Eco Revolution - 2012 Colombo Declaration for spiritual way of Environmental conservation

 

International Conference on Environment and Humanity

Eco Revolution - 2012

 

Colombo Declaration

 

We,  the religious dignitaries, academics, professionals, scientists, researchers, artistes and civil society leaders, having met in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 19^th and 20^th of August 2012,in the International Conference on Environment and Humanity  "Eco Revolution - 2012" organised by Sadaham Sewana (Sri Lanka) and Eco Needs Foundation  in collaboration with Ministry of Environmental and Forest Sri Lanka , Ministry of Power and Energy Sri Lanka in the chairmanship of ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thero and convener Prof. Priyanad Agale wish to emphasize that we can no longer afford to delay measures to combat environmental degradation that triggers climate change and do here by express our firm commitment for the promotion of an economically, socially, culturally and environmentally sustainable future for our present and future generations.

 

We observe that 50% of forests cover on earth has already been depleted, crop diversity has been reduced by 75% and annually some 2 million hectares of cropland get degraded. As a result desertification of earth is happening at an alarming rate. Further we observe with distress, that the rivers and other water bodies that form the blood veins of the mother earth are disturbed by unprecedented proportions due to the direct pollution of rivers.

 

We foresee that due to scarcity of resources the global fossil oil, gas and coal production and consumption will reach the peak before the end of this decade. The carbon emissions need should witness a drop during this decade if the man is to limit the global warming to 2 degrees centigrade.

 

We maintain that all these indicators are proof that consumerism based modern development model is longer sustainable and hence shifting away from the modern development paradigm is mandatory.

 

We note that the current economic development model, backed by globalization, while improving the consumption level of the poor however also increases the consumption levels of the rich by many folds. We stress that this never ending vicious growth of consumerism is totally detrimental to the sustenance of 'Mother Earth' and it is soon to be constrained by scarcity of resources. 

 

We recognize that the growing consumerism has, instead of making the man satisfied, has left him totally disillusioned with the never ending 'wants' making him depressed and giving rise to mental diseases plaguing the well- being of the entire human race.

 

We acknowledge that there have been various efforts made at international level during the last four decades or so through initiatives like Stockholm, Rio, Kyoto, and Copenhagen conferences underscoring the international community’s realization that it does see the gravity of the dire situation. We however note that the international community has failed to take solid steps in the right direction to resolve the key issues. We emphasize that the motive behind these conferences should be ethical and honourable and that the international community should realize and recognize the power of the common man to mobilize movement towards environmental conservation. We realize that there is no strong platform at present to coordinate the efforts of the common man.

 

We firmly believe that the human civilization has reached the end of industrial era and therefore alternative development path ways should be envisioned, pilot tested, demonstrated and mainstreamed during this transitional era.  

 

We recognize that eradicating poverty and protecting the vulnerable groups are of utmost importance.

 

We reiterate that the rich has already occupied the ecological space of the poor and therefore has a historical responsibility and also duty bound to scale down consumerism. We recognize that the rich is indebted to poor on environmental terms and in order to repay it, it is necessary for the developed world to support the developing world to develop their sustainable development related infrastructure. An international taxation scheme must be imposed on those who consume super luxuries and comforts and the revenue from the tax system must be spent on upgrading and ensuring the living standard of the poor and the vulnerable groups.

 

We maintain that the world needs to find a new mechanism for spiritual development, which leads to altruism, to get rid of the habit of consumerism which was developed over the years especially after the industrial revolution. We stress that international laws be introduced to reject commodities such as tobacco and alcohol that are harmful to human race.

 

We maintain that it is not advisable for the developing world to ape western development models due to an assortment of reasons, mainly scarcity of resources, environmental constraints and more importantly its unwholesome character that leaves the man totally disenchanted. We emphasize that the strength of Asia in formulating the alternative socio-economic theories should lie on the 'middle path' advocated by eastern philosophies including Hinduism and Buddhism and this should go hand in hand with the cultural heritage of each nation.

 

We firmly believe that eastern philosophy and religion, though have currently been undermined by capitalism, can play a crucial role in developing and cultivating eco-friendly lifestyles among the public. We recognize Sri Lanka has been traditionally a Buddhist country, and important features of the Buddhist culture like respect for natural surroundings have helped preserve rivers and other natural resources to a greater extent. Thereby Sri Lanka has the potential to be a role model in sustainable development for the developing world and also ability to influence the international policy makers.

 

We urge nations across the globe to explore the possibilities of mutual aid and interaction when facing modern day global challenges and avoid competing with each other for resources.

 

We suggest that the United Nations should establish and maintain “an international fund for spiritual development” to help change man’s thinking and habit patterns through aesthetically advanced forms of art and literature. We propose that an International Monetary Organization be established to secure eco-friendly commercial ventures for the promotion of sustainable agriculture, renewable energy and other modes of energy efficiency, herbal medicine and other forms of eco-friendly enterprises.

 

We, the religious dignitaries, academics, professionals, scientists, researchers, artistes and civil society leaders while recognizing that we lag far behind our deadlines to save planet earth yet commit ourselves to take an initiative to mobilize and integrate the common man and researchers through the establishment of International Society of Eco Revolution to embark on a new journey for a sustainable future to save the human race.