Declaration on Biosphere Ethics - A Common Vision Shared By Montréal, Quebec City and Paris

MONTRÉAL, Dec. 10, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - Official representatives from the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle in Paris, the Musées de la civilisation in Quebec City and Montréal Space for Life met this morning to sign a Declaration on Biosphere Ethics. The event was held at the Biodiversity Centre at the Montréal Botanical Garden. This commitment responds to an ethical, scientific and cultural imperative: the need to build a relationship connecting humankind with the other parts of the biosphere, one based on common values, in order to protect the Earth's natural and cultural diversity.

"I am proud that our Montréal Space for Life is one of the three signatories committed to sharing a common vision and making our presence known internationally. This consolidates Montréal's important role and leadership in the huge challenge of conserving and protecting the Earth's biodiversity. Montréal Space for Life strives to bring humankind closer to nature, and is succeeding wonderfully!", said Manon Gauthier, Montréal Executive Committee member responsible for culture, heritage, design, Space for Life and the status of women.

"What world will we leave for our children and grandchildren? That is the question underlying this declaration for Montréal Space for Life. Together with our employees, visitors and colleagues from Quebec City and France, we want to take action to preserve and promote our planet's biological and cultural diversity", agreed Space for Life Director Charles-Mathieu Brunelle.

Michel Côté, Executive Director of the Musées de la civilisation, emphasized "the need to seek to understand the world and to share our knowledge with all our fellow citizens. As sociologist and philosopher Edgar Morin said, humanity and the Earth are not abstract notions, but share a common destiny. We applied these principles in the collaborative process between the intercultural teams that produced our exhibition This Is Our Story. First Nations and Inuit in the 21st Century. The same type of citizen consultation will be used in designing our Quebec in the World exhibition."

"I am pleased to see how Montréal Space for Life, the Musées de la civilisation and our Muséum have worked together under the Canada-France Agreement on museums to implement the Biosphere Ethics Initiative. This group approach, involving many people representing the diversity of our professions on both sides of the Atlantic, has now culminated in the launch of a process that will have a major day-to-day impact on how we carry out our missions. That is the significance of our common commitment," said Thomas Grenon, Executive Director of the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, in Paris.

The signing of the Declaration is the culmination of productive meetings and constructive workshops over the space of two years thanks to the Canada-France Agreement, leading to a consensus on the values and principles that will guide the signatories' actions. This process is also in line with the Biosphere Ethics Initiative, launched in 2010 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

By recognizing the existence values common to all living beings, the memory values that situate us in time and space and the future values guaranteeing the survival of the biosphere, the three institutions share a common vision. In concrete terms, this vision involves building greater awareness and engagement on the part of their partners, employees and audiences with respect to geological, biological and cultural diversity through the implementation of their research missions and expertise in natural and human science, creating and conserving collections, teaching and sharing knowledge.

The three institutions are aware of the threats to this diversity, and hence are assuming moral and intellectual responsibility with respect to their societies. They are committed to promoting a culture of nature, supported by scientific knowledge and ethical considerations, in turn founded on respect for all living creatures.

At the crossroads of Earth and Life Sciences, the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle in Paris has been devoting itself daily for nearly 400 years to examining nature and its relations with humankind. Building on a rich history and shaped by our changing environment, the Muséum is also working for the future through its 12 sites, multiple professions and five missions (research, enriching and conserving its collections, teaching, expertise and sharing knowledge) so as to learn about and preserve nature.

Beyond the immediacy of information, beyond preconceived ideas or passing trends, the Musées de la civilisation serve as a decoder. They analyze, examine, differentiate… to better reveal that which is essential. As institutions of reference, its five museums continue to progress through their own work and through the discoveries, experiments and achievements of cultural institutions here and abroad.

Montréal Space for Life is made up of four attractions on the same site: the Biodôme, Botanical Garden, Insectarium and Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium. These four prestigious municipal institutions form Canada's largest natural science museum complex. Together, they are launching a daring, creative urban movement, urging everyone to rethink the connection between humankind and nature and cultivate a new way of living.

SOURCE: Espace pour la vie

Montréal Space for Life, Karine Jalbert, Communications Co-ordinator, 514 872-1453, [email protected]; Musées de la civilisation, Quebec City, Agnès Dufour, Communications department, 418-528-2358, [email protected]; Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, Samya Ramdane and Flore Goldhaber, Media relations, 01-40-79-54-40 / 38-00, [email protected]; Andrée-Anne Toussaint, Press Attaché, Office of the Mayor and Executive Committee, 514 243-1268, [email protected]