|
Green Cross
International (GCI)
For more information, contact Green Cross International at
www.gci.ch or their United States affiliate,
Global Green USA, at www.globalgreen.org
Green Cross International (GCI) was founded by Mikhail Gorbachev
in 1993, as prompted by the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and Agenda
21. GCI is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland; the 21 GCI affiliates are
located in Argentina, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, the Czech Republic,
Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, South Korea, the Netherlands,
Poland, Russia, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the
United States, and Venezuela.The mission of GCI is to create a sustainable
future by cultivating harmonious relationships between humans and the environment.
GCI concentrates its efforts on five main programs to promote a significant
change in human values toward greater respect for Earth's community of life
in all its diversity. The programs, stemming from the initiatives of 21
National Organizations, seek to combine global thinking and local action
through the vehicle of international programs tailored to local needs.
Project:
The Environmental Legacy of Wars Program
The Environmental Legacy of Wars Program mitigates the social, environmental
and economic consequences of war, especially the Cold War, and the enormous
threat military toxics pose to public health and the environment. The
Legacy program assists people and communities afflicted by chemical and
nuclear contamination, assists competing sectors of society to work democratically
to develop sustainable solutions. Legacy promotes the clean-up and conversion
of military bases to civilian use, the remediation of nuclear contamination,
and the environmentally-responsible destruction of chemical weapon stockpiles.
Project: International Water Conflict Prevention Program
International Water Conflict Prevention Program works to prevent conflicts
in water-stressed regions. This program promotes and facilitates informed
decisionmaking and the integrated management of river basins affected
by land degradation. GCI contributes to the solution of conflicts by convening
representatives of all sectors of affected communities to shape solutions
together. The Energy and Resource Efficiency Program promotes new patterns
of consumption to reduce energy-use and to stem climate change and conserve
natural resources. GCI emphasizes the dissemination of information about
energy efficiency, renewable energy, and technology transfer through technology
cooperation partnerships. Environmental Education and Communication enlightens
and motivates people to act in accordance with the guiding values of the
evolving Earth Charter by integrating environmental principals into traditional
classroom education programs and publishing local magazines and newsletters.
Environmental duration and communication is a cross-cutting element of
all GCI programs: from regularly organizing workshops, seminars, and hearings
to publishing information on the internet about the five core international
programs.
Project: The Earth Charter
The Earth Charter serves as a universal code of conduct to guide people
and nations towards a sustainable future. In participation with the Earth
Council and other like-minded organizations worldwide, GCI is contributing
to the further development of the Earth Charter through a global participatory
process. GCI is working to have the Earth Charter endorsed by the United
Nations through regional seminars, national hearings, and an interactive
drafting effort.
|
