USING BIOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY TO CREATE ECOLOGICAL CIVILIZATIONS AND LIVE IN HARMONY WITH NATURE
HARMONY AND BALANCE IN THE WORLD
LATOYA ABULU
Harmony and Balance in the World: Using Biological and Cultural Diversity to Create Ecological Civilizations and Live in Harmony with Nature
Latoya Abulu
This piece proposes a framework for international cooperation to attain the Convention of Biological Diversity’s (CBD) 2050 vision for Living in Harmony with Nature, post-2020 global biodiversity targets, and create a future where biodiversity is valued, conserved, restored and wisely used. Developing this through the Chinese concept of the ‘ecological civilization’ which is the theme of the 15th CDB conference that promotes a philosophy of humans living in harmony with nature and sustainable development, this piece shows how a new chapter and future for humankind can be created that brings balance to the world both in the environmental and international political sphere through a new paradigm in perceiving biological and cultural diversity.
This piece is put together for the 15th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD-CoP 15) titled “Ecological civilization: Building a shared future for all life on earth.” Initially proposed at the Yeoju Eco-Forum on Interfaith Dialogue for the Creation of the Ecological Civilization in October 2019, presented to answer the 6th topic titled “How to work together towards the creation of an ecological civilization.”
Copyright © 2020 No part of this book may be reproduced or sold in any form and by any means without the prior permission of the author. Book Cover: Graphic art vectors designed by Freepik
Table of Contents
Introduction What is an ecological civilization? One Interconnected Planet Diversity and the ‘Nagare’ Mirroring the Environment Multiple Ecological Civilizations Richness of Diversity Harmony and Balance Between Ecological Civilizations Into Action Advantages of New Framework Conclusion: Harmony and Balance in the World
Introduction After writing about indigenous self-determination, cultures and diversity, as well as its relationship with environmental issues, I later came to the realization that such cultural diversity extended to all peoples on the planet which all had their own ethics, traditional knowledge, philosophies and relations that intricately tied them to the environment and advanced its protection. Through realizing the importance and richness of human diversity from an environmental perspective, whilst seeing the strife and conflict caused by cultural imperialism and conflicts on the international sphere, including social conflicts and disintegration in the domestic sphere, I believed that a framework was needed to preserve such important diversity, mitigate conflicts and from here now be able to bring energy towards international cooperation in addressing the global climate and environmental crises that affect everyone on earth. From realizing the manner in which all peoples are connected and affect another, as are the biodiverse ecosystems, and that this connection requires harmony and balance for stability and human flourishing to occur, I proposed this framework and vision of humans mirroring the harmony of nature’s diversity at the Yeoju-Eco Forum in October 2019 as a solution propelling interfaith and international cooperation to create an ecological civilization. Though it may seem to be a different topic, the ecological civilization’s proposal of a new paradigm after the industrial civilization that takes into account the importance of sustainable development, along with its ethic of human harmony with nature, makes it an important tool to use for cooperation on the international sphere with all its diverse elements. This is as it promotes sustainable development and thus doesn’t immediately propose using too much energy towards the goal of pushing for a dramatic change in how society is currently developing as complex and technological civilizations (but rather using its benefits and diverting its advantages and energy towards environmental goals), which makes it more widely politically accepted and renders immediate pivots away from this least possible in an important short period of time. This is while it also articulates more of a concrete goal for societies to work towards, look like and relate to the environment in all its spheres. Most importantly, however, for the international framework and vision proposed in this piece, the ecological civilization’s development through traditional Chinese philosophical emphasis on harmony and balance with nature helped me underline the necessity of harmonious cultural diversity in the international sphere. This is as it mirrors nature’s global biodiversity in which humans should be in harmony with, as well as protects the environment. Just as the planet is one through the multiple biodiverse ecosystems, the world is one through multiple diverse cultures. When all societies are in harmony with the nature of their surrounding ecosystems in which they are rooted in and maintain their distinct cultural diversity, this
creates different forming societies - different ecological civilizations - that then should be in harmony with each other, just as the planet’s ecosystems are. As such, through the ethics of the ecological civilization, humans are in harmony with nature and thus, as societies, should be in harmony with each other. A balance on the planet is achieved through harmony on three levels that work together: nature with nature, humans with nature, and humans with humans. Just like a cycle, this then helps push and facilitate international cooperation for the creation of ecological civilizations around the planet and achieving international environmental targets, such as the post-2020 CDB targets, the 2050 vision of Living in Harmony with Nature, National Determined Contributions towards the Paris Agreement, and others.
