wfn.org | Call for declaration of human environmental rights

[Theo and Ruth Coggin <coggin@sn.apc.org>]

A call has been made for a declaration of human environmental rights to
ensure a sustainable environment for the future of humankind.

The call was made today (Sunday, 15 February 1998) by the Anglican
Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa, the Most Revd Njongonkulu
Ndungane. The Archbishop said such a declaration would be similar to
that of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, whose fiftieth
anniversary is being celebrated this year.

Archbishop Ndungane was speaking at a media briefing at his residence in
Cape Town following his return from London where he met the Archbishop
of Canterbury to discuss the forthcoming worldwide Lambeth Conference of
Anglican Bishops. Archbishop Ndungane will chair section one of the
conference, whose theme is “Full humanity”, and which will deal with
some of the most decisive issues facing humanity in the next decade.

He said that there is a need for people of the world to develop an earth
ethic, as opposed to a global ethic, to ensure the sustainability of
humanity.

“For thousands of years the earth’s land, atmosphere and oceans have
provided human beings with goods, resources and services that we need
for our health and survival. But now population growth, economic growth
for its own sake and an inappropriate choice of technology threaten the
very future of our ecosystems and of humanity.

“The world is faced, among other things, with the threat of global
warming. Some scientists believe that humankind’s impact could be such
that extinctions of whole species could occur within a generation. 
These are all problems that have far-reaching consequences.

“It is of fundamental importance that people the world over understand
that the continuing lifeblood of the world depends on all living
organisms and ecosystems,” the Archbishop said.

The Lambeth Conference of some 800 Anglican bishops from throughout the
world will be held in July and August at the University of Kent in
Canterbury. Decisions taken at the Conference are not statutorily
binding on the participating Anglican Provinces from all parts of the
world.  Nonetheless, its significance lies in the moral force of the
decisions and the direction that is given to the Church for the first
part of the next millennium by the most influential international
gathering of Anglican leaders. 

	
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Tel: (011) 648-5461; (011) 487-0026
Fax: (011) 487-1994
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e-mail: coggin@sn.apc.org

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