8. Gennadi Alferenko announced a major new initiative for the Russian Earth Charter Committee. This involves the need to promote sustainable development in Russia's wild but oil-rich northern territories. The idea is that regional planning and management will be established based on the principles of the Earth Charter. The Governor of Kamchatka has agreed to help form a team that will develop strategies for implementing Earth Charter principles at the regional level to promote sustainable living and environmental protection.

For this discussion a report prepared by Dr Ruud Lubbers and Dr Patricia Morales on Global principles - comparative analysis of the documents related to the Earth Charter.

M.Gorbachev took an active part in the discussions.

As the results of the intensive discussion the participants came to share the opinion that their positions had much in common. It was agreed that there needed to be a major epmphasis on articulating the scientific principles undrepinning the necessity of the Earth Charter. The necessity of a set of three documents within the Earth Charter as a whole was confirmed. The participants also agreed that at present there is no acceptable variant of the Earth Charter and much more serious work remains to be done.

II. Scientific Basis to the Earth Charter (moderator: Kim Losev, Brendan Mackey)

1. V. Gorshkov and Anastasia Makarieva, on behalf of Professors Gorshkov and Losev, gave a presentation on "The theory of Biotic Regulation for the Earth Charter", illustrated by results of empirical analyses. This represents the accumulative insights of around twenty years' work for these scientists and their colleagues.

Their work highlights the role played by the biota and ecological processes in regulating Earth's environment. While this general point is generally accepted by the broader scientific community, their work provides an explicit theoretical framework for explaining these phenomena, and for making predictions about human impact on the environment that can be empirically tested. This means we do not have to simply accept their word; rather their theory can be tested using data collected from the real world.

A key point is that this natural capacity for environmental regulation is degraded in landscapes dominated by modern, industrial society. It follows that a minimum amount of Earth's terrestrial lands must be maintained in a natural condition. By "natural" we mean as free as possible from the impacts of modern, technological society.

If the theory and the predictions of Gorshkov and his colleagues are correct, there are profound implications for humanity. For example, there would be a direct conflict between developing land for agriculture,settlement, industry, etc., and maintaining the Biosphere's environmental regulatory capacity.

While details of their theory and analyses are still the subject of scientific debate (largely because the western scientific community has yet to fully absorb and respond to this work), there would be general support for the fundamental implications that flow from their work, including:

The Forum agreed that such fundamental scientifically-based knowledge should be incorporated into the Charter. The challenge is to derive a suitable set of relevant principles for guiding human behavior based on this scientific understanding that will match the intended structure and character of the Charter. Additional actions are needed to focus further discussion and development of this important component of the Charter during the next meetings on the Earth Charter (USA, Australia, Japan).

Dr. Brendan Mackey, who is assisting Professor Rockefeller on the Earth Charter drafting team, agreed to work closely with Professors Gorshkov and Losev to develop appropriate strategies.

Special time was given for the presentation of the latest research in the sphere of nana-technologies for the issues of biotic regulation, as well as other environmentally sound technologies made by President of the International Foundation "Conversion", professor M.Ananyan.

III. Religious Basis to the Charter
(moderator: Metropolitan Pitirim, John Hoyt)

Presentations were given by the following representatives:

1. Metropolitan of Volokolamsk and Yurievsk Pitirim

The Metropolitan affirmed the fundamental religious concept that views the world as a united, integrated system, and noted that the world is sensitive to moral changes. He presented a conceptual model based on the image of a triangular pyramid. At the apex is God as the source. The lower horizontal plane has three points that are God's manifestation on Earth, represented by Ethics, Ecology, and Economy. Rising from the center of this plane is Humankind. Human happiness comes from integrating these three points and moving up the central axis closer to the God source.

The Metropolitan also noted the ecological dimension to the Bible's adage that six years of work is to be followed by one year of rest. Further, Earth is not a passive but rather is an active element of cooperation with Humanity. We should use positive experiences from the world's religions to develop the Earth Charter.

2. Mr Antonov (Old Believers)

While our relation to nature must change, we should not think of this as a revolution--there is no place for revolution in the Third Millennium. Traditional religions are ecologically pure, and there are traditional values we need to draw upon in redefining our relationship with nature. We should not forget the joy in people's hearts that derives from being surrounded by nature. This is at least equally as important as the utility we derive from nature.

3. Rabbi Kogan Zinovy Lvovich (Judaism)

God is the source of all laws. In Jewish tradition, the root of the name 'Adam' refers to the 'land.' The main commandments refer to Man's relation to the land. While God created Man as possessor of the world, he also created him with an angelic essence-and hence his fundamental nature is to do good. Russia is the biggest country in the world and hence has a special responsibility for what is happening to Earth. We need to work out fundamental principles that all people can
relate to. There is a great need to engage a wide audience for the Charter and the media can help do this. A suggested slogan for the Charter is "Watch out! We have the world under our feet!"