What is an ecological civilization? An ecological civilization, a concept originally developed in China, is a society in which its core tenants and structure aims and achieves to be environmentally sustainable, and is thus in symbiotic harmony with nature. A descriptive status for an ecologically harmonious society, it does so with the aim of permanently remaining sustainable for the continuity of future generations, social stability and human well-being. It is similar to the idea of ‘ecovillages’, but in an expanded, socially complex and technologically developed version. Ecological civilizations are largely assumed to be civilizations, however this can also apply to other forms of social communities which are inheritors of civilizations, such as certain states. In order to meet its ecological principles holistically, an ecological civilization would require that all aspects of society assure that ecological harmony and principles are consistently met. Thus, social, economic, cultural, epistemological, moral, agricultural, legal, political and technological systems all come together to holistically sustain this goal directly and indirectly. This paradigm that entails a strong human-nature relationship would either be a continuation of already previous environmental societies and cultures, or a shift for others which have gone down an environmentally destructive pathway. In all, however, it is a regeneration and renewed sense for many of the importance of permanent ecological harmony and the sustainability of human civilizations, where all social communities, such as states, civilizations and others, can thus become - or return to being - ‘ecological civilizations’.
One Interconnected Planet When we speak of the urgency of the climate and environmental crisis and the necessity for everyone to work together despite our differences, we often begin with the unitary picture of planet earth as a rallying cry to emphasize unity, action and the common ground we all share. However, it may be worth diving deeper into looking at a different aspect, a different picture of the planet. One, rather, that can serve as a successful platform that can provide the answers and solutions for everyone to work together, no matter their differences. When we look into the planet, we see that various and different types of ecosystems are all different in their appearance, functions, networks, roles and organisms. Though, however different they are, all of them are very much harmoniously integrated, interplay and interconnected with each other in balance, to the extent to which each individual ecosystem depends on the functioning of another. This is a phenomenon that is highlighted and experienced quite frequently when observing the effects of climate change and environmental degradation, where climate catastrophes and un-sustainable actions occurring in one area of the world drive into calamities occurring in another. For instance, this is seen with the high carbon footprint of developed nations during the industrialization revolution causing sea level and temperature rise in the Pacific Islands; or the loss of species in one ecosystem creating a chain effect and depleting soil nutrients in another. As such, when looking into the strongly interdependent, intertwined and harmonious nature of the world’s diverse ecosystems, one can see that this framework of diversity is the inherent structure of how the planet operates, creates one unitary world and achieves balance. Our one planet is made up of a melange of different combinations that makes it go around.
Diversity and the ‘Nagare’ Concerning the harmony and balance of nature on the planet, two elements attach us to its framework when it comes to environmental protection and climate stability.
1. First, anthropological studies demonstrate that certain cultural practices and the beliefs and ontological perspectives in which they are founded and created upon are to, a certain extent, intertwined, converge and are rooted in the specificities of their surrounding environment.
This is due to different agricultural, geographic, resource and climate conditions requiring different social structures, communal relations, kinship systems, division of labour, culinary practices, duties, rituals, and belief structures to live in symbiosis with the environment and achieve social sustainability. Just as underlined by the UNESCO and Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Joint Program Linking Biological and Cultural Diversity 1, there is a mirroring and adaptation effect between the biological diversity of the planet and our cultural – epistemological/metaphysical – diversity. This symbiosis in action is conventionally seen as most anchored within indigenous communities and beliefs which have maintained their traditional cultural practices into the modern age and are the best at protecting the ecology of their surrounding territories. However, this is not exclusive to indigenous peoples. This link between cultural and biological diversity can also be seen across the planet within local communities, states’ past cultures, nations’ traditional philosophies or the adaptations of major faiths to local customs or specificities, such as within certain sects of Christianity or Islam in different regions of the world. An example of this mirroring effects can be seen in the Japanese Shinto religion that embodies rice, a popular grain of its geographical region, as an important symbol that is woven into Shinto festivals, shrines, harvests, rituals and relations, and that is even further adapted into specific customs depending on the region. 2. Second, science and environmentalists are calling for people to live in tune and as part of nature in order to achieve the solutions that mitigate and adapt to our current climate crisis. This is emphasized not only to gather affinity for the plights of nature but also to assure that our thought processes and actions take into account nature’s limits, balances and operations in our courses of development, food production, consumption, spatial planning, housing etc. As also pointed out, the consequences of our contemporary and modern behaviour of living out of tune with the environment are being experienced in what we see today through the climate crisis. A pre-eminent warning to this was done by Shōzō Tanaka, one of Japan’s first modern conservationists in the 19th century, in which he urged people to "adjust to the flow of nature (nagare), not defend against it, lest you are undone by the force of its backflow (gyakuryu)." 2
1 2
(UNESCO-SCBD, s.d.)
