ISSN 2250-3331 Cardinal Paul Poupard Foundation Chair of Inter-religious & Inter-cultural Dialogue

Ethics and Society: An International Journal Religions and Cultures for Peace and Harmony

Vol. 4

Contributors: Archbishop Felix Machado Rev. Dr. Stephen Fernandes Heidi Kuhn Dr. Liu Youfa Fr. Francis d’Britto Dr. ZeenatShaukat Ali Dr. Marie Fernandes Dr. Kashmira P. Mody Prof. Sharmila Dhote Prof. Ayesha Gundagi Prof. Jyoti Bhatia Dr. Homi Dalla

Edited by Archbishop Felix Machado Rev. Dr. Stephen Fernandes 27 January 2015 ISSN 2250 - 3331 Ethics and Society: An International Journal Religions and Cultures for Peace and Harmony

Vol. 4

Contributors Archbishop Felix Machado Rev. Dr. Stephen Fernandes Heidi Kuhn Dr. Liu Youfa Fr. Francis d’Britto Dr. ZeenatShaukat Ali Dr. Marie Fernandes Dr. Kashmira P. Mody Prof. Sharmila Dhote Prof. Ayesha Gundagi Prof. Jyoti Bhatia Dr. Homi Dalla

Edited by Archbishop Felix Machado Rev. Dr. Stephen Fernandes

27 January 2015 © 2011 Cardinal Paul Poupard Foundation

Published: January 2015 Cardinal Paul Poupard Foundation Chair for Inter-Religious And Inter-Cultural Dialogue St. Andrew’s College, Bandra, Mumbai – 400050

ii THE CARDINAL PAUL POUPARD FOUNDATION

The Cardinal Paul Poupard Foundation has been constituted under Italian law and recognised by the Republic of Italy. It has legal base at Crema, Via Dante, 24.

In a world oscillating between indifference and fanaticism, His Eminence Cardinal Poupard, collaborator of the sovereign Pontiffs John XXIII, Paul VI and Benedict XVI is one of the most qualified representatives for the way of dialogue, identified by Popes as being able to establish peaceful and long-lasting co-existence between nations and different civilisations.

The Cardinal Paul Poupard Foundation intends to conserve and make use of the considerable patrimony of culture and relations that the Cardinal created over many years, in seeking to create and encourage cultural initiatives that can foster the coming together and understanding between traditions and religions of all the world.

It seeks to promote congress, conferences, publications, create Chairs in universities throughout the world, help students with grants and promote the Prize “The Dialogue of Cultures”.

In order to do this, it is composed under the direction of His Eminence Cardinal Paul Poupard, of a President, who will have responsibility for all the activity of the Foundation, assisted by a scientific Committee made up of men and women from the field of culture and the world of business and finance, and will be a place of contact able to erect solid bridges between countries and cultural institutions. The members of this Committee witness, by their adherence, to the richness of different cultures across the world: France, Italy, Russia, United States, Latin America, India and Middle East.

iii THE CARDINAL PAUL POUPARD FOUNDATION: INSPIRED BY AN OPEN HUMANISM

One can synthesize the specific character of Cardinal Paul Poupard Foundation, saying that it is inspired by an open Humanism and it is committed to its spread.

It is Humanism, because at the core of its concerns there is the human being, that means the one who has to defend himself from all the ideological, political and economic forces which tend to enslave him.

It is Open, because it recognises within each human being the spiritual openness, that means the religious dimension which constitute man’s nature.

Therefore, it works through the initiatives that I am going to illustrate [or: that I have illustrated]; valorising man in his spiritual dimension, hoping that the different expressions of it do not become an occasion for violent conflicts, but rather a loyal and constructive comparison, for reciprocal enrichment and a common search of truth.

Adv. Giuseppe Musumeci President Cardinal Paul Poupard Foundation

iv St. Andrew’s College Management Committee for the Cardinal Paul Poupard Foundation: Chair of Inter-re ligious and Inter-cultural Dialogue

1. Cardinal Oswald Gracias (Chairperson)

2. Archbishop Felix Machado (Ex-Officio, Card. Paul Poupard Foundation)

3. Adv. Giuseppe Musumeci (Ex-Officio, Card. Paul Poupard Foundation)

4. Msgr. Nereus Rodrigues (Manager)

5. Dr. Marie Fernandes (Principal)

6. Sr. Theresa Joseph (Secretary)

Chair of Inter-religious and Inter-cultural Dialogue St. Andrew’s College, Bandra

Vision

To promote peace and harmony for a holistic development of society.

Mission

The Chair of Inter-Religious and International Dialogue at St. Andrew’s College aims at promoting:  The exchange of knowledge concerning religions and cultures in dialogue with one another  Advanced studies and research in Inter-Religious and Inter-Cultural Dialogue  A space for dialogue so as to foster social harmony and national integration  The transformation of society by training people to live in peace and harmony.

v Programmes Offered

Seminars: To promote study and research among the students with regard to the major religious and cultural traditions.

Certificate / Diploma Courses: University of Mumbai approved diploma course in the area of inter-religious dialogue, religious pluralism and cultures so as to enable the participants to get to know various religions and cultures.

Local, National and International Seminars and Conferences: On a variety of issues to foster Inter-Religious and Inter-Cultural Dialogue and to sensitize teachers / students on the significance of the same.

Lectures: Lectures by distinguished persons of various religious traditions and cultures. The lectures will aim at creating better understanding among the students and participants, and promote peace and harmony.

Research: Offers the possibility for scholars to work on research papers and publications.

Inter-Collegiate Programmes: Essay and Quiz competitions, Seminars, Debates and Exhibitions.

Themes

A team of Educators who would offer inter-religious and inter-cultural perspectives.

A team of Professors who would offer reflections and approaches to promote peace and harmony for a holistic development of society.

vi Index

The Cardinal Paul Poupard Foundation iii

The Cardinal Paul Poupard Foundation:Inspired By An Open Humanism iv

Vision, Mission and Themes v

How Valuable is Energy Shift for Us? For the Integration of International Value Discussion The Complex Issues surrounding the Use of Renewable Energy Resources: A Moral Appraisal His Grace, Archbishop Felix Machado 1

Pastoral Solutions Emphasized by the Church as a Response to the Adverse Effects of the Climate Change in Asia Rev. Dr. Stephen Fernandes 10

Care of the Earth - Turning MINES TO VINES Ms. Heidi Kuhn 35

The Himalayas: Development and Protection Dr. Liu Youfa, Consul General of China in Mumbai 39

Care of Creation Fr. Francis d’Britto 47

Islam’s Approach to the Environment Dr. Zeenat Shaukat Ali 52

Spirituality and our Responsibility to Save the Planet Dr. Marie Fernandes 59

Green Economy – a Holistic Approach to Planet Earth Dr. Kashmira P. Mody 69

vii Think Green and Save the World Prof. Sharmila Dhote 75

Care of the Earth :An Islamic Perspective Prof. Ayesha Imran Gundagi 85

Hinduism and its Attachment to Mother Earth Prof. Jyoti Bhatia 93

The Zoroastrian Viwe of Ecology Dr. Homi Dhalla 103

About the Editors 117

Note on the Contributors 119

viii 1 How Valuable is Energy Shift for Us? For the Integration of International Value Discussion

The Complex Issues surrounding the Use of Renewable Energy Resources: A Moral Appraisal His Grace, Archbishop Felix Machado Introduction:

One of the biggest challenges of our century is making renewable energy accessible for everyone. Energy plays a vital role in human development. According to the International Energy Association, with regard to important energy services, there are still 1.4 billion people who do not have access to electricity and about 2.7 billion people in developing countries who rely for cooking primarily on biomass.1 The traditional use of biomass as primary cooking fuel includes wood, charcoal, tree leaves, crop residues and animal dung. Using such inefficient burning methods releases many pollutants but primarily carbon monoxide into the atmosphere. This leads to serious ailments including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and even death. Energy poverty which is the result of inefficient energy practice is an obstacle to human and economic development.2

In order to provide universal access to modern energy sources to the people, various finance resources will have to be tapped. Improved high efficiency stoves and greater energy conversion efficiency would result in emissions reductions. Further, public awareness campaigns regarding the health and other benefits of clean cooking practices will have to be undertaken. India, for example, generates 68.8 million tonnes of trash a year. Besides, more than 6,000 tonnes of plastic waste is littered and uncollected daily, adding to the soaring heaps of non-bio-degradable trash.3 This paper will explore the complex issues surrounding the use of renewable Energy Resources and then provide a moral appraisal based on the teaching of the Church. 2

Access to Sustainable Energy is essential to reduce poverty and enhance economic growth:

The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church clearly states that “the environmental crisis and poverty are connected by a complex and dramatic set of causes that can be resolved by the principle of the universal destination of goods, which offers a fundamental moral and cultural orientation. The present environmental crisis affects those who are poorest in a particular way”.4 About 1.6 billion people in the world have no access to electricity. 2.4 billion people still use wood, charcoal or dung as their principal source of energy for cooking and heating. This fuel is taking peoples’ lives. Two and a half million women and children die each year from the indoor pollution from cooking fires”.5 The World Health Organization states that approximately 2.5 million women and young children in developing countries die prematurely each year from breathing the fumes from indoor biomass stoves.6

Without adequate energy, the poor will continue to remain poor and the sick will be deprived of essential services. Poor people are most affected by global warming as they do not have the resources to cope up with climate change crisis. It is a known fact that nursing homes, hospitals need electricity for essential services such as storing vaccines, medicines and carrying out various operations and medical procedures. Many people still spend hours daily to carry water and collect firewood since they have outdated coking stoves and no proper water pumps. Hence many people are exposed to indoor air pollution. For energy supply to be sustainable, they must at least fulfill the basic criteria. It must be “clean; safe; efficient; reliable; affordable; available for the long term; not obstructive; not discriminating”.7 There is an urgent need today to prevent deforestation and to develop energy initiatives and encouraging use of renewable energy sources such as hydro power, wind power, biomass, solar energy (heating and photovoltaic) and geothermal energy. Such methods will have a positive impact on climate change.

Current cooking practices and health consequences

72% of the total population of India and 90% in rural areas use biomass for cooking. Everyday millions of Indian women spend a lot of time cooking their rice, dal and 3 curry in a traditional clay cook stove called a chulha. Cooking in the pot adds flavor to the food but the smoke burns their eyes and blackens the pots used. Veerabhadran Ramanathan, a climatologist professor at the University of California, San Diego, say the black carbon (soot) from the smoke contributes to anthropogenic climate change.8 Providing a clean cooking energy option would reduce the products of incomplete combustion and help combat climate change.9 Hence, the Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) launched a Special project on Cookstove and a National Biomass Cookstove Initiative (NBCI) at New Delhi in December 2009 to enhance the use of biomass cookstoves. The World Health Organization (WHO) clearly stated in the 2006 report Fuel for Life: Household Energy and Health that “day in and day out, and for hours at a time, women and their small children breathe in amounts of smoke equivalent to consuming two packs of cigarettes per day”. The world’s deadliest pollution does not come from factories billowing smoke, but comes from within people’s own homes. According to WHO risk factor estimates accompanying the report The Global Burden of Disease, breathing the smoke from traditional cook stoves and open fires kills nearly two million people each year and sickens millions, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).10

Waste Management (including radioactive waste)

On the one hand, the rapid growth of technological and industrial processes has led to the generation of electricity, the production of chemicals for the protection of crops and curing diseases and the creation of nuclear power. However, on the other hand they have negative impact on health and environment. Many of these processes of technology lead to the production of waste which not only contain toxic elements that are unrecyclable, harmful and hazardous but have the long term consequences of depleting the ozone layer of the atmosphere and impacting climate changes. Further, these negative consequences affect not only the present generation but also the future generations to come.11 What is needed most today is the formulation and implementation of environmental protection policies to curb the negative effects of the technological and industrial development. We also need an effective and ethical waste management policy that not only protects our future generations from harm but also gives them at least the same level of safety that our generation has today, if not more. The disposal of waste in the air and water should be subject to strict 4 control by the State. In this regard it is important to keep the principle in mind, viz, that current generations producing wastes should bear, to the extent possible, the responsibility to manage it.12 We are also responsible for our future generations and have no right to pass on risks and hazards to them.13 The Compendium on the Social Doctrine of the Church clearly states that “scientists and technicians involved in the field of biotechnology are called to work intelligently and with perseverance in seeking the best solutions to the serious and urgent problems of food supply and health care. They must not forget that their activity concerns material - both living and inanimate - that belongs to the patrimony of humanity and is destined also to future generations”.14 In this regard, scientists are to employ their energies and abilities in research that is guided by a clear and honest conscience.15

Abolition of nuclear weapons

Last year the United Nations General Assembly announced the starting of an International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. Hence, this year on 26 September 2014 the very first Nuclear Abolition Day was organized by ICAN (International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons) to foster public awareness about the grave nuclear threat to humanity and in particular to world peace. The International Committee of the Red Cross aptly stated that “Nuclear weapons are unique in their destructive power, in the unspeakable human suffering they cause, in the impossibility of controlling their effects in space and time, and in the threat they pose to the environment, to future generations, and indeed to the survival of humanity”.16 This year to mark the 69th anniversary of August 1945 Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings various events were held worldwide to press for peace. The production, testing and use of nuclear weapons not only leads to unimaginable consequences, including immense suffering and death but also results in long term environmental harm. Perhaps the only devices that can destroy all complex forms of life on earth are nuclear weapons.17 The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church clearly teaches us that “arms of mass destruction - whether biological, chemical or nuclear - represent a particularly serious threat. Those who possess them have an enormous responsibility before God and all of humanity.18 Further, “the principle of the non-proliferation of nuclear arms, together with measures of nuclear disarmament and the prohibition of nuclear tests, are intimately 5 interconnected objectives that must be met as soon as possible by means of effective controls at the international level”.19

Church Teaching on Environmental Stewardship and Use of Renewable Energy

The environmental crisis is an invitation to us as to how we use and share the goods of the earth, what we pass on to future generations, and how we live in harmony with God’s creation. We have just examined some of the many negative effects of environmental degradation. Poor people are the most disadvantaged. Many of them suffer from loss of soil fertility, pollution of rivers and destruction of forest resources. We have also seen the link between a depleting ecology and poverty. Since the natural resources are limited and some of them are not renewable, economic development must consider “the need to respect the integrity and the cycles of nature”.20 At the 25th General Conference of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United nations (FAO), Pope John Paul II emphasized that every economic activity making use of natural resources must also be concerned with safeguarding the environment and should foresee the costs involved, which are an essential element of the actual cost of economic activity”.21

In the Social Encyclical Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, Pope John Paul II noted that the present way of the exploitation of resources is seriously compromising the availability of some natural resources for both the present and the future.22 The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church clearly states that “solutions to the ecological problem require that economic activity respect the environment to a greater degree, reconciling the needs of economic development with those of environmental protection…In this context, one considers relations between human activity and climate change which, given their extreme complexity, must be opportunely and constantly monitored at the scientific, political and juridical, national and international levels”.23

In the beginning, “God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good” (Gen 1:31). The Catechism of the Catholic Church has emphasized the fact that each of us humans are specially created by God in his image and likeness: “Man is the summit of the Creator’s work, as the inspired account expresses by 6 clearly distinguishing the creation of man from that of the other creatures.”.24 The Catechism goes on to state that “the order and harmony of the created world results from the diversity of beings and from the relationships which exist among them. Man discovers them progressively as the laws of nature. They call forth the admiration of scholars. The beauty of creation reflects the infinite beauty of the Creator and ought to inspire the respect and submission of man’s intellect and will”.25 The Second Vatican Council declared that Scripture enables us to “recognize the inner nature, the value, and the ordering of the whole of creation to the praise of God”.26 In the words of the Psalmist:

When I see the heavens, the work of your hands, the moon and the stars which you arranged, what is man that you should keep him in mind, mortal man that you care for him? Yet you have made him little less than a god, with glory and honor you crowned him, gave him power over the works of your hand, put all things under his feet. All of them, sheep and cattle, yes, even the savage beasts– birds of the air, and fish that make their way through the waters. (Ps. 8:3—8)

Saint Francis of Assisi, patron saint of those who promote ecology, encouraged his followers and all people to contemplate creation and to praise God “in all creatures and from all creatures”.27 Pope Francis, in his homily at the Inaugural Mass of his Petrine Ministry, encouraged each of us to protect creation and the beauty of the created world. He said that we must respect our environment and show our loving concern for each and every person, especially children, the elderly and those in need.28 In Centesimus Annus, Saint John Paul II aptly remarked that “too little effort is made to safeguard the moral conditions for an authentic ‘human ecology’. Not only has God given the earth to man, who must use it with respect for the original good purpose for which it was given, but man too is God’s gift to man. He must therefore respect the natural and moral structure with which he has been endowed”.29 In Catholic Social Teaching, the principle of the universal common good is necessary for the establishing of an environmental ethic. In ”The Ecological Crisis: A Common 7

Responsibility”, his 1990 World Day of Peace Message, Pope John Paul II wrote, “Today the ecological crisis has assumed such proportions as to be the responsibility of everyone. . . . Its various aspects demonstrate the need for concerted efforts aimed at establishing the duties and obligations that belong to individuals, peoples, States and the international community”.30

I would like to conclude with the words of the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church: “Serious ecological problems call for an effective change of mentality leading to the adoption of new lifestyles,[1012] “in which the quest for truth, beauty, goodness and communion with others for the sake of the common good are the factors that determine consumer choices, savings and investments”. These lifestyles should be inspired by sobriety, temperance, and self-discipline at both the individual and social levels. There is a need to break with the logic of mere consumption and promote forms of agricultural and industrial production that respect the order of creation and satisfy the basic human needs of all”.31 “Modern ecological problems are of a planetary dimension and can be effectively resolved only through international cooperation capable of guaranteeing greater coordination in the use of the earth’s resources”.32

(Footnotes)

1 International Energy Association, the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, Energy Poverty. How to make modern energy access universal? Special early excerpt of the World Energy Outlook 2010 for the UN General Assembly on the Millennium Development Goals, Paris Cedex, 2010, page 7 and 22. 2 Pollution Indoors in ‘The Hindu”, e paper, 22 December 2012. 3 Amulya Gopalkrishnan, Can Modi deliver a Clean India? In India Today, Vol. XXXIX, no. 41, 13 October 2014, pg. 23. 4 Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 482. 5 ITDG, IT Consultants, IT Power and ITDG Latin America, Sustainable Energy for Poverty Reductio n: An Action Plan. Web: https://practicalaction.org/docs/advocacy/itdg-greenpeace- study.pdf 6 UNDP, UNDESA and World Energy Council (2002) quoted in the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook 2000. See also http://www.allafrica.com 8

7 Herman Damveld, Robert Jan Van den Berg, Nuclear Waste and Nuclear Ethics, Social and ethical Aspects of the retrievable storage of Nuclear Waste, January 2000. 8 Tina Adler, Better Burning, Better Breathing: Improving Health with Cleaner Cook Stoves in Environment Health Perspectives, Mar 2010; 118(3): A124–A129. 9 Government of India, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, National Biomass Cookstoves Programme (NBCP), Sept 2014. 10 Larisa Brown and Michelle Nichols, Smoke from family stoves kill two million people a year in The Independent, 10 October 2014. 11 Nuclear Energy Agency (within the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), The Environmental and Ethical Basis of Geological Disposal of Long-Lived Radioactive Wastes, Paris. See web: https://www.oecd-nea.org/.../ethical-environmental- considerations.html. 12 US National Research Council. The Disposal of Radioactive Waste on Land. National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council, Washington, September 1957. 13 Cfr. Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium on the Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 467. 14 Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium on the Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 477. 15 Cf. John Paul II, Address to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences (23 October 1982): Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II, V, 3 (1982), 889-893. John Paul II, Address to the participants in a convention sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences, for the bicentenary of its foundation (21 September 1982): Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II, V, 3 (1982), 511-515. 16 International Committee of the Red Cross, 2010. 17 See http://www.icanw.org/why-a-ban/arguments-for-a-ban/ 18 Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 509. Also Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 80: AAS 58 (1966), 1104; Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2314; John Paul II, Message for the 1986 World Day of Peace, 2: AAS 78 (1986), 280. 19 Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 509. Also Cf. John Paul II, Address to the Diplomatic Corps (13 January 1996), 7: L’Osservatore Romano, English edition, 17 January 1996, p. 2. 20 John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 26: AAS 80 (1988), 546. 21 Pope John Paul II, Address to the Twenty-Fifth General Conference of FAO (16 November 1989), 8: AAS 82 (1990), 673. 22 Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis,34: AAS 80 (1988), 559-560. 9

23 Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 470. 24 Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 343. 25 Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 341. 26 The Second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium (November 21, 1964), 36.2. 27 Saint Bonaventure, Legenda Major 4.3. See also Omar Englebert, Saint Francis of Assisi: A Biography (Chicago: Franciscan Herald Press, 1965). 28 Pope Francis, Homily at the Inaugural Mass of his Petrine Mnistry, 19 March 2013. 29 Pope John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, no. 38. 30 Pope John Paul II, 1990 World Day of Peace Message. 31 Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 486. 32 Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 481. 10 Pastoral Solutions Emphasized by the Catholic Church as a Response to the Adverse Effects of Climate Change in Asia

Rev. Dr. Stephen Fernandes

Introduction:

The last decade of the twentieth century was the warmest ever, and the first decade of the twenty-first century is expected to be hotter still. All these changes will result in devastating impacts with a high socio-economic toll. Climate change is threatening agriculture, especially in developing countries where farming is dominated by small- scale farmers. These growers typically own marginal land and rely on rainfall to sustain their livelihoods. According to the FAO, extreme weather events such as flooding and storms can “contaminate freshwater and damage facilities used by farmers to store and carry water”.1 Climate change also poses severe risks to food security.

In the Asian continent, for example, Bangladesh is very vulnerable to climate change. Sea-level rise and coastal inundations is a very probable picture of the land. A significant portion of the deltaic country of Bangladesh gets flooded on a yearly basis. About 21 per cent of the population, or 30 million out of the 130 million Bangladeshis, live in coastal areas vulnerable to sea-level rise. At the same time, 36 per cent of Bangladeshis live on less than one dollar a day. What will happen in Bangladesh when climate change occurs – i.e. when global warming increases the average temperature of the earth by more than 2oC and sea levels will rise about one metre – is clearly devastating.2 The world requires massive and coordinated global efforts through diplomacy, projects and financing to prevent vulnerable countries like Bangladesh from feeling the worst irreversible impacts of climate change.

Nepal was devastated by drought for 3 consecutive years. In 2007 the land was swept by floods. This lethal combination inflicted widespread damage. 44 of Nepal’s 75 districts were inundated due to heavy rain. The rising waters and accompanying landslides killed 130 people and destroyed 70,000 homes. 11

Globally, more than 250 million are directly hurt by land degradation, sparked by factors such as climate change, soil erosion, over-farming and the deterioration of the physical, chemical, biological and economic properties of soil, according to an October 2008 report from the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) High-Level Policy Dialogue in Bonn. Asia is the worst hit in terms of the number of people afflicted by desertification and drought.3

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change provides the following analysis of Climate Change in Asia: Asia has the highest population of any continent in the world, and partly as a consequence it faces some of the most difficult environmental and socio-economic challenges. Land and ecosystems are already being degraded and would ultimately undermine food security. Water and air quality are deteriorating while continued increases in consumption and associated waste have contributed to the region’s existing environmental problems. The region is also highly subject to natural hazards, such as the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, the 2005 Pakistan Earthquake, and the 2006 landslides in the Philippines.4 There is evidence of increases in the intensity and frequency of many extreme weather events such as heat waves, tropical cyclones, prolonged dry spells, intense rainfall, thunderstorms, and severe dust storms in the region (Cruz et al. 2007).5 The impacts of such disasters range from hunger and disease, to loss of income and livelihoods, affecting human survival and well-being. For example the extreme weather events in China during 2006 included major storms and flooding in the east and south, as well as heat and drought in central, western and north-eastern regions, killing more that 2700 people and causing USD 20 billion in damages. Climate change will affect many sectors, including water resources, agriculture and food security, ecosystems and biodiversity, human health and coastal zones.6

Under climate change, predicted rainfall increases over most of Asia, particularly during the summer monsoon, could increase flood-prone areas in East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia. In Central and South Asia, crop yields are predicted to fall by up to 30 per cent, creating a very high risk of hunger in several countries. Global warming is causing the melting of glaciers in the Himalayas. In the short term, this means increased risk of flooding, erosion and mudslides in Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and north India during the wet season.7 Throughout Asia one billion 12 people could face water shortage leading to drought and land degradation by the 2050’s.8

The global burden of climate change-attributable diarrhoea and malnutrition are already the largest in the world in Southeast Asian countries including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Myanmar and Nepal in 2000. Illness and death are expected to increase from diarrhoeal diseases due to drought and flooding, and are also expected from increased amounts of cholera bacteria in coastal waters.9 The Indian National Crime Records Bureau data recorded 16,632 cases of farmers committing suicide in 2007 due to crop failure caused by lack of water, the global economic meltdown and uncertainty in local markers over the prices of commodities like cotton and soya bean.