4. Dalai- Lama representative in Moscow (Buddhism) expressed support for the Earth Charter project and the Benchmark Draft.

5. Pudov Vladimir (Head of the Evangelic-Lutheran Church of Moscow) expressed general agreement with the positive comments on the Earth Charter stated by other speakers. He noted that God created Earth, so while Man likes to view himself as master of the universe, he cannot do what he likes and must respect Earth's carrying capacity and think about the consequences of what he is doing.

6. Fazlun Khalid, Alliance of Religion and Conservation (ARC), Islamic spokesperson

Traditionally there was an unconscious acceptance that humanity lived with the natural order. However, this is now broken, as materialism is now "God." So we need to retrace our steps back to the original position with the help of the Earth Charter.

There are four Islamic principles relevant to the Earth Charter:

6. Richard M. Clugston, Center for Respect of Life and Environment:

The Center has been organizing an annual forum in Assisi, Italy, along the theme of "Spirituality and Sustainability." This theme is important because the environmental crisis at its roots is a spiritual crisis. But the Earth Charter cannot be dominated by any one group's spirituality. Rather, it must reflect all authentic calls to the spirit. The suggestion was also made that the Earth Charter could also be connected to the Roman Catholic Church's Jubilee. The focus for this year meeting in Assisi wil be the Earth Charter.

7. Professor Steven Rockefeller

Professor Rockefeller noted that the following universal spiritual attitudes and ethical values were already in the Charter: humility; reverence for life; gratitude, thankfulness; social and ecological responsibility; respect for human dignity; commitment to social justice; equitable sharing of wealth; overcoming poverty; promoting an attitude/culture of non-violence and peace; the need to integrate knowledge with compassion; the "Golden Rule."

8. D.Karimova viewed the Earth Charter from the point of the legislative activity on land and stressed the necessity and the possibility of using the principles of the Earth Charter in the real everyday program of agricultural states.

9. N.Stomakhina:
Rather than the Earth Charter referring to "sharing" resources and environmental benefits "fairly," it should refer to the "rights" of people to resources and environmental benefits as this will provide a much stronger basis for legislation and action.

The development of technology needs to be guided by environmental principles.

The Forum's attention was drawn to the work of the Russian scientist Vernadsky and his theory of the Noosphere, and emphasis this gave to the interdependence of all things.

The dynamic development of human society must be connected to universal values. Given this and the spiritual basis of our environmental crisis, interfaith relations are an important component of sustainable development.

10. Professor Kim Losev

No religion supports robbing the environment the way we are currently doing. All civilizations are based on the environment, and science can help us understand this dependency. If the aim of the Charter is to change behavior, then science can work with religion to do this. But we must reach the youth if we wish to influence people's values and their behavior.

11. Pierre Calame

The Earth Charter document should comprise principles and an explanatory section. The latter should detail (a) where the Charter came from, and (b) where it is going.

The Charter must not simply preach. Rather, the Charter must be based on commitment. In the case of institutions, such as religions, this commitment must be commensurate with their responsibility. The capacity for the Charter to evoke commitment will reflect the extent to which it is grounded in reality.

Religion is one important source of values for the Earth Charter.
A tension can be found in religious thought between (a) man as part of creation and (b) man as having dominion over creation. Nonetheless, religion has an important role to play in the Earth Charter. In the end, the most important thing is the "change in mind" required to bring about change in the world. We must recognize that "freedom" only exists within the context of a social alliance/contract, that is, with consideration for other people's rights.

In summary, the main points of agreement from the discussion on the religious basis of the Charter were:

1. The Earth Charter provides a vital tool and the best available common ground for interfaith/interdenominational dialogue.

2. The principles enunciated in the Benchmark Draft are consistent with the fundamental value systems of the participants' religions.

3. At the heart of our environmental crisis lies a spiritual crisis.
Therefore, the Earth Charter must adequately reflect humanity's spiritual dimension. Further dialogue is necessary for strengthening and clarifying of the spiritual dimensions of the Charter.

4. The organized religions can play a critical role in both the development and promulgation of the Earth Charter.

VI. Within the frameworks of the final general discussion on the Earth Charter consultation process at the national level and on prospects of the development of the Earth Charter project the following participants in particular took the floor:

1. John Hoyt spoke about the process and the results of the national hearings on the Earth Charter in the USA. He enumerated the main conclusions out of the public hearings, emphasizing the fact that no integrated Earth Charter variant could as yet be elaborated.

2. Brendan Mackey told about the work of the National Committee on the Earth Charter of Australia.

3. Rustem Khairov informed the participants about the work done by the Russian National Committee in Russia and the CIS countries.

4. Mikhail Gorbachev proposed to put emphasis on main directions on perfectioning the text and the structure of the Charter and proposed his vision of the document, in particular,
- preamble (emotional, inspiring and easy to understand to every person on Earth).
- main text, explaining the missions and the objectives of the Charter and the necessity of accepting certain limitations and the responsibilities.
- values, principles for behavior and moral-ethical directions resulting from the essence of the Earth Charter.
- mechanisms of social control, providing the realizations of these principles.