(Stolz, Remake Politics, Not Nature: Tanaka Shozo's Philosophies of'Poison' and 'Flow' and Japan's Environment)
This traditional teaching is highly embedded in the spiritual instructions and philosophies of belief systems across the globe, imploring humans to live in balance with creation as a moral epithet and basis for social stability. As characterized above, flowing with the way nature works is characterized in many East Asiatic beliefs by flowing like water, its own natural symbol that reinforces environmental behaviour. In Taoism, its sacred text, the Tao Te Ching, calls for humans to flow along with the rhythms of the Tao, the underlying force of the world, just as water does: “Humanity follows the Earth, the Earth follows Heaven, Heaven follows the Tao, and the Tao follows what is natural.”3 In Confucianism, harmony between humans and nature is of fundamental importance as the balance of the natural world is the true underlying morality and truth of the world. The Mandarin character for law, 法 (fǎ), is based on the radicals for ‘water’ and ‘to go’, meaning the way water flows, anchoring a strong sense and connection between human behaviour and natural processes. However, water is not the only symbol used when wanting to tie humans to the environment. This moral is implored throughout most cultures’ philosophies and ontologies, indigenous religions and within the world’s most dominant religions. Within Abrahamic beliefs, humans adjusting to the flow of nature is emphasized by humans being rooted and from the soil. Within Christianity, Genesis 2:7 emphasizes that humans are quite literally made from the soil underneath us, where Pope Francis’ ‘Laudato Si’4 speaks of humanity’s deep connection to the earth and duties as stewards towards the rest of God’s creations. Within Judaism, the American Rabbinic letter on Climate5 signed by over 435 rabbis also emphasized the Biblical relationship between Adam (humans) and Adamah, (the earth), where the etymological similarities of the Hebrew words reinforce their link. The letter was very congratulatory to current scientific calls that are said to reinforce deep wisdom that the Torah had in relinking the relationship between the two, revoking Leviticus which warned of “drought and famine and exile that turn an entire people into refugees,” if we do not follow the protocols of the planet. This is in line with Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change 6 using a reference from the Quran which warned that our wrecking of the mīzān - earth’s fine equilibrium - in which we are “woven into” would backfire onto us: “Corruption has appeared on land and sea by
3
(Tzu, 2006)
4
(Francis, s.d.)
5
(American Rabbinic Letter on Climate, s.d.)
6
(Islamic Declaration on Climate Change)
what people’s own hands have wrought, that He may let them taste some consequences of their deeds, so that they may turn back.” 7 (Quran 30: 41)
Mirroring the Environment When we take these two aspects together, the way in which human cultural and spiritual diversity mirrors biological diversity and our pressing necessity to live in tune with nature, we can piece them together and inspire ourselves from the planet’s harmonious interconnected framework of diversity to cooperate with one another to fix our climate crisis. We can entrench and root ourselves to our surrounding environment - understanding and maintaining our own distinct cultural diversity - and flow with how nature functions in its framework of harmonious diversity between ecosystems - creating harmonious cooperation between diverse states -, in order to put ourselves on the ecological path and work together towards the creation and transition to the ecological civilization. We can mirror the harmony of the planet’s biodiversity by copying it and being in harmony with it itself. Like the planet, we are diverse and must be in harmony with one another. This is a moreover pressing framework to follow as we need to be in harmony with nature to alleviate our environmental crisis and cooperate with one another in the international sphere. In other words, using nature’s harmony with its different components and ecosystems as a basis, when human societies are in harmony with nature, they should also be in harmony with each other this is how balance in the world can be created, both in the environmental and political field. As creating and transitioning to an ecological civilization to meet biodiversity targets is done based on also maintaining human diversity - as such maintaining different socio-cultural and political operations depending on the social community, nation or civilization state - multiple different units based on different philosophies are created, thus creating multiple different ecological civilizations. Just as the planet is one through the multiple biodiverse ecosystems, the world is one through multiple diverse cultures. When all societies maintain their cultural diversity and are in harmony with the nature of their specific ecosystems which they are rooted and harmonious with, this creates different forming societies - thus different ecological civilizations due to their different internal functions that should then be in harmony with each other, just as the planet’s ecosystems are. Different ecological civilizations are thus different social
7
(HM. A. S. Abdel Haleem, 2008)
communities, nations or civilization states that are now ecologically harmonious and function differently due to their different environmental, cultural and political functions.
