HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

83

TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

endorsING the earth charter and URGING THE GOVERNOR, MAYORS, AND COUNTY COUNCILS TO adopT AND USE THE CHARTER as part of the framework for sustainable planning and development.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, the World Commission on Environment and Development (a.k.a. "the Brundtland Commission") first called for "a universal declaration" and "new charter" to set "new norms" to guide the transition to sustainable development in the mid-1980s; and

 

     WHEREAS, discussions led to a draft Earth Charter which was discussed at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992; and

 

     WHEREAS, an independent Earth Charter Commission was formed in 1997 to unite several ongoing international discussions and reach a global consensus on the Earth Charter; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Earth Charter is an authoritative synthesis of values, principles, and aspirations that are widely shared by growing numbers of people, in all regions of the world; and

 

     WHEREAS, the four central principles of the Earth Charter are:

 

     (1)  Respect and Care for the Community of Life;

 

     (2)  Ecological Integrity;

 

     (3)  Social and Economic Justice; and

 

     (4)  Democracy, Nonviolence and Peace;

 

and


     WHEREAS, the Earth Charter is currently used as a basis for peace negotiations, as a reference document in the development of global standards and codes of ethics, as a resource for governance and legislative processes, as a community development tool, as an educational framework for sustainable development, and in many other contexts; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Earth Charter is increasingly recognized as a global consensus statement on the meaning of sustainability, the challenge and vision of sustainable development, and the principles by which sustainable development is to be achieved; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Earth Charter's principles of respect, conservation, sustainability, sharing, equality, democracy, tolerance, justice, and peace are consistent with the recommendations of the Hawaii 2050 Sustainability Task Force; and

 

     WHEREAS, individuals, organizations, and governments worldwide are being urged to endorse the Earth Charter; and

 

     WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii seeks to be a leader in incorporating principles of sustainability into planning processes at all levels of government; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2009, the Senate concurring, that the Legislature endorses the Earth Charter as part of a framework for sustainable planning and development; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor and the mayors and county councils of each county are urged to adopt and use the Earth Charter as part of a framework for sustainable planning; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the Mayor and the Chairperson of the Council of each county, Hawaii's Congressional Delegation, and Earth Charter U.S.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title: 

Earth Charter; Sustainable Planning and Development