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NYC Nature Goals 2050

DECLARATION OF RIGHTS TO NEW YORK CITY NATURE New Yorkers need and have rights to a local environment that is healthy and whole...We have an obligation to work together to create the social and economic circumstances necessary to lay the foundations for the long-term sustainability of the city's nature. [sign declaration-this is a button] [read more-this is a button]

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Declaration of Rights
to New York City Nature

New Yorkers need and have rights to a local environment that is healthy and whole, which provides safety, respite, and connection to the long history of life on Earth, rooted in the particular circumstances of its place. Such rights are essential to each individual as part of the community of nature as a whole.

In spite of the biological richness of New York City at the time of its founding, the destruction of its natural resources in ways both large and small has been assumed to be an unfortunate but unavoidable cost of urban life. It is now self-evident that this assumption reflects a deep inconsistency with our ambitions, our ideals, and the facts: nature exists in the city, and given attention, management, and investment, can thrive again. We have an obligation to work together to create the social and economic circumstances necessary to lay the foundations for the long-term sustainability of the city’s nature.

Inwood Hill Park in November, Manhattan, NYC
Inwood Hill Park in November, Manhattan, New York City

To honor New Yorkers’ rights to the benefits that abundant and thriving nature can bring, we offer this draft set of nature goals to guide conservation and restoration efforts. Our overall aim is to assure that all New Yorkers experience the benefits of nature in their home city and local community by 2050. We propose that the city’s planning and development as a whole adopt the following functional goals for New York City nature:

Biodiversity and habitat
Providing suitable environments for a diversity of species

Air and water quality
Supporting nature’s ability to absorb and filter water from runoff and help clean the air

Coastal protection and resilience
Enhancing nature’s capacity to mitigate damage from coastal storms

Connectivity
Better enabling movements of plants and animals through the city and region

Inspiration
Further encouraging human creativity and appreciation of beauty through nature

To fulfill these functions, New York City nature must be composed of three crucial elements:

A diversity of ecosystems, which are interconnected, healthy, and resilient, because they are inhabited by a diverse set of species—including rare and sensitive species and species particularly important to ecosystem services—which also possess diverse genetic material to support long-term adaptation of all species to the particulars of our local environment as it changes through time.

Furthermore, the relationship of people to nature in New York City must include the following:

Accessibility of safe, healthy, and proximate natural areas for all New Yorkers, including sites for quiet contemplation and active recreation; integration with the built environment and incorporation into citywide planning and policy; and engagement through frequent and regular education and stewardship activities conducted by a range of private and public groups and individuals.

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How the declaration was written

A group of thoughtful, committed citizens prepared this declaration to change the world starting with our home in New York City.

Our idea is that nature is essential to the daily lives of New Yorkers and for the long-term viability and success of New York City as a whole. Nature is a kind of infrastructure as important as public safety, economic growth, education, or the arts, in making New York City a safe, productive, healthy, and unique place to live, work, and raise our families.

Our group is composed of scientists, managers, organizers, educators, planners, and artists, working in business, government, and non-profit sectors. We are not representative of the city as a whole, only of ourselves, yet we think there is something in our ideas that will appeal to all New Yorkers.

We set out this declaration, and hope that if you agree with its aims and ambitions, you will add your name.

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Photo Credits

All photos Natural Areas Conservancy except homepage top image: Adam Stoltman

 

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