Multiple Ecological Civilizations The act of being in harmony with a region’s ecology and this proposed framework creates the reality of not one ecological civilization, but multiple different ecological civilizations whose cultures are all based on a form of environmentalism. The manner this can occur is through the act of our diverse cultural, philosophical, historical and ideological institutions - existing for environmental and historical reasons - helping ground the philosophy of each ecological civilization that paves a pathway towards environmentalism. This is done in a two-tiered function: 1. First, throughout society’s cultural institutions, systems and shared beliefs, a heightened existential awareness, a connection to nature, sacred importance of created life forms and emphasis on the reproductive continuity of humanity is rationalized and ingrained. Here, climate change and environmental destruction is an all-encompassing threat. 2. Then, with provided moral practices and behaviours to maintain such existence and life forms (see Point 1) – both international environmental goals (such as the post-2020 global biodiversity targets and National Determined Contributions towards the Paris Agreement) and those of its distinct local practices informed by its approaches to environmentalism -, these ecologically conscious actions, principles, targets and goals are grounded as the important and foundational duties of individuals, community and institutions for the continuing family and society: our future generations.
Thus, each individual society’s and civilization’s respective cultural, philosophical, historical, ideological beliefs and institutions can help their ‘ecological civilization’ rationalize environmentalism and protection, then anchor in the practices that ensure them as primordial duties for all societal sectors (see What is an ecological civilization?). As the world gradually transitions, and regenerates, towards the formation of civilization states (or simply reaffirms the cultures and histories of states and underlines other forms of smaller social communities, such as ecovillages, indigenous tribes and others) by an affirmation and acknowledgement of their distinct cultural values, beliefs, practices and institutions, the time is ripe and pressing that these are ingrained in environmental values in order to transition such civilizations into ecological civilizations and make the ecological civilization relevant to the new political and cultural world that is unfolding.
Villages and other smaller forms of social communities can also become part of this network of multiple ecological civilizations even if they are not civilizations, through the ecovillage model, a model which emerged in the 1980s, though is largely a replica of how human villages always traditionally functioned (shared social, cultural, spiritual and ecological values). However, this will tend to be under the larger framework of the country they find themselves in - the ecological civilization they would be a part of if the state adopts this ecological structure - as villages rarely operate independently of the states and territories they are in. Thus, the current trend in the affirmation of the distinctiveness of the world’s states and cultures is not a barrier to global cultural diversity and environmentalism, especially as one requires the maintenance of the distinction of cultures to have cultural diversity in the first place. It can be a step to build diverse ecological civilizations which are further in tune with their region’s environment, can be used to assure stable and cohesive societies away from current social and cultural conflicts in order to direct more energy towards climate issues, and can be harnessed to direct attention and concern across different actors of the political spectrum, notably the ‘Right’, who are invested in the state’s wellbeing, stability and continuity by equating this to also implementing and ensuring environmental policies to preserve the state and culture. The creation of multiple diverse ecological civilizations thus has multiple positive outcomes. As they are further individualized by their intimate relationship and knowledge of their surrounding environment, they have an increased possibility of being localized and sustainable both socially and ecologically. This is a necessity that would lack in the creation of one