Interconnectedness and Sustainable Development

One of the core principles guiding the work of Equitable Earth Initiative is interconnectedness.  At one level, this refers to the oneness of the human race.  An apt analogy is that of the human race as a body with individual human beings as the cells of that body.  This understanding of the oneness of humanity suggests that the well-being of the individual and the well-being of global society as a whole are integrally connected.

Moreover, interconnectedness also describes the connection between humanity and nature.  It is not simply that we rely on the natural world for resources that we use.  We are embedded in, connected to, and part of the natural world as individual human beings, as communities, and as a species.  When we become intimately connected with nature, we learn to live within it, foster its protection and develop harmonious interdependent relationships, which foster both thriving biodiverse ecosystems and prosperous social communities, or in other words, flourishing social-ecological systems.

The ignoring and suppressing of this interconnectedness is at the root of the environmental challenges that we face in the world today. Equitable Earth Initiative works to address these challenges through the protection of local and indigenous peoples’ relationships with the land and the world of nature. Fostering and protecting these linkages between people and nature sheds light on the kinds of growth that is usually promoted as development, while at the same time helping to clarify what sustainable development truly entails.  This, in turn, informs our advocacy efforts and engagements in policy processes.