Manifesto

Mediterranean

Declaration for the Rights of the Mediterranean Bioregion

A Rights of Nature approach to preserving and restoring the Mediterranean.

The Mediterranean has been an exceptionally biodiverse region for millennia. Today, countless species, including mammals, birds, fishes, amphibians, trees, plants, fungi, and other living beings, are facing predicted and already happening extreme climate change impacts and potentially devastating challenges to their existence. This is on top of the challenges they already face from human activities such as agriculture, mining, land encroachment for development, polluting industrial practices and over-fishing, to name but a few.

Rights of the Mediterranean Bioregion Declaration is an Umbrella Declaration for the Med as an overarching document to which all the partners on the ground sign up, follow, respect, promote and work towards. The point of the project is that the Med bio-region is properly and actually protected through behaviour and relationship change, education, rights-based governance and restoration.

The intended Declaration of Commitment outlines the aims and goals and will involve all parties. The aim is to have governments sign up as the ultimate decision-makers. The focus will first be on local communities. They can influence their own governments and other relevant communities to bring them on board.

The aim is to start by relating to existing Rights of Nature initiatives like Mar Menor, Murcia and Red Mud, Marseilles. In time, the initiative will expand to regional partners who will be recognised as ‘kindred spirits’ to get on board. Through research and observation, they can join and help to create a circle and, eventually, a powerful network.