overall ecological civilization, that would, in reality, need to fragment into different pieces when trying to implement a global transition to an ecological civilization. If not diverse, it would face pushback as it may be seen as aligned and part of a new form of global or cultural imperialism against national and cultural self-determination, or as a pathway to Chinese international dominance, which certain international actors fear as the country rises due to the concept of the ‘ecological civilization’ being developed by China. Further, this diversity and localization can better put into place recommendations called for in reports and recommendations for agricultural, crop and seed diversity, such as by the Food and Agricultural Organization or in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) report ‘Climate Change and Land’ suggesting better land and agricultural management. Specific ecosystems, local resources, native genetic biodiversity, environmental capacity and historical contexts embed into specific practices, division of labour, organization, knowledge and traditions that maintain and create each distinct ecological civilization. This emphasis on localization and the importance tied to preserving biodiversity
can help rural areas, which form the backbone of a sustainable agricultural system and diversified local diets. Thus, the creation of multiple ecological civilizations isn’t simply the precursor to maintaining cultural diversity and living in harmony with a biodiverse planet but also a practical and strategic one for societal, geopolitical and environmental purposes. Examples of how different ecological civilizations may appear and function can be seen within diverse social communities, nations and civilizations through their distinct cultures, beliefs, historical contexts and geographic location, which affect their relationship with the land, organizational structure and traditional sustainable practices. An example of this is seen in Hawaii, through a traditional system called ahupua’a. This land system structures and divides strips of land from volcanoes to the ocean in the specific categorization of dwellings, farming, harvesting, fishing, cleaning, food preparation, ceremony, rituals etc. according to the concept of Aloha Aina (love of the land), kapu system (religious law), irrigation and rainfed systems, water usage and types of crops. In Shirakawago village in Japan, a UNESCO world heritage site that existed since the 11th century, their isolation from the rest of the country, religious Buddhist history, folk influences and unique placement in a mountainous area of heavy snowfall produced a unique architecture design of farmhouses termed gassho style (called ‘hands in prayer’), relation to the land, social structure, diet and farming. In northern India, the Khasi people’s yarn spinning and folklore culture was given birth to by the climate’s monsoon season and rising rivers that relegated people indoors and also thus created the necessity and idea to build woven living tree root bridges and ladders that crisscross villages. These bridges further cement their distinct cultural and spiritual beliefs and affect socio-political relations. In one of South Korea’s water-scarce regions, the Gudeuljang rice terrace structure was created 500 years ago, which relied on distinct social organizations, the Bojagin, and specific relations for water management emphasized by distinct cultural and ontological perspectives that maintain duties and mutual benefit services. More southwards in Eshowe, Kwazulu villages plan the spatial areas and placement of their communities depending on proximity to sacred natural sites, such as certain mountains, ceremonial assemblies for farm labour and burial grounds. The latter is of much importance as their relationship with the land, as in the earth and soil, is characterized as sacred due to its housing of the dead bodies of ancestors and future generations. Thus, calling for specific rites and protocols when farming.
Though the above examples are largely quite localized or indigenous examples to demonstrate very concrete differences, it demonstrates the wider reality that exists between all regions and social communities on the planet, that when cultural diversity is let flown and developed into an ecological civilization, diverse conceptualizations create differences in their function.