Among Asian countries, Vietnam will be one of the most severely impacted by Climate Change, because of its long coast which is vulnerable to storms and seas, and because of its large low lying areas in the southern Mekong Delta, which is the country’s largest rice-producing area. The International Centre for Environmental Management (ICEM, 2007) 10 shows the impact of a one metre sea-level rise (SLR) in the Mekong Delta area.

According to the World Health Organization: “Overall, the effects of global climate change are predicted to be heavily concentrated in poorer populations at low latitudes, where the most important climate-sensitive health outcomes (malnutrition, diarrhea and malaria) are already common, and where vulnerability to climate effects is greatest. These diseases mainly affect younger age groups, so that the total burden of disease due to climate change appears to be borne mainly by children in developing countries.” In this regard, Pope Benedict XVI insists that the earth “must not be bequeathed to future generations depleted of its resources”11

Further, it is feared that multinational companies, will get easy access to natural resources in Asia and they may not be sensitive to the environment, nor towards the livelihood interests of the local communities. A policy framework is needed to regulate the use of natural resources to a sustainable level and to encourage their regeneration and to protect the rights of the local communities. This would ensure 13 the economic use of natural resources and would prevent environmental degradation and accentuation of poverty.12 The restoration and rehabilitation of degraded resources like land and forests have high potential for employment generation and poverty reduction. One of the consequences of large amounts of foreign capital entering the economy is a skewed development of tourism. India is fast becoming a medical tourism hub. This does bring forex into the economy but the accessibility of poor to health-infrastructure and facilities is reduced. Again, with the virgin lands being developed for tourism, the fragile ecological diversity is destructed.

The growing environmental crisis in the recent years is posing a great challenge to Asia. There is a greater awareness today that the goods of the earth cannot be used as it was unfortunately used in the past. Many countries, states and people are consuming the very earth on which our very livelihood depends. The growing phenomenon of climate change and natural disasters call into question our use of the earth’s resources. Pope Paul VI in Populorum Progressio asserts that “the whole of creation is ordered in the first place towards its creator and the rationality of humans is directed not to using nature in a thoughtless way but to a recognition of God’s plan and thus to the ‘prior God-given purpose’ of nature”13.

The environment affects the nation’s economy at all levels. Industrial and economic sectors depend on the natural resources. Climatic shocks, like droughts or floods, land degradation, soil erosion and industrial pollution have a negative impact an economy. Human development is obviously linked to health and the root causes of health problems are often linked to environmental conditions. Hence, each one of us is called to examine the choices we make and our lifestyle, and how we can be responsible stewards of God’s beautiful creation.

Food Insecurity leading to hunger, malnutrition, ill health in Asia

The environment and human development are inexorably linked. According to WHO, which maintains that household food and nutrition security are basic human rights, nutrition security exists when food security is combined with a sanitary environment, adequate health services and proper care and feeding practices to ensure a healthy life for everyone14. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations 14

(FAO) estimates that globally about one billion people, or around 17% of the world’s population, are “hungry” or undernourished. According to Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland, “Nutrition is a key element in any strategy to reduce the global burden of disease. Hunger, malnutrition, obesity and unsafe food all cause disease, and better nutrition will translate into large improvements in health among all of us, irrespective of our wealth and home country”15.

The problem of hunger in Asia has not been sufficiently addressed. A new UNICEF report has revealed that the number of chronically hungry people in South Asia has touched the figure of 400 million, aggravated by high food and fuel prices and the global economic slowdown. The report also said that more than 1.18 billion people, or three quarters of the region’s population, survive on less than $2 a day16. Governments need invest heavily in agricultural production and put more money in the hands of the poor. Wide-spread hunger also stunts the development of the economy. Hungry workers are tired, weak, and prone to falling sick. Food scarcity leads to billions of dollars in lost productivity, which leads to further food scarcity17. In 2007 and 2008 the price of rice, the staple food throughout South Asia, increased more than 70%, fueled by poor harvests resulting from extreme weather conditions in key rice-growing areas. Even in March 2011, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported that food prices reached another record high, as the price of basic food staples continued to soar18.

South Asian people usually eat rice and other food grain at every meal, which is 50 and 70% of their total daily caloric intake. Rice is the staple food for 65% of India’s one billion people. 84% of the South Asian population lives on less than $2 per day, and a near-doubling of rice prices is having a catastrophic effect. And because of the low purchasing power of South Asia’s poor, even a small increase in prices can cause a sharp fall in real incomes. In response to this crisis, major rice exporting countries such as India, China and Vietnam announced a ban on export of the grain, so that they can feed their own people. This has forced the price ever-higher, and raised fears of famine in rice-importing countries such as the Philippines, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and North Korea19. In Bangladesh, spiraling rice prices have left the people facing their worst food shortages since the major famine of 1974. Severe flooding in 2007 and also devastating cyclones Sidr in 2007 and Aila in 2008 also 15 contributed to the price rise. From that time onwards, prices have nearly doubled to about 35 taka (50 cents), while there has been no corresponding increase in wages. Myanmar, the poorest country in Southeast Asia experienced great misery a May 2008 cyclone that killed more than 130,000 people and laid waste to the delta. Burmese farmers are struggling under debt and face declining yields from their rice fields which is grown from low-quality seeds and milled in rusted factories20. Over the past 20 years, the Philippines, the world’s top most importer of milled rice in 2007, lost nearly half of its irrigated land to rapid urban development. Domestic demand for rice has risen as the population has grown, pushing up prices. President Gloria Arroyo has asked authorities to crack down on hoarders who could be charged with economic sabotage - a crime that carries a life sentence. The government has also asked the public to save leftover rice. Thailand, the world’s largest exporter of rice has enforced a rule that exporters set aside at least 500 tonnes of rice to prevent shortages. Rice prices increased by more than 50% in 2007 and have doubled since the beginning of 2008. Though China has an abundant supply of rice to feed its population of more than 1.3 billion, it had stockpiled about 40-50 million tonnes of rice and clamped export restrictions which have had a big impact on importers including North Korea21. Half of Pakistan’s people are at risk of food shortages due to a steep increase in food prices, according to the World Food Program. The price of wheat flour has more than doubled over three years. 24% of the Pakistan population lives below international poverty line22.

Denudation and Appropriation of Land and Forests in Asia

30 percent of Nepal’s rural population is landless, most of who are Dalits who live in extreme poverty and starvation, whereas 54 percent are tenants on the land. For example, 70 percent of the Gandharva community of Dalits are landless and face chronic hunger. The Nepali government has failed to redistribute land to the landless even though in 2008-09 it formed a High Level Scientific Land Reform Commission in order to abolish feudal land ownership.

Deforestation is the most serious and widespread problem in the Asian and Pacific region. Its rate has accelerated from 2 million hectares per year during 1976-1981 to 3.9 million hectares per year during 1981-1990. The countries experiencing the 16 most rapid deforestation are Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, Philippines, and Thailand.23 There are many reasons for deforestation, but a major reason is that the commercial timber companies strip the forests and hills of trees, and the poor peasants living on the flood plains suffer the most.24 Another reason is the cutting of the wood from the forest for fuelwood. However, according to the assistant director general of FAO’s forestry department, for the first time, the rate of deforestation has decreased globally as a result of concerted efforts taken both at local and international level. Over the 10-year period from 2000 to 2010, Asia registered a net gain of some 2.2 million hectares annually in the last decade, mainly because of large-scale afforestation programmes in China, India and Vietnam. The growth of new forests has helped bring down the high level of carbon emissions from forests caused by deforestation and forest degradation25.

Until recently, large areas of India, like the rest of the world, were covered with thick forests. Great Civilizations were built where these forests flourished, in the valleys of its great rivers, like the Ganga, the Yamuna and the Indus. These were civilizations that reached a high degree of sophistication, and urbanization. Unfortunately, there has been large scale destruction of these forests. However, even today there are diverse and extremely sustainable forest cultures that survive and flourish in the areas where the forests still exist. Across India one has also seen many people’s movements where communities have voluntarily come together for the purpose of conservation or in response to environment and ecological crises.

Studies have established beyond doubt that the large scale destruction of the forests was started by the British, India’s colonial ruler. This large scale destruction of the forests in India is rooted in the commercially oriented forest use and ownership policies of the British government which continued even after India gained independence in 1947. After independence, agricultural expansion, which was often state sponsored, was the other major cause of deforestation. What has been even worse was that development projects alienated the communities living in the forests, depriving them of their basic sources of survival, forcing them to move away and in the process making them refugees in their own land26. 17

In this regard, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands make an interesting case study. The islands are clothed in thick evergreen forests that are home to a large biodiversity and also have some of the finest mangroves and coral reefs found in the world. The islands are also home to six indigenous tribal communities. Their knowledge and understanding of the forests is extensive and they share a close relationship with it. The British were responsible for starting forestry operations in these islands. After independence, thousands of people were brought from mainland India and settled here as a continuation of the colonisation scheme. Consequently, the growth in the timber extraction operations corresponds directly to the growth in the population of the islands. This destruction of the forests for the extraction of timber was in addition to the clear felling that was done for the settlements themselves.

As the population of migrants on the islands grew there was a need for the government to create employment opportunities for the people. The abundant forests and the timber within it became the obvious source for the generation of both income and employment. Thus, timber based industries sprang up. The profits made and the incentives offered by the administration encouraged the plywood mills to go in for substantial augmentation of their production capacities. Today, however, with growing awareness, intervention by the courts and change in policies, logging in the islands appears to be reducing. The people who have suffered the most in these islands are the indigenous communities for whom the forests are home. This has resulted from the combined impacts of the destruction of the forests and the imposition of an alien and insensitive culture that brought along with it various diseases and other vices such as alcohol and tobacco.

In advocating care for the environment, the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church (henceforth will be called as the Compendium) states that the destruction of forests also through the inconsiderate and malicious setting of fires, accelerates the processes of desertification with risky consequences for water reserves and compromises the lives of many indigenous peoples and the well-being of future generations.27 18

Land degradation

Land degradation is also widespread in Asia. Most of the developing countries in Asia suffer from soil erosion and degradation due to high deforestation, poor irrigation and drainage practices, inadequate soil conservation, steep slopes, and overgrazing.28 In India alone, about 18 percent of the total agricultural land is affected. In the dry belt stretching from Iran to Pakistan and India, wind erosion causes extensive and severe land degradation. About 59 million hectares are affected by wind erosion in the countries of South Asia alone, as well as in Afghanistan and Iran.29 Landslides have been severe in countries like India, Nepal, and Thailand. Some factors associated with landslides are heavy rainfall, volcanic activity, deforestation, overpumping of groundwater, compressibility of the soil and infrastructural activities such as road construction, and mining activities. In referring to lands subject to erosion and other such issues, the Compendium gives an important principle: “The environmental crisis and poverty are connected by a complex and dramatic set of causes that can be resolved by the principle of the universal destination of goods, which offers a fundamental moral and cultural orientation.”30

A few measures to deal with this problem can be considered. Migration of people from mainland India should be discouraged. Subsidies that make the timber industry profitable should be stopped. The tribals should be involved in conservation and wildlife protection activities. They should also be educated and made aware of the beauty and fragility of the forests, the cost of destruction of the forests and their rights31. In promoting care for the environment, the Compendium states that the destruction of forests also through the inconsiderate and malicious setting of fires accelerates the processes of desertification with risky consequences for water reserves and compromises the lives of many indigenous peoples and the well-being of future generations32.

Farmer’s Livelihood at stake in Asia and particularly in India

From 1997 to 2009, 200,000 farmers ended their lives in India, leaving behind families plunged even further into poverty and with no one to work in the fields, a very tragic phenomenon. Farmer suicides is partly due to an increase their 19 indebtedness caused by the rising of costs of production and the falling prices of farm commodities as a result of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO’s) free trade policies33. The crisis of suicides shows how the survival of farmers is incompatible with the seed monopolies of global corporations. The region in India with the highest level of farmers’ suicides is the Vidharbha region in the state of Maharashtra - 4000 suicides per year, 10 per day according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in India. In another Indian state, Chattisgarh which was hit by falling water levels from above 40 feet to below 250 feet, led to crop failure and over 1500 farmers committed suicide34. Nearly every day, newspapers report more farmer suicides in Andhra Pradesh, an Indian state of 80 million people where 70 percent of the population depends on agriculture - and which has suffered badly from weak monsoon rains35. A study carried out by the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology (RFSTE), Dehra Dun, India shows that due to falling farm prices, Indian peasants are losing $26 billion annually. This is a burden on their daily livelihood and they find it difficult to accept it. A spate of suicides in poor rural areas of Sri Lanka has drawn attention to the terrible social conditions and economic difficulties confronting farmers in many parts of the country36.

However, farmer suicides are nor inevitable and there is much hope. This would mean that farmers are helped to make the transition of shifting from chemical farming to organic farming and from using non renewable seeds to using organic seeds. Further, a shift from unfair trade based on false prices to fair trade based on real and just prices necessitated by the State. About 3000 villages in southern India have benefited by giving up the use chemical pesticides and practicing organic farming. Enabavi, a village of 52 families, in Andhra Pradesh, India is hosting farmers from the nearby Kallem village for tips on profitable agriculture. Pesticide-free tomatoes, okra, brinjals, gooseberries, chillies, leafy vegetables and other vegetables are grown through non-pesticidal management, called NPM vegetables. Farmers are learning ways of increasing productivity without applying synthetic chemicals. These fresh stocks are bought off immediately and farmers experience a rise in their income. Further, farmers no longer have to spray pesticides and hence no longer complain of giddiness, skin problems, breathlessness and burning sensation in the eyes37. 20

In Mater et Magistra, Saint Pope John XXIII in speaking of the common good, repeated the teaching of Pius XI of the need “to maintain a balance between wages and prices”38 and of “a reasonable relationship between the prices obtained for the products of the various economic groups: agrarian, industrial, and so forth”39. Like Pius XI, he based this teaching of his on the principle of the common good. However, he developed and extended the teaching of Pius XI. According to him, the State and public authorities have an expanded role in coping with social problems40. When he examined agriculture as a sector of the economy, he discovered that it was unjustly treated in comparison with other sectors41. So he proposed an expanded role for it in dealing with special difficulties of those working in agriculture42 - price support43 and price regulation44 and even directing the industry into rural areas45. The principle that the Pope suggested may be applicable to unfairness in other sectors of the economy- namely, that the responsibility for the price structure rests with various social groups and the State46. Thus, the Pope gave a mandate for this extra involvement by the State in his desire to curb injustices in the economy.

Having great concern for the agricultural labourer, including the farmer, the Compendium underlines the important social, cultural and economic role that they have in the economic systems of many countries, especially in the context of an ever more globalized economy as well as their role in safeguarding the natural environment47. Hence, agrarian reform becomes a moral obligation48.

Disastrous Consequences of Climate Change and Global Warming in South Asia

Climate change is one of the most challenging crises affecting the future of our generations. The climate change phenomenon is a complex one. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the Asia Pacific region is the world’s largest producer of aquatic products and employs at least 32 million people. The region accounts for some 51 percent of global fisheries production and close to 90 percent of global aquaculture and employs 85 percent of world’s total fishers and aquaculture farmers. Many fishing households which rely on the fish they produce for basic income are already under stress from overfishing, habitat degradation and 21 pollution, and now are facing added anxiety from climate change including severe weather events, storms and droughts, declining stocks of fresh water. Climate change could lead to livelihood loss, increased poverty and malnutrition, and conflict over fish stocks in the Asia Pacific region’s fisheries and aquaculture sector49.

The widespread loss of snow and ice in the Himalayan mountain glaciers is one of the most visible changes attributable to global climate change. Many small glaciers are disintegrating and both the greenhouse gases and air pollutants like soot and ozone contribute to the melting50. Global warming is certainly shrinking the Himalayan glaciers and is leading to the rapid swelling of Himalayan glacial lakes and a high risk of floods in Nepal. Hence, glacial lakes in Nepal are increasingly at risk of bursting the natural dams containing them - endangering the lives of tens of thousands people. The glacial lakes are growing so quickly that the risk of a disaster occurring throughout the Himalayas is increasing. The Nepalese regime has identified about 20 “priority” lakes at risk of leading to glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), which not only move very fast but also carry great big boulders that can push down rock walls, destroy river banks and cause rivers downstream to rise up to 35 metres, destroying everything in their path51. The Nepalese government, in coordination with the World Bank, the UNDP, ICIMOD and local NGOs, has been trying to monitor and mitigate the threat, by using methods such as controlled breaching of the dam, pumping or siphoning water from the lake, or tunnelling through or under the barrier and various methods to reduce the volume of water in some of the lakes. Recommendations included the immediate reduction of worldwide carbon dioxide emissions and reduction of concentrations of warming air pollutants such as soot, ozone, methane and hydroflurocarbons52.

The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) predicts that temperatures in the Himalayan region will increase by 0.9 degrees Celsius on 1970s levels, to 2.6 degrees, by the 2030s and rainfall intensity will increase from 2% to 12%. There is evidence to suggest that this rising temperatures in the Himalayan region could make many new areas vulnerable to malaria transmission53. People will also become more vulnerable to water-borne diseases like diarrhea. Unfortunately one area that is still not getting the attention it deserves is the health impacts of global warming. 22

Studies carried out by scientists at the NIMR - one of the leading nstitutes under the Indian Council of Medical Research suggest that climate change will significantly increase both the intensity and geographic spread of malaria and other vector-borne diseases in areas which have been largely insulated from them in the past. Urgent action needs to be taken in this regard. Health awareness programmes for the people in these hilly remote areas needs to be undertaken54.

Asia is more and more embracing environmentally-friendly technologies. Many Asian companies are focusing on how best to recycle waste products and innovate new technologies to bring about renewable energy development, better waste management and water treatment. China is spending tens of billions of dollars every year on renewable energy projects. Its latest five-year economic plan commits to stringent renewable energy targets55. The Polygenta processing plant in Nashik, India, recycles plastic bottles from patented technology to make polyester fibre. According to the company, the process is more cost efficient and the resulting polyester is of higher quality56.

About one-third of the food produced globally for human consumption each year is wasted, according to a report from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The FAO found that about 1.3bn tonnes of food is wasted somewhere along the supply chain each year, with wealthier consumers in North America and Europe wasting nearly twice as much as those in poorer countries. While most food wastage in richer nations occurs on a consumer level, in developing countries about 40 percent of wastage happens at the post-harvest or processing level due to poor infrastructure and lack of investment in food production systems. According to FAO, food loss and waste amount to a major squandering of resources, including water, land, energy, labor and capital and needlessly produce greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to global warming and climate change. Developing countries in Asia should strengthen their processing, packaging and transportation infrastructure, and create better links between small farmers and buyers. Consumers should be educated about the impacts of food wastage and taught that throwing away food is unacceptable57.

The “India Water Forum” (IWF) 2011 organized by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)58 in April 2011 gave a clarion call to bring water into the global and 23 national agenda in order to meet the challenges of water security posed by the threat of climate change. South Asia with its 2.5 billion people is facing water scarcity as a result of which many people do not have access to sufficient drinking water and sanitation. With the burgeoning population, water stress will only grow. For example, demand for water resources in India is expected to double and exceed 1.4 trillion cubic meters by 2050. Pakistan faces the greatest water crunch. According to the Economic Survey of Pakistan 2006-07, water supply was just over 1000 cubic metres per person. A fall below the mark would make it a water scarce country. Climate change in the Himalayan basin increases tremendously the problem of water insecurity. Further, most of South Asian countries are agrarian economies requiring water-fed irrigation facilities. Water resources are also required to feed the growing demands of industrialization and urbanization. The thirst for energy, especially hydro- power is widespread and pressing. Further, gross mismanagement of water resources and lack of adequate water storage facilities aggravate the water situation in the region. It is imperative for these Asian countries to develop their own efficient water management systems and learn how to minimize wastage and ensure conservation. Bilateral, regional and multilateral cooperation are essential59.

Climate change in India stems from poor water management, regional mistrust and vested interest in the water sector. Since Cancun, the dramatic news or change is that the Environment and Forest Ministries of India and China have decided that a cleaner, better environment is good for growth. The Compendium clearly states that “the right to safe drinking water is a universal and inalienable right”60 In admitting that inadequate access to safe drinking water often causes diseases, suffering and even death, it recommended that “for a suitable solution to the problem, it must be set in context in order to establish moral criteria based precisely on the value of life and the respect for the rights and dignity of all human beings”.61

The Compendium also urges that every State “should also actively endeavour within its own territory to prevent destruction of the atmosphere and biosphere, by carefully monitoring, among other things, the impact of new technological or scientific advances ... [and] ensuring that its citizens are not exposed to dangerous pollutants or toxic wastes”.62 24

The ruthless exploitation of the earth’s resources may benefit a few people but has adverse effects on the masses in Asia. The absolute thirst for profits over the dignity of the human person and unbridled technological development divorced from integral human development are the root causes that are alienating us from our natural environment. In his 1990 World Day of Peace Message, Saint Pope John Paul II affirms that the ecological crisis is “a profound moral crisis of which the destruction of the environment is only one troubling aspect”63. In this regard he urged that we must go to the heart of the ecological degradation. Saint Pope John Paul II advocated an education in ecological responsibility because “we are all really responsible for all”64. In this regard the Magisterium underscores human responsibility for the preservation of a sound and healthy environment for all,65 and consequently the Compendium urges the need to eliminate the causes of pollution and to guarantee adequate conditions of hygiene and health for small groups as well as for vast human settlements.66

After stating that poor countries lack the economic means either to gain access to existing sources of non-renewable energy or to finance research into new alternatives, Pope Benedict XVI then urged the international community to find institutional means of regulating the exploitation of non-renewable resources of these poor countries. He also called for a worldwide redistribution of energy resources.67 His encyclical Caritas in Veritate expressed the hope that that the international community and individual governments will succeed in countering harmful ways of treating the environment. The covenant between human beings and the environment should mirror the creative love of God, from whom we come and towards whom we are journeying. 68 Pope benedict XVI clearly stated that individuals in rich countries must change their lifestyles and their consumption without responsibility if the world’s resources are to be protected. Caritas in Veritate observed that the phenomenon of international tourism could be a major factor in economic development and cultural growth, but can also become an occasion for exploitation and moral degradation. People are often exposed to immoral or even perverted forms of conduct, as in the case of so-called sex tourism, to which many human beings are sacrificed even at a tender age.69 25

Environment Protection is Necessary for Development

Pope Paul VI in Populorum Progressio also emphasized that “the whole of creation is ordered in the first place towards its creator and the rationality of humans is directed not to using nature in a thoughtless way but to a recognition of God’s plan and thus to the ‘prior God-given purpose’ of nature”.70

The environment affects the nation’s economy at all levels. Industrial and economic sectors depend on the natural resources. Climatic shocks, like droughts or floods, land degradation, soil erosion and industrial pollution can severely affect an economy. Human development is obviously linked to health and the root causes of health problems are often linked to environmental conditions.

