EcoAgriculture Partners stands in solidarity with those protesting the recent killings of Rayshard Brooks, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and many others in the US and around the world who have been victims of race-based violence. May their memories be a blessing.
As an organization that works around the world to bring together diverse groups of people in landscapes to pursue common visions of ecological regeneration, equity and shared prosperity, we recognize the ubiquity of racism in its many forms. It is a scourge that not only leads far too often to violence but is a persistent force that creates barriers to multi-stakeholder landscape collaboration for the common good.
When integrated landscape management succeeds, neighbors from different backgrounds, and often different ethnicities, open themselves to hear each other’s perspectives and aspirations. This process can stimulate deeper thinking about potential pathways for transformation to more just and equitable systems of resource access to ensure healthy environments for all. Only through deep listening and subsequent conversation can enduring trust be built, the foundation for planning our futures together. We have found that these processes can transform conflictual situations as stakeholders recognize their shared aspirations for a healthy environment and a better life for all.
EcoAgriculture Partners recognizes the centrality of diversity to the success of our work. We recommit to embedding this principle in everything that we do as we strive to create spaces for dialogue that can build trust, promote collective action and, ultimately, contribute to a more peaceful and sustainable world. Over the coming year, we commit to undertake more ambitious and systematic work to promote learning, tools and action on the issues of inclusion and race in landscape partnerships.
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