Richness of Diversity This framework also provides other benefits that can make its adoption strategic. The maintenance of diversity that this framework of cooperation creates, preserves the diverse pathways of human knowledge that can be used as resources for different ecological civilizations in providing innovative solutions to local problems. It functions as a rich library of human knowledge that offers multiple possibilities to apply in social spheres across the world towards environmental ends with both intellectual and material benefits, from different nature-based solutions, agricultural insights, architectural and urban design ideas, water and species management techniques, societal relations and policy frameworks etc. New ideas, theories and philosophies from abroad can be tried or seen as raw material to be fashioned to serve ongoing native environmental enterprises and innovation. The importance of working together becomes much more pronounced and favourable when one realizes the value of human cultural diversity. Examples of the environmental value of cultural diversity for cross-cultural utilization can be seen in our past and present. At least 700 years ago, the Aztec Empire developed artificial floating gardens for expanded land-use to feed the population. Similarly, the Uros people developed their own man-made islands. In Kolkata, India, a traditional water treatment system uses waste to rear fish that is also eaten. The Dutch’s polder and dike system that reclaimed land from the sea – and largely created the Netherlands – now underpins city-scale development in certain regions of China. The application of diversity for climate change mitigation and adaptation can be clearly and visually seen in the city planning architecture book ‘Lo-TEK: Design by Radical Indigenism’ by Julia Watson that showcases the diverse and unique nature-based technologies across the globe that materialize and are created due to humanity’s traditions and cultures living in symbiosis with the planet’s ecological diversity. Such creations can serve as an inspiration and be enhanced to local conditions for contemporary urban and rural building and living in different regions in the face of climate and environmental breakdown. This is especially for preferences for nature-based mitigation and adaptation techniques passed down through traditional knowledge, which science underlines as one of the best pathways for interlinkages
with other global agendas, such as climate change, across Sustainable Development Goals and transforming biodiversity governance. A subsequent example of the worth of cultural diversity can be seen in the Tulou rural dwellings of China, constructed around the importance of familial duties, ceremonial clan practices and working in line with principles of environmental harmony that creates a unique communal architecture. Like many diverse constructions, they can serve as inspiration, adaptation and be innovated to create people-centred settlements and eco-city developments around the world, providing both housing and social solutions in our atomizing world. Another idea can be found in Ethiopia, counting a very large orthodox Christian community, which develops church forests in the desert regions as a place of congregation. With the church in the centre of these created oases, it serves as an embodiment of the beauty of life created by God, where nature is protected as sacred. This is similarly seen in the ‘Caring for God’s Acre’ project in the United Kingdom, which revives the grounds around of thousands of churches and burial grounds where flora and fauna flourish; a project that can be adapted in other regions or by other faiths in reforestation or re-wilding initiatives. Seen here, the diversity of cultures creates solutions and balance, especially in the context of an equitable multipolar world. They are a source of human knowledge, innovation, opportunities, ideas and richness which humans can use to achieve progress in creating an ecological civilization. Seen in this new paradigm valuing diversity, contrary to the production of sameness that breeds global conflict and a stale state, global cultural diversity breeds innovation and opportunity.
Harmony and Balance Between Ecological Civilizations This new paradigm manifesting diverse ecological civilizations facilitates many different groups, parties, social communities, nations or civilization states to adopt this environmental framework as they know their cultures and differences are not simply being protected along the line of self-determination and sovereignty but are being celebrated as part of the solution towards a better world. In an unprecedented time in history where peoples from across the planet have exposure to one another and are together facing a global environmental crisis, a new way towards harmony and balance with one another and nature is required. Along this line, this new paradigm repudiates the hegemonic power grabs of one civilization overtaking another by making all equally part of a dynamic equilibrium of diversity part of an interconnected web, just as nature, and meant to be in harmony with one another, and thus
achieve balance. In other words, balance on the planet is achieved through harmony on three levels that work together: nature with nature, humans with nature, and humans with humans. As each ecological civilization’s stability is reliant on others due to the environmental ties of its civilization to that of other ecological civilizations, in the spirit of interdependence and mutual interest, international cooperation can be further advanced towards the assurance of ecological civilizations and their adaptation everywhere. This can facilitate the development of joint regulations, policies and deals towards meeting biodiversity, climate and other environmental targets, as well as raise ambition both in the field of conservation, sustainable use and access and benefit-sharing. This framework of cooperation also gives a different and clear global roadmap and vision for inter-governmental environmental platforms that can garner more constructive action towards the goal we are all trying to achieve and how to get there. More specifically, this can form a basis to attain the Convention of Biological Diversity’s (CBD) 2050 vision for Living in Harmony with Nature and be considered for the 15th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD-CoP 15) titled “Ecological civilization: Building a shared future for all life on earth.” Further, this framework is important for meetings such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s Conference of Parties (UNFCCC COP), Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) - whose latest conference in Thailand was ‘Advancing Partnership for Sustainability’ - and other multilateral gatherings which receive criticism for lacking a unified vision that can push it towards realizing the Paris Agreement and conservation targets. This interdependence mindset would also emphasize the importance of aid towards the building of ecological civilizations around the world, especially towards the countries facing disproportionate climate effects and who lack the necessary resources, in the form of climate finance. One of the most fraught and contention issues at UNFCCC COP and multilateral conferences, climate finance to help countries mitigate and adapt to climate change should be done in the framework of assuring the transition and construction of ecological civilizations from the perspective of mutual interest for the protection of global sustainability that affects all social communities and nations (no matter how far away due to the interconnected nature of the planet’s biodiversity) and addressing unfair climate change burdens caused by external actors.
