By the 1990s, as the effects of global climate change became apparent, political leaders around the world began to advocate for action to counter environmental degradation and mitigate future damage. Since the turn of the century, progress has been made in convincing lawmakers that sustainable development practices are an increasingly urgent matter.
In 2015, the Paris Agreement was adopted by 196 nations, setting ambitious goals to limit global temperature increases to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. In 2021, the European Union introduced the European Green Deal, aiming to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. More recently, countries like New Zealand have passed sweeping climate legislation, such as the Zero Carbon Act, intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
These are good starting points, but they do not go nearly far enough. Scientific studies have shown that humanity has little time to change our behavior if we intend to preserve our planet—as little as five years, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Greater action, particularly in terms of infrastructure and land development, is sorely needed. However, due to factors such as bureaucratic inertia, political dogmatism, and conflicting economic priorities, there has been little in the way of comprehensive, universally adopted frameworks to guide the way
At least, this is the explanation often given by world leaders. But perhaps they just haven’t been looking hard enough.
From a corner of central Ontario in Canada, one organization has emerged as a leader in reimagining sustainable development. The Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI), an organization dedicated to protecting the sovereignty, culture, and natural resources of one of the largest populations of Canada’s First Peoples—the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council—has produced two documents that the governments of the world would do well to observe and mimic: the HDI Green Plan and the HDI Development Protocol.
The HDI Green Plan serves as a comprehensive framework for sustainable land use, focusing on renewable energy, ecological preservation, and the responsible stewardship of natural resources. It states that development should take place in harmony with nature rather than exploiting it, and it urges decision-makers to adopt practices like renewable energy integration, sustainable agriculture, and habitat protection. Indeed, a close reading of the plan reveals that its bedrock principles extend beyond mere policy—they reflect a deep cultural understanding of humanity’s interconnectedness with the environment.
Complementing the Green Plan is the Haudenosaunee Development Institute’s Development Protocol, which establishes rigorous guidelines for how development projects in Haudenosaunee territories must proceed. A cornerstone of the protocol is the requirement for free, prior, and informed consent from Indigenous communities before any project begins. This ensures that local populations have a voice in decisions affecting their lands and resources. The protocol also mandates impact assessments that go beyond the usual economic considerations, addressing the cultural, social, and most especially, environmental effects of any new building efforts.
Taken together, these documents outline a pathway for ecologically responsible development that respects both the planet and its inhabitants. If adopted on a global scale, the principles outlined in the Haudenosaunee Development Institute’s Green Plan and Development Protocol could guide governments toward creating infrastructure that is not only sustainable but also equitable.
Just to give a few potentially transformative examples, incorporating consent-based frameworks into large-scale building projects could help avoid conflicts between corporations and communities, while prioritizing ecological health through renewable energy integration and habitat preservation could drastically mitigate the long-term costs of planet-wide environmental degradation.
As climate scientists warn of narrowing windows to avert catastrophic changes, the Haudenosaunee Development Institute’s approach to development stands as a powerful example of how to act with urgency and responsibility. By adopting firm policies centered around ecological principles and ethical governance, HDI has created a blueprint that the world’s governments would be wise to follow.