In Asia, “lack of access to potable water, inadequate sanitation facilities, poor water management and inappropriate waste management of effluents are major environmental and health problems. Agricultural and industrial chemicals and pollutants, like pesticides, can affect the health of populations. Land degradation, desertification, droughts, earthquakes, hurricanes and floods can create disease, famine or malnutrition in certain areas”.71

Water Pollution and Lack of safe drinking water Vs. Responsible care in the Chemical Industry

Of the 1.1 billion people using water from unimproved sources, nearly two thirds live in Asia. In 2005, 1.6 million children under age 5 (an average of 4500 every day) died from the consequences of unsafe water and inadequate hygiene. Quality of and access to water has an enormous impact on the health of populations and thus their human development.72 The primary sources of organic matter pollution are domestic sewage and industrial pollution from tanneries, sugar factories, distilleries, petrochemicals and paper and textile factories. South Asia and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) are most severely affected by organic matter pollution due mainly to waste from the pulp, paper, and food industries. The waste products from the mining industry and the industrial areas where pollutants are discharged directly into neighboring river systems have resulted in heavy metal pollution throughout the Asian region.73 Coastal and marine water pollution in the 26

South East Asian region are due to direct discharge from rivers, drainage from port areas, domestic and industrial effluent discharges and various contaminants from ships. Rivers in the region are contaminated with municipal sewage and industrial waste. Asian rivers account for nearly 50 percent of the total sediment load transported by the world’s rivers.74

Meeting the water and sanitation targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will be one of the most effective means of raising the health and general living standards of many of the world’s poor.75 Safe drinking water and basic sanitation are very essential to health that they risk being taken for granted.76 “Efforts to prevent death from diarrhoea and other diseases are doomed to failure unless people have access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. For example, ground water is the main source of drinking water in India and Bangladesh. The arsenic concentration in groundwater in these areas are in excess of the WHO guidelines. People drinking such water are at a risk of arsenical dermatosis – black spots, eruptions and cracking of the skin. Both the governments introduced consultations and action plans to deal with this public health issue.77 The recent Thimphu Declaration realized that the impact of the threats on human health has serious implications for morbidity and mortality, and would delay internationally agreed upon development goals.78

The Daly Index has established a disease burden due to environmental risk showing the relative effects of water-borne diseases on life expectancy in developing countries.79 A shortage of clean water and inadequate facilities for the disposal of human excreta, waste water and solid wastes contribute to the development of gastrointestinal infections, such as diarrhea, and facilitate the spread of infectious disease. Poor water quality, a limited quantity of water, poor excreta disposal practices and poor food hygiene are all associated with increased diarrhea prevalence in infants.80

The Compendium clearly states that “the right to safe drinking water is a universal and inalienable right”81 In admitting that inadequate access to safe drinking water often causes diseases, suffering and even death, it recommended that “for a suitable 27 solution to the problem, it must be set in context in order to establish moral criteria based precisely on the value of life and the respect for the rights and dignity of all human beings”.82 The Compendium also urges that every State “should also actively endeavour within its own territory to prevent destruction of the atmosphere and biosphere, by carefully monitoring, among other things, the impact of new technological or scientific advances ... [and] ensuring that its citizens are not exposed to dangerous pollutants or toxic wastes”.83

Air pollution from industries and vehicles

Air pollution from industries and vehicles in urban areas can have a severe impact on the rate of respiratory illnesses and health.84 As a consequence of rapid urbanization and industrialization, air pollution has become a major concern in most countries of the region. Urban air pollution is due mainly to sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and suspended particulate matter (SPM, including lead). It has a direct health impact on human beings. Further, air pollution creates three major global environmental issues: global warming, ozone depletion, and acid rain.85 10 of 11 major cities of Asia had exceeded dangerous levels of SPM. The problems of sulfur dioxide, lead, and carbon monoxide pollution were also prevalent.86 SPM and sulfur dioxide are associated with respiratory illnesses. A recent report of the WHO states that a pollutant released indoors is one thousand times more likely to reach people’s lungs than a pollutant released outdoors. About one million women and children die each year from indoor air pollution in India and amounts to 28% of such deaths worldwide.87 Even in medium and small cities, air pollution is expected to rise. Most governments are attempting to address the problem of vehicular and industrial pollution by laying down various strategies and plans.

The Magisterium underscores human responsibility for the preservation of a sound and healthy environment for all,88 and consequently the Compendium urges the need to eliminate the causes of pollution and to guarantee adequate conditions of hygiene and health for small groups as well as for vast human settlements.89 28

CONCLUSION:

There is an urgent need to promote cooperation with the non-governmental sector for the conservation of biological diversity90 and the sustainable use of its components is enshrined in the preamble to the Convention on Biological Diversity (which is an International treaty to sustain the rich diversity of life on earth). For example, there is the need to promote the use of bio-degradable products. In this regard the Compendium has cautioned the use of various types of biotechnology and their consequences for human health91.

Poor countries lack the economic means either to gain access to existing sources of non-renewable energy or to finance research into new alternative. It will be very beneficial to tap natural sources of energy such as the use of the windmill and solar energy panels. Hence Pope Benedict XVI urged the international community to find institutional means of regulating the exploitation of non-renewable resources of these poor countries. He also calls for a worldwide redistribution of energy resources92. Caritas in Veritate expressed the hope that that the international community and individual governments will succeed in countering harmful ways of treating the environment. The covenant between human beings and the environment should mirror the creative love of God, from whom we come and towards whom we are journeying 93. The Compendium asks that particular attention be given for the complex issues surrounding energy resources,94 and through the contribution of the scientific community to identify new sources of energy and develop alternative sources.95

To collaborate with the non-governmental organizations to effectively dialogue with the municipal corporations to clean the water sources and to lay down rules for individuals and industries in order to prevent them from polluting the air or water. The Compendium states that “Governments should feel encouraged by such commitments, which seek to put into practice the ideals underlying the international community, “particularly through the practical gestures of solidarity and peace made by the many individuals also involved in Non-Governmental Organizations and in Movements for human rights”96. 29

There is need to encourage ecumenical collaboration and ongoing participation in various environmental initiatives to benefit from the richness and diversity of other Churches. The Compendium notes that “the social teaching of the Church is also fertile soil for dialogue and collaboration in the ecumenical sphere”.97

Saint Pope John Paul II urged the need for an education in environmental responsibility that will lead people to a genuine conversion in thought and behaviour. This has now become urgent98. For this, the Compendium recommends “an effective change of mentality leading to the adoption of new lifestyles…inspired by sobriety, temperance and self-discipline”99.

The Compendium, aware of the countless number of poor people who live in polluted suburbs or unsafe houses, recommends relocating them by offering them beforehand choices of decent housing, and clearly states that “people directly involved must be part of the process”100. The Compendium urges all individuals as well as institutional subjects to protect the heritage of forests and, where necessary, promote adequate programs of reforestation101.

(Endnotes) 1 Christopher Samuel, Agrolinks, June to November 2009, Vol. 10, no. 1, p. 14, Crop Life Asia, Singapore 2 Yasuko Kameyama, Agus P. Sari, Moekti H. Soejachmoen and Norichika Kanie, eds. Cliamte Change in Asia, Perspectives on the Future Climate Regime, United Nations University Press,Tokyo, New York, Paris, 2008. 3 Ibid. 4 The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), 2007. Climate Change: Impacts, Vulnerabilities, and Adaptation in Developing Countries, Bonn, Germany. 5 Cruz R V, Harasawa H, Lal M, Wu S, Anokhin Y, Punsalmaa B, Honda Y, Jafari M, Li C and Huu Ninh N. 2007. Asia. Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Parry M L, Canziani O F, Palutikof J P, van der Linden P J and Hanson C E (eds). Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, UK. pp. 469 – 506. 6 The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), 2007. Climate Change: Impacts, Vulnerabilities, and Adaptation in Developing Countries, Bonn, Germany. 7 The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), 2007. Climate Change: Impacts, Vulnerabilities, and Adaptation in Developing Countries, Bonn, Germany. 30

8 Christensen J H, Hewitson B, Busuioc A, Chen A, Gao X, Held I, Jones R, Kolli R K, Kwon W-T, Laprise R, Magaña Rueda V, Mearns L, Menéndez C G, Räisänen J, Rinke A, Sarr A and Whetton P. 2007. Regional Climate Projections. In: Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Solomon S, Qin D, Manning M, Chen Z, Marquis M, Averyt K B, Tignor M and Miller H L (eds)]. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.; Cruz et al. 9 Epstein Y, Sohar E and Shapiro Y. 1995. Exceptional heatstroke: a preventable condition.

Israel Journal of Medical Science. 31: pp. 454 – 462; Ibid, (UNFCCC), 2007.

10 ICEM, 2007. Rapid Assessment of the Extent and Impact of Sea Level Rise in Vietnam, by Jeremy Carew-Reid. 11 Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate, no. 50. 12 ILO, ILO Asia –Pacific Working Paper Series, T.S. Papola, Employment Challenge and Strategies in Asia, Subregional Office for South Asia, New Delhi, January 2008, p. 14. 13 Archbishop Diarmuid Martin on ‘Populorum Progressio’, Zenit News, 22 October 2007. Confer Pope Paul VI, Populorum Progressio, no. 16. 14 WHO, A Review of Nutrition Policies, December 2010. Further, food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food. 15 Director-General, WHO at the World Economic Forum 2000. 16 Matthias Williams, Reuters, New Delhi, 3 June 2009. 17 Kallie Szczepanski, Hunger in Southeast Asia in Helium, 14 April 2008. 18 Population Institute, 8 April 2011.

19 Kallie Szczepanski, Ibid. 20 Bogalay, Burma, The Christian Science Monitor, Burma’s empty rice bowl, 7 July 2010. 21 BBC News, One Minute World News, “Asian State feel Rice Pinch”, 11 April 2008. 22 Right Vision News, Pakistan, 28 March 2011. 23 FAO, 1993. 24 James Petras and Henry Veltmeyer, Globalization unmasked, Madhyam Books, p. 124. 25 FAO Report 2010. See also the Independent, UK, Sunday, 28 March 2010 26 Pankaj Sekhsaria, Kalpavriksh, World Rainforest Movement. Underlying Causes of Deforestation and Forest Degradation : Asia. – Prepared by Pankaj Sekhsaria, Kalpavriksh, Environment Action Group, Pune, India. http://www.wrm.org.uy/deforestationAsia/India.html 27 Compendium, no. 446. 31

28 Natasha Kanjee and Philip Dobie, NHDR Unit of the Human Development Report Office, Environment Thematic Guidance Note, January 2003, Ch 1. 29 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), 1997. 30 Compendium, no. 482. 31 Pankaj Sekhsaria, Kalpavriksh, Ibid. Case Studies of Andaman Island, Uttara Kannada and Gadchiroli - Chandrapur, India. 32 Compendium, no. 446. 33 According to Vandana Shiva “Corporations prevent seed savings through patentsand by engineering seeds with non-renewable traits. As a result, poor peasants have to buy new seeds for every planting season and what was traditionally a free resource, available by putting aside a small portion of the crop, becomes a commodity. This new expense increases poverty and leads to indebtedness”. See Vandana Shiva, Director of the Research Foundation for Science, Technology, and Natural Resource Policy in New Delhi in ‘Why Are Indian Farmers Committing Suicide and How Can We Stop This Tragedy?’ in Voltaire.net on 23 May 2009. 34 The Belfast Telegraph, 15 April 2009. 35 Associated Press, Hyderabad, India, 27 August 2009. 36 W.A. Sunil, Suicides highlight desperate conditions facing Sri Lankan farmers, World Socialist Website, 10 June 2005. 37 Savvy Soumya Misra, Down to Earth, Science and Environment Online, 15 January 2009.

38 MM 79.

39 MM 139. 40 MM 120. 41 MM 140. 42 MM 128-141. 43 MM 137. 44 MM 140. 45 MM 141. 46 Bernard Häring,The Law of Christ, Vol. 3, Special Moral Theology, trans. Edwin G. Kaiser (Cork: The Mercier Press, 1967), 456-457. 47 Compendium, no. 299. 48 Compendium, no. 300. 49 Thin-lei win in Alertnet, A Thomson Reuters Foundation Service, Bangkok, 10 September 2010. 32

50 Veerabhadran Ramanathan, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, Vatican-Commissioned Report Calls Attention to Glaciers, 9 May 2011. 51 IRIN News, 21 September 2010. According to an International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) report released in May 2010, Nepal experiences more than 1,000 earthquakes a year, has 2,323 glacial lakes and is particularly vulnerable to GLOFs. The UN Development Programme (UNDP) says glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) have occurred in the recent past roughly every 2-5 years. 52 Veerabhadran Ramanathan, Ibid. 53 Patralekha Chatterjee, Diseases of climate change, in the Third Pole, New Delhi, May 12, 2011. 54 Patralekha Chatterjee, Ibid. 55 Richard Anderson, BBC News Business, 11 May 2011. 56 Ibid. 57 Caroline Scott-Thomas, One-third of global food production goes to waste: FAO in Food Navigator-USA.com, 13 May 2011. 58 The India Water Forum was in consonance with the Ministry of Water Resources and the Department of Drinking Water Supply, Government of India. 59 Arpita Mathur, S.Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Eurasia Review and News Analysis, New Delhi, 9 May 2011. 60 Compendium, no. 484. 61 Compendium, no. 484. 62 Compendium, no. 468. See also, John Paul II, Message for the 1990 World Day of Peace, 9: AAS 82 (1990), 152. 63 Pope John Paul II, World Day of Peace, 1990, no. 5. Cfr. Also no. 7 and no. 15. 64 Pope John Paul II, SRS no. 38. 65 Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 34: AAS 80 (1988), 559-560. See also, Compendium, no. 465. 66 Compendium, no. 465. See also, John Paul II, Address to participants in a convention on “The Environment and Health” (24 March 1997), 5: L’Osservatore Romano, English edition, 9 April 1997, p. 2. 67 Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate, no. 49. 68 Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate, no. 50. 69 Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate, no. 61. 70 Archbishop Diarmuid Martin on ‘Populorum Progressio’, Zenit News, 22 October 2007. Confer Pope Paul VI, Populorum Progressio, no. 16. 33

71 Natasha Kanjee and Philip Dobie, NHDR Environment Thematic Guidance Note, January 2003, p. 20 72 Natasha Kanjee and Philip Dobie, NHDR Environment Thematic Guidance Note, January 2003, p. 20 73 Natasha Kanjee and Philip Dobie, NHDR Unit of the Human Development Report Office, Environment Thematic Guidance Note, January 2003, Ch 1. 74 UNEP, 1997. 75 WHO, Geneva, 5 September 2006. 76 Dr Anders Nordström, Acting Director-General of WHO. 77 WHO/ SEARO, Arsenic in Drinking Water and Resulting Arsenic Toxicity in India & Bangladesh, 1998. WHO’s Guidelines for drinking water Quality are updated every few years. A three volume publication examines microbiological, biological, chemical and radiological aspects of drinking water. It evaluates 36 inorganic constituents, 27 industrial chemicals, 36 pesticides, four disinfectants and 23 disinfectant by-products. 78 Thimphu Declaration on International Health Security in the South-East Asia Region held in Thimphu, Bhutan, from 31 August to1 September 2007 79 World Bank. 2002. HNP Stats (http://devdata.worldbank.org/hnpstats/DALselection.asp). 80 Esrey et al. S.A., J.B. Potash, L. Roberts and C. Shiff. 1990. Health benefits from improvements in water supply and sanitation: survey and analysis of the literature on selected diseases. WASH Technical Report No. 66. Arlington: Water and Sanitation for Health Project (WASH); Moe et al. C.L., M.D. Sobsey, G.P. Samsa and V. Mesolo. 1991. “Bacterial indicators of risk of diarrhoeal disease from drinking-water in the Philippines”. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 69(3): 305-317. 81 Compendium, no. 484. 82 Compendium, no. 484. 83 Compendium, no. 468. See also, John Paul II, Message for the 1990 World Day of Peace, 9: AAS 82 (1990), 152. 84 Natasha Kanjee and Philip Dobie, NHDR Environment Thematic Guidance Note, January 2003, p. 20 85 Natasha Kanjee and Philip Dobie, NHDR Unit of the Human Development Report Office, Environment Thematic Guidance Note, January 2003, Ch 1. 86 World Health Organization / United Nations Environment Programme (WHO/UNEP) in a survey in 1992. 87 Chief of Bureau, National Herald, New Delhi in Supremacy, Vol.1, Issue 6, November 2006, p. 35. According to the WHO, cooking on an open coal stove exposes women to risks of lung cancer. 34

88 Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 34: AAS 80 (1988), 559-560. See also, Compendium, no. 465. 89 Compendium, no. 465. See also, John Paul II, Address to participants in a convention on “The Environment and Health” (24 March 1997), 5: L’Osservatore Romano, English edition, 9 April 1997, p. 2. 90 See Compendium, no. 466. 91 Compendium, no. 472, 474. 92 Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate, no. 49. 93 Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate, no. 50. 94 Compendium, no. 470. Cf. John Paul II, Address to the participants at the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences (28 October 1994): Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II, XVII, 2 (1994), 567-568. 95 Compendium, no. 470. Cf. John Paul II, Address to the participants at a Symposium on physics (18 December 1992): Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II, V, 3 (1982), 1631-1634. 96 Compendium no. 443. See also, John Paul II, Message for the 2004 World Day of Peace, 7:AAS 96 (2004), 118. 97 Compendium, no. 534. 98 Pope John Paul II, World Day of Peace 1990, no. 13. 99 Compendium, no. 486. 100 Compendium, no. 482. 101 Compendium, no. 466. 35 Care of the Earth - Turning Mines to Vines

Heidi Kuhn

The vision for planting the Roots of Peace on earth was etched in my heart as a mother of four children in September 1997.

Following the death of the late Princess Diana of Wales, it was truly an epiphany and a clear vision of turning MINES TO VINES—replacing the scourge of landmines with bountiful vineyards worldwide. The image of our Blessed Mother Mary giving birth to her precious child, Jesus, is an icon of a whole and beautiful child—never imagining the horrors of limbs or lives which are lost to the perils of landmines which would be planted in both the soils and souls of our one earth over 2000 years later.

And, so, as a mother of four children from a place in Marin County, I set out on a humble quest to remove landmines from our one earth. This journey led me around the world, and ultimately to the Fields of Bethlehem to engage both Palestinians and Israelies to do the impossible—turn ‘seeds of terror’ into ‘seeds of hope’ by working together to remove landmines in a Muslim village located only four miles away from where Jesus Christ was born. It took over a dozen visits and over half a million dollars to remove these deadly seeds of terror from The Holy Land, as our one earth is now ‘holy’ when there are landmines in the ground. The blood of Jesus deeply taught us to forgive the trespasses of those who maim or kill, and to dig deeper for peace.

Turning blood to wine, we are turning killing fields into vineyards and fresh grapevines worldwide. The roots of peace are planted in the ground, with faith that the fruit of the vine and work of human hands will cultivate a harvest of hope…

A landmines represents a seed of hatred—cold and manmade. Yet, there are an estimated 70 million landmines sown in both the soil and soul today in over 70 countries. The footstep of a child or the boot of a soldier are at risk to these indiscriminate seeds of destruction which continue to maim and kill long after the 36 war has ended. As we remove these landmines from our one earth, we are able to plant vineyards which literally embody the Biblical phrase, “I am the vine, you are the branches’. Together, we are able to see life emerge from the lifeless soil which was sown with war from within. The fruit of the vine and the work of human hands are intertwined with love, as economic empowerment for peace is defined for local communities to thrive. The business model for peace begins to emerge in modern times, and local economies are able to witness a logical reason to turn ‘swords into plowshares’ and ‘mines to vines’ as defined in the Isaiah prophesy (Isaiah 2:4-5). Such words from the Old Testament are respected by Muslims, Jews and Catholics alike, which respect the seeds we have in common rather than those which separate us. And, in countries such as Vietnam where there is no religion, we respect the human heart—which should remain whole—without the risk of a landmine blowing it apart.

Roots of Peace is a humanitarian, non-political, non-religious organization working worldwide. Yet, it was given birth to from the heart of a Catholic mother of four children. After working around the world for over seventeen years, it has become one of my own children, and the heart may never be cut out of its’ essence. It is the invisible hand which continues nurture from afar, as it guides the various programs with a universal message of love and care for the earth.

As we strive to heal our one Mother Earth from the perils of landmines, our life work impacts our own children. This is a brief overview of the impact from my own personal perspective, as I care for the earth and its’ people:

My footsteps have traveled the world with a universal message as a mother to ‘plant the roots of peace’ on earth.The Care of the Earth begins with the removal of a single landmine. From my humble perspective, it has been a small miracle to turn an idea into reality on such a large scale—impacting millions of farmers and families around the world.

My first visit to a minefield began during the first month of the new millennium in January 2000 to Croatia, to witness the aftermath of the Balkan War. The devastation of Vukovar, a panoramic city along the Danube River, was my first introduction to 37 the impact of war and the loss of limbs among neighbors.I vowed to return on Mother’s Day with my own daughter, Kyleigh, age 13, to teach family lessons not found in a textbook. Witnessing the impact of war and landmines, she ultimately grew up to raise over 50 million American ‘pennies’ to remove landmines and build schools and soccer fields for girls in Afghanistan.

In September 2001, I took my oldest son, Brooks to the minefields of Dragalic, Croatia, with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jody Williams. Together, we were able to see the impact of our efforts to raise funds from legendary vintners in the Napa Valley such as Miljenko ‘Mike’ Grgich and Robert Mondavi who literally turned MINES TO VINES—replacing the scourge of landmines with bountiful vineyards across the world. Turning blood into wine, we cleared thousands of acres of land and restored grapevines.

As a young man, Brooks witnessed this work and met brave young landmine victims who fought internal battles as they adjusted their new prosthetic limbs to conquer a vineyard or play in a soccer field. This visit to The Balkans was only a few days prior to the September 11th attacks on the United States of America, as we flew home through New York City to see the Twin Towers. Witnessing such devastation with his mother on the sidelines of history left a profound impact, and Brooks ultimately chose a career path as a medical doctor to heal the hearts of many.

My youngest son, Christian, who I gave birth to following a diagnosis of cervical cancer, was a baby in my arms when I had the vision to turn MINES TO VINES. He was my ‘gift of life’ and my promise to give back life to others—never imagining the struggle. Christian has traveled with me to the minefields of the world holding my hand in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Afghanistan, Israel, Palestine, and Vietnam. He is versed on the perils of landmines, and has grown far beyond his years. Christian has sacrificed both of his parents’ time as they have traveled extensively to Africa to remove landmines in Angola. As a small boy, he understood that thousands of elephants were at risk due to the ‘thunder in the ground’ which they sense with their giant paws due to millions of mines planted by war. He understood as a child deep within his heart the need for his family to travel to war- zones, risking their lives so that other people and animals may live in peace. 38

And, my son Tucker, is the proud Director of Operations, and has served in Vietnam to DRAFT peace, not DRAFT war.

Raised in our Kuhn family, he deeply understands the risk of an estimated 3.5 million landmines and unexploded ordnance sown in Vietnam over 38 years after the war has ended. He has lived in Quang Tri along the 17th Parrallel for over 3 years to remove the landmines and teach the farmers to grow high value crops such as cacao and pepper, and redefine the economics of peace. Tucker will escort me to The Holy Land to meet with His Holiness Pope Francis in The Fields of Bethlehem—a mother and son—life goes full circle.

