It’s a real delight to look around and see you all here taking this pause in your busy day. Like many people here today, I feel I represent a couple of communities. It’s long been an ideal to start to bring them together.
I’ve worked on environmental issues for over 20 years and coincidentally became a yoga practitioner at the same time and more recently a teacher. Nature4Climate, one of the partners of this event, is made up of foundations and civil society organisations aligned around a single goal—to promote the role of nature as a climate solution and to realise its full potential.
Today was always going to be special – the 50th anniversary of Earth Day – a day to celebrate and galvanise action for the planet. Millions rallied behind this idea in 1970 and 50 years later we see that action is more urgent than ever. We live in extraordinary and sobering times.
It’s a sad and somewhat ironic coincidence that this once-in-a-lifetime Covid moment is happening around this global event.
Covid 19 is a collective pause. Many mindfulness practices centre around the idea of quieting the mind, become present, maintain balance and then making conscious choices in words and action. Our work as a community to deliver outcomes for nature and climate is not so dissimilar.
At this time of realignment, what some are calling – a reset moment – and while also recognising the profound suffering and trauma – perhaps we can also tap into the collective consciousness of this global pause - and it’s no exaggeration to say is affecting every living being on the planet. We also see the fragility of systems we have to come to rely on and realise they are not fit for purpose.
Co-creation for a better future is a collective enterprise. More than ever we need healers, leaders, story tellers, practitioners, campaigners and advocates for one health – health of the planet and health of the collective.
With those thoughts, I am honoured to hand over to– Myra Jackson, Focal Point on Earth Jurisprudence at the Earth Law Center, Expert with UN Harmony with Nature Knowledge Network who enjoys the title of Diplomat of the Biosphere by Stockholm Resilience Center.
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