MANIFESTO


We peoples of Planet Diversity gather to celebrate the rich biological and cultural diversity that is our heritage and to affirm our commitment to pass on that heritage undiminished to future generations.

We reject the despair of a world focused on consumption and competition and we assert that we do not accept distrust, greed, violence, and fear as ways of relating to each other or to other beings. We think that another world is possible, one based in peace and justice and economic opportunity for all.

We cherish all regions and ecosystems, but we especially treasure those centers of origin that are the source of the diversity on which so much of our lives depend.

We value localization and regionalization, not globalization; we seek equity and reciprocity, not domination over others.

We understand ourselves as part of nature, not as masters over nature.

We endorse the wisdom that joins precaution to the search for knowledge. We see that precaution is needed to prevent harm to all that we love and value and steward and seek to understand, and we know that whoever arrogantly discards the precautionary principle puts at risk the very foundations of life on earth.

We seek a world of good health and nutritious, safe, and affordable food for all. And we unabashedly revere the beauty and interrelatedness of all biodiversity.

When it comes to the diversity of our own species, we celebrate it all, but we especially hold dear

*
the savers of seed and the keepers of traditional knowledge,
*
the sowers and the gatherers of healthy crops and the preparers and the eaters of slow food,
*
the small farmers, peasants, and campesinos who fed and sustained us,
*
the small farmers, peasants, and campesinos who feed and sustain us,
*
the activists who demand accountability, transparency, and public participation,
*
the artists and the poets who compel us to open our eyes and our hearts,
*
the peacemakers who nudge us towards mutual respect and well being,
*
the scientists who teach us to act in cooperation with nature and with each other,
*
the scholars who remind us of what we owe to the past,
*
and the prophets who warn us how we will be judged by the future.

Finally, we celebrate those with whom we do not agree for they are the ones who push us - as we push them - to greater wisdom.

With great respect, we embrace them all and we acknowledge that we are all, all of us, the fortunate heirs and responsible ancestors of this, our shared home, Planet Diversity.