Peace is a family business. And, I am so very proud to be working closely with my husband, Gary, my life partner for the past 37 years. Together, we are turning MINES TO VINES—one minefields at a time—turning ‘seeds of terror’ into ‘seeds of hope’ for families around the world to live in peace.

This Spring 2014, The Taliban attacked my home in Kabul, Afghanistan, killing a young girl at my gates. Now, more than ever, I need to be strong voice for mothers around the world to lead with love, not hatred in their hearts. Together, we must remove these seeds of terror from our one earth, and plant the roots of peace on earth. May this message be heard from the heart of Bethlehem, where a mother once gave birth to a child…

The Care of the Earth begins in our hearts, our homes, our communities, our countries, and ultimately to our world. 39 The Himalayas: Development and Protection

Dr. Liu Youfa Consul General of China in Mumbai

I. Co-relations between the Himalayas and human existence and development. It is a fact that all ancient civilizations, with no exception, were evolved in and around the relevant mother rivers. And, all those rivers could trace up to the great mountains, one of which is the Himalayas. They serve as the cradle for the civilianizations both in East Asia and South Asia.

(I) The common front-yard of China, India, Myanmar and Nepal. The term “Himalaya” is the phonetic translation of the sun script, meaning the “home of snow”. The said mountains are dwelling right on the borders among China, India, Myanmar and Nepal. In accordance with the research findings, the Himalayas are still growing by 15 to 50 millimeters per year. As the mountains were merged from the bottom of the ocean around 20 some million years ago, they have remained the youngest mountains on earth, stretching 2,450 kilometers east-westward and 200-300 kilometers south-northward, with an average hight of 6,000 meters above the sea level, and with seven mountains over 7,000 meters above the sea level. The Everest, which stands at 8,848.13 meters tall above the sea level, remains the highest peak in the world and is situated right between China and Nepal. Based on the above analysis, the glorious Himalayas have become the common cultural heritage of China and countries on the subcontinent of South Asia, and the common pride of the countries across the whole region.

(II) The birth place of the Chinese culture and those of the countries on the sub-continent of South Asia. The Himalayas are hugged by China, India, Myanmar and Nepal, and have created about 5,000 glacial formations over the history, covering an area of 11,055 square kilometers, and have thus become the common source of the Ganges River, the Indus River, the Yarlung Zangbo River, the Nujiang River, the Mekong River, the Yangtze 40

River and the Yellow River, etc. From the geographical perspective, the heavenly Himalayas have created two drastically different natural, geographical and climate conditions on the southern and northern slopes, which have helped to nurture two distinctive ancient civilizations of China and India, contributing to the diversification of human civilizations. They have also brought about many distinctive nationalities in China and the countries on the sub continent, giving birth to many different ways of living, evolving hundreds of languages, contributing to the world of colorful nations. Over the past 2,000 years, the unique geographical conditions have also given birth to Buddhism, which was further evolved and prospered in China whose culture is known for inclusiveness. Therefore, it is fair to say that Buddhism has become the common spiritual heritage of many countries in the region, constituting one of the spiritual pillars in the course of economic and social harmonization of the relevant countries, and serving as the natural media for the friendly exchanges among peoples across the region.

(III) The area pregnant with abundant natural resources. Water is the prime element for human existence and development. Therefore, the abundant water from the Himalayas has become the lifeline for about 3 billion people in and around the region. Meanwhile, they have also become the cradle for the human civilizations, climate and geography across the region. The far-stretching high mountains have managed to withhold the damp air flows from the Indian Ocean, resulting in bumper rain-falls, deep forestation and rich vegetation in countries such as India, providing ideal environment for people to live and develop. The Ganges River, the prime river in India, has become the sacred river for the Indians and other peoples in the region, along which the most populous areas can be found, and where the key areas for economic and social development can be seen. Meanwhile, the Yarlung Zangbo River on the northern slope of the Himalayas has become No. 1 river with the highest sea level both in China and around the world, where important areas for agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry industries can be found. The slopes on both sides of the Himalayas stretch 41

down toward the sea level, thus creating various geographical conditions for many bio-species and vegetarian species to grow and prosper. Incidentally, almost all the rivers that flow down to India are originated in the northern slope of the Himalayas, which cut across the tall mountains, creating valleys of 3,000-4,000 meters deep. The surging water from the valleys has been providing abundant water and hydropower to the countries in the region. With the advancement of science and technology, the Qinghai- Tibet Plateau has proven to harbor conditions for mineral deposits such as iron ore, the low-sodium mineral water, native borax, manganese, sulfur, soda,soil alkali and rock quarts, etc. The above minerals,when properly developed, could drastically lessen the relevant supply shortages, which would be strategically important to China’s economic development. Along both slopes of the Himalayas, many rare tree species have found home at various latitudes. Scientists have discovered more than 500 plant speises that are of medical value, including fritillaria, Lithospermum, snow lotus, and ginseng fruit, etc. They have also discovered edible fungus including mushrooms and mizuki ears. On the northern slope, many wild animals have found their natural homes, i.e. wild ass, the Tibetan antelope, gazelle, argali, blue sheep, snow leopards, yellow wolves, deer, lynx, foxes, otters, snow pigs, as well as snow cocks, yellow ducks, ducks, cranes, turtles, eagles, owls, crows, etc.

II. The challenges that the Himalayas are faced with

The Himalayas are the cradle for the civilizations in East Asia and South Asia. However, as the processes of globalization and industrialization further evolve, and as more and more people have been converging into the relevant river valleys, the Himalayas have been under the crushing pressure .

(I) The evolving water crisis.Over the past 30 years, there has been the population explosion in the Himalaya region. Industrialization and urbanization have jointly been causing havoc in terms of water supply. Consequently, countries around the region have been locked into the competition for the tight water supply, resulting in new frictions between 42

or among the countries. In line with the observation by Noguchi Takeminami, the Japanese mountaineer, the glaciers on the Himalayas have been melting at an alarming rate, due to the climate change, and in the areas 6,000 meters above sea level, the traditional snow falling has increasingly mixed with rain falls. Under the impact of the green house effect, the green house effect, the permanent glaciers on top of the Himalayas have been melting fast. And, the ice and snow on the Himalayas might come to a total depletion in 50 years down the road, if the above scenarios should be allowed to go on unregulated. Researches have also found that the fast contraction of the glaciers could cause over flow of water in the short and medium term, which would result in floods of large scales, destroy irrigation systems, transportation and communication systems, wash away mountain slopes, towns and mines at the lower valleys, thus inflicting huge costs for the economic and social development in and around the region. In the long term, the fast disappearing glaciers would result in water crisis, humanitarian crisis and even political crisis in the relevant countries, where industries would bog down, urbanization would be impeded. More importantly, countries in the region would be locked in the competition over the water supply, inducing conflicts and even armed confrontations.

(II) The pending crisis for bio-species and pant species. Since the ancient time, many animal spices have found natural homes across the plateau on the snow-covered Himalayas, making the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and the sub-continent of Southeast Asia a living global museum for wild animal species. The dense virgin forest has provided natural habitats for many plant species to grow, and allowed animals to roam freely, constituting the paradise for the said bio-chains and plant chains. The numerous lakes of all sizes, that spring across the Qinghai Plateau, have become a natural paradise for many migratory birds. The vast grasslands on both sides of the Himalaya slopes have created ideal environment for the relevant countries to develop animal husbandry industry. The snaking rivers in the same region have facilitated unique conditions for the relevant countries to develop fishery industry. 43

However, the bucks never stop here. Countries have been bending backward in pushing forward industrialization and urbanization, which have been engulfing limited supply of land and forest. People across the region have been chopping down trees for firewood, resulting in rapid deforestation. Modern farming has been causing vegetation degradation. Over grazing has been causing degradation of grassland, and the ever-growing people and animals have been jointly producing exhaust gas in large volumes. All the above scenarios have been contributing to the ever-worsening environment in and around the Himalayas, and contributing to the green house effect. According to one report by the Oceanian Research Institute of University of California, the brown haze caused by the air pollution has helped the sunlight to increase its temperature at the bottom of the atmosphere by as much as 50%. As a result, the environment for the plant chains and animal chains that were evolved over the history has been deteriorating, which is to cause the break-down of the plant chains as well as the animal chains, eventually endangering the environment across the region in terms of human existence and development.

(III) The threat from the ice crevasse. Due to natural and human actors, since the 20th century, both slopes of the Himalayas have been under the pending threat from the glacial lakes. In line with one scientific research report, there are more than 5,000 glacial lakes of all sizes across the north and south slopes of the Himalayas. The report also discovers that over the past century, the temperature around the world has been rising at a rate of 0.06 degrees Celsius per year. The constant rise of temperature has been expediting the process of contraction of the glaciers and snow in the said region. As there will be more water from the above area, there would be more possibilities of the dis-embankment of glacial lakes.

According to Japan Kyoto News Agency, there are 77 problematic glacial lakes in China, 42 in Pakistan, and 20 in Nepal, Indian and Bhutan respectively. The fast melt-down of glaciers would create more glacial lakes or enlarge existing ones. As the temperature in and around Himalaya keeps rising, and as there will be more water from the melting glaciers, 44

many glacial lakes would be on the verge of dis-embankment. And, any of those scenarios would result in floods of different scales, sweeping away farmlands, villages, roads, power stations, inflicting huge damage to people and property in the region.More importantly, both the melting glaciers and the contracting ice crevasses would expose the microbes hitherto buried underground for millions of years, many of which would cause new human health risks as a result of drastic spreading of the said micro-organisms, posing new challenges to the medical and health policies of the governments across the region.

III. Policy thought on environment protection

Based on the analysis, countries in East Asia and Sub-continent of South Asia should join hands more closely, in order to adopt the common environment protection strategy, implement sustainable green development strategy, promote win-win water resource development, enhance environment protection in and around the Himalayas, ensure sustainability of plant and animal species across the region, and strengthen the security of the common homeland of the countries in the region.

(I) Jointly participate in the global climate governance. Relevant countries should join hands in participating in global climate governance, put forward common stands, promote common agendas, protect common interests and strive for the common space of development, via the United Nations, the World Bank and G20, etc. They should appeal the developed countries to carry out more international obligations, take lead in green development, add up investment in environment protection, and seriously carry out green technology transfer. They should appeal the international community to establish the fund for environment monitoring, management and protection, support the developing countries in terms of green development, and protect the common homeland of the mankind.

(II) Implement coordinated and sustainable development strategy. Relevant countries should implement concerted economic and social development strategies, in line with their national situations, in order to realize national 45

development not at the expense of environment degradation and the interests of the future generation. Efforts should be given to promoting green development strategy, sustainable energy development, and expediting the development and promotion of energy conservation and new energies, establishing and improve “low carbon city”demonstration programs, and encouraging and supporting enterprises and civic societies to participate in green development and environment protection.

(III) Further strengthen more bilateral and multilateral hydro-cooperation. Relevant countries should expedite bilateral and subregional cooperation in environment governance, in order to promote comprehensive development and utilization of the available water resource. They should expedite the negotiation and signing of the agreement on transborder water resource development, in order to effectively implement green hydro- project cooperation, and protect the environment for the sustainable development of the region.

(IV) Establish and improve joint scientific research. Relevant countries should establish and improve mechanism of joint research in the areas of meteorological, hydrological and climate research, in an effort to discover and grasp the trend of the above fields, and provide early warnings to the countries in the region and to the international community. Meanwhile, they should also research and find new ways to protect the environment of the Himalayas, draw up experience and lessons on environment protection, and provide the oriental wisdom support in the global environment governance.

(V) Establish and improve the system of environment protection. Relevant countries should expedite policy consultation, in order to sign the agreement on environment protection across the Himalayas, regulate all the scientific researches, exploration, mountain climbing, tourist and economic activities, which would help ensure the relevant activities to be in line with the benchmarks of environment protection, effectively carry out oversight activities, take punitive actions on any activities that are against the relevant 46

laws and regulations, and effectively curb the trend of deterioration of the environment in the region.

(VI) Further carry out awareness campaigns on climate change and environment protection. Relevant countries should modify the constitution, readjust policies on environment protection, formulate and implement national guideline of education on climate change and environment protection among respective countries, effectively promote consciousness of the people to participate in environment protection, give full play to the initiatives of the citizens to participate in environment oversight, bring up the awareness of the people in terms of green production, green consumption and green travel, which would, in turn, contribute to the sustainable environment of the relevant countries and those across the region. 47 Care of Creation

Fr. Francis d’Britto

‘God is love,’ says EvangelistSt. John (1 John 4Á16). Love by its nature is creative. The universe is the outpouring of God’s abundant love. In the first book of the Holy Bible, the creative activity of God is described in a very dramatic way. In the work of creation, God makes the earth his partner. He says.” Let the earth bring forth the vegetation, seed bearing plants and trees on the land. And it was so”(Gen 1: 11). So creation is a joint venture in a wonderful partnership between God and the earth.

Environment is God’s gift, it is in a sense the self revelation of God. The rain and sky, seas and rivers, beasts and birds, trees and flowers are the concrete expression of God’s love. He has bestowed basic goodness to all created things.The author of the book ofGenesis, says “and God saw that it was good.”‘Omneensistbonum’ goes the Latin dictum, which means whatever is in existence bears the mark of goodness. The Indian philosophy calls God as ‘Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram’ (The true, the Holy and the beautiful.’) The universe, the tangible expression of God,bears the mark of His goodness and beauty.

Man – the steward of creation

The genesis account speaks about the creation of constellations, the flora and fauna, birds and animals. He found them to be good. Last of all God created man and found him to be very good, because man was made ‘in his image.’ Man or human being was the crown and climax of God’s progressive creative activity. “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created,” (Gen 1:27).

God trusted man; He found that with the gift of wisdom, man is the only being who could be entrusted with the care of creation. So he told the first couple, “Be fruitful and multiply, till the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that move upon the earth” (Gen 1: 28).

In the common parlance, the word ‘dominion’ denotes to be so over, to subjugate, to manipulate and to exploit. Did God intend it? To properly understand the meaning of the word ‘dominate,’ we need to have recourse to the original biblical language. The Hebrew word for DOMINION is RADAH which means to take care of, to nurture, 48 to foster, to bring up, to rear. A king is expected to ‘dominate’ his subjects, which according to Hebrew understanding means to give humane treatment to the subjects, to make them grow, to activate their potentiality, and in a special way to have preferential concern forthe least, the lostthe needy, the weak, the marginalized, the defenseless and the powerless.In this sense man was commissioned ‘to rule’ the creatures of God. He was called to protect Nature both animate as well as the inanimate.

There is a second account of Creation in the book of Genesis which is very interesting. It says, “When the Lord God made the earth, there was neither shrub nor plant growing on the earth because the Lord God had sent no rain, nor was there anyone to till the ground… the Lord God planted a garden in Eden… The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to till it and to look after it.” (Gen 2: 4- 15). The Hebrew word for ‘looking after’ is SHAMAR which means to guard, to watch over and to take care of it.Man is supposed to be the caretaker, steward of Creation. He was given the noble vocation of guarding God’s creation. He was to be the high Priest, giving glory to God, in behalf of his creation.

The verb SHAMAR appears second time in chapter 3 of Genesis. After the killing of Abel, God asked Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” Cain answered, “I do not know. Am I supposed to SHAMAR (to take care of) my brother?” (Gen 3: 9). The answer is ‘yes’. Man is expected to care ofhis Kith and Kin as well as rest of the creation. The holy Bible teaches that all life is sacred and needs to be respected. Nature, like a loving mother, nourishes man, provides for his bodily needs. It is man’s responsibility to protect her.

Speaking on the occasion of World Environment Day, Pope Francis said, “God gave humans the earth so they can take care of it and protect it and not to exploit and neglect it.” He further said that people are often driven by pride of domination, of possessions, manipulation, of exploitation. We do not care for it (earth), we do not respect it, we do not consider it as a free gift that we must care for. We are losing the attitude of wonder, contemplation, listening to creation.” ‘Man is the measure of everything,’ said the Greek Philosopher Protagoras. According to him not the superior power, nor the moral law but man is the ultimate source of values. This has led man to utilitarianism which has caused a lot of harm to nature. 49

Present-day Scenario

God created the World and found it to be good. Can we say now that “God is in high heaven and everything is well on earth?” Certainly not. The present scenario regardingthe health ofthe globe is alarming.

While interviewing Pope (Emeritus) Benedict XVI on the frightening global situation, Peter Seewaldsays, “Because of climate change, the tropics are expanding, the sea level is rising. The poles are melting; holes in the Ozone layer are no longer closing up. We are experiencing oil disasters in the Gulf of Mexico, gigantic wild fires, unprecedented catastrophic floods, unexpected heat waves and periods of drought.” [Peter Seewald inLight of the World, P 42.) Responding to him Pope Benedict says, “Sacred Scripture tells us, and experience too tells us, that we do not remain here forever. But surely we are doing something wrong.”

We have responsibility towards the future generation. By depleting the natural resources, we are robbing from the future generation and depriving them of what legitimately belong to them. Pope Benedict reminds us, that “… we must recognize our grave duty to hand the earth on to future generations in such a condition that they too can worthily inhabit in it and continue to cultivate it.” (Caritas in Veritate, P 81.)

Flora and fauna, birds and animals add to the wealth of the world. The blessing of God to ‘increase and multiply’ is also applicable to them. Instead of multiplying, we are witnessing the gradual loss of the species. It is difficult to exactly record the loss of species, but some scientists claim that 200 to 2000 species get extinct every year, while others suggest a much higher number. It is estimated that by the close of the last century more than 20 % at all species have disappeared.The world has become poorer.

Drought is a regular feature in our country. Deforestation is one of the major causes of reduction in rainfall. While the West has been taking necessary measuresto preserve their forests, the situation in developing countries is very grim. Secondly, resources like land, water, air and fisheries are being exploited. There is a struggle for the control of these resources, primarily by the multinational agencies and so-called super powers.With the introduction of the new economic Policy-LPG- (Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization) the marketforces are let loose, whose only guiding principle is PROFIT. 50

Not religion but profit has become the opium of the People. As Pope Francis remarked, “Man is not in charge today, money is in charge¸ money rules.” The free market system and a global culture of money are exploiting the poor.

A group of more than a thousand scientists, on behalf of the UN’s intergovernmental Panel on Climate Control, said that 2 more degrees centigrade increase in temperature, will led the planetto disaster and destruction. Global warming should be considered a global warming.

Pope Emeritus Benedict speaks about human environment. Because of the adverse climatic changes, there has emerged the growing phenomena of ‘environmental refugees’. In the name of public utility and progress, specially the tribals are displaced. They too have the right to life, food, healthcare and development. Usually the poor and the marginalized are made to pay heavy price for progress and the rich and the powerful enjoy the fruits of development. A Moral Problem

There is enough, they say, for everyone’s need but not for everyone’s greed. The root cause of the degradation of environment is greed, one of the seven capital sins. Lord Buddha speaks about ‘trishna’ which is insatiable. The advances in science and technology are employed to increase production and thereby depleting the natural resources.

Man has to learn to curb and control his desire (trishna) which leads to accumulation, which in turn leads to exploitation of earth. All of us are, well acquainted with the story¸ How Much Land Does a ManNeed?by Leo Tolstoy. The moral of the story is clear Á The lust for gaining, if not controlled, can have dire consequences for the greedy man himself and for the globe as well.

The world community has realized the consequences of indiscriminate exploitation of the resources of the earth. The alarm bells were rung in the environmental conference held in 1992 at Rio de Janeiro. The next climate conference was held in Copenhagen in December 2009. The nations are aware of the problem but are reluctant to arrive at a solution. What comes in the way is the greed of the nations and speciallyof the developed countries.

All people of good will must come together and agree upon a code of conduct to save the earth. Only by cultivating a sense of profound respect for life in all its 51 forms, and controlling the instinct for greed can we find a solution to the ecological crisis.

We speak of the world as one family – ‘VasundharaKutumbkam. The planet belongs to all, and even to the future generations, hence its resourcesshould beresponsibly usedandequitably sharedby all the members of the one family of God, making preferential option for the poor and the powerless.

Speaking on the occasion of World Environment Day, Pope Francis said, “God gave humans the earth so they can take care of it and protect it and not to exploit and neglect it.” He further said that people are often driven by pride of domination, of possessions, manipulation, of exploitation. We do not care for it (earth), we do not respect it, we do not consider it as a free gift that we must care for. We are losing the attitude of wonder, contemplation, listening to creation,”

As Pope Francis remarked, “Man is not in charge today, money is in charge money rules.”The free market system and a global culture of money were exploiting the poor. 52 Islam’s Approach to the Environment

Dr. Zeenat Shaukat Ali

“It is He who made you trustees of the earth……” (Quran 6 :166)

Introduction

The Islamic worldview is that God created the universe and every single atom and molecule it contains and that the laws of creation include the elements of order, balance and proportion: “He created everything and determined it most exactly” (Quran 25:2) and “It is He Who appointed the sun to give radiance and the moon to give light, assigning it in phases ... Allah did not create these things except with truth. We make the signs clear for people who know” (Quran 10:5).

God created human beings in the “best of moulds” (Quran 95: 4 ) infusing them with a sense of wonder and compassion for His magnificent creation. Endowing them with conscientiousness, prudence and sagacity, He then entrusted His splendid creation to them, bestowing on them the stewardship of the preservation of life and nature. The conservation of earth as a sanctuary and asylum was thus bequeathed as a Trust. Control and power over environment are thus part of a Trusteeship based not merely on will but discretion. It is a liability vested in human beings.

Islam also teaches humans that all creatures of God, whether it be the petite ant or a huge lion, serve a certain purpose in the larger scheme of God’s world: ”There is not an animal (that lives) on the earth, nor a being that flies on its wings, but (forms part of) communities like you.” (Quran 6:38)

Muslims are to uphold this responsibility. Abuse of power indicates violation of the Trust.

The question is : have human beings honored this Stewardship ?

Islam, Environment and Trusteeship 53

And indeed God offered the Trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains and they declined to bear it and feared it; but humans undertook to bear it……..” (Quran 33 : 72 )

Having been swept away like the forces of history into a domain that treats the natural world as an exploitable resource, economic indicators, industrial development and consumerism have become the governing parameters of society. There has been a corresponding erosion and a withering understanding of Holy Texts of the sacred nexus between the human community and natural order.

The challenge of an environmental crisis demanded a response from world religious to construct an environmental ethics based on religious values. Consequently studies of sacred texts with a view of the relevance of ecological features has amplified over a period of time. Accordingly, a lively interest in the Eastern, Indian and Far Eastern religious traditions and culture also has enhanced recent literature on the subject. This paper considers the Islam’s perspective on the subject.

Islam provides an ecological view point that is practical as well as ethical in terms of environment. For many, it may undoubtedly come as a revelation to know how categorical the Qur’an is about protecting and conserving the environment. The world “earth” (ard) appears no less than 485 times in the Quran. Shariah, the word for Islamic Law, literally means “source of water.” Its approach to the environment is holistic as all things in creation are interrelated to everything else; whatever affects one part ultimately affects all other parts as well and as human life been distilled from the essence of nature and so is inextricably bound to it.

Among the varied and complex reasons, perhaps the most telling is that most people including Muslims are unaware of the environmental dictates of Islam. Few know that Quranic verses describing nature and natural phenomena outnumber verses dealing with commandments and sacraments. In fact, of about roughly 6,600 verses in the Holy Qur’an, some 750 or one eighth of the Book, exhort believers to contemplate and reflect on nature, to learn of the relationship between living organisms and their environment, to exercise reason and to retain and sustain the balance and proportion God has built into His creation. The earth’s resources land, 54 water, air, minerals, forests are available for our use, but such gifts are bestowed from God with certain ethical restraints imposed on them. These are meant to meet needs, but only in a mode that does not disturb or disrupt the ecological balance and that does not compromise the capacity of future generations to meet their requirements or needs.

