“Protecting biocultural diversity –
the true web of life.”
Terralingua n1: the languages of the Earth, the many voices of the world’s diverse peoples. 2: the language of the Earth, the voice of Mother Nature. 3: an international non-governmental organization (NGO) that works to sustain the biocultural diversity of life –a precious heritage to be cherished, protected, and nurtured for generations to come. ¶ From Italian terra ‘earth’ and lingua ‘language’.
It’s the true web of life: diversity in both nature and culture. It’s a living network made up of the millions of species of plants and animals that have evolved on Earth, and of the thousands of human cultures and languages that have developed over time. Languages, cultures, and ecosystems are interdependent. They’re bound together through the myriad ways in which people have interacted with the natural environment. Through a diversity of cultural traditions and practices, in a great variety of natural environments, human communities have acquired invaluable knowledge of how to achieve harmony with nature. Biocultural diversity is both the source and the expression of all the beauty and potential of life on Earth.
Both biological diversity and cultural diversity are in steep decline. It’s a “converging extinction crisis” of the diversity of life in all its forms. We are losing the unique ways of life and identities of the world’s diverse peoples. We are losing both the rich biodiversity that supports humanity and all other species, and the traditional knowledge that helps sustain biodiversity. It’s a matter of survival. In a time of crisis, we not only desperately need healthy ecosystems. We also desperately need all the voices of the planet and the ancestral wisdom that they express. Losing biocultural diversity is like losing our life insurance when we need it most.
Call for Submissions: Terralingua Langscape Langscape Volume 2, Issue 12
Biocultural Diversity: An Emerging Paradigm in a Changing World
Biocultural approaches to conservation, development and education
With Guest Editor: Felipe Montoya Greenheck
In this upcoming issue of Langscape, we hope to bring together some of the voices calling for transformation of the status quo of the way we live on this planet. The dominant economic ...
Support Terralingua and the Voices of the Earth Increasingly, the Voices of the Earth are at risk of being silenced, overwhelmed by the rising tide of only a few, dominant languages. Along with the languages, also threatened are the ancient teachings that the Voices of the Earth have passed down, through oral traditions, from one generation to the next. We are writing you ...
5th World Conservation Congress, Jeju, Korea Terralingua actively participated in IUCN’s 5th World Conservation Congress (WCC 5), which took place on 6-15 September,2012 on the Island of Jeju, South Korea. We organized or participated in a number of events during the WCC Forum. The Forum is a week-long portion of the Congress that brings together NGOs, researchers, indigenous peoples, policy makers, ...
Langscape Issue on Sacred Natural Sites Premiered at WCC 5 Terralingua’s magazine Langscape has become a unique venue for promoting understanding and appreciation of biocultural diversity through high-quality text and images. A special issue of Langscape, “Sacred Natural Sites: Sources of Biocultural Diversity”, co-produced with the Sacred Natural Sites Initiative (SNSI) and guest-edited by Bas Verschuuren and Robert Wild, was distributed at the ...
Sacred Natural Sites and Indigenous Oral Traditions at WCC 5 Terralingua was a co-presenter in Conservation Campus session “Learning from the Guardians of Sacred Natural Sites – Dialogue and Exchange” at the 5th World Conservation Congress organized by the Sacred Natural Sites Initiative . This conservation campus was one of a series of events organized together with Gaia Foundation, United Nations University Traditional Knowledge Initiative and the ...
Terralingua Langscape Volume 2, Issue 11 Sacred Natural Sites; Sources of Biocultural Diversity. Join Terralingua and the Sacred Natural Sites Initiative as we explore the rich interconnections between Sacred Natural Sites and Biocultural Diversity. Through a unique lens of stories, photographs, articles, and a diversity of perspectives this volume of Langscape introduces you to the value of Sacred Natural Sites ...
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