harmonious coexistence between mankind and the Earth, so that a balance between the economic, social and environmental needs of the present and future generations can be achieved. 16. The growing concern over the environmental impacts inflicted upon the Earth stemmed from the increasing scarcity of the Earth’s bounties first recognized in the 1982 World 3 Charter for Nature . 2 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, The United Nations Conference on Environment and ​ Development (1992) Available at https://www.cbd.int/doc/ref/rio-declaration.shtml ​ 3 1982. World Charter For Nature. 3 WFUNA International Model United Nations A(WIMUN)/6/4 ​ 17. In December 2009, the United Nations General Assembly adopted its first resolution on 4 Harmony with Nature during its 64th session , recognizing the degradation of the Earth’s bounties and establishing the importance of the Earth to humankind’s existence. 18. In April 2011, the General Assembly held the first of many Interactive Dialogues between Member States, UN Organizations, independent experts and other stakeholders where a new approach to Sustainable Development is being discussed. To promote the Harmony with Nature initiative a new United Nations website on Harmony with Nature was created. 19. Through Harmony with Nature, the General Assembly acknowledges the depletion of the Earth’s resources due to unsustainable patterns of production and consumption that mankind has engaged in since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution and the irreversible damage this is causing to the Earth and her carrying capacity. 20. The loss of biodiversity, desertification, climate change and the disruption of a number of natural cycles are among the costs of our disregard for Nature and the integrity of its ecosystems and life-supporting processes. 21. Harmony with Nature recognizes that any attempt to address this situation will require establishing a new relationship with the Earth. 22. Just as Agenda 21 and the Rio Declaration marked a a significant shift in the development agenda, the Harmony with Nature initiative has marked an important paradigm shift from a human-centered paradigm to an Earth-centered paradigm. 23. One of the first principles of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development is that ‘human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with
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