Since it has the ability, and propensity and to reason and think, humanity has been granted the trusteeship or stewardship of God on earth. Nature is created on the principle of equilibrium and balance, and as a steward of God it is the responsibility of human beings to ensure that his or her actions do not disrupt this sense of balance. Stewardship does not imply dominance or authority over other living beings: because ownership belongs to God alone. Stewardship invests humans with a moral responsibility in safeguarding God’s creation.

Stewardship requires that humans learn to live in harmony with alongside with nature. That is why reflecting on nature and appreciating its internal workings has been made the essential basis of knowledge in Islam. Human beings can perceive God’s “signs” in all the natural phenomena that surround and encircle them and should, therefore, observe them to comprehend “God’s way,” which is the Quranic terminology means for “laws of nature. “ Thus “in the succession of night and day,” “in the water that comes down from the sky, giving life to the earth after it had been lifeless,” “in the change of the winds,” “in the mountains towering above the earth ... .. in the hives of the bees and the flight of the birds, “ “in the wonder of the seed,” “in the springs that gush forth from within the earth in these and similar Quranic verses, God reminds humankind that there are “messages for those who reason and think. “

In several instances the Quran points to the hydrological cycle and the quintessence role water plays in sustaining life on earth. With reference to the fertility of the soil, soil erosion, wildlife extinction and even toxic waste management, to the unique properties of fresh and sea water, to the course of rivers and the presence underground of springs and aquifers, and most significantly to the aquatic origin of life, the Qur’an places water at the top of all the natural phenomena on earth. 55

One of the great principles of ecology is diversity of life and the role it plays to make the earth habitable. Without the biotic diversity of plants, animals and microorganisms that share the planet with us, life as we know it could not exist. All living species have a right to live and flourish on earth, not because of their potential use to humans, but because their presence sustains the harmony and proportion of God’s creation. This is expressed thus: “And the earth—we have spread it out wide, and placed on it mountains firm, and caused lifeof every kind to grow on it in a balanced manner, and provided means of livelihood for you as well as for all living beings whose sustenance does not depend on you. “ (Quran 15:19)

By emphasizing that humans are only a diminutive part of the universe, the Quran shows out the illogicality of the anthropocentric world-view. Human beings are only one of God’s creations, existing with other living beings in an interwoven system where independency of life and energies is a primary factor. “Greater indeed than the creation of man is the creation of the heavens and the earth.” (Quran 40:57)

Respect for animal life is incumbent. One familiar story from the life of the Prophet recounts how, during a journey, one of Prophet Muhammad’s companions removed a baby pigeon from a nest. Muhammad confronted the thief and gently returned the bird to its nest. “For charity shown to each creature with a wet heart, there is a reward,” the Prophet declared. In the words of Allah, “There is not an animal in the earth, nor a creature flying on two wings, but they are nations like you.” (Quran6:38)

Islamic cleric Mufty Imam Tajuddin H. Alhilaly, * , argues that all living things “are partners in existence and they deserve their own respect. The Quran proclaims that it is Allah who “sends down water from the sky, and therewith We bring forth buds of every kind. We bring forth the green blade from which we bring forth the thick-clustered grain; and from the date-palm, from the pollen thereof, spring pendant bunches, and gardens of grapes, and the olive and the pomegranate.”

“The earth is our first mother,” says Imam Alhilaly. “Therefore it has certain rights over us. One of these rights is making it come alive with green vegetation and other plant life. How important is the planting of trees? In the words of the Prophet: “When doomsday comes, if someone has a palm shoot in his hands, he should plant it.” 56

A thinning biotic diversity sponging and diminishes the earth’s resources whose principal cause is human greed changes the role of human beings from a steward to a predator, from a nurturer to a destroyer. A complex technology of machine and apparatus as the vanguard of human existence by its intrinsic dynamism is sometimes the cause of steadily estranging humanity from nature . The Quran says: “We bestowed on you from on high the ability to make use of iron, in which there is awesome power as well as a source of benefits for man. “ (Quran 57.25) The power inherent in natural elements, whether iron or uranium or silicon can, if harnessed for disparaging rather than advantageous ends, obliterate sensitivity towards other creation.. Caution must be exercised in the use of technology with its attendant mechanization lest it reduces all life to a nonentity and breed hubris as in the case of the atom bomb and the dreadful plight of life in Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

In the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), Muslims find the quintessence and embodiment of Qur’anic guidance. With regard to land and forestation the Prophet has stated:

“Whoever plants a tree and diligently looks after it until it matures and bears fruit is rewarded.”

“If a Muslim plants a tree or sows a field and men and beasts and birds eat from it, all of it is charity on his part.”

“Whoever brings dead land to life, that is, cultivates wasteland, for him is a reward therein. “

With a view to the prediction of ecological disaster facing our planet public concern over such phenomena as the greenhouse effect, ozone holes, acid rain, and the extinction of species’ builds upon that which followed publication in the 1960s of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, which made ecology a household word. An international effort is now underway to confront environmental ills that plague the earth. Muslim involvement must be active and cannot remain reactive and minimal.

Muslims awaken to the challenge of preserving the global ecosystem, modern Islamic scholars must illuminate the ecological principles of the Qur’an as they apply to 57 contemporary environmental issues. “Corruption has appeared on land and sea as an outcome of what men’s hands have wrought: and so He will let them taste the evil of some of their doings, so that they might return to the right path. “(Quran 30:4 1), implying that destruction of the natural environment follows from immoral and unethical use of natural resources.

The simplest yet a far reaching allegory of Heaven is described in the form of a Garden – the Garden of Bliss ( Jannah or Jannah un Naim) ( Quran 5: 68 ) The gentle green in the foliage, with sloping green turf valleys and banks; the exotic colors and shapes of f flowers ; the soft and melting beauty of clouds and mists; the landscapes with cool colors with views of murmuring brooks ; the music of waterfalls and birds; the perfume of flowers and subtle scent of the shrubbery, the moisture and the morning dew or even the garden soil; the exquisite fruits, the lush lawns are some of the ecstasies and delight of a peaceful, beautiful landscape.

The challenge facing Muslim scholars and scientists is to devise on the foundation of such Qur’anic dictums that address environmental issues in the modern context, from “deforestation and soil erosion to drought and flood, from wild life extinction to toxic waste, from the carrying capacity of a habitat to a land ethic, from the application of technology to the preservation of community and culture, from greenhouse effect to acid rain, from nuclear power to genetic engineering, from population and poverty to North-South equity, from stewardship to sustainable development.”

Failing to pursue the Quranic decrees, we have certainly, disturbed the ecological balance. And it is for us to correct it. This necessitates effort, will and bold change. To restore ,preserve the mizan or balance in nature; accountability, responsibility as custodians, stewards and trustees is essential .”Man shall have nothing but what he strives for” (Quran 53:39). Maintenance of the ecosystems harboring life in all its forms including animals, birds, insects and plants are required. Recycling waste, conservation of water and other natural resources, reversing the process of deforestation by encouraging tree plantations are essential. 58

One of the incidents often recalled with humility by Muslims concerning the environment is the instruction by Abu Bakr, the ûrst Caliph of Islam, to his armies. In addition to prohibiting the army not to harm or cause injury women, children and the inûrm, he ordered them not to hurt animals, destroy or damage crops or cut down trees. Destruction and impairment of life and nature were barred even in times of war. Further the environment is not a subject for separate treatment as the human condition was never detached from the natural order.

Human greed damage obliterated life and devastated the environment. Global warming at present is a serious issue. Corruption of land and sea has led to fecundity. “...And do not desire corruption in the land. Indeed, God does not like corruptors.” ( Quran 28:77 ) ...And do not commit abuse on the earth, spreading corruption.”( Quran 2:60 )

Our catastrophes are self-inflicted. We seem to have open the path to a process of self destruction. As religious-environmental engagement and references to environmental stewardship in sacred texts is firmly rooted in Religious texts , the present crisis calls on religious leaders to engage with governments and institutions on eco-themed worship services that will inspire , enlighten and illuminate.

“ Trangress not in the balance and weigh with justice and fall not short in the balance. It is He Who has spread the earth for His creatures : therin is fruit and palm trees with sheaths and grain in the blade, and fragrant herbs. Which of the favors of your Lord will you deny…..”( Quran 55, 9-12 )

References

Nasr, S H (1990) Man and Nature, The Spiritual Crisis in Modern Man, Unwin Hyman, London.

Nasr, S H (1993) The Need for a Sacred Science, Curzon Press,Surrey.

Tarnas, R (1996) The Passion of the Western Mind, Pimlico, London.

Khalid, F M (1999) Qur’an, Creation and Conservation, Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Birmingham.

* Smith, Gar Islam and the Environment , Earth Island Journal, Environmentalists against War, Earth Summer 2002 59 Spirituality and our Responsibility to Save the Planet

Dr. Marie Fernandes

The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters. Psalm 24 New International Version (NIV)

The earth is our home, given to us as a divine gift of God and it is our responsibility to care for it and leave it habitable for future generations to come. Sadly, we have set about to systematically destroy it over the centuries. Nature cannot be trifled with and we will have to pay a heavy price for this devastation of land, air and sea.

The English Metaphysical poet John Donne wrote: I am a little world made cunningly Of elements, and an angelic sprite;

C.A. Patrides in analysing this poem observes that “man was habitually said to be the microcosm or ‘abridgement’ of the universe’. Just as the Universe is said to be made up of four elements – earth, water, air and fire, man too is made up of these four elements. If we understand this basic principle we will soon realize that the measure in which we nourish and care for these elements, we not only do a service to ourselves but also ensure our own survival.1

The Aboriginals also believe that there is a symbiotic relationship between man and the natural world where what is good for one is good for the other. They believe, when everything is in balance, what is good for the earth will be good for us as human beings too. Aboriginals believe that they are living, breathing, thinking physical manifestation of their land – a thread in the pattern of creation. Dr. Winch is convinced that if the land is in bad repair, then so are the people. If the rivers dry up and become polluted, then this can be equated with the body’s lifeblood; and it means that life cannot be sustained.2 60

Land is fundamental to the wellbeing of Aboriginal people. The land is not just soil or rocks or minerals, but a whole environment that sustains and is sustained by people and culture. For Indigenous Australians, the land is the core of all spirituality and this relationship and the spirit of ‘country’ is central to the issues that are important to Indigenous people today. In an era of global environmental challenges we all need to listen to the voices that offer a way of seeing and relating to the land that will allow the earth not only to survive, but also to thrive. They cultivated land, but in a way different from the white man. According to aborigine Tom Dystra, “We endeavoured to live with the land; they seemed to live off it. I was taught to preserve, never to destroy”.3

In early times too human beings were rooted in their neighbourhood, in the Agropolis. This was mainly an agrarian economy and the produce came from the land or places in the vicinity. With Industrialization things soon changed and people deserted their village to move to the Metropolis. The city largely depended on transportation of goods and services from all over – land, air and sea hence the Petropolis came into being. 4

Due to man’s culture of consumption and excessive materialism we have slowly but surely destroyed much of our green cover with trees being cut down, more fossil fuels, minerals and metals mined from the earth, people spending more money on consumer goods - from richer food and larger homes to televisions, cars, computers and air travel. We are already witnessing the harmful effects of this systematic ravishing of the earth, through heatwaves and deserts expanding at three miles a year, multiple ice shelves collapsing and glaciers retreating in the Alps.

In the 2009 documentary The Age of Stupid, a cautionary tale, begins with the Big Bang occurring 13 billion years ago and then goes forward in time. There is a montage of images up to the present time and then stops at the year 2055: the world is void of people. Sydney, Australia is on fire. Las Vegas, Nevada is underneath sand. There is no snow on the mountain ranges, tremendous flooding everywhere, and no ice in the Arctic. The ending of the film features the archivist asking, “Why didn’t we save ourselves when we had the chance? Because we didn’t think we were worth 61 saving?” And then the camera zooms out to a view of the Earth with the caption: ‘The End?’5

As long ago as a late 1600s, societal shifts in Europe began to lay the groundwork for the emergence of consumerism. Expanding populations and a fixed base of land combined with a weakening of traditional sources of authority such as the church and community social structures, meant that a young person’s customary part of social advancement – inheriting the family plot or apprenticing in a father’s trade – could no longer be taken for granted. People sought new avenues for identity and self-fulfilment, and the acquisition and use of goods became popular substitutes.6

Meanwhile entrepreneurs were quick to capitalise on these shifts to stimulate purchase of their new ways, using new types of advertising, endorsements by prominent people, creation of shop displays, “loss-leaders” (selling a popular item at a loss as a way of pulling customers into a store), creative financing options, even consumer research and the stroking of new fads. For example, one 18 century British pottery manufacturer, Josiah Wedgwood, had sales people drum up excitement for new pottery designs, creating demand for new lines of products even from customers who already had a perfectly good but now seemingly outdated, set of pottery.7

Still, traditional social mores blocked the rapid advance of a consumerist mindset. Peasants with extra income traditionally would increase land holdings or support community works rather than buy new fashions or home furnishings - two of the earliest consumer goods. Workers whose increased productivity resulted in greater pay tended to favour more leisure time rather than the wealth that a full day at increased pay might have brought them.8

But over time the emerging consumerist orientation was internalised by a growing share of the populace – with the continued help of merchants and traders – redefining what was understood as natural. The universe of “basic necessities”, grew, so that by the French Revolution, Parisian workers were demanding candles, coffee, soap and sugar as goods of prime necessity even though all but the candles had been luxury items less than hundred years earlier.9 62

By the early 1900s a consumerist orientation had become increasingly embedded in many of the dominant societal institutions of many cultures – from businesses and governments to the media and education. And in the latter half of the century, new innovations like television, sophisticated advertising techniques, transnational corporations, franchises, and the Internet helped institutions to spread consumerism across the planet.

Arguably the strongest driver of this cultural shift has been business interests. On a diverse set of fronts, business found ways to coax more consumption of the people. Credit was liberalised, for instance, with instalment payments, and the credit card was promoted heavily in the United States, which led to an almost 11 fold increase in consumer credit between 1945 and 1960. Products were designed to have short lives, or to go out of style quickly. And workers were encouraged to take pay rises rather than more time off, increasing their disposable incomes.10

Considering the social and ecological costs that come with consumerism, it makes sense to intentionally shift to a cultural paradigm where the norms, symbols, values, and traditions encourage just enough consumption to satisfy human well-being while directing more human energy to work practices that help to restore planetary well- being.

In the 2006 interview, Catholic priest and ecological philosopher Thomas Berry noted that “we might summarise our present human situation by the simple statement. In the 20th century, the glory of the human has become the desolation of the earth. And now, the desolation of the earth is becoming the destiny of the human. From here on the primary judgement of all human institutions, professions, and programs and activities will be determined by the extent to which they inhibit, ignore, foster a mutually enhancing human- earth relationship.11

Examples of a spiritual bond between man and nature can be traced in the life of St. Francis of Assisi, a 12th century saint. He was born on October 4th, 1181 in Umbria, Italy. His father was a wealthy cloth merchant and he lived a life of luxury. Later, while imprisoned after a battle, he had a life-altering spiritual experience which led him to a change of heart and change of life. 63

Decreed the Patron Saint of the Environment/ Ecology and of Animals, Francis’ latter life was not only an unblemished model of religious devotion, but an exemplary paragon of harmonious existence on Earth. He was a friend to man and beast, an admirer of the sun and of nature, and a peacemaker in every sense of the word. Francis was not merely at peace with his fellow man — he was at peace with all living things, everything beautiful that his eyes could behold. He wrote hymns of praise to his God for the creations he felt so blessed to behold, and he wrote poems to his “Brother Sun” and “Sister Moon,” even repeatedly praising his “Sister Death” upon his deathbed — as he felt so much at one with creation.

He was deeply committed to the well-being of the environment and of all of creation. He lived with animals. He rejoiced amongst nature. He preached to the birds to remind them to praise their Creator for the blessings they had. He tamed a wild wolf and made it one of his many pets. Yet, he understood the plight of nature and the circle of life, albeit brutal at times. Despite, this he felt that his Creator would not create evil, and hence, everything around him was good and accordingly, should be treated with courtesy and kindness and generosity, from the earthworm to the lamb, the cicada to the wolf. It is perhaps because they recognized his genuine sincerity towards their existence that the animals felt so drawn to him as well.12

Francis prayed in nature and discovered more about God and himself through the practice of contemplative prayer in nature. Today with all our modern comforts and conveniences, we tend to be alienated from the earth and from ourselves. St. Francis spent up to half of each year praying in different places amongst nature and the wilderness, living in hermitages, caves, under lean-to’s, and on mountainsides, interspersing this with preaching to animals and plants as well as to people. Through these experiences and the recognition of his own relatedness to nature as part of creation, he himself was helped to grow more fully into the mystery of God, his beliefs liberating him to become more fully alive.13

Our present Pope Francis chose Francis of Assisi as his role model to imitate and live his ‘Lady Poverty’ in reality, deliberately choosing an austere way of life; exhorting others to follow suit, so that there is enough for all in the world. Pope Francis conducts his personal life in an unassuming and compassionate way, living 64 in a simple apartment rather than in a luxurious Papal apartment, and by taking the minibus rather than the Papal limousine.

Pope Benedict the XVI was called the ‘Green Pope’ (Newsweek 2008), as he promoted Francis’ Spirituality of relationships by caring for the planet. ‘Learn to sustain the planet before it is too late,” he said. He placed 2700 solar panels on the roof of Paul VI Auditorium, created a new Vatican Climate Forest in Hungary’s Bükk National Park, installed high-tech solar collectors, and announced seven new sins that need repentance. The fourth sin is, “Thou shall not pollute the environment,” besides many other green activities.14

When Pan Yue Vice Minister of China’s Ministry of environmental protection, wanted to advance environmentalism he often reached for an unusual tool: China’s spiritual heritage. Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism which he believed were powerful weapons in preventing an environmental crisis. In October 2008 a group of Taoist masters met to formulate a response to climate change, with initiatives ranging from solar powered temples to a Taoist environmental network. Inspiration came from the tower’s concept of the unit yang interplay of opposites to create balanced whole, which infuses the climate crisis between end and meaning. “The carbon balance between earth and sky is off-kilter,” explains a UN official who attended the meeting, interpreting the Taoist view. ‘“It is … significant that the current masters of Taoism in China have started to communicate precisely to this ancient yet new vocabulary.15

The Chinese Taoists are not alone in their activism. Baha’is, Christians Hindus Jews and Muslims – encouraged by a partnership of the United Nations and the alliance for religions and conservation (UK non-profit) – developed seven your climate and environment plans that were announced in November 2009, just before the start of the U.N. climate conference in Copenhagen. The plans at the latest religious efforts to address the sustainability crisis of our time, including climate change, deforestation, water scarcity and species loss. By greening their activities and uncovering or the emphasising the green dimensions of sacred texts, religious and spiritual groups are helping to create sustainable cultures.16 65

Religious activism on behalf of the environment is now common – in some cases, the point of becoming widespread, organised and institutionalised. Three examples from the realms of water conservation, forest conservation, and energy and climate illustrate this broad-based impact.

First His All Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew ecumenical leader of more than 300 million Orthodox Christians, founded Religion, Science and Environment (RSE) in 1995 to advance religious and scientific dialogue around the environmental problems of major rivers and seas. RSE has organised shipboard symposia for scientists, religious leaders, scholars, journalists and policymakers to study the problems of the Aegean, Black, Adriatic and Baltic Seas; the Danube, Amazon and Mississippi Rivers and the Arctic Ocean.17

In addition to raising awareness about the problems of specific waterways, the symposia have generated initiatives for education, cooperation, and network building among local communities and policymakers. Sponsors have included the Prince of Wales; attendees include policymakers from the United Nations and World Bank; and collaborators have included Pope John Paul II who signed a joint declaration with Patriarch Bartholomew on humanity’s need to protect the planet.18

Second, “ecological monks” – Buddhist advocates for environment in Thailand – have taken stands against deforestation, shrimp farming, and the cultivation of cash crops. In several cases they have used a Buddhist ordination ritual to ordain a tree in an endangered forest, giving a sacred status in the eyes of villagers and spawning a forest conservation effort. One monk involved in tree ordinations has created a non- government organisation to leverage the monks’ efforts by coordinating the environmental activities of local village groups, environment agencies, and other interested organisations.19

Third, Interfaith Power and Light (ILP), an initiative of the San Francisco-based regenerative project, helps US faith communities green their buildings, conserve energy, educate about energy and climate, an advocate for climate and energy policies at the state and federal level. Led by Rev Sally Bingham, an Episcopal priest, IPL is now active in 29 states and works with 10,000 congregations. It has developed a 66 range of innovative programs to help faith communities green their work and worship, including Cool Congregations, which features an online carbon calculator and which in 2008 awarded $ 5000 prizes to both the congregation with the lowest emissions per congregant and the congregation that reduce emission by the greatest amount.20

These and other institutionalised initiatives, along with the thousands of individual grass roots religious projects at congregations worldwide from Baha’i environmental and solar technology education among the rural women in India to Appalachian faith groups’ efforts to stop mountaintop mining and the varied environmental efforts of “Green nuns” suggest that religion and spiritual traditions are ready partners, and often leaders in the effort to build sustainable cultures.21

The modern global eco-crisis is a strong signal that “environmentally at least all established ethics are inadequate”, in the words of ethicists Richard Sylvan and David Bennett. More ethical systems today are indifferent to the steady degradation of natural systems and need to be reformed or replaced. Ecological ethics is a complimentary ethical system that gives a natural world a voice in ethical discourse.22

According to Patrick Curry, “A specifically ecological ethic is eco-centric (perceiving and protecting value in all of nature) not “anthropocentric” (restricting value to humanity alone). It recognises that humans are only a part of life on Earth, that humans need the rest of the planet and its inhabitants vastly more than they need humans, and that there is an ethical dimension to all human relationships with the planet. Indeed a truly eco-centric ethic recognizes that in certain situations, the need or rights of Earth or its other inhabitants take precedence over purely or narrowly human ones. Developing an ecological ethics will require the help of the world’s spiritual and religious traditions, which are highly influential in shaping the ethical sensibilities of a large share of humanity”23

In all this we discover that we have to get back to nature and rediscover our oneness with all of creation. Our early ancestors forged a strong link with the Universe. All our religions invite us once again to respect and care for the world we live in and make a conscious effort to change the way we live and adopt a simpler lifestyle as a means of sustaining our planet. 67

End Notes 1 John Donne, The Complete Poems of John Donne. Ed. C. A. Patrides. (London: Dent, Everyman’s Library, 1985)

2 Joan Winch, “A Feeling of Belonging”, Heartsick for Country: Stories of Love, Spirit and Creation. Eds. Sally Morgan, Tjalaminu Mia and Blaze Kwaymullina (North Freemantle: Freemantle Press, 2010) 3 Aborigine Tom Dystra, www.downunderonline.com/australia_holiday_aboriginal_culture.htm 4 Brahmanand Mohanty, Sustainable Urban Energy: A Sourcebook for Asia, United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN HABITAT), Nairobi, Kenya, 20125 Stephen Schneider and Michael Wehner. Reviews of Age of Stupidhttp://www.climatechangeeducation.org/art/ feat/age_of_stupid/reviews/synopsis_2.html 6 Peter N. Stearns, Consumerism in World History. The Global Transformation of Desire. (New York: Routledge, 2001) 25-36. 7 Stearns, 15-24 8 Stearns, 34-35 9 Stearns, 20-21 10 Erik Assadourian, “The Rise and Fall of Consumer Cultures”, State of the World 2010. A Year in Review. Eds. Linda Starke &Lisa Mastny. (London: Earthscan, 2010) 11 Berry quote from interview with Caroline Webb, 2006, video at www.earth-community.org/ images/BerryIV_Subtitles.mov 12 Claudia Herrera Hudson http://myhero.com/hero.asp?hero=assisi 13 St. Francis - A Guide for Nature Lovers & Ecologists http://www.praying-nature.com/ site_pages.php?section=Guide+for+Nature+Lovers) 14 Mudita Sodder RSCJ The Green Saint, The Examiner. Vol. 165. No 39. Sept 27- Oct 03, 2014. p-6 15 Stephen Scharper, “Faiths May Hold the Key to Green China.” Toronto Star, 7 July 2009, Mary Evelyn Tucker, “Pan Yue’s Vision for Ecological Civilization,” blog, Sustainable China, at www.sustainablechina.info/2008/12/08/ a meeting with pan.yue. 16 Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC) and the U.N. Development Programme. Guide to Creating Your Seven Year Plan (Bath, U.K. ARC, August 2008) 17 Religion, Science and the Environment, www.rsesymposia.org 18 Religion, Science and the Environment, www.rsesymposia.org 68

19 Susan M. Darlington, “Practical Spirituality and Community Forests: Monks, Rituals and Radical Conservatism in Thailand”. In Anna L. Tsing and Paul Greenough,eds., Nature in the Global South. (Durham, NC, Duke University Press, 2003) 20 The Regeneration Project. www.theregenerationproject.org 21 Baha’i. www.barli.org/training.programmes.html#45; Sarah McFarland Taylor, Green Sisters: A Spiritual Ecology (Cambridge, MA.: Harvard UP, 2007) 22 Richard Sylvan and David Bennett. The Greening of Ethics From Human Chauvinism to Deep- Green Theory (Cambridge, MA: White House Press, 1994) 23 Patrick Curry. A Global Ecological Ethic, University of Kent. Canterbury, UK . www.worldwatch.org 69 Green Economy – a Holistic Approach to Planet Earth

Dr. Kashmira P. Mody Green economy – a Holistic Approach to Planet Earth

Planet earth’s social, environmental, and economic fabric is being threatened from allsides by challenges such as global warming, violence, poverty, and general environmental degradation,caused by unsustainable use of earth’s resources.In this context the relationship between economic growth, human well-being, and the achievement of a sustainable future is a topic which has gathered a growing amount of interest and attention in the latter half of the 20th century.At the base of all discussions about the environment and planet earth is the realization of the interdependency that exists between the planet and us. What happens ecologically is reflected economically and socially. We are bound by a web of cultural, economic, ecological and social connectedness. As people concerned about planet earth there is a great need to reflect on the care of the earth and the environment and its relationship with humanity. The Earth and the Economy

The earth may be considered as an organism whose health depends on the health of all its parts. Current environmental trends threaten to radically alter the planet, and that threatens the lives of many species upon it, including the human species.Until recently, the planet was a large world in which human activities and their effects were neatly classified within nations, within sectors (energy, agriculture, industry, trade), and within broad areas of concern (environment, economic, social). These boundaries have begun to dissolve especially in the background of various global ‘crises’ that have seized public attention, particularly over the last few decades. These are not separate crises: an environmental crisis, a development crisis, an energy crisis. They are all one.