Into Action The manner that this ideal for planetary harmony and balance can be put into action is through its integration in the visions and missions of state, bilateral, multilateral, intergovernmental and environmental platforms and institutions for international cooperation, such as the CBD, UNFCCC, UN Alliance of Civilizations and others. The adoption of this framework links together multiple states, international bodies and institutions on the same page towards creating ecological civilizations and ways of getting there in a manner that assures human harmony with nature’s diversity and thus also with one another, which moreover reduces domestic and international conflicts and brings energy towards addressing climate change and biodiversity targets. Intergovernmental trade deals and projects, such as China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which announced its adoption of green policies in April 2019, along with the wider country's push towards the ecological civilization, could emphasize that it is applying the connection and cooperation of multiple ecological civilizations which must take into account individual civilizations’ environmental concerns that also affect its own domestic climate and environment. With certain BRI projects having been criticized as creating environmental damages abroad or increasing national emissions, it is a prime example that though the sovereignty and decision of leaders and peoples in other countries towards accepting development projects should be respected, in the context of the planet’s ecological interconnectedness - environmental damages in one region affect another - all projects that are done, whether at home or abroad, should take into account climate and environmental damages as this concerns everyone outside a particular nation's or civilization's borders. Harmony and balance function smoothly when all pieces cooperate with one another. Working together can take the form of the creation of academic centres and events, where the environmental ontology of different beliefs is demonstrated and shared as a basis to help anchor and model ecological civilizations, inspiring and innovating ideas. This can be done in discussions and side events of the CBD, UNFCCC COP, ASEAN and bilateral meetings, for example, making the conferences more effective. Moreover, there could be the emphasis of aid for the implementation of such ecological civilizations through climate finance as many countries that are facing the toughest brunt of the climate crisis are also the ones that lack the resources to adapt and mitigate their effects. The importance of climate finance, especially from the state actors which have caused the largest share of emissions, is an undeniable issue and dispute to tackle when it comes to cooperating together.
Advantages of New Framework Working off and using the framework of the diversity of the planet to assure the transition to ecological civilizations worldwide brings multiple advantages. 1. It is efficient, as it uses the already present cultural diversity and lack of time we have to meet climate and environmental targets - not focusing on who is right, wrong and how to change the other - but goes from what we have towards the future of working together. 2. It mitigates social conflicts as diversity is seen as an important tool of interdependence that is also done in a manner that assures harmonious coexistence. 3. It values and preserves the diverse pathways of human knowledge towards our natural world as a richness and tool of humans that can form the basis for environmental innovation. 4. As ecological civilizations are further individualized by their intimate relationship and knowledge of their surrounding environment, they have an increased possibility of being localized and sustainable both socially and ecologically. 5. Connecting with the way wider nature functions has the environmental benefits and consciousness that reinforces an ecological ethic within the populace one wants to see within each ecological civilization. 6. Though this framework is developed mostly from an environmental perspective, it also has a political application as it directly affects and draws in international relations and creates a new international order based on harmony and balance. By emphasizing balance in the world, that is created through humanity’s harmony with nature and each other, a new basis and paradigm of cooperation on the international field towards a more equal multipolar world can be emphasized in our current times of instability, uncertainty and hegemonic power struggles. As the world currently finds itself in an unstable and painful transition as international power dynamics shift and civilization states and new (and regenerated) forms of social and cultural communities unfold, this framework for diversity not only gives a clearer possible destination the world can jointly pursue but is also one that alleviates the concerns of many nations of the rise of new hegemonic superpowers by rather emphasizing an equitable multipolar international order through harmony and balance between states - ecological civilizations. Moreover, it transcends and addresses different societal issues such as cultural disintegration and populism through being able to maintain cultures and individuals being able to be part of a strong social community and have pride in one’s distinct beliefs at the local sphere, while
tolerating and celebrating diversity on the global sphere. The ecological civilization comes as the time is ripe for both international and domestic change, introducing a world where societies are rooted and affirmed in their cultural values, and peaceful and respectful between each other. 7. It follows along with the spirit of celebrating diversity and the importance of humans living in harmony with nature that the Convention of Biological Diversity’s (CBD) 2050 vision for Living in Harmony with Nature, but also that of other international and multilateral organizations, are targeting. 8. All this is done while and due to connecting with the way the planet and nature works which itself is its own ecological step.
