Today, May 22nd, the Organization for the Reformation of Anti-Cannabis Laws (ORACL) joins with the rest of the world in observing the International Day of Biological Diversity.
“This years’ International Day for Biological Diversity falls in the International Year of Small Island Developing States and is being observed under the theme of ‘Island Diversity”.
United Nations, Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is an international legally binding treaty.
The convention has three main goals:
a) Conservation of biological diversity (biodiversity)
b) Sustainable use of its components
c) Fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources.
In other words, its objective is to develop national strategies for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity.
The Commonwealth of Dominica is a signatory to this treaty and herein lies the justification of our movement. ORACL is a non-profit organization whose sole purpose is to defend the existence, use and preservation of a plant – part of our biodiversity. ORACL is aware of the need for man to live in harmony with nature and also the need to use the resources of our natural environment both sustainably and economically.
The Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity Mr. Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias highlighted the vital role islands play in the following excerpt of his May 22nd 2014 message of this International Day of Biological Diversity:
“Islands constitute less than 5% of the Earth’s landmass yet provide habitat for 20% of all bird, reptile and plant species. Islands harbour more than 50% of the world’s known marine biodiversity, 7 of the world’s 10 coral reef hotspots and 10 of its 34 conservation hotspots. The conservation and sustainable use of the natural resources of islands is critical to achieving the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and its Aichi Biodiversity Targets.”
He stated further that, “Almost one-third of the world’s countries are islands. Our two-thirds of parties to the convention on biological diversity have island ecosystems”.
Maurice Strong stated that: “For the first time in international politics we have consensus that the future of the planet is at stake if we do not reverse the process of abusing it”. This statement was made during Earth Summit ’92. It is evident that since then much effort has been made with little results. The inefficaciousness of these efforts rests upon the governments of the various nations which lack the political will to adapt and make the necessary policy changes.
ORACL believes that hemp can save the world. It can literally do so in significant ways and currently is the pis aller of the nations. Therefore, it is up to all of us to make the necessary changes in our lifestyles and general perceptions to make this a reality. As signatory and party to the convention and as the proclaimed ‘Nature Isle of the Caribbean’ Dominica must do what is right and stand up for nature.
We live in a world where man is becoming increasingly perverse and driven by an insatiable greed. The rise of capitalism has reached its peak and the realization that infinite growth is impractical in a finite world is forcing many to question what is the meaning of it all. It is undeniable that Cannabis has the ability through its multiple uses to solve many of the everyday challenges we face on a global scale.
Let us join together for the sake of humanity and our biodiversity of this our sole planetary home and say loudly “Let’s Grow HEMP!”
Go on brother, all that to say that you want to keep on smoking your weed. Well, go ahead and accept the consequences. That is your choice. As for myself ,I’d rather keep a clear head.