Manifesto for the Earth: Action Now for Peace, Global Justice and a Sustainable Future

By Mikhail S. Gorbachev

For more than a decade Mikhail Gorbachev has been engaged in working to protect the earth and its inhabitants via the organization he founded in 1992, Green Cross International. In an age when ecological crises, poverty and military conflicts are humanity's main challenges, Gorbachev urges us to stop regarding these problems in isolation. The man who changed the destiny of Russia, Europe and the world is now calling for a global and comprehensive Perestroika (reform) for the twenty-first century.
Based on his many years of experience in international politics, Gorbachev appeals for urgent action founded on a broad vision, including a strengthening of the UN and reforms to the World Bank, the World Trade Organization and the International Monetary Fund. To complement the Declaration on Human Rights and the Charter of the UN he has co-authored the remarkable Earth Charter that is based on four key principles: 1. Respect and Care for the Community of Life; 2. Ecological Integrity; 3. Social and Economic Justice; 4. Democracy, Nonviolence, and Peace.
Manifesto for the Earth is a courageous and thought-provoking work by a respected elder statesman. In a partisan and polarized world, this is a "manifesto" that does not compromise its integrity to political, ideological or national sympathies.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Clairview Books
• Release date: Dec 10, 2012
• ISBN: 9781905570546

Mikhail S. Gorbachev

MIKHAIL GORBACHEV, born in 1931, was General Secretary of the Communist Party of the USSR from 1985 to 1991. As head of state he introduced the radical turnaround of his country's foreign and internal policies which led to a complete transformation of the Eastern Bloc and Europe. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990, and in 1991 resigned as Head of State. He became President of the Gorbachev Foundation in 1992, and since 1993 he has been Chairman of Green Cross International. Mikhail Gorbachev also chairs the United Russian Social Democratic Party, established in March 2000. He is the recipient of numerous awards and the author of many publications including Memoirs and On My Country and the World.

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MIKHAIL GORBACHEV, born in 1931, was General Secretary of the Communist Party of the USSR from 1985 to 1991. As head of state he introduced the radical turnaround of his country’s foreign and internal policies which led to a complete transformation of the Eastern Bloc and Europe. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990, and in 1991 resigned as Head of State. He became President of the Gorbachev Foundation in 1992, and since 1993 he has been Chairman of Green Cross International. He is the recipient of numerous awards and the author of many publications including Memoirs and On My Country and the World.

MANIFESTO FOR THE EARTH

ACTION NOW FOR PEACE, GLOBAL JUSTICE

AND A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

MIKHAIL GORBACHEV

Publisher

Clairview Books

Hillside House, The Square

Forest Row, East Sussex

RH18 5ES

www.clairviewbooks.com

Published by Clairview 2012

Originally published in French in an earlier version under the title Mon Manifeste pour la Terre by Ose savoir-Le Relié, Gordes, in 2002

Translated by Johanna Collis

© Mikhail Gorbachev 2006 This translation © Clairview Books 2006

Mikhail Gorbachev asserts his moral right to be identified as the author of this work

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978 1 905570 54 6

Cover by Andrew Morgan Design

Typeset by DP Photosetting, Aylesbury, Bucks.

CONTENTS

Preface

THREE CHALLENGES FACING OUR TIME

HOW I BECAME ‘GREEN’

THE GLOBAL CRISIS

The political crisis

The economic crisis

The social crisis

The ecological crisis

WHAT IS TO BE DONE?

MY GREEN ‘CROSS’

The ecological consequences of war and other conflicts

Water as a source of conflict, water for peace

A charter for the earth

What has happened to ethical ideas?

HOMO SAPIENS OR ROBOT SAPIENS?

Afterword

THE EARTH CHARTER

INTERVIEW

Notes

Preface

Four years ago – when the French edition of this book was published – the world was slowly recovering from the shock of 9/11, the unprecedented atrocity that overshadowed all other events. However, it was still early in the new century. On the eve of the new millennium the international community had adopted many noble resolutions, as summarized in the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It seemed at the time that the deadline set for their implementation – 2015 – was far away, and that necessary progress could and would be achieved in time.

It is clear today that progress in the implementation of the MDGs is dangerously slow. Their critics say the MDGs are overambitious and that the targets set are unreachable. I totally disagree with that assessment. I believe they describe the minimum requirements for a decent human life. They express our commitment to a world where people have shelter, food and access to water and sanitation; where newborn babies and their mothers do not die from lack of basic medical care; and where gender inequality – that humiliating throwback to the past – has disappeared for good. If we cannot honour our commitment to these basic human necessities what future is there for our civilization – for our very humanity?

It seems less certain now that the 2015 deadline will be met, and I am astonished by the apparent lack of concern on the part of national governments, which are mainly responsible for meeting these challenges. This was once again demonstrated at the UN MDG Summit in September 2005. I am convinced that the road to finding solutions is blocked by the lack of political will, the paralysis of which – as underscored by the UN Secretary-General – can only be cured by using new ethical approaches. Once a moral stand is taken, with political decisions adopted and priorities set straight, the necessary financial resources will be made available.