Conclusion: Harmony and Balance in the World When we come back to the bigger picture of the one planet in which we all share, depend on and that our beliefs are existentially intertwined in, the answer of how humans can live in harmony with nature and each other may not lie simply in looking at its surface. When we dive deeper into our world, we can see that just as it is one planet of greatly diverse ecosystems, from this earth that we live within and are in harmony with, we are one humanity of diverse cultural beliefs and structures intertwined with their specific environments and histories that form the ideological basis that root and protect our diverse ecological civilizations. As such, we perhaps have something very deep to learn about our planet's inherent integral structure. When it comes to cooperation towards the transition to an ecological civilization, the harmonious biological diversity of the planet is not something to simply observe and protect. It is rather something itself that can serve as inspiration for a new paradigm for humankind to bring both environmental and political harmony and balance to the world.
Methodology After writing about indigenous self-determination, cultures and diversity, as well as its relationship with environmental issues, I later came to the realization that such cultural diversity extended to all peoples on the planet which all had their own ethics, traditional knowledge, philosophies and relations that intricately tied them to the environment and advanced its protection. Through realizing the importance and richness of human diversity from an environmental perspective, whilst seeing the strife and conflict caused by cultural imperialism and conflicts on the international sphere, including social conflicts and disintegration in the domestic sphere, I believed that a framework was needed to preserve such important diversity, mitigate conflicts and from here now be able to bring energy towards international cooperation in addressing the global climate and environmental crises that affect everyone on earth. From realizing the manner in which all peoples are connected and affect another, as are the biodiverse ecosystems, and that this connection requires harmony and balance for stability and human flourishing to occur, I proposed this framework and vision of humans mirroring the harmony of nature’s diversity at the Yeoju-Eco Forum in October 2019 as a solution propelling interfaith and international cooperation to create an ecological civilization. Though it may seem to be a different topic, the ecological civilization’s proposal of a new paradigm after the industrial civilization that takes into account the importance of sustainable development, along with its ethic of human harmony with nature, makes it an important tool to use for cooperation on the international sphere with all its diverse elements. This is as it promotes sustainable development and thus doesn’t immediately propose using too much energy towards the goal of pushing for a dramatic change in how society is currently developing as complex and technological civilizations (but rather using its benefits and diverting its advantages and energy towards environmental goals), which makes it more widely politically accepted and renders immediate pivots away from this least possible in an important short period of time. This is while it also articulates more of a concrete goal for societies to work towards, look like and relate to the environment in all its spheres. Most importantly, however, for the international framework and vision proposed in this piece, the ecological civilization’s development through traditional Chinese philosophical emphasis on harmony and balance with nature helped me underline the necessity of harmonious cultural diversity in the international sphere. This is as it mirrors nature’s global biodiversity in which humans should be in harmony with, as well as protects the environment. Just as the planet is one through the multiple biodiverse ecosystems, the world is one through multiple diverse cultures. When all societies are in harmony with the nature of their surrounding
ecosystems in which they are rooted in and maintain their distinct cultural diversity, this creates different forming societies - different ecological civilizations - that then should be in harmony with each other, just as the planet’s ecosystems are. As such, through the ethics of the ecological civilization, humans are in harmony with nature and thus, as societies, should be in harmony with each other. A balance on the planet is achieved through harmony on three levels that work together: nature with nature, humans with nature, and humans with humans. Just like a cycle, this then helps push and facilitate international cooperation for the creation of ecological civilizations around the planet and achieving international environmental targets, such as the post-2020 CDB targets, the 2050 vision of Living in Harmony with Nature, National Determined Contributions towards the Paris Agreement, and others.
Biography Latoya Abulu is a freelance writer and avid reader interested in politics, the environment, indigenous issues, and East Asian geopolitics. She has written for Asia Times, The Diplomat, Mongabay, Earth Island, The Ecologist, Fair Observer, Intercontinental Cry, Global Voices and others. Passionate about environmental and international stability in the world, she resolutely believes it can be achieved. You can often find her behind a pile of books or working in various countries around the world when she’s not in Montreal, Canada.
Contact email: latoya.chouab@gmail.com