Green Cross International (GCI)

Green Cross International (GCI) was founded by Mikhail Gorbachev in 1993, as prompted by the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and Agenda 21. GCI is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland; the 21 GCI affiliates are located in Argentina, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, South Korea, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Venezuela.The mission of GCI is to create a sustainable future by cultivating harmonious relationships between humans and the environment. GCI concentrates its efforts on five main programs to promote a significant change in human values toward greater respect for Earth's community of life in all its diversity. The programs, stemming from the initiatives of 21 National Organizations, seek to combine global thinking and local action through the vehicle of international programs tailored to local needs.

Project: The Environmental Legacy of Wars Program
The Environmental Legacy of Wars Program mitigates the social, environmental and economic consequences of war, especially the Cold War, and the enormous threat military toxics pose to public health and the environment. The Legacy program assists people and communities afflicted by chemical and nuclear contamination, assists competing sectors of society to work democratically to develop sustainable solutions. Legacy promotes the clean-up and conversion of military bases to civilian use, the remediation of nuclear contamination, and the environmentally-responsible destruction of chemical weapon stockpiles.

Project: International Water Conflict Prevention Program
International Water Conflict Prevention Program works to prevent conflicts in water-stressed regions. This program promotes and facilitates informed decisionmaking and the integrated management of river basins affected by land degradation. GCI contributes to the solution of conflicts by convening representatives of all sectors of affected communities to shape solutions together. The Energy and Resource Efficiency Program promotes new patterns of consumption to reduce energy-use and to stem climate change and conserve natural resources. GCI emphasizes the dissemination of information about energy efficiency, renewable energy, and technology transfer through technology cooperation partnerships. Environmental Education and Communication enlightens and motivates people to act in accordance with the guiding values of the evolving Earth Charter by integrating environmental principals into traditional classroom education programs and publishing local magazines and newsletters. Environmental duration and communication is a cross-cutting element of all GCI programs: from regularly organizing workshops, seminars, and hearings to publishing information on the internet about the five core international programs.

Project: The Earth Charter
The Earth Charter serves as a universal code of conduct to guide people and nations towards a sustainable future. In participation with the Earth Council and other like-minded organizations worldwide, GCI is contributing to the further development of the Earth Charter through a global participatory process. GCI is working to have the Earth Charter endorsed by the United Nations through regional seminars, national hearings, and an interactive drafting effort.