Mundalis Institute for Relational Futures

We are at a time when we need new and better solutions to protect the health and livelihood of people around the world, who are evermore interconnected. What happens in one part of the world affects people in another part with increasing speed. The one thing that sustains people is Nature. We derive all our sustenance from Nature: The earth and its raw materials upon which we stand and harvest that drives industry; the life on earth that provide us with food, medicine, and clothing; the water that quenches our thirst; and the air that we breathe. All this is Nature. We think of all this components of Nature as renewable, and if not in such abundance supply that they may as well be renewable. That is a false conception as we can see clear evidence of social and economic turmoil because of the deterioration of these resources and the competition for that which remains. We are truly in an age exemplified by the tragedy of the commons. If we care, truly care, about our children and our children’s children, we must take action NOW. We must re-think how people and interact with Nature, and shed the old paradigms that, while they served a purpose to get us from the past to the present, they will not serve us for the future. We need to adopt new and transformational approaches and relationships with Nature. One key action that we must take is to attribute legal rights to Nature. We must put Nature at the center of development, whereupon social and economic goals can be sustainably set and achieved. (Kevin Hill)