There has been a growing realization in governments and institutions that, it is impossible to separate economic development issues from environment issues; that 70 development erodes the environmental resources upon which they must be based, and that environmental degradation can undermine economic development. Poverty is a major cause and effect of global environmental problems. It is therefore futile to attempt to deal with environmental problems without a broader perspective that encompasses the factors underlying world poverty and international inequality.Rising poverty and unemployment have increased pressure on environmental resources as more people have been forced to rely more directly upon them. Many governments have cut back efforts to protect the environment and to bring ecological considerations into development planning.

This has brought to the fore the linkages between the global economy and global ecology. In the past concerns were expressed about the effects of economic growth upon the environment. Today the effects of ecological stress - degradation of soils, water systems, atmosphere, and forests upon our economic prospects are important. With globalization there has been a sharp increase in economic interdependence among nations, and noticeable now is the accelerating ecological interdependence among nations. Ecology and economy are becoming ever more interwoven locally, regionally, nationally, and globally into a seamless net of causes and effects.

It has been realized that the efforts to guard and maintain human progress, to meet human needs, and to realize human ambitions are simply unsustainable - in both the rich and poor nations. They draw too heavily, too quickly, on already overdrawn environmental resource accounts to be affordable far into the future without bankrupting those accounts. They may show profit on the balance sheets of our generation, but the future generations will inherit the losses. It is as though we borrow environmental capital from future generations with no intention or prospect of repaying.

Sustainable Development and the Green Economy

The present economic course is unsustainable: forests are shrinking, deserts are expanding, water tables are falling, soils are eroding, fisheries are collapsing, and arctic ice is melting. Consumption of basic commodities such as food and water is rising exponentially. Thus a holistic approach becomes necessary to prevent economic 71 instability, political conflict, and disruption of the social order which could result in stalling economic progress.

Humanity, which exists as a part of nature, has no future unless nature and natural resources are conserved. Economists will tell you that conservation cannot be achieved without development to alleviate the poverty and misery of hundreds of millions of people.But both economists and environmentalists have realized the need to restructure the global economyto prevent economic and ecological collapse. What is needed is the implementation of a comprehensive poverty eradication strategy, and restoration of damaged ecological systems. It was in this context of the interdependence of conservation and development, that the world was first introduced to the concept of “sustainable development.”

Sustainable development depends on caring for the earth. Unless the fertility and productivity of the planet are safeguarded, human future is at risk. The three objectives of sustainable development were stated as:

i Essential ecological processes and life-support systems must be maintained; ii. Genetic diversity must be preserved; iii. Any use of species or ecosystems must be sustainable.

This 1980 World Conservation Strategy gave the message that conservation is not the opposite of development. It emphasized that conservation includes both protection and the rational use of natural resources, and is essential if people are to achieve a life of dignity,as well as, assure the welfare of present and future generations. It drew attention to the almost limitless capacity of people both to build and destroy. It called for globally coordinated efforts to increase human well- being and halt the destruction of earth’s capacity to support life.

Today the concept of the “green economy”is widely accepted to a large extent because it provides a response to the multiple crises that the world has been facing in recent years – the climate, food and economic crises – in the form of an alternative paradigm that is friendly to the earth’s ecosystems and can also contribute to poverty alleviation. 72

Holistic in character, as it encompasses the three pillars of development – economic, social and environmental – and in particular focuses on inter-generational equity. The green economy term and concept is also understood to include the need for international provision of finance and technology and accompanying global economic reforms. This is reflected in UNEP’s (United Nations Environment Programme)definition of a green economy as “one that results in improved human wellbeing and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities”.

This approach to sustainable development, de-centers growth to focus more directly on the achievement of social justice and the conservation and protection of ecosystem services. It realizes that maximizing the quality of whatever we do with the earth’s finite resources will always conserve them, thereby spreading nature’s wealth among more people and generations. Conversely, maximizing the quantity of any material withdrawn from the earth’s finite supply to feed the insatiable appetite of today’s consumer economy can only squander nature’s limited wealth.

This doesnot imply that unlimited growth is possible or desirable, but it provides a framework for balancing the costs and benefits of growth and for directing goods and services to ends that best reflect society’s values. it suggests that a sustainable future will come into being if the biophysical and social conditions needed to support economic activity and human flourishing are maintained from each generation to the next. In addition, it emphasizes meeting needs rather than promoting growth or satisfying consumer preferences as the defining characteristic of “development.”

Necessity of a Holistic approach

The green economy idea stems from the inadequacies of current economic structures, policies, and practices in meeting humanity’s material needs, much less our needs for personal dignity, meaning, caring connection, and freedom from violence. This calls for an economic theory based on a more complete understanding of this earth. Conventional economic models give little value to nature, and treat environmental “harms”as externalities— damage caused by the inadvertent clumsiness of the ‘invisible elbow’ attached to Adam Smith’s ‘Invisible Hand’1. 73

Caring for planet earth is viewed as a liability in the conventional cost-benefit analysis, and until recently was not even an issue in economic theories.Besides, when economists addressenvironmental and social problems, they’re usually caught in the free markets/privatization versus central planning/government regulation debate that surrounded the conflict between capitalism and communism. These discussions ignore the fact that neither capitalist nor communist systems have been able to solve chronic problems such as environmental degradation, poverty, and the violence of war and terrorism that diverts and destroys economic resources and scars so many lives. Indeed, many of these problems have been the result of both capitalist and communist economic policies.

In our interconnected world none of us has a secure future as long as hunger, extreme poverty, and violence continue unabated. Economic rules and practices fail to adequately value the most essential human work: the work of caring for ourselves, others, and planetearth. There’s a common denominator underlying our mounting personal, social, economic and environmental problems: a lack of caring. We need to deal with the plants, animals, minerals, human beings and all life, as if they were a part of ourselves. Because we are a part of creation, we cannot differentiate or separate ourselves from the rest of the earth.

The way in which we interact with the earth, how we utilize the plants, animals and mineral gifts, should be carried out with the future generations in mind. We cannot simply think of ourselves and our survival; each generation has a responsibility to ensure the survival of the future generations. Respect for people and for the earth is linked together in order for people to survive and care for future generations.

As Chris Maser puts it, fulfilling our obligation as environmental trustees of the earth as a biological living trust requires fundamental changes in our social consciousness, economic and cultural norms. To meet these challenges, we need to fundamentally reframe our way of thinking. Instead of arbitrarily delineating our seamless world into discrete parts, disciplines and subjects, we need a holistic approach— one that acknowledges the interconnectedness of causes and effects, actions and consequences. At this moment in time it is the concept of the green economy. 74

Bibliography

1. Brundtland, G. H. Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future. 20 March 1987. http://www.un-documents.net 2. Clarkson, L., Morrissette, V. and Regallet, G. Our Responsibility to the Seventh Generation. International Institute for Sustainable Development. Winnipeg, 1992. 3. Cooney, S. Adam Smith, Milton Friedman and the Social Responsibility of Business. 20 August, 2012. http://www.triplepundit.com/2012/08 4. Consortium for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN). Caring for the Earth. 1991.http://www.ciesin.org 5. Eisler, R. Real Wealth of Nations: Creating a Caring Economics. Williston, VT, USA: Berrett- Koehler Publishers, 2007. 6. Foster, J. L. Valuing Nature?: Ethics, Economics and the Environment. London, GBR: Routledge, 1997. 7. Habel, N. C. (ed.) Readings from the Persective of Earth. Sheffield Academic Press, England. 2000. 8. Howarth, R. B. Sustainability, Well-Being, and Economic Growth. Minding Nature. Vol. 5, No. 2, September 2012. http://www.humansandnature.org 9. Maser, C. Earth in Our Care: Ecology, Economy, and Sustainability. New Brunswick, NJ, USA: Rutgers University Press, 2009. 10. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA). Transition to a Green Economy: Benefits, Challenges and Risks from a Sustainable Development Perspective. 2012. http://www.uncsd2012.org

(Footnotes)

1Invisible Hand, a metaphor for harnessing individual self-interest to serve the general well-being, is a powerful principle. It is viewed as the best mechanism for producing and distributing the necessities of life.

However, self-interest alone can lead to disaster for all as was demonstrated mathematically by

John Nash. Self-interest coupled with concern for the good of the group is most likely to benefit everyone. 75 change both the built and the natural environments and how those environments change them.

Environmental psychology began in the late 1960sand is the term most commonly used around the world.Environmental psychology is the study of the interrelationship between behavior and the built and natural environment and the natural environment is studied as both a problem area, with respect to environmental degradation, and as a setting for certain recreational and psychological needs.

Conservation psychology, proposed in 2003, began with a primary focus on the relations between humans and animals. Introduced in ecology, policy, and biology journals, some have suggested that it should be expanded to try to understand why humans feel the need to help or hurt the environment, along with how to promote conservation effort.

Conservation psychology research has broken down the four most important tenets of promoting positive conservation attitudes into “the four ‘I’s.” These include: Information, Identity, Institutions, and Incentives. Research has been done in all four categories.

1. Information: Teaching people about the benefits of conservation, including easy ways to help conserve, is an effective way to inform about and promote more environmentally friendlybehavior.Studies have shown that the way in which crises are presented is a key predictor for how people will react to them.

2. Identity: In general, people like to fit in and identify with their peer social groups. Studies have shown people identify more intimately with close friends and family, which is why conservation campaigns try to directly address larger number of people.

3. Institutions: Another approach that has been considered is the use of organized institutions and government as the leaders for promoting conservation. However, only trusted leaders can be effective. People need to understand that they are being encouraged to act a certain way out of necessity, and are not being misled.

4. Incentives: Incentivizing conservation through rewards and fines is another approach. Monetary incentives have been shown to work for companies showing some effort to make their buildings and practices more ‘green.’ Studies have also 76

shown that doing something as simple as putting a water meter in homes has helped incentivize conservation by letting people track their energy consumption levels. Finally, studies have shown that when giving fines, it is better to start with very small and then raise it for repeated violations.

Nature and children

Play is the business of childhood. Two hundred years ago, most children spent their days playing around fields, farms or amidst wild nature. By the late twentieth century, many children’s environments had become urbanized. But even then, as recently as 1970, children had access to nature and the world. They spent the bulk of their recreation time outdoors, using the footpaths, streets, playgrounds, parks, greenways, vacant lots and other spaces”leftover” during the urbanization process. Fortunately, there is a growing movement to transform the paradigm for playground design in preschool and kindergarten settings. They are designed to stimulate children’s natural curiosity, imagination, wonder and discovery learning as well as nurture children’s connectedness with nature.

Benefits of Naturalized Playgrounds: Research provides convincing evidence of the more profound benefits of experiences in nature for children due to their greater plasticity and vulnerability. Some findings indicated that: Children with symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are better able to concentrate after contact with nature.Also, children with views of and contact with nature score higher on tests of concentration and self-discipline. The greener, the better the scores.

Nature an Nature and Religion

All the religions of the world have traditionally expressed some ethical concern for the environment and its creatures. Throughout history, the world’s religions have understood the Earth to have some kind of religious significance, or religious value, and that humans have some religious obligations to care for its creatures. These shared ethical concerns are found in historical teachings, but not necessarily in actual religious practices. Greed and destructiveness are condemned, while restraint and protection are affirmed by most religious traditions. For reasons that are complex, controversial, and poorly understood, these religious concerns for the environment have faded with the rise of modern society. The development of modern scientific, economic and political institutions have taken the place 77 historically accorded to religion, and traditional religious attitudes towards nature have largely disappeared in modern societies.

However, over the past few decades, some leaders of every religion in the world have returned to their origins to recover their pre-modern religious practises by promoting inter-religious dialogue.

Further areas of research

Conservation psychology seminarstend to focus on four points regarding research.

1) Ways to help develop loving attitudes for animals and the earth, on the basis of which effective educational and interpretive programs could be created.

2) Ways to help developconnections of humans and places. Unfortunately, today as biodiversity is lost, every generation has fewer chances to experience nature.Strategies can be devised to persuade to make them want to join in programs that help maintain biodiversity in their proximity.

3) Ways to produce people who act environmentally friendly by promoting conservation behaviours. Some empirical evidence shows that simply “being the change you want to see in the world” can influence others to behave in more environmentally friendly ways.

4) Discussing the values people have towards their environment and the origin of these values. We absorb most of our values from our religion. Efforts can be directed at involving environmentally educated people and religious leaders, to convey value based communication at the village, city, state, national or even at a global level.

Conclusion

Psychology is defined as the scientific study of human thought, feeling and behaviour. As a social science, it has played a major role in applying its theories and principles to deal with 78 environmental challenges by crafting a wholesome and environmentally durable society. It not only explores nature- related attitudes, perceptions, motivations and values but also devises intervention techniques for promoting environmentally appropriate behaviour by using a variety of measurement scales.

Bibliography  Brook, Amara; Clayton, Susan. Can Psychology Help Save the World? A Model for Conservation Psychology. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, Vol. 5, No. 1, 2005, pp. 87–102  Chawla, Louise, (1994). Editors’ Note, Children’s Environments, (11) 3  De Young, R. (2013) Environmental psychology overview. In S. R. Klein and A. H. Huffman (Eds.) Green Organizations: Driving Change with IO Psychology. (Pp. 17-33) New York: Routledge.  Faber Taylor, A., Wiley, A., Kuo, F.E., & Sullivan, W.C. (1998). Growing up in the inner city: Green spaces as places to grow. Environment and Behavior, 30(1), 3-27  Faber Taylor, A., Kuo, F.E. & Sullivan, W.C. (2001). Coping with ADD: The surprising connection to green play settings. Environment &Behavior, 33(1), 54-77  Howell, A. J., Dopko, R. L., Passmore, H., &Buro, K. (2011). “Nature connectedness: Associations with well-being and mindfulness”. Personality and Individual Differences, 51, 166-171  Kahn, P.K., Jr. 1999. The human relationship with nature. Development and culture. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts  Mayer, F. S., & Frantz, C. M. (2004). The nature connectedness scale: A measure of individuals’ feeling in community with nature. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 24, 503-515  Milfont, T. L., & Sibley, C. G. (2012). “The big five personality traits and environmental engagement: Associations at the individual and societal level”. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 32, 187-195.  Nisbet, E. K., Zelenski, J. A., & Murphy, S. A. (2009). “The nature relatedness scale: Linking individuals’ connection with nature to environmental concern and behaviour”. Environment and Behaviour, 41, 715-740.  Nisbet, E. K., Zelenski, J. M., & Murphy, S. A. (2010). “Happiness is in our nature: Exploring nature relatedness as a contributor to subjective well- being”. Journal of Happiness Studies, 12, 303-322  Saunders, C.D. 2003. The Emerging Field of Conservation Psychology. Human Ecology Review, Vol. 10, No, 2. 137–49.  Weinstein, N., Przybylski, A. K., & Ryan, R. M. (2009). Can nature make us more caring? Effects of immersion in nature on intrinsic aspirations and generosity. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35, 1315-1329. 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 Care of the Earth :An Islamic Perspective

-Ayesha Imran Gundagi

Introduction

Environment protection is an important aspect of Islam. Being stewards of the Earth, it is the responsibility of human beings to care for the environment in a proactive manner.In Islam man has been granted this stewardship (khilafah) on the earth. There is a definite purpose behind the creation of different species, be it plants or animals. Muslims are encouraged to reflect on the relationship between living organisms and their environment and to maintain the ecological balance created by Allah. Protection of the environment is essential to Islamic beliefs and mankind has the responsibility to ensure safe custody of the environment.

The Islamic perspective on environment protection reflects a positive image about Islam

Throughout the universe, the divine care for all things and all-pervading wisdom in the elements of creation may be perceived, attesting to the All-Wise Creator ALLAH- The most benefical and merciful. The Glorious Quran has made it clear that each thing and every creature in the universe, whether known to man or not, performs two major functions: a religious function in so far as it evidences the Maker’s presence and infinite wisdom, power, and grace; and a social function in the service of man and other created beings.God’s wisdom has ordained that His creatures shall be of service to one another Over exploitation, abuse, misuse, destruction, and pollution of natural resources are all transgressions against the divine scheme. Because narrow-sighted self-interest is always likely to tempt men to disrupt the dynamic equilibrium set by God, the protection of all natural resources from abuse is a mandatory duty.In the divine scheme by which all creatures are made to be of service to one another, God’s wisdom has made all things of service to mankind. But nowhere has God indicated that they are created only to serve human beings. On the contrary, Muslim legal scholars have maintained that the service of man is not the only purpose for which they have been created. With regard to God’s saying 86

God declares that He created His creations for the children of Adam; it is well known that God in His great wisdom has exalted purposes in them other than the service of man, and greater than the service of man. However, He makes clear to the children of Adam what benefits there are in these creatures and what bounty He has bestowed upon mankind.

The approach of Islam towards the use of natural resources was brilliantly put forward by the Fourth Caliph Hazrat Ali ibn Abi-Talib (RA) who said “Partake of it gladly so long as you are the benefactor, not a despoiler; a cultivator, not a destroyer. All human beings as well as animals and wildlife enjoy the right to share Earth’s resources. Man’s abuse of any resource is prohibited as the juristic principle says ‘What leads to the prohibited is itself prohibited”

1. Water

The role of water in the environment and the Islamic injunction for conservation of this vital element fundamental to the preservation and continuation of life.God has made water the basis and origin of life. God says:”We made from water every living thing…” (Quran 21:30)Plants, animals, and man all depend on water for their existence and for the continuation of their lives. God has said:

“And We send down pure water from the sky, thereby to bring to life a dead land and slake the thirst of that which We have created- cattle and men in multitudes.” (Quran 25:48-49)

Owing to the importance of water as the basis of life, God has made its use the common right of all living beings and all human beings. All are entitled to use it without monopoly, usurpation, despoilment, wastage, or abuse. God commanded with regard to the people of Thamud and their camel,

The long experience of Muslim jurists in the allocation of water rights in arid lands has given rise to an outstanding example of the sustainable use of a scarce resource; an example which is of increasing relevance in a world where resources which were once abundant are becoming progressively more scarce 87

2. Air

“And He it is Who sends the winds as tidings heralding His grace: until when they have raised a heavy-laden cloud, We drive it to a dead land and cause the rain to descend upon it, and thereby bring forth fruits of every kind.” (Quran 7:57)

Since the atmosphere performs all these biological and social functions, its conservation, pure and unpolluted, is an essential aspect of the conservation of life itself which is one of the fundamental objectives of Islamic law.

3. The Land and Soil

Like air and water, the land and soil are essential for the perpetuation of our lives and the lives of other creatures. God has declared in the Quran:

“And the earth He has established for living creatures.” (Quran 55:10)

From the minerals of the earth are made the solid constituents of our bodies, as well as those of all the living animals and plants. God has said in the Quran:

“And among His signs is that He has created you from dust; then behold, you are humans scattered widely.” (Quran 30:20)

He has also made the land our home and the home of all terrestrial beings.

“And God has made you grow, as a plant from the earth; then to it He returns you, and He will bring you forth a new...” (Quran 71:17-18)

God has made the land a source of sustenance and livelihood for us and other living creatures: He has made the soil fertile to grow the vegetation upon which we and all animal life depend. 88

If we would truly give thanks to the Creator, we are required to maintain the productivity of the soil, and not expose it to erosion by wind and flood; in building, farming, grazing, forestry, and mining, we are required to follow practices which do not bring about its degradation but preserve and enhance its fertility. For to cause the degradation of this gift of God, upon which so many forms of life depend, is to deny His tremendous favors. And because any act that leads to its destruction and degradation of life on earth, such acts are categorically forbidden.

4. Plants and Animals.

Islam emphasizes all measures for the survival and perpetuation of these creatures so that they can fully perform the functions assigned to them. The absolute destruction of any species of animals or plant by man cannot be justified; nor should any be harvested at a rate in excess of its natural regeneration. This applies to hunting and fishing, forestry and wood-cutting for timber and fuel, grazing, and all other utilization of resources. It is imperative that the genetic diversity of living beings be preserved - both for their own sake and for the good of mankind and all other creatures.

10 Green Ahadithor Ecological Advice From Prophet Muhammad

Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, is one of the most, if not the only one who reached a pinnacle of success by not only verbally teaching, but stringently applying Islamic principles of ecological welfare. His concern for preserving nature was so consistent that history reports the only time he cut down plants were the palm trees in Madina to impede the Jewish tribe BanuNadhir.

The Merciful Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said;

. Show mercy to those on earth, and He (Allah) will show mercy unto you in the Heavens. (Abu Dawood and Thirmidhi) 89

1) A believer is like a growing tree

Prophet Muhammad was teaching new Muslims that their life on the path of faith must always progress and beware of climatic changes, just like a young tree. There will be tough times when the storm seems to never end. But patience and persistence in planting roots no matter what the trouble, will heal both one’s own branches and protect the nearest plants.

2) Plant a tree even if it’s your last deed

“If the Hour (the day of Resurrection) is about to be established and one of you was holding a palm shoot, let him take advantage of even one second before the Hour is established to plant it.” - Al-Albani.

