Declaration of Interdependence
GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR A JUST AND SUSTAINABLE Planet Earth
Foundations of Sustainability
The Declaration of Interdependence is a living document that continues to shape our approach to environmental responsibility and social justice. This Declaration of Interdependence serves as a foundation for sustainability efforts, guiding our commitment to a healthier plane
The Declaration of Interdependence embodies the core values of the David Suzuki Foundation and the Suzuki Elders, emphasizing the interconnectedness of environmental sustainability, social equity, and global accountability.
The Declaration of Interdependence was created for the 1992 UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, this pivotal document continues to inspire and shape their efforts in environmental protection and advocacy.
Our Declaration of Interdependence
This We Know
We are the earth, through the plants and animals that nourish us.
We are the rains and the oceans that flow through our veins.
We are the breath of the forests of the land, and the plants of the sea.
We are human animals, related to all other life as descendants of the firstborn cell.
We share with these kin a common history, written in our genes.
We share a common present, filled with uncertainty.
And we share a common future, as yet untold.
We humans are but one of thirty million species weaving the thin layer of life enveloping the world.
The stability of communities of living things depends upon this diversity.
Linked in that web, we are interconnected — using, cleansing, sharing and replenishing the fundamental elements of life.
Our home, planet Earth, is finite; all life shares its resources and the energy from the sun, and therefore has limits to growth.
For the first time, we have touched those limits.
When we compromise the air, the water, the soil and the variety of life, we steal from the endless future to serve the fleeting present.
This We Believe
Humans have become so numerous and our tools so powerful that we have driven fellow creatures to extinction, dammed the great rivers, torn down ancient forests, poisoned the earth, rain and wind, and ripped holes in the sky.
Our science has brought pain as well as joy; our comfort is paid for by the suffering of millions.
We are learning from our mistakes, we are mourning our vanished kin, and we now build a new politics of hope.
We respect and uphold the absolute need for clean air, water and soil.
We see that economic activities that benefit the few while shrinking the inheritance of many are wrong.
And since environmental degradation erodes biological capital forever, full ecological and social cost must enter all equations of development.
We are one brief generation in the long march of time; the future is not ours to erase.
So where knowledge is limited, we will remember all those who will walk after us, and err on the side of caution.
This We Resolve
All this that we know and believe must now become the foundation of the way we live.
At this turning point in our relationship with Earth, we work for an evolution: from dominance to partnership; from fragmentation to connection; from insecurity, to interdependence.
Aboriginal Land Rights
In pursuit of its goals, the Suzuki Elders’ The Declaration of Interdependence recognizes the rights and title of Aboriginal Peoples, guided by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (2010).
The Declaration of Interdependence affirms the importance of Indigenous leadership in environmental stewardship, emphasizing that sustainability and justice are deeply connected.
The David Suzuki Foundation and the Suzuki Elders believe that land governance in Canada must change to recognize and uphold Indigenous rights and responsibilities, and to restore nature’s once abundant ecosystems.
Connect with us to learn more about the guiding principles behind our Declaration of Interdependence.