Editor, The Times, As someone who is concerned about the World Heritage Site designation of the Okefenokee Swamp, I have been watching what the Americans for the Okefenokee are doing. I stand with them and strongly oppose the movement to designate the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While at first glance, this might seem like an honor for such a treasured part of our natural heritage, the consequences of this designation go far beyond preservation or assumed economic impact. It raises significant legal, political and spiritual concerns, especially with regard to UNESCO’s promotion of Agenda 2030 and the globalist vision it promotes.
First and foremost, UNESCO operates under the United Nations and placing the Okefenokee under its protection comes with serious legal ramifications. By submitting to UNESCO oversight, we are ceding a degree of sovereignty over this land to an international body. This will result in restrictions on how local families and citizens enjoy recreation at the swamp and how our federal, state and local entities manage the Swamp. Beyond that, Agenda 2030 comes out into the neighboring communities around the swamp. This designation would implement Agenda 2030 and would therefore open the door to a whole slew of globalist regulations that conflict with the rights and interests of Georgians both in and around the swamp. The U.S. should maintain the ability to control and protect our national treasures, not outsource these responsibilities to global entities with agendas that do not align with our values.
Politically, Agenda 2030, the UN’s comprehensive sustainable development plan, is at the heart of UNESCO’s objectives. This agenda, which the UN has dubbed “the master plan for humanity”, while claiming to advance environmental protection and social justice, imposes a top-down global framework that threatens local governance, private property rights and national sovereignty. Agenda 2030 is rife with problematic policies that favor global control over localized decision-making. Our communities surrounding the Okefenokee (Brantley, Charlton, Clinch and Ware) are wellequipped to protect and manage the Swamp, not to mention the state and federal departments already involved. Even if a subversive agenda was not being implemented, we do not need foreign organizations dictating how we steward our resources.
Spiritually, there is also concern with the ideologies that underpin Agenda 2030. The framework promotes a secular, humanistic worldview that conflicts with many Americans’ Christian values. Our belief in God as the Creator and Sustainer of all things leads us to reject the idea that global governance is the solution to environmental or social issues. Instead, we trust in responsible stewardship guided by Biblical principles.
As citizens and stakeholders who stand to lose a lot under the implementation of Agenda 2030 in our swamp and local communities, we are asking the Okefenokee Swamp Park Inc. Board of Trustees and its chair, Dr. William Clark and others who are responsible for the application being filed with the Department of the Interior which will lead to this World Heritage Site designation, to stop this bid! They can bring this entire process to a halt by simply choosing to. It is not too late. I feel sure that if they understood more clearly the true ramifications of Agenda 2030, they would see the problems with partnering with UNESCO. There are those who have said that Agenda 2030 will not have a negative impact within our community if the Okefenokee’s designation as a World Heritage Site gets approved, however, there are examples from around the nation of how this agenda has already negatively affected local communities like ours. Together, we can stand against this encroachment on the swamp and ensure that the Okefenokee remains in the hands of those who care for it most, Georgia residents.
Clay Gill Blackshear