3) Planting trees is a renewable source of reward

“If a Muslim plants a tree or sows seeds, and then a bird, or a person or an animal eats from it, it is regarded as a charitable gift (sadaqah) for him.” - Imam Bukhari.

4) Conserve resources even when used for routine rituals

Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, happened to pass by a Companion, Sa’d, as he was performing ablution (wudhu) next to a river. At this, the Prophet said, “Sa’d what is this squandering?”

Sa’d replied: “Can there be an idea of squandering (israf) in ablution?”

The Prophet said: “Yes, even if you are by the side of a flowing river.” - Ibn Majah.

5) Keeping the environment sanitary maintains the community

Hygiene and cleanliness (tahara) is so integral to Islam that it is actually a major sub-branch of Muslim belief. Without physical hygiene, prayers are 90

broken. Without clean facilities pollution ruins cities, and without any effort to improve one’s own purity, it becomes more difficult to prevent external corruptions like littering.

6) Thus, Prophet Muhammad said about street clean-ups,

“Removing harmful things from the road is an act of charity (sadaqah).” Narrated by Abu Dharr Al-Ghafari.

7) Say no to over-consumption (or at least reduce it)-

Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas reported that the Prophet said, “The believer is not he who eats his fill while his neighbor is hungry.” Authenticated by Al-Albani

8) Eat a little less every day

Excessive eating is abhorred in Islam. For the days of Ramadan, fasting is precisely a command in order to learn control and when to say ‘no’. Prophet Muhammad did not encourage eating a three course meal nor a heavy meal. Every meal should be shared between two and choosing between take-outs and home-cooked, a healthier diet is always the better option (less meat, more greens). In the Islamic law system (Shariah), a person should stop eating as soon as the hunger pangs cease.

“Nothing is worse than a person who fills his stomach. It should be enough for the son of Adam to have a few bites to satisfy his hunger. If he wishes more, it should be: One-third for his food, one-third for his liquids, and one-third for his breath.” Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah.

9) Consider recycling and fixing before buying new items

When asked about how the Prophet used to live in his house, the Prophet’s wife, ‘A’ishah, said that he used to repair his own shoes, sew his clothes and 91

carry out all such household chores done without complaint or want for more. (Authenticated by Al-Albani).

The idea behind this was to show Muslims that menial tasks (mehna) were not degrading for God’s Prophet. Reusing and repairing things instead of always buying new is not a sign of poverty, they are a sign of power. By performing household duties, the Prophet was saying we can build foundations on less ‘stuff’, we are in control of what we consume and we don’t need more.

10) Animals should be cared for:

“A man felt very thirsty while he was on the way, there he came across a well. He went down the well, quenched his thirst and came out. Meanwhile he saw a dog panting and licking mud because of excessive thirst. He said to himself, “This dog is suffering from thirst as I did.” So, he went down the well again, filled his shoe with water, held it with his mouth and watered the dog. Allah appreciated him for that deed and forgave him.” The Companions said, “O Allah’s Messenger! Is there a reward for us in serving the animals?” He replied: “There is a reward for serving any living being.”

- Imam Bukhari.

. One should provide the needs of any animals under his/her care, if a person causes an animal to die of starvation or thirst is punished by Allah in the hell.” (Bukhari and Muslim Sharif)

. When people asked, O Messenger of Allah, is there a reward in doing good to the animals? He (peace be upon him) said, “There is a reward in doing good to every living thing.” (Bukhari and Muslim Sharif)

The universal and the most visionary Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) forbade;

. To kill animals or birds for fun or mere sports (Bukhari and Muslim Sharif)

. To light a fire on an anthill (Bukhari& Muslim Sharif) 92

. To cut trees that provides valuable shelter to humans or animals in the desert / jungle (Abu Dawood)

. To waste water even for ablution for prayers (Bukhari)

. He ordered a man who had taken the nestlings of a bird from their nest to return them whence he got them, to their mother which was trying to protect them.” (Abu Dawood)

Conclusion

Muslims, around the world, have an obligation to protect the environment and conserve resources by joining the original Environmental Protection Agency on earth founded by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). In other words, just believing is not enough, do some thing about it. Protect the environment from all forms of corruptions and pollutants.It is in everyone’s interest, Muslims and non Muslims, to follow the most proactive and the pioneer of environmental protection movement, the final Messenger of Allah, Muhammad (peace be upon him). May we get some wisdom.Amen.Those who conserve in this world will get it back, in abundance, in the Heavens.

Bibliography/References

Bukhari and Muslim Sharif-hadithby .” Authenticated by Al-Albani,AbuDawood.

IUCN AND MEPA “Environmental Protection in Islam ,La Protection de I’EnvironmentenIslam.Second Revised edition

Eco Sunnah,Eco Islam.

Quran,( 25:48-49),(7:57) (55:10)(30:20) (71:17-18)

ShariahIslamic law book.

Environmetal Protection in Islam By Dr. A. Bagader, Dr. A. El-Sabbagh, Dr. M. Al-Glayand, and Dr. M. Samarrai (edited by IslamReligion.com) . 93 Hinduism and its Attachment to Mother Earth

Prof. Jyoti Bhatia

Introduction

Hinduism is a diverse pattern of religion, within which most elementary mythologies can be found including the faith of inanimate objects like stones, rivers, stars, planets to animate objects like trees, animals, birds, plants, ancestors and spirits. It also presents itself as a fruitful field for most elevated beliefs that seek to reach not only the joining of the soul with a personal God- the creator of the universe, but also to overcome this dualistic approach by realizing one’s identity with the holy spirit. Hinduism is a universal expression of the religion and philosophy of Indians; thereby rightly pointed as a museum of humanity.

According to Dr. Pankaj Jain, Assistant Professor of South Asian Religions and Ecology,University of North Texas- Hinduism contains numerous references to the worship of the divine in nature in its Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, Sutras, and its other sacred texts. Millions of Hindus recite Sanskrit mantras daily to revere their rivers, mountains, trees, animals, and the earth.

Hinduism recognizes that the human body is composed offive elements (panchtattva) and connects each of the elements to our senses. The human nose is related to earth, tongue to water, eyes to fire, skin to air, and ears to wind/ vayu. This bond between our senses and the elements is the foundation of our human relationship with the natural world.

The paper is an attempt at giving knowledge on Hindu religion and its beliefs segregating various elements and creatures (sankhya) on this Earth- Water (jal), Air(vayu), Fire(agni), Land (prithvi).It also covers Hindu religion beliefs and its relationship with the living creatures on this earth- birds, animals, trees and plants.

In Hindu cosmology, a universe endures for about 4,320,000,000 years (one day of Brahma- the creator) which is then destroyed by fire or water elements. It is believed that Brahma rests for one night, just as long as the day. This process, named pralaya (Cataclysm), repeats for 100 Brahma years (311 trillion, 40 billion human years). 94

A. Hindu texts mention the cycle of creation and destruction.This continuous cycle of action, reaction, birth, death and rebirth is a called samsara. It includes process of passing from one body to another throughout all species of life. The notion of reincarnation and karma is a strong premise in Hindu thought.

i. According to the Upanishads rebirth or reincarnation of the souls can take place in a series of physical bodies (normally in human bodies but also in animals and even plants) or in a series of astral and preternatural bodies (sun, moon, planets, stars, angels or demons), depending on one’skarma.

ii. Mundaka Upanishad 2.1.1 states:”The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart. 0 Arjun, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities.”

iii. According to Shatapatha Brahmana the current human generation descends from Manu, the only man who survived a great deluge after being warned by the God.

iv. According to Part 3, Chapter 4 verse 1 of Aitareya Upanishad only the “Atman” (the Self) existed in the beginning. This Self-created heaven, sky, earth and the world beneath was formed. He then formed the Purusha from the water. He also created the speech, the fire, the prana (breathe of life), the air, various senses, the directions, the trees, the mind, the moon and other things.

v. The Kaushitaki Upanishad (Kaushitakishakhaof the Rig-Veda)under chapter I.2 expresses that: ‘He(whoever depart from this world)is reborn here either as a worm, or as a butterfly, or as a fish, or as a bird, or as a lion, or as a serpent, or as a tiger, or as a person, or as some other being in this or in that condition, according to his works, according to his knowledge.

vi. According to ChandogyaUpanishad Brahman is the ground of all reality and existence and states that Brahman is uncreated, external, infinite 95

and all-embracing. It is the ultimate cause and goal of all that exists. It is One and it is All. All beings emanate from Brahman; all beings will return back to the same source. Brahman is in all things and it is the true Self (atman) of all beings.

vii. Shvetashvatara Upanishad states God is the eternal Reality,and the ground of existence.Those who perceive him in every creature, Merge in him are released from wheel of birth and death.

viii. Rig Veda Chapter 10 hymn16 verse 3 is addressed to the funeral fire- Agni expresses: ‘Do not burn him entirely, Agni, or engulf him in your flames. Do not consume his skin or his flesh.’ It expresses the desire and hope that, after the purification through fire, Agni, the dead person receives his body back, made perfect, so as to enjoy the life of the fathers.

ix. The Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2 Verse 22 states that - as a person puts on new clothes and discards old and torn clothes, similarly an embodied soul enters new material bodies, leaving the old bodies. Verse 13 states that - Just as in this body the embodied (soul) passes into childhood, youth and old age, he also passes into another body and the firm man does not grieve at that event.

x. In Chapter 10, Verse 20 of Bhagvat Gita, Shri Krishna reveals that He manifests immortal soul (beginning, middle and end ) within each and every living entity.

B. Hindu Beliefs on Form of Creatures due to reincarnation and its worship to animate objects:

Hindus see divinity in all living creatures. They believe that consciousness is present in all life forms, even birds, animals and plants and treat them as a part of family.

i. Earth popularly known as MITTI (mother) in Hindureligion is treated as dhartimaata.It is also believed that every individual soul falls from heaven 96

located in the moon to the earth through rain. From earth it enters the earth through human or animal body and finally becomes a part of semen (retas). It is said that this life starts on mother earth and will be destroyed back in Mother Earth.

ii. According to Vedas and Bhagavad Gita,there are 8.4 million yonis (form of life or a species) total with Manushya Yoni (Human form/human species) as one of them. A manushya yoni is obtained on the basis of good deeds before which a human goes through various forms of yonis (for example insect, fish, deer, monkey, crow etc.).

iii. The Bhagavad Gita Chapter 8 verse 6 states that the most prominent thought of one’s life occupies the mind at the time of death and determines the nature of the body to be attained in the next birth.A human who achieves Mokshya breaks the cycle of reincarnation and adjoins Brahma.

Hence Hindus believe in reincarnation - a belief that the soul is eternal and lives many lifetimes, in one body after the other. The soul is sometimes born in a human body, sometimes in an animal body and sometimes in a plant body, etc.Hindus believe that all forms of life contain a soul, and all souls have the chance to experience life in different forms.

iv. According to Ramayana byValmiki, One should never harm the wicked or the Good or even animals meriting death.

v. Another belief states that on one’s death on earth, the God of death and justice Yama , tallies the person’s good/bad deeds while on earth and decides if the soul should go to a heaven and/or a hell. The soul acquires a body (of any creature) as appropriate to the worlds it enters. At the end of the soul’s time in those worlds, it returns to the earth (is reborn as a life form on the earth).

vi. Hindu creationists claim that species of plants and animals are material forms adopted by pure consciousness which live an endless cycle of 97

births and rebirths. According to Ronald Numbers, Hindu creationists have insisted on the antiquity of humans, who they believe appeared fully formed as long may be trillions of years ago.

Practices by Hindus to reflect their attachment towards animate objects:

 Animals and birds are worshipped and considered as vehicle of Hindu Gods;

Associated God Vahan (form of transport) Lord Ganesh Rat/ mouse Lord Shiva Nandi (bull) Godess Laxmi Elephant Lord Indra/ Surya Horse Vishnu/Krishna Garuda Lord Shani Vulture/ Crow GodessDurga Lion/Tiger GodessSaraswati/ Lord Kartikeya Peacock Lord Khandoba Dog

 To the Hindu, cow symbolizes all other creatures. The cow is a symbol of the Earth, the nourisher, the ever-giving and an undemanding provider. She is believed to be very dear to Lord Krishna and so Krishna devotees considersCow as the holy animal.The slaughter of Cow is banned throughout India. It is the most worshiped animal in India, she treated as the Gods in the shape of animal.

 Nag Panchami, is a Hindu snake festival dedicated to the worship of snakes including Cobra (most sacred snake) and serpent deities. People offer milk, perform puja, and worship the snake.

 In Hinduism the monkey is worshipped as a Hanuman deity. He is also treated as reincarnation of Lord Shiva. 98

 Bull is worshipped on the new moon day of Shravan by the farmers.

A. Hindu Beliefs on Form of Creatures due to reincarnation and its worship to inanimate objects:

i. According to Katha Upanishad Chapter 6, Tree of eternity has its roots in the sky, and its branches reach down to earth. It is God; an immortal soul;

The entire universe comes from God; his energy burns like fire, and his power reverberates like thunder, in every part of the universe. In honor of God the sun shines, the clouds rain, and the winds blow. Death itself goes about its business in fear of God.

ii. According to Chapter 9 verse 26 of Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna states that he accepts a leaf, flower, fruit or water or whatever is offered with devotion.

iii. The Mahabharata says that even if there is only one tree full of flowers and fruits in the village, that place becomesworthy of worship and respect.

iv. In Garuda Purana, Uttara Khanda;Vyasa Muni mentions that – ‘When he (human being) leaves the body, dharma alone follows him; if he has dharma he goes to heaven, but if he has adharma he goes to hell. Earth, wind, space, water, light, mind, intelligence, and the self (atman) - these are the witnesses that watch constantly over the dharma of creatures that breath on earth; together with them, dharma follows the jiva. The body is burnt by fire, but the karma he has done goes with him.’

v. The Padmapurana -Bhumi Khand (Book of the Earth) while giving description of prithvi – earth warns: ‘A person who is engaged in killing creatures, polluting wells, and ponds and tanks, and destroying gardens, certainly goes to hell.’ 99

vi. VarahPurana mentions that one who plants one peepal, one neem, one bar, ten flowering plants or creepers, two pomegranates, two oranges and five mangos, does not go to hell.

Practices by Hindus to reflect their attachment towards inanimate objects:

Forests and groves were considered sacred, and flowering trees received special reverence. Just as the animals and birds are associated with Gods and Goddesses, different trees and plants were also associated with worship of Deities.

 Vedas centre on the worship of deities such as Indra, Varuna and Agni, and on the Soma ritual. Fire-sacrifices- yajna is performed by chanting Vedic mantras. These vedic rites of fire (offerings to God) are observed during practices like Hindu wedding and burial ceremonies.

 Hindus consider celestial objects like Sun, moon, planets (graha), comets, constellations, stars, as deities and worship them regularly.

 Water has been an object of worship from time immemorial. It has diverse socio-religious uses and plays a central role in many religious ceremonies and rites.Rivers are usually believed to be indication of God. They are given a divine status and have been worshipped since ancient times. Ganga, Godavari, Kaveri, Narmada, Saraswati,Yamunaand Sindhu Rivers are the holy rivers of India. It is said that taking bath in the holy rivers, gives freedom to man from all the sins of his life.

 All plants and flowers have medicinal value in the Hindu system of medicine –Ayurveda It is believed to be brought by Dhanvantari -the divine medicine man during Samudramathana (churning of oceans).

 Among these, Tulsi is considered as a venerated plant and Hindus worship it every morning and evening. The presence of tulsi plant symbolizes the religious bent of a Hindu family. Generally, tulsi is planted in a specially built structure, with images of deities installed on all four sides, an opening for a small earthen oil lamp. 100

Sacred Trees/Plant in Apart from medicinal Hinduism properties used for Banyan (Vat/ Kalpavriksha) tree Worship on Vat Savitri festival, believed to provide the growth, a long life and strength of their families Pipal tree or asvatta (Ficusreligiosa) Worship as is believed to have astrological connotations. It is linked with the planet Jupiter. Neem Tree Offered to God Bilva tree (Aegle marmelos) Sacred for Shiva worship Tulsi (sage) plant Used by Vaishnavas for worship of Lord Krishna, preparation of ornaments Fig (Ficusglomerata) Used to worship of Dattatreya, the son of Trimurty Coconut Tree, Mango tree, Banana plant Used for various puja and fruits are offered to God Sandal wood Oil and paste are used for worship of God

 Vastushastra, widely accepted by Hindus gives direction to people for placing and building dwellings according to the environment in which they stay. It guides people to maintain surroundings without damaging environment and allow natural energy to flow uninterrupted and free thereby provide comfort, good health, peace and prosperity to the dwellers.

Conclusion

As mentioned in Hindu scriptures-‘ VasudhaivaKutumbakam’ means - The entire Universe is one Family. Hindus regard all living creatures like mammals, animals, fishes, birds etc as sacred since our souls have gone through these creatures to arrive at birth of human being.Hinduism hasbeen coined as an environmental friendly religion.

From the above findings, it is observed that Hindus (being keen observers of nature) regard everything around them is pervaded by an unidentified divine presence. It 101 may it be rivers, mountains, lakes, animals, birds, flowers, minerals stars and planets. It is so because the Divine reality is present as prana (soul),energy or power in every electron, particle, atom, cell and in every indication of matter.Hinduism is distinguished by its belief in reincarnation (samsara) determined by the law of karma and its idea on salvation- freedom from this cycle of repeated birth and death.

The rishis of the past have always had a great respect for nature. They perceived that all material manifestations are a shadow of the spiritual.Hindus believe that our sages meditated in natural environment on the hills, mountains, trees and plants whereby making these inanimate objects auspicious place for worship showering blessings to future generations. Hence popular Hindu pilgrimage places (where Gods may have appeared on earth) are rivers, temples, mountains, and other sacred sites in India. Hindu devoteesdaily worship at dawn after bathing in family shrine, lighting a lamp, agarbatti, dhoop and offerPrasad with recitingprayersfrom religious scripts, singing devotional hymns, meditation, chanting mantras, reciting scriptures etcbefore the images of deities. Rightly remarked by a practitioner of Ayurveda medicine Dr. David Frawley,-‘No religion lays much emphasis on environmental ethics as Hinduism. It believes in ecological responsibility that the Earth is our mother. It considers all animals having soul and champions their protection. It has a strong tradition of non-violence or ahimsa. It believes that God is present in all nature, all creatures and in every human being regardless of their faith.’ The Bhagavad Gita advises us not to try to change the environment, improve it, or wrestle with it. Rather if you feel it seems hostile (at times) tolerate it.

From the above findings it can also be observed that Mahabharata, Ramayana, Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagvad Gita and Purana aim at spreading messages for preservation of environment and ecological balance since long time. Nature, or Earth, can never be a hostile element nor it can be conquered or dominated. To conclude, Hinduism forbidsman from exploiting nature and is taught to live in harmony with nature recognizing that there is a divine power in every element present on this earth. 102

References

1. Sri Swami Sivananda (2000); Bhagavad Gita , A Divine Life Society Publication

2. Alister E. Mcgrath, (2009); Science & Religion: A New Introduction.

3. Lars Martin Fosse, (2007); The Bhagavad Gita (English Translation) 4. Ronald L. Numbers, (2006); The Creationists: From Scientific Creationism To Intelligent Design 5. Prabhupada Sri SrimadBhaktisiddhantaSaraswatiGoswami Maharaja, (2003); Article On Srimad Bhagavad-Gita The Hidden Treasure Of The Sweet Absolute.

6. Cincinnatitemplearticle; (2004) Ten Questions People Ask About Hinduism And Ten Terrific Answers!; Himalayan Academy

7. Dr. A. G. Krishna Warrier ; Kaushitaki-Brahmana Upanishad (Translated version); The Theosophical Publishing House, Chennai

8. Swami Nikhilananda English translation of Aitareya Upanishad 9. F. Max Muller (2004); The Upanishads, Vol I. Kessinger Publishing; Isbn 978-1-4191-8641-7

10. Article titled Sacred Space-Waters Worth dated Jan 28, 2009; Times of India Websites

 Swaminarayan.Org/Faq/Hinduism.Htm  Hinduism.Iskcon.org

 Consciouslivingfoundation.org

 hinduwisdom.info

 1stholistic.Com/Prayer/Hindu.  cincinnatitemple.com 103 The Zoroastrian View of Ecology

Dr. Homi Dhalla

Today, the march of a dynamic technology and science, the carcinoma of a planless urbanization, the population explosion, the immense deposits of sewage and garbage, the cataclysmic nuclear tests, have all contributed to ravage the earth. Man’s gradual devastation of the global environment has culminated in a crisis, which is both urgent and drastic. This is not merely a matter of aesthetics; the quality of life itself has deteriorated. Man’s lack of sensitivity towards nature and his exploitative attitude to satisfy his ends, has perpetrated the present ecological imbalance.

The magnitude of the global ecological crisis may be gauged from the following data:

 In June 2013, the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forest revealed startling data: the area of forest land diverted across the country on an average stands at 135 hectares (about 333 acres) per day. This is due to development projects for which large tracts of forest land are handed over to public and private agencies.

 The Ganga whose length stretches over 2525 km is one of the most polluted rivers in the world. In September 2014, the Government of India informed the Supreme Court that it proposes to spend Rs. 51,000 crores in the next five years to completely stop discharge of untreated sewer and waste water from 118 towns into the Ganga river.

 A report from London in October 2014 prepared by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has found that 52% of the world’s animals have vanished in 40 years i.e. from 1970-2010.

 The United Nation’s climate experts had met in Copenhagen on October 27, 2014. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stated that emissions of three key greenhouse gases—carbon dioxide (CO2), methane 104

and nitrous oxide were at their highest levels since over 8,00,000 years. This would lead to global warming, droughts, floods, species extinctions, rising seas and health dangers.

 In November 2014, a report from Beijing highlighted the magnitude of pollution crisis faced by China due to its reliance on coal. As a result of this, over 6 lakh people died prematurely due to diseases caused by smog in 2012.

Mastery over nature:

Thus if we have to save planet earth we have to shape a fresh morally viable attitude to nature. The environmental imbalance is due to conflicting values and ideologies.

Darrol Bryant contends “We in the scientific West have sought to be masters over nature rather than partners with nature in a bio-human cosmic community.”i Cromwell Crawford refers to this as a spiritual crisis and states, “These problems are symptoms of the more fundamental problem of how we think about our relation to the earth. Propelled by the legacy of Descartes, and popularised by the fruit of Renaissance humanism, westerners have viewed the physical world as essentially dead matter entitled to be exploited with impunity.”ii

Nature is animate:

To a Zoroastrian, the ostensibly ‘inert’ world is full of life, which is sanctified as it is imbued with the fravashi, “the transcendental divine essence.” All creatures, as well as plants possess the fravashi. Nature is seen as not only having its intrinsic value but is perceived as being sacred. In the biosphere all forms of life have a right to live and grow. Our concern for nature is not confined to only plants and vegetation; it respects all creatures. In one of the Afrins, a Zoroastrians recites, “I pray for the good of the life of all the living creatures which Ahura Mazda has created.”iii

Essential Dimensions:

Professor Hinnells has described Zoroastrianism as the world’s first ecologically conscious religion.iv Before we explore the dimensions of the Zoroastrian perception 105 of ecology as outlined in the scriptures, we have to understand the relationship between Ahura Mazda (God) and His creation.

Ahura Mazda is the architect of the celestial and terrestrial worlds. Zarathushtra’s heart flows out in reverence to Him. In communion with His heavenly Father, he puts rhetorical questions to Him:

What being laid down paths for the sun and the stars? Who made the moon to wax and wane betimes? Whose might doth hold the earth and sky apart?

Who has brought forth the waters and the plants? Who guides the winds in their uncharted course? v

Ahura Mazda, the lord of wisdomvi and the most beneficentvii is not only the creator of the universe but also its protector and sustainer.viii Being the absolute sovereign,ix he reigns over His creation joyfully.x The Gathas speak of His all-embracing lovexi and one of His names in the Hormazd Yasht is “I am the increasor of the world.” This signifies Ahura Mazda’s munificence, which encompasses every level of His creation.

