[Aqualist] Geographers Declare

[Scott Mooney]

Hi People,

A group of Australian geographers have been writing "A Climate and Biodiversity Emergency Declaration", which they hope to present at the upcoming IAG/NZGS 2021 combined conference.

The group are now seeking comments on the draft, and would like to have all comments back by the end of May. Comments are probably best sent to geographersdeclareau at gmail.com<mailto:geographersdeclareau at gmail.com> but if they come to me I'd be happy to forward them on.

As the AQUA server doesn't allow attachments I have pasted it below. This means that some of the formatting has been lost... my apologies.

It is possible that in the near future, geographers in Australia will be invited to sign this, and organisations (like AQUA) might be asked to consider endorsing it... and so it might be an idea to consider/comment on the 'manifesto' now...

Best wishes
Scott


A/Prof Scott Mooney FIAG

Deputy Head of School
School of BEES
Faculty of Science
UNSW AUSTRALIA

T: +61 (0) 2 9385 8063
E:  s.mooney at unsw.edu.au<mailto:s.mooney at unsw.edu.au>
W: http://www.bees.unsw.edu.au/staff/scott-mooney
P: School of BEES, UNSW, 2052 AUSTRALIA


[Text  Description automatically generated]


A Climate and Biodiversity Emergency Declaration by geographers in Australia
Geographers declare
We, geographers in Australia, declare that the world is facing multiple and interlinked emergencies of climate change, biodiversity loss and social inequality. We declare that we have a responsibility to care about and respond to a diversity of threats including anthropogenic climate change and threats to biodiversity. We are concerned about the differential impacts experienced by people, places, and the human and natural systems that connect and sustain them.
In making this declaration, we commit to better understanding, caring about and responding to the threats to people, places and the human and natural systems that connect and sustain them. We recognise the disproportionate impact of these threats and that they are experienced unevenly across space and time.
We use the word 'emergency' to describe the overlapping and mutually amplifying emergencies that are occurring. This word may not resonate with everyone. In using it, we note that language has more nuance than simply signifying that a situation is grave or worsening. Language has power, history and modifies the expectations of a response. In making a declaration through the language of 'emergency', our aim is to complement and draw ourselves into closer conversation with existing organisations and disciplinary bodies that have made public their declaration for action .
These multiple emergencies have unfurled over vastly different temporal and spatial scales. Geography as a discipline is complicit to in the ongoing violence of colonisation through perpetuating a Eurocentric Anglocentric cultural hegemony and certain perspectives around what counts as knowledge and truth. In acknowledging and taking ownership of our disciplinary past, we recognise that Australia has been in a climate and biodiversity crisis since 1788 and that our calls for action are not 'new'.

Our principles
As geographers living, working and learning in places that are now collectively known as Australia, we call for action that aligns with the following principles. We want to:
*             Strengthen connections between policy makers, community, science, the academy and educators.
*             Advocate for action by government, business, industry, our own institutions and our peers to recognise these unfolding emergencies and take immediate action.
*             Care for Country and encourage approaches that are regenerative for biodiversity, places, people and culture.
*             Acknowledge and investigate ecological and relational tipping points
*             Work with others to strengthen relationships with communities beyond our disciplinary and geographical boundaries.
*             Identify actions we can take to improve our own practices, including research, teaching and knowledge production.
We make this declaration to policy makers, politicians, governments, civil actors, our own academic and education institutions, our disciplinary community and peers. Our declaration is more than a statement, but an ethos that we call on geographers to work by. We call for action that is prioritised, coordinated, enduring, and meaningful.
This declaration is open for any individual, collective or institution to adopt. When adopting this declaration we encourage you to identify actions that align with these principles.

Why we are declaring
The world is facing multiple and interlinked crises of climate change, loss of biodiversity and social injustice. The acceleration of anthropogenic climate change, land and water degradation threaten to eclipse planetary boundaries  and is already having devastating impact on species, habitats, knowledges and culture. We are living in the Anthropocene; a time period of unparalleled and irreversible human-influenced environmental catastrophe . There are potent calls for action . Now is the time for us to act.

Who are geographers?
geo-graphy: earth-writing
from the ancient Greek, 'geo' meaning earth, 'graphy' meaning 'to write'
Geography is the study of place, space, and the environment. Geographers investigate the character of places, the distribution of phenomena across space, biophysical processes and features, and dynamic relationships between humans, non-humans and environments .
Geographers ask questions about why these phenomena and relationships are the way they are and how they could be; about how societies and environments are connected to one another; how and why they change; and about how and why their characteristics vary across time and space at different scales. Geographers ask these questions across scales from the local to the global, and in relation to the past, present, and future.
As geographers, we are teachers, researchers, students and professionals. We work in classrooms, in universities, private and public institutions, in 'the field', and always on Country.
Geography is interdisciplinary and deeply integrative. As a synthesising science, geography encompasses and communicates across different ways of knowing, from the natural, physical, and social sciences to the humanities. We work within different epistemological and ontological frameworks.
At its best, our discipline is open to deep collaboration with diverse Indigenous and local knowledges, but at its worst, we acknowledge it has been complicit in amplifying the behaviours, philosophies and institutions that create the overlapping emergencies of climate, biodiversity and justice. Geography and geographers are therefore both well-equipped and ethically obliged to act with others to respond to the emergencies we declare in this statement.
Geographers living, working and learning, in places that are now collectively known as Australia, know environmental and social issues pressing, and know that action is needed. We are committed to addressing these issues and recognise our role in taking bearing and taking responsibility for the worlds we live in and create.

Declaration preparation
This declaration was prepared by the Geographers Declare Working Group; a collective of geographers from around Australia who wish to see our discipline take further action.

We plan to launch the declaration at the Institute of Australian Geographers and New Zealand Geographical Society joint conference to be held in Sydney in July 2021. We will be holding a workshop at the conference aimed at 'actioning' the declaration. We are seeking interest from individuals, groups and institutions to support and endorse the final version of the declaration and invite you to participate in this workshop.

To provide feedback on this draft, be kept up to date with drafting progress or express interest to endorse the final declaration on behalf of your group or institution please email geographersdeclareau at gmail.com<mailto:geographersdeclareau at gmail.com>.

References
  Disciplines such as planning, architecture and engineering have declared a climate and/or biodiversity emergency.
  Whyte, K. P. 2020. Too Late for Indigenous Climate Justice: Ecological and Relational Tipping Points. WIRES Climate Change 11 (e603): 1-7
  Steffen, W., Richardson, K., Rockström, J., Cornell, S.E., Fetzer, I., Bennett, E.M., Biggs, R., Carpenter, S.R., De Vries, W., De Wit, C.A. and Folke, C., 2015. Planetary boundaries: Guiding human development on a changing planet. Science, 347(6223).
  Crutzen, P.J. and Stoermer, E.F. (2000) The "Anthropocene". Global Change Newsletter, 41, 17.
  Wilkinson, C. and Clement, S., 2021. Geographers declare (a climate emergency)?. Australian Geographer, 52(1), pp.1-18.
   This definition of Geography was endorsed in November 2010 by the: Australian Academy of Science's National Committee for Geography, Australian Geography Teachers' Association, Geographical Society of New South Wales, Institute of Australian Geographers, Royal Geographical Society of Queensland, and Royal Geographical Society of South Australia.
  Wilkinson, C. and Clement, S., 2021.