Gaia Movement

This article is about the movement in environmentmentalism. For the charitable organization, see Gaia Movement USA. For other uses, see Gaia.

The Gaia Movement, also known as the Gaia Foundation, is an international network of individuals and groups that, similar to the Ecology movement, hold the believe that the present Globalization is not sustainable and aim to promote ecologically sustainable development.

The term "Gaia" comes from Greek mythology, where it is the name of the Goddess of the Earth. In the late 1960s, independent ecologist and environmentalist James Lovelock used the name in his Gaia hypothesis, which posits that the earth is a superorganism. This theory has gained much support in the environmentalist movement. Its use here is similar to the Feminist Movement or the Civil Rights Movement.[1]

Organizations

International

Gaia Preservation Coalition: The Gaia Preservation Coalition is a gathering of those who are concerned about the impact of humanity upon the biosphere and who seek with others to reduce the carbon footprint of society through the creation and exploration of ideas and actions that move Humanity toward a more harmonious relationship within Gaia.

GAIA International: GAIA International (Global Awareness Interdisciplinary Alliance) is a scholarly and educational organization whose mission is to sponsor projects, events, and publications that promote ecological awareness, understanding, and responsibility in every academic discipline and in every domain of human endeavor.

Country-specific organizations

Informal Gaian groups exist in many countries. More formal organisations are found in:-

Australia

The Gaia Foundation: Members of the Australian Gaia Foundation are committed to its three objectives;

  1. personal growth - commitment to your own healing and empowerment
  2. community building - strengthening the communities of which you are a part
  3. service to the Earth - enhancing the well being and flourishing of all life

The structure of the Gaia Foundation avoids the central committee-passive periphery structure of conventional non-government organisations. All activities of the Foundation are created as independent "projects" in which participants involved in that project have all power and authority.

Brazil

Fundação Gaia: The Gaia Foundation was created as a vehicle to assist amplify the work of its founder and president, Jose Lutzenberger. It supports and work together to implantation alternative solutions that will produce a more sustainable society. Through the work of its members, the Foundation aims to contribute to guarantee the survival and sustainability of all species of our living system, the wonderful and fantastic planet - Gaia. The Foundation works in the areas of

  1. Lifelong Education

the promotion of socially responsible technologies,

  1. Regenerative Ecological Agriculture,
  2. sustainable use of the natural resources,
  3. natural medicine,
  4. decentralized production of energy and
  5. alternative sanitation.

Their agricultural headquarters, the Rincão Gaia, has functioned for 11 years by 2005.

Canada

Gaia Foundation for Earth Education: Gaia Foundation for Earth Education focuses on energy and the environment, environmental economics and sustainable resource management, the Foundation strives to develop solutions for protecting the environment.

Denmark

Gaia Trust: Gaia Trust is a Danish charitable entity founded in 1987 with the objective of promoting a global consciousness that experiences the whole planet as a living organism and Mankind as part of that whole. One of Gaia Trusts main activities over the past years has been supporting the growing network of eco-villages across the globe, and helping create The Global Ecovillage Network (GEN).

The Gaia Trust website (www.gaia.org) has for many years served as homepage for the Global Ecovillage Network.

Hungary

Ariadne Gaia Foundation: Gaia Research and Education Center for Sustainable Rural Development. The Gaia Foundation, or more precisely, the Gaia Research and Education Center for Sustainable Rural Development, has been the incubator and sponsor of many cooperative and ecological projects. One of its ongoing activities is training. A conference and education center was built to provide training for farmers-not only in the Galga Farm cooperative, but also throughout the Galga Valley region-in organic and sustainable agricultural methods. Farmers attend weekend workshops at the center, as it is hard for them to leave their work for more than a few days. Occasionally center staff members go out to the farms to bring the training to people who need it. 180 to 250 farmers are trained each year.

Malta

The Gaia Foundation: The Gaia Foundation exists to protect Malta's environment and promote sustainable living. It was formed in June, 1994 "To promote and implement ways through which human beings can interact meaningfully with their environment without denying future generations their right to do the same."[2]

Norway

Om Gaialink

Poland

KLUB GAJA: On April 23, 1994, Club Gaja launched the Teraz Wisła [Vistula Now, a takeoff on the "Teraz Polska" slogan used to indicate quality Polish products] Campaign as part of Earth Day activities throughout Poland. The Teraz Wisła campaign objective is to develop community awareness and to promote the democratic empowerment of people as a means of preventing further industrial development of the Vistula River.

Turkey

GAYA NPO: A Turkish non profit Organisation that works on promotion of a better life for all mankind. Established on 2004 in Ankara, GAYA design and implements social and economic projects on women, youth, entrepreneurship, training, environment, sustainability which all has a special focus on the GAIA philosophy that accepts "to promote a new, global consciousness which sees our entire planet as a living organism with Humankind as an integral part of the entity."

United Kingdom

The Gaia Foundation: The Gaia Foundation is an international non-government organization (NGO) based in London.[3] Its mission is the protection of cultural and biological diversity, and democracy. Gaia began work in the Amazon when they were invited by Chico Mendes, a famous rubber tapper leader who was later assassinated, and Ailton Krenak, an indigenous leader, to form an "affectionate alliance" with them. Since then Gaia has formed an alliance with indigenous groups in Colombia through the COAMA (Consolidation of the Amazon Region) Program which has now been running for 11 years. The COAMA program last year won the Right Livelihood Award for "Vision and Work forming an essential contribution to making life more whole, healing our planet and uplifting humanity".

United States of America

The Gaia Foundation: The Gaia Foundation is a non-profit organization active in promotion of sustainable development and creation of livable communities with better quality of life.

The work is done through multiple means, such as educational programs, demonstrations of sustainable technologies, providing consulting to non-governmental, governmental organizations, and businesses in developing policies on local, state, national and international level. Also we are working on practical projects within a community where we reside.

GAIA: GAIA is a non-profit organization that promotes initiates and co-ordinates projects and activities that protect and conserve the natural environment - and the species which are dependent upon them. An integral part of these activities, is to address the social and economic issues that lie at the heart of so many of our environmental ills.

GAIA is actively involved in the protection of open spaces and wilderness areas. GAIA is actively involved in the health, education, and social aspects of community development initiatives, 'social inclusion' and 'neighbourhood renewal' strategies. GAIA is actively involved in ethically and ecologically sensitive commerce and industry, including social enterprise, and business & community partnerships.

GAIA is a 'key' and 'umbrella' organisation, so in addition to in-house projects we are also involved in partnership programmes with community groups, government departments and both national and international organisations with compatible aims and objectives.

The Gaia Institute: the Gaia Institute is a 501(c) 3 not-for-profit corporation. Focused on environmental research and development, education and design, our work is centered on the restoration and ecological re-engineering of natural systems to protect and enhance environmental quality. The work of the Gaia Institute couples ecological engineering and restoration with the integration of human communities in natural systems. While much environmental engineering has the worthy aim of minimizing harm, the Gaia Institute explores, through research and development, design and construction, how human activities and waste products can be treated to increase ecological productivity, biodiversity, environmental quality, and economic well being. The purpose of the Gaia Institute is to test through demonstration the means by which the ecological components of backyards, communities, towns and cities, as well as watersheds and estuaries, can be enhanced through integrated wastes-into-resources technologies.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Werner, Michael, "Ecofeminism, Neopaganism and the Gaia Movement in the Post Modern Age"
  2. ↑ "Project Gaia"
  3. ↑ Charity Commission. The Gaia Foundation, registered charity no. 327412.
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