Forest gatherers. Photo: Cristina Mittermeier
Here at Terralingua, we’ve noticed something a bit odd — and perhaps you have, too. Why is the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, on May 21, immediately followed by the International Day of Biological Diversity on May 22? Are you wondering, as we are, why two global days celebrate diversity in human cultures and diversity in nature as if they were unrelated — although they do so just one day apart from each other? Well, we too are saying “hmmm!” Indeed, Terralingua believes (and has previously argued) the world should be talking about the true diversity of life on earth: the interlinked, indivisible diversity of nature and culture (languages included). We think it would make a lot more sense to pick one date and call it International Day of Biocultural Diversity.
To find out why, read on!
Modern Humans Think of “Diversities” in Separate Silos
When you hear the words “web of life,” what do you think of?
More likely than not, you’ll be thinking of biodiversity. Simply put, biodiversity is the millions of species of plants and animals that have evolved on earth. Indeed, what sustains their diversity is their interconnectedness with one another and with the ecosystems in which they live.
Clearly, we humans have been trained by modern society to think in silos. That is, we learn very early to sort things into neat groups, which we treat as separate, different, and unrelated. Animals and plants? Oh, that’s “biodiversity.” But people, cultures, and their languages? Well, that’s “cultural diversity,” right?
But now think again.
How the “True” Web of Life Was Spun — and Holds Everything Together
From the dawn of human history, our species has been part of nature, just like every other species, and has co-evolved with the natural world. Over time, people have adapted to their local environment while drawing material and spiritual sustenance from it. Through this mutual adaptation, human communities have developed thousands of different cultures and languages.
Human cultures spring from and exist in natural environments and are intrinsically connected to them.
And what are cultures and languages, really? Essentially, they are distinctive ways of seeing, knowing, doing, and speaking that have been shaped by the interactions between people and the natural world. In other words, human cultures spring from and exist in natural environments and are intrinsically connected to them.
This, then, is the “true” web of life: the interlinked diversity of nature and culture. Or, as we at Terralingua call it, “biocultural diversity.”
As Terralingua’s Director, Luisa Maffi, has remarked, “The disconnect that has led people in the industrialized world to see humans as separate from, and dominant over, nature is a key — if not the key — source of most of our environmental and social problems.”
But what does it really mean to see the web of life as an interconnected and interdependent web of biocultural diversity?
Biocultural Diversity: The Expression of the Bountiful Potential of Life on Earth
Biocultural diversity is what gives vitality and resilience to this planet — our home. And it is what sustains the life systems that sustain us. More than anything else we value, it’s a precious gift to be cherished and nurtured for the future of all life.
Mushroom harvest. Photo: Cristina Mittermeier
Yet, we modern humans carelessly squander this invaluable gift of biocultural diversity. Life in our urban environments fosters a profound disconnect from the natural world. As this disconnect or “nature deficit” deepens, we gradually lose our “biocultural link.”
At the same time, global economic, political, and social forces are rapidly eroding the health of the world’s ecosystems and cultures. In effect, we are witnessing a great silencing of the voices of the world’s languages.
Or you could see it this way: the very fabric of nature-culture is coming unraveled. But unlike the clothes we wear daily, the great luminous robe that is our earth’s biosphere cannot be exchanged for a new one. If we keep ripping it apart, someday — sooner than we think — it will fall off and leave all life exposed.
A Universal Responsibility to Act
As we stand by and watch, our biocultural world is becoming increasingly threadbare. And the outlook for humans and all other species is increasingly uncertain.
What is preventing us from acting?
Nobody is immune to the impact of biocultural diversity loss.
Busy with our everyday lives and caught up in our daily pursuits, we may be tempted to brush off this troubling thought. Or we may hastily conclude it’s something happening to someone else somewhere else, in some remote place “out there,” and of no consequence to us “here.”
But that’s not so. Nobody is immune to the impact of biocultural diversity loss. We’re all affected, no matter who we are and where and how we live. So, we clearly all have a responsibility to act. But acting alone is ultimately discouraging and ineffective. Accordingly, we need to help one another reach a critical mass of awareness about the biocultural diversity extinction crisis. Above all, for this awakening to happen in time, we need awareness on a truly global scale.
Biocultural Diversity Deserves Official Recognition
Given the urgency of the biocultural diversity extinction crisis, would it not make sense to fold those two global days into one? Insisting on a “World Day for Cultural Diversity” separate from an “International Day of Biological Diversity” only serves to perpetuate the idea of separate, unrelated “diversities.” And, sadly, this only delays a public awakening to the reality of a single, interconnected biocultural world that we need to cherish, protect, and sustain as a whole.
This delays a public awakening to the reality of a single, interconnected biocultural world that we need to cherish, protect, and sustain as a whole.
Clearly, it would be far more accurate and useful, not to mention much more inspiring, to mark a single date as International Day of Biocultural Diversity. Imagine how far we might go in making the world a better place if everyone understood that promoting diversity means reclaiming, revitalizing and celebrating natural, cultural, and linguistic diversity at the same time!
Terralingua Calls for an International Day of Biocultural Diversity
Now, how can you help make this happen?
First, share this blog post widely among your friends, family, and coworkers. Become an ambassador of biocultural diversity! Get conversations going; direct people to Terralingua’s resources; spread the word.
For example, invite your local school principal and teachers to visit Terralingua’s website and download our educational resources. Changing public perceptions is all about education, so take the message of biocultural diversity straight to your educators.
Next, lobby your elected officials and candidates to recognize the concept of biocultural diversity and the urgent need to protect it. Might your town be interested in enacting its own Day of Biocultural Diversity? (The media would probably love reporting on that!)
And If You Feel Like Taking On a Challenge…
Why not write to the UN? Yes, the UN! (See the contact details at the end of this post.) Whether you contact UNESCO on World Day for Cultural Diversity, or UNEP on International Day of Biodiversity, or both, tell them the world urgently needs an International Day of Biocultural Diversity.
Rock inscription. Photo: Cristina Mittermeier
Better yet, start a petition — get as many signatures as you can and submit your letter to both UNESCO and UNEP. After all, didn’t every day of international observance on the calendar also begin with a few voices that inspired many?
Social change starts within each of us. Clearly, “International Day of Biodiversity” and “World Day for Cultural Diversity” really should be a single day. So, we at Terralingua hope you’ll join us, on both May 21 and May 22, to call on the UN for an International Day of Biocultural Diversity!
Take Action!
Send your suggestion to UNESCO and UNEP:
UNESCO – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Contacts page: https://core.unesco.org/en/contact-us
Email: geneva@unesco.org
Tel.: +41 (0) 22 555 06 24
UNEP – United Nations Environment Programme
Contacts page: https://www.unep.org/who-we-are/contact-us
Email UNEP Global’s Executive Office: unep-executiveoffice@un.org
Tel.: +33 (0)1 4568 1000