M.Gorbachev emphasized that such a structure does not presuppose certain sections of the document, but just the logic of the document for all layers of the world's society.

Apart from that the following matters were touched upon: the opportunities of having contact with "wild, Virgin" nature and the existence of certain laws of its conservation (A.Makarieva), changing several terms (for example, the term of "sustainable living" seems more appropriate than the term "sustainable development", the necessity of elaboration of the laws on clean information environment, and primarily, on advertising, on mass media, education (Evgeny Faidysh)

Conclusions and Recommendations

1. National committees in Russia, the United States, and Australia have developed and are implementing significant Earth Charter programs. The Russian Committee for the Earth Charter is implementing an innovative plan to incorporate the Earth Charter into Regional Economic Development plans to promote sustainable development and environmental protection. The idea is that regional government will sign on to the Earth Charter and planning and management in accordance with its principles. Discussions are currently being held with the Governor of Kamchatka to implement this initiative in that region. The Russian Earth Charter
Committee will be working on this project in collaboration with Pierre Calame's Alliance Project.

2. The Earth Charter must reflect a synthesis of scientific knowledge about Earth's ecology and the impact of humans, together with values that reflect spiritual, social, and other dimensions of the human condition.

3. The Earth Charter must concentrate on articulating fundamental universal principles.

4. The Charter must be considered in the context of the International Environmental Covenant being developed by the IUCN Commission on Environmental Law together with other IUCN Commissions. The Covenant will give a formal legal rendering to the Charter's principles.

5. It was recommended that the Charter have the following structure:
- an introduction or Preamble that conveys the keystone concept in an inspirational form
- the scientific component of the Charter must be clearly expressed as it is central to the aims of environmental protection
- no more than two pages of principles expressed in simple language, readily comprehended by everyday people
- an explanatory section is also needed that (a) provides some interpretation, (b) gives examples of their application, and (c) details mechanism for their implementation and promulgation

6. The following activities are identified as important steps in the ongoing developments of the Earth Charter process:
- Green Cross International is hosting a meeting on the Earth Charter in Kyoto, Japan, on 7 April, following their General Assembly.
- Two additional meetings are being planned by the Australian, Russian, and United States committees one to be held in Russia, and one in the US) that will include
significant components that relate to the scientific dimensions of the Earth Charter.
- The Australian Earth Charter program will be launched in July this year.

7. The Earth Charter provides an invaluable platform for interfaith/interdenominational dialogue. A spiritual crisis lies at the heart of our environmental crisis. Further dialogue is required, however, to clarify and strengthen the Charter's spiritual dimension.

8. The Forum expressed its confidence in the work of Professor Steven Rockefeller and his drafting team.
President of GCI Gorbachev underlined the importance of the work maintained by Dr Steven Rockefeller and his readiness to assist in the promotion and the realization of the project.
Professor Rockefeller has established an open drafting process that ensures the many voices are being heard and that helps to integrate them in a single document.
Professor Rockefeller believes that there will be a draft of Benchmark Draft II ready for perusal in two to three months' time. The drafting team is meeting in Middlebury the week starting 13 March to consider the many suggestions, recommendations, and comments that have been received to date.

In conclusion President Gorbachev summarized the opinions of the participants underlining the fact that the Earth Charter must show the way ahead for a new human civilization, a new paradigm for human development and progress. This new code of principles must include ecological law, in support of existing laws, governing humanity's relations with nature. The Earth Charter must speak to all people, not just the intellectual elite, and cause vibrations in people's spirits, in their hearts as well as their minds.

Acknowledgments

1. Special thanks are expressed to President Gorbachev for his participation and the inspiration and leadership he brought to the Forum.

2. The participants of the Roundtable are grateful to the Chairman of the State Committee of the Russian Federation on environmental protection Victor Danilov-Danilyan for his participation in the opening of the Roundtable and his assistance in its organization, and to Minister of the Moscow Government on environmental issues L.Bochin for his support of the activities of the Roundtable.

3. The participants of the Roundtable express their special gratitude to the Chairman of the Board of the Foundation for Survival and Development of Humanity Metropolitan Pitirim for his contribution to the work of the Roundtable and his moral support, and to the Executive Director of the Foundation Rustem Khairov and the staff of the Foundation for their organizational efforts and the creative atmosphere for the success of this meeting.

4. We are grateful to the following organizations for the financial support they gave to the Forum: The Center for Respect of Life and Environment, and The Foundation for the Survival and Development of Humanity and the Alliance for Religions and Conservation.

5. Special thanks are also expressed for the magnificent piano recital performed at the Forum's reception by Ekaterina Richter.

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Copyright © 14 oct 1998 Green Cross International, Geneva, Switzerland