Declarations of InterDependence on Our Natural Resources in the Pacific Northwest
Declarations of InterDependence on Our Natural Resources in the Pacific Northwest
Preamble
We, the stewards of air, land, and water and of the animals and plants that inhabit them, recognize and reaffirm our conviction to manage and maintain these resources so that they are viable, healthy, and sustainable for current and future generations. To establish this purpose, we acknowledge our interdependence upon the natural resources that support us and the ecosystems we live within and depend upon for our well-being. We identify the need to make natural resource policy decisions that effectively cross geographic, administrative, and political boundaries. We recognize that the information that reliable natural resources data provides are cornerstones of our daily lives and that which is fundamental and foundational for our individual and collective commerce, management, and research functions. Reliable natural resource data is how societies realize viable, healthy, and sustainable natural resources, evaluate adverse material risks, and allow our society to measure success and learn from our mistakes.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that mankind’s well-being relies upon the foundation that Native Species, their habitats, and biodiversity shall have certain unalienable Natural Rights. Those among these are the right of Natural Resources and the Native Species they support to be secure in their habitats against unreasonable harassment or destruction. To secure these rights, Governments are instituted among individuals, deriving their just powers for mankind’s survival based upon these principles.
In recognition and affirmation of our commitment, we The Habitat Institute, endorse this declaration in writing on the 52ND Earth Day of the United States of America.
Signed by: Director, Thomas O’Neill
Dated: April 22, 2022