Protecting Diversity of Creation

1.     Commit as a church, and as people of faith and conscience, to supporting and advocating for the implementation of science-based goals that simultaneously protect the diversity of creation and mitigate climate change while honoring and engaging Indigenous wisdom and leadership for stewardship of lands and waters.

2.     Endorse the international and U.S. goal of protecting 30% of lands and waters by 2030 to address environmental challenges impacting climate and biodiversity.

3.     Encourage all PC(USA) members and congregations to learn where lands and waters in their region are under threat, what actions are needed to protect or restore them, the vital roles that Indigenous people and Indigenous knowledge play in their protection and restoration, and the damage done by colonization and industrialization.

4.     Advocate for Indigenous sovereignty and treaty rights to be upheld in protection of lands and water and for the cultural, spiritual, historical, subsistence, and other needs of Indigenous peoples and nations.

5.     Encourage all PC(USA) members and congregations to assess how the lands in their stewardship can be managed to enhance biodiversity, sequester carbon, and help wildlife, ecosystems, and human communities to adapt to a changing climate.

6.     Direct the Presbyterian World Mission Agency to assess how mission activities can better integrate the simultaneous goals of biodiversity protection, climate mitigation and adaptation, Indigenous sovereignty, and cultural perseveration, as they relate to lands and waters.

7.     Advocate through the Office of Public Witness to support policies for robust protections for U.S. public lands—especially at the landscape level—and waters to meet the 30 x 30 goal and center Indigenous leadership in meeting this goal.