I am convinced that the international community will not move ahead as long as the people allow their national governments to remain passive. Civil society, which in recent years has turned from an abstract notion into a real force, should take a more pro-active stand in solving the mounting problems. One recent example of this is the UK-based initiative, Make Poverty History.

As I state in this book, I believe the world is faced with three major challenges: those of security, poverty, and environmental degradation. It is obvious that development goals will not be achieved without stable peace and security in the world. Unfortunately, despite all the efforts made to ensure these conditions, a new fear has become omnipresent – the fear of terrorism. It is indispensable that the world community pulls together against terrorism, which cannot be justified by any political or moral arguments.

The second challenge involves combating world poverty. The fortunate ‘haves’ must stop looking with indifference at the sufferings of the ‘have-nots’, who are half the world’s population. Although official development assistance from the top twenty-two industrial countries to the least developed countries is now over $14 billion annually, this sum represents only a tiny percentage of these countries’ gross national product.

The third is the ecological challenge. Sadly, recent events have offered more tragic proofs of the fragility of our world: the devastating tsunami in South-East Asia, the drama of New Orleans and the earthquake in northern Pakistan and India. One might even think Nature is taking ‘revenge’ against the arrogance of our civilization...

So, what can we do to make a difference? First of all, we need to scrutinize the structural factors inhibiting the transition to sustainable development, and we must better understand the mechanisms of globalization that are directing development on such a dangerous course. We need to bridge the gap between our consciousness and the challenges of our time. Consumerism and nationalism continue to pose a serious threat to achieving goals on sustainable development. A turnaround will not be possible unless states, communities and individuals are willing to reverse currently prevalent behavioural patterns. This turnaround must begin with changes in the human spirit, a reprioritization of our value system, including relations between people and the interrelationship between humanity and nature.

We need a Global Glasnost – openness, transparency, and public dialogue – on the part of nations, governments, and citizens today to build consensus around these challenges. And we need a policy of ‘preventive engagement’, so that military force ceases to be an option.

Mikhail Gorbachev

February 2006

THREE CHALLENGES FACING OUR TIME

The beginning and the ending of a century rarely coincides with the calendar. Thus the nineteenth begins for me with the French Revolution and the twentieth with the First World War and the October Revolution. While the nineteenth created the basis for progress and democracy, the twentieth became the century of world wars and totalitarian ideologies. But it also stands for the liberation of many nations from colonialism and for the worldwide spread of the concept of human rights and ideas of social justice.

The twenty-first century, too, does not conform to the calendar. Its first portents were Perestroika and Chernobyl, but also 11 September 2001 (9/11). Why these events in particular? Perestroika brought an end to the arms race and the division of the world into two enemy camps and thus opened the way for genuine collaboration transcending national boundaries. Chernobyl was the terrible warning of dangers inherent in a technological civilization. And 9/11 showed up the horrifying consequences that can arise out of poverty and the loss of human values.

Whatever religious convictions we may have and whichever continent we inhabit, we cannot avoid three fundamental challenges facing us in the new century.

The first enjoins us to maintain world peace and direct every effort of the international community towards defusing so-called local conflicts. Participants in these are not only countries that possess chemical weapons but also those that have nuclear armaments or are about to develop nuclear striking power.

The second challenge concerns world poverty. The fortunate ‘golden billion’ must awaken to the sufferings of half the world’s population who live on one or two dollars a day and frequently have no access to clean drinking water or any decent sanitation. In this age of the internet and globalization they should not be permitting millions of children to earn their living by hard labour instead of going to school.

The third challenge is ecological. We can see with the naked eye that climatic changes are taking place on the earth, that the number of natural disasters – hurricanes, storms, floods and droughts – is increasing, that many plant and animal species are dying out, that the polar ice caps are melting, and that the oceans are becoming increasingly polluted while the forests are being ever more rapidly destroyed. We have entered into serious conflict with our immediate environment, our natural surroundings.

These three global challenges facing humanity are closely interconnected on account of the fact that without unity in the world, without an end to wars and conflicts, it will be impossible to collaborate in tackling them as well as other fields involving efforts to save the planet.

If we do not combat poverty and overcome the gulf that separates the rich from the poor, the educated from the illiterate, we shall be powerless to deal with the fertile ground on which terrorism, fanaticism, crime and the misuse of drugs flourish. Ecological measures are meaningless if poverty is not tackled. How can you forbid a needy farmer in the Amazon Basin to cut down a section of rainforest and then till the soil thus laid bare? Can an impoverished country be expected to spend huge sums on ecologically clean industries?

Yet on the other hand, if we neglect ecology then all our efforts to create a fairer world will be doomed to failure. Our descendants will then find themselves for centuries if not millennia having to pay for our thoughtless addiction to wasting nature’s resources. Indeed, life on earth might be entirely extinguished and become a passing episode in the history of our universe.

These three challenges concern