The devout Zoroastrian regards the elements of nature with the most profound reverence. The Avestan texts clearly reflect this veneration for the earth, the air, the waters and even plant life. In his daily prayers he is reminded of the beauty and majesty of nature and from nature he turns to nature’s God.

In my opinion, the most important ecological reference from our sacred literature is Yasna 12.7 Of what faith are the waters, Of what faith the trees, Of what faith the bounteous mother earth, Of what faith Ahura Mazda, Of what faith was Zarathushtra, Of that faith and of that Law as well, A Mazda-worshipper am I. 106

Among the first prayers taught to Parsi children is the Confession of Faith (Jasa- Me-Avanghe-Mazda), which emphasizes the principle of non-violence (nidhasnaithishem) towards all living creatures. These values are embedded in the Zoroastrian psyche: man is a trustee of nature; he should not violate that trust. This ancient precept finds echo in the writings of Robert Bellah, for whom the only answer to the ecological issue is a moral ecology, which he defines as moral connectedness and interdependence. Others are part of us, not competitors against us.xii

The most fundamental concept of Zoroastrianism, Asha (Vedic rta) is the foundation on which the Prophet based his religion. It is the Divine Plan to which creation moves. It is the immutable order of the resistless tides, the unswerving planets and the unfailing seasons. When man ravages the environment, he sets nature’s order in turbulence. The Hom Yasht intones, “I am for those who preserve order, not for those who create disorder.”xiii

Man is urged to live in hamazor (harmony, co-operation, unity) with his fellow man and with nature. In the prayer, Namach-i-chahar nem (salutation to the four directions), a devotee turns respectfully towards each direction. In deferring thus to nature, he not only acknowledges the omnipotence of Ahura Mazda, but also develops a seminal bond with the environment, which is the temple of nature. Man is thus connected to the trees, mountains, animals and oceans in his daily life.

Zoroastrianism explains this interdependence in the form of the Amesha Spentas. These ‘Holy Immortals’ preside over the material creations. They represent the six attributes of Ahura Mazda.

“Every human being must strive to understand the Eternal Law of Truth and Righteousness (Asha) and must try to realize it in his daily life. In order to do this he must cultivate Love universal Love (Vohu-Mano) and realize it deep within his Inner Self. This Truth and Love thus realized must next be translated into Acts of Service (Kshathra). All through one must hold fast to firm unshaken Faith (Armaiti) Faith in the essential divinity and goodness of all creation. And thus one attains to 107

Perfection and Immortality (Haurvatat and Ameretat). And becomes perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect and conquers death.”xiv

When these attributes are personified, they are taken as the guardians of the seven material creations in later Zoroastrian literature. Some scholars refer to them as Archangels. The Avesta and Pahlavi names of the Amesha Spentas together with the material creations over which they preside are given below:

Avesta Pahlavi Spiritual Material Creations Creations

1. Ahura Mazda Ohrmazd All creations Mankind (Hormazd)

2. Vohu Manah Vahuman Good Mind Animal (Bahman)

3. Asha Vahishta Artvahisht Divine Law Fire (Ardibehesht)

4. Khshathra Vairya Khshatrivar Divine kingdom Metals (Shahrevar)

5. Spenta Armaiti Spandarmat Holy Devotion The Earth (Aspandarmad)

6. Haurvatat Khvardat Perfection, Waters (Khordad) Wholesomeness

7. Ameretatat Amardat Immortality Vegetation (Amardad) 108

Representation of the material creations in Zoroastrian ritual:

Spirituality needs to be formalized and expressed. This is done through rituals. In rituals the presence of the Amesha Spentas are invoked for their benediction. Professor Mary Boyce explains that the rituals enacted by the priests with plants and animals were man’s contribution to the advancement of the world in its regular course. By daily rites they consciously purified, blessed and strengthened every one of the seven creations, which were all represented there: earth in the ritual precinct, water in a vessel, fire burning in a vase, the sky represented by the metallic implements, plant life by the flowers and fruits, the animal kingdom by milk. Mankind was represented through the celebrating priest who, being a co-worker of Ahura Mazda helped in keeping the world in a state of strength and purity.xv

The Middle Path:

Accordingly, man is expected to share the resources of the earth equitably. Statistics today reveal that less than a quarter of our planet’s human population uses approximately 85% of all capital resources. The unwarrantable material demands of the richer nations lacerate the economy of the poorer ones. That Indian’s poverty stemmed from a continuous exploitation by Britain was Dadabhai Naoroji’s (1825- 1916) main contention in his book, Poverty and Un-British Rule in India. His “drain theory” was effectively propagated in the British Parliament. It became the dogma of a whole generation of Indian nationalist economists. Mahatma Gandhi had claimed Dadabhai as his mentor.

The Menok-i-Khrat asks: “By what means can we make Ahura Mazda, the Amesha Spentas and the fragrant heaven our own?” And the response to this is several virtues of which moderation (patmanak) is one.xvi To avoid excess (frehbutih) is repeatedly preached in Zoroastrian texts. A rich man who is always anxious to have more of everything is accounted poor.xvii Man is urged to be unselfish, in a spirit of kindliness towards all. “May the chosen ones of Mazda be supporters and helpers of the world” sings the Ahunavaiti Gatha.xviii 109

Reverence for the earth, the water, the air, animals and plant life:

References from the extant Zoroastrian texts reveal that the ancients acknowledged the earth as providing the basic resources for the sustenance of life, and extolled agriculture as a noble profession. We thus read that it is Ahura Mazda who has created this joy-producing earth. Man venerates it as it nurtures him. The Videvdat text clearly details the things that bring joy to the earth and those which cause it sorrow. Those who till the land cultivate the fallow and dry areas making them productive, bring joy to the earth. Those who kindly and piously give in charity the produce of the earth, delight the earth. So blessed is it accounted to tend the earth, that the Videvdat declares, “He who sows corn, sows righteousness.”

Herodotus in his History (completed before 445 B.C.) informs us “The Persians revere the rivers, they would neither make water nor spit nor wash their hands therein, nor suffer anyone so to do.” Water, whether it be of the rivulet, lake or the mighty sea, is sacrosanct to the Zoroastrian. He esteems it as indispensable to life, and worshipfully eulogizes its intrinsic purity. All possible precautions should be taken not to pollute it. According to the Videvdat it is an abomination to defile water by placing a corpse in it. This text details the purification of the moving as well as the still waters, when so polluted.

John Chardin, a French merchant traveling in Persia during 1665-77, made an interesting observation about the Zoroastrians. “...Their priests teach them that the most virtuous action is to beget children and after that to cultivate a piece of waste land, or to plant a tree.”xix

An American world-traveler of the 19th century, Andrew Carnegie, offers a vignette of Parsi worship: “It was the first of the new moon.... here on the shore of the ocean, as the sun was sinking...they congregated to perform their religious rites. Fire was there in its grandest form, the setting sun, and water in the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean stretched before them. The earth was under their feet, and wafted across the sea the air came laden with perfumes.... surely no time or place could be more fitly chosen for lifting up the soul to the realms beyond sense. I could not but participate in what was so grandly beautiful...I have seen many modes and forms of 110 worship some disgusting, others saddening, a few elevating, when the organ peeled forth its tones, but all poor in comparison with this. Nor do I ever expect to witness a ceremony which will so powerfully affect me as that of the Parsis on the beach at Bombay.”xx

The ancients valued the purity of the wind. Yasna 1.16 eulogizes the pure air, and the Khorshed Niyayishn speaks of the beneficent wind.xxi There is an entire yasht dedicated to Vayu.xxii Air pollution has become a threat much written about, much spoken of. Too late have we become conscious of it? The putrescent air today menaces mankind.

Ahura Mazda in His bounty has created innumerable healing plants. Man expresses his gratitude for them. At the end of every niyayishn and yasht, a devotee prayerfully acknowledges the beneficence of these plants. Moreover, he praises atar urvazishta, the form of energy that exists in plants. While reciting the short prayer “Homage unto the Plants”, the devotee, besides esteeming their usefulness, asks for forgiveness of any breach of action committed towards them.

Some Solutions:

The earnest search for alternatives to pollutants, the attempts to preserve endangered species all over the globe, the multifarious activities of environmental groups are all signs of our times.

Ecological awareness has to be fostered through education. Moreover, in the developing countries, there is a need for environmental education to become a part of adult literacy programmes. Besides the introduction of more national and international legislation for the protection of the environment, there is a greater urgency in ensuring that this legislation is adequately implemented. Subsequently it can find a place in the constitutions of all countries.

Furthermore, the environmental issue cannot be divorced from the question of development. And no form of development should ignore the welfare of man in its totality. We have to ensure that future economic growth is not detrimental to man. 111

And when we speak of humanity, in this context it is also the question of the survival of future generations that we should consider a perspective for nurturing our children and theirs. In all decision-making, this is a factor that should not be overlooked. Moreover, economic growth should not only be sustainable, but also regenerative. This implies that besides not degrading the environment, we ought to actively renew it.

In order to overcome the ecological crisis we have to decelerate the population growth. With millions of people starving and living below the poverty line, more and more exploitation of nature is taking place. In India, 1.5 million hectares of forests are being stripped every year.

In 1951, the population of India was 361 million. At that time, the late Mr. J. R. D. Tata, captain of Indian industry was the first prominent Indian to have warned the Government of India of the dangers of population explosion. If the Government had followed his advice then, the country would have had a higher quality of life and greater access to economic opportunities for all.

Another important solution to the problem is to have ecology on the business Agenda. I would like to site the example of House of Tata and their contribution in this direction.

Social and Environmental Accountability:

In November 2003, when Prince Charles visited Mumbai, he spoke about the loftiness of Indian values to the leaders of industry. He remarked: “India more than any other nation has a true sense of the sacred. I hope that modernization and economic growth will not be at its expense.” He further added, “In today’s world, where public attitudes are changing rapidly, high standards of corporate governance and business ethics are important.”

The practical way to deal with environmental issues in business is to have a pro- active environmental management. Hence it is not merely quality, health and safety but also the environment, which must be on the business agenda. 112

In this context, it is pertinent to examine what the House of Tata, India’s largest industrial conglomerate has been doing in dealing with environmental concerns. The man, who laid the foundation of Indian industry, Jamsetji Tata imbibed the sterling values of discipline, integrity and service from his religious tradition, Zoroastrianism, as he was inducted into the priestly fold at an early age. Called “a one-man planning commission”xxiii by the first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, he gave the country the infrastructure for heavy industry, a scientific research institute and electric power. Perhaps his greatest contribution was the visualization of the steel city, Jamshedpur (named after him). His concern for the environment can be gauged in his letter to his son written from abroad in 1902, whilst the city was being planned: “Be sure that there is plenty of space for lawns, playgrounds and parks...and to lay wide streets planted with shady trees, every other of a quick growing variety.” His sons Dorab and Ratan carried on the work of this industrial visionary.

Within recent history, the late J. R. D. Tata had been internationally recognized. It was as early as the sixties that he took the lead as chairman to guide the large number of companies under him to extend their sense of responsibility beyond the gates of their factories to the villages and towns around. He acknowledged the humanitarian nature of his religious tradition when he wrote to a friend in April 1984: “The Zoroastrian philosophy of hard work, honesty and charity is one that the world should know today.”xxiv

He also stressed that this ethos of caring had to be extended from man to his environment: “There is still considerable scope for most industrial ventures to extend their support not only to human beings but also to the lands, to the forests, to the waters and to the creatures that inhabit them.”xxv The Tata group of companies have already moved in this direction over the last many years.

The Tata Electric Companies (TEC) have planned to cover 45,000 acres under afforestation, a large part of which has already been accomplished. An ecological programme in 29 schools of Lonavla has been introduced to create awareness for the environment among children. A breeding programme for fish, which was on the verge of extinction in Lonavla, has also been launched. Furthermore, a 113 number of gardens have been developed and maintained by TEC in and around Bombay.

Long before ecology became a cause celebre, the Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO) at Jamshedpur had embarked on a massive afforestation programme and had evolved a milieu where industry and the environment were complementary. Today the steel plant has an Environment Management Division monitoring pollution. Recycling plants to save water as well as sewage treatment plants have been installed. When the Company celebrated its golden jubilee in 1958, it gifted to the citizens of Jamshedpur the 237-acre Jubilee Park with its exquisite Moghul Garden.

The operations of the Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company (TELCO) started 18 kms outside the city of Pune in 1965. The Company acquired 126 acres land at Chinchwad and about 800 acres at Pimpri. During this period, TELCO has transformed the industrial belt of Pune and emerged as the largest engineering base in Western Maharashtra. What was essentially wasteland in 1965 has today become a verdant paradise with over 3 lakh trees and two man-made lakes. An excellent bird sanctuary has been developed with a number of migratory birds visiting the area. Soil and water conservation projects have also been undertaken.

Another industrial house founded by a Zoroastrian, Godrej has a well-developed environment policy clearly laid down and enforced. They have preserved a vast expanse of mangrove forest, perhaps the best on the West Coast of India, adjoining their township in the eastern suburbs of Bombay. In the same spirit, WWF-India, head-quartered at the Pirojsha Godrej National Conservation Centre in New Delhi, disseminates environmental education and awareness programmes.

The reverence for nature, which is characteristic of Zoroastrian culture, is inculcated in children at the school of the Godrej Township. For his social commitment, corporate environmental achievement and exemplary service, the late Mr. Sohrab Godrej had been repeatedly felicitated. 114

Thoughts in Conclusion:

In the Zoroastrian tradition, the earth is approximated to the feminine attribute of Ahura Mazda, the archangel, Spenta Armaiti. A 9th century Pahlavi text declares, “I am created, I did not (simply) exist... my mother is Spandarmat (Spenta Armaiti) my father Ohrmazd (Ahura Mazda).”xxvi

Taraporewala has epitomized Zoroastrian sentiments for the earth thus: “Armaiti has been identified with Mother Earth who sustains and nourishes us all upon her bosom. We have our birth from her, we are nourished in life by her and after death we rest in her bosom again.”xxvii The concept of interdependence between man and nature is poignantly validated by this metaphor. The role of the earth as Mother has fecund possibilities because it is a metaphor, which crosses historical and religious lines and combines the current trends of earth consciousness and women consciousness.

It is man’s mission to have such an inwardness of God’s Divine Plan that he can work for the advancement of the world, for his progress, for that of others, and for the weal of all creation. Work he must, for every Zoroastrian is a soldier in the army of Ahura Mazda, fighting against evil. As we have seen, the pollution of the elements and vegetation is held as an evil to be strenuously combated.

Ours is a perfecting world. Groping to attain the creator’s ideal, the Zoroastrian remembers Zarathushtra’s declaration to man: That the choice between good and evil is his. The scriptures have shown the way. It is for him to follow or not; to revere where reverence is urged, or to defile what should be sacrosanct. Zoroastrianism makes it incumbent on man to exercise his free will. How he exercises it will determine the environment of the world he lives in.

May I quote to you, words from the Afrin-i-haft Ameshaspandan, which are very evocative:

May the waters be ever and ever flowing, the trees be ever and ever growing, the corn be ever and ever ripening. May the thoughts, words and actions of us all be 115 truthful and righteous, so that, in the end, all of mankind may be benefited, in this world and in the other world.xxviii

Foot Notes: i. Bryant D. M., “God, Humanity and Mother Earth: African Wisdom and the Recovery of the Earth”, in Ogutu, G. M., (ed.), God, Humanity and Mother Nature, Masaki Publishers, Nairobi, 1992, p. 70.

ii. Crawford, C., “The Environmental challenge: Next Step in Interfaith Encounter.” Paper presented at the Colloquium of the Inter-Religious Federation for World Peace, New Delhi, February 1993, pp. 4-5. iii. Afrin-i-haft Ameshaspandan, 16

iv. Hinnells, J.R., Zoroastrianism and the Parsis, Ward Lock Educational, London, 1981 p. 70.

v. Yasna, 44.3-4 vi. Ibid, 45.3

vii. Ibid, 48.3

viii. Yasht, 1.13

ix. Yasna, 43.1 x. Ibid, 8.5

xi. Ibid, 33.10

xii. Bellah, R., Habits of the Heart, Harvard University Press, 1988.

xiii. Hom Yasht, X

xiv. Taraporewala, I. J., The Religion of Zarathushtra, B. I.Taraporewala, Bombay, 1979, p. 44 xv. Boyce, M., Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices,Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, 1979, P.12.

xvi. Menok-i-khrat, 43, 1-14

xvii. Ibid, 25.4-7 xviii. Yasna, 30.9 116

xix. Cited by Boyce, M., Zoroastrianism, Manchester University Press, sManchester, 1984, p. 126.1898, pp. 219-20

xxi. Khorshed Niyayishn, 8

xxii. Yasht, 15

xxiii. Nehru, J., The Discovery of India, Calcutta, 1947, p. 344 xxiv. Lala, R., Beyond The Last Blue Mountain – A Life of J. R. D. Tata, Bombay, 1992, p. 351.

xxv. Lala, R., The Creation of Wealth, Bombay 1992, p. XVI.

xxvi. Chitak Handarz-i-Poryotkeshan, 2, op. cit., p. 20-21. xxvii. Taraporewalla, I. J., op. cit., p. 44. xxviii. Afrin-i-haft Ameshaspandan, 15-17 

117 About the Editors

Archbishop Felix Machado: He has a Licentiate in Catholic Theology from the Catholic Theological Faculty, Lyon, France (1974-76). He has an M.A. in Theology (with specialization in Catholic Missiology) from the Maryknoll School of Theology, New York, USA (1980). He holds a Doctorate (Ph.D.) in Catholic Dogmatic Theology from the Fordham University, New York, USA. He has been Professor of Catholic Dogmatic Theology, Missiology and formator of future priests at St. Pius X College, Mumbai from 1984 to 1993.From April 1993, he had been called to Rome in order to work in the Roman Curia (Holy See, Vatican) at the Asia Desk of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. On 1 October 1999, he was nominated Under- Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Vatican, by Pope John Paul II and confirmed by Pope Benedict XVI.

He has been visiting Professor of Catholic Dogmatic Theology and Missiology at: Pontifical Institute, ‘Regina Mundi’ in Rome; Pontifical Institute of the Sciences of Education, ‘Auxilium ‘ in Rome; Rome Centre of the Loyola University in Chicago, USA., and at the Pontifical Urban University, Rome.

He has published three books: Jnaneshvari, Path to Liberation; Journeying Together (in English, French and Italian), a Marathi translation and short commentary on the Vatican II document, Lumen Gentium. He has also published over a hundred articles in various international academic journals of theology. On 16 Jan. 2008, Pope Benedict XVI has appointed as Bishop of Nashik with personal title Archbishop. He is now Archbishop of Vasai Diocese.

Rev. Dr. Stephen Fernandes is resident Professor of Ethics and Moral Theology at St. Pius X College, Mumbai. He has a Doctorate in Moral Theology from the Academia Alfonsiana, Rome, Italy. He also holds a Master of Commerce (M.Com.) and Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) degree from the University of Bombay. For two terms he was the Secretary of the Bombay Priests Council. From the year 2008, he is the Executive Director of the F.I.A.M.C. Bio-Medical Ethics Centre, Mumbai.

From the year 2000, he is Theological Consultor, C.C.B.I. Commission for Doctrine and Theological Consultant, Catholic Medical Guild of St. Luke, Mumbai. He is 118 also a Life Member of the National Catholic Bioethics Centre (NCBC), Philadelphia, USA. He is a Member and Consultant, International Association of Catholic Bioethicists (IACB), Toronto. He is the Secretary, Permanent Diaconate Programme, Archdiocese of Bombay. He has presented research papers on Ethics and Justice issues at local, national and international conferences. He has to his credit published articles in various journals on Ethical issues and issues of justice and peace.

In May 2006, he received the Pope John XXI International Award “Premium Deontologiae” for research on the occasion of the XXII World Congress of the International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations (FIAMC) in Barcelona, Spain. In January 2008, he received “The Iustitia et Pax Medallion” from the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Vatican City in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the promotion of Justice and Peace. 119 Note on the Contributors

1. Ms. Heidi Kuhn: Keynote Speaker

Heidi Kuhn, Founder and CEO, Roots of Peace, was deeply inspired in September 1997 to create an organization dedicated to the eradication of landmines worldwide. With a simple toast in the living room of her home that the world may go from Mines to Vines™, a global initiative was launched from the heart of a mother of four children following the death of the late Princess Diana who catapulted the issue of landmines to the forefront of the international agenda. She replaces the scourge of landmines with the nectar of grapes in war-torn countries and transforms “seeds of terror” into “seeds of hope”, replacing the scourge of landmines with the nectar of fresh grapes, raisins or a fine bottle of wine. She envisions the “grapevine” as a symbol of hope—reminding global citizens of the seeds we have in common rather than those which separate us. 2. Dr. Liu Youfa: Guest of Honour Consul General of the Peoples Republic China in Mumbai, India.

He held many important portfolios in the Diplomatic Services as well as in Education. He was Second Secretary at the Embassy of the PRC in Australia and Papua New Guinea; Division Chief and Counselor of Headquarter Party Committee of the MFA of China; Counselor, Embassy of the P.R.C in the United Republic of Tanzania, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and USA. Counselor, MFA of the P.R.C and Vice President of China Institute of International Studies.

3. Fr. Francis de Britto

Father Francis D’Britto, an environmentalist, journalist and author, received the Sahitya Akadem award for Marathi for “Subodh Bible – Nava Karar.” The original is The Bible: the New Testament in English. He also writes for local daily newspapers and magazines on God´s love, religious harmony and tolerance, social justice, forgiveness and brotherhood. He began writing profusely after he launched the Harit (green) Vasai Movement in 1989 to save the environment. He made headlines when he braved threats from unscrupulous developers who used force and intimidation to grab land in the Vasai region. 120

4. Dr. Zeenat Shaukat Ali

She is the Founder , Director General of The World Institute of Islamic Studies For Dialogue, Organization of Mediation and Gender Justice ( Wisdom Foundation).

Awarded with a Ph.D in Islamic Studies from the University of Mumbai, she has been teaching Islamic Studies at St. Xavier’s College for several years. She has 5 books to her credit These include: Marriage and Divorce in Islam: An Appraisal, The Empowerment of Women in Islam, Winning The Peace : A Quest, Healing Memories: Civilizations In Dialogue and Taking India Forward : The Road Ahead

5. Dr. Marie Fernandes

Principal of St. Andrew’s College, Mumbai from 2006. She is also a member of the Board of Studies in English at the University of Mumbai and a recognized Research Guide. The title of her PhD thesis was “The Animal Fable in Modern Literature”. This was subsequently published in 1996. She has to her credit a 35 research articles published in journals both in India and abroad. She was awarded the prestigious – ‘International Visitor’s Leadership Award’, funded by the U.S State Department in 2010 and visited Colleges and Universities across the US.

6. Dr. Kashmira P. Mody

An Associate Professor in the Department of Economics of St. Andrew’s College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Mumbai. She teaches Economics at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Her research interests include economics of growth and development, the environment, monetary and financial economics. Dr. Mody also runs a blog with the aim of fostering interest in economics and providing information on various aspects of economics.

7. Prof. Sharmila Dhote:

A senior member in the faculty of Psychology at St. Andrew’s College and has completed 18 years of teaching in college. Currently she is in charge of the Cardinal Paul Poupard Foundation for Inter-Religious and Inter-Cultural Dialogue which she actively co-ordinates. She has organized International seminars and symposiums on 121 inter-religious and inter-cultural issues and various other activities and programmes to make the organization vibrant and meaningful. She has also presented a paper at Milan, Italy titled “Eat, Pray and Love”. Prof. Dhote is also a private practising Counsellor.

8. Prof Ayesha Imran Gundagi:

Asst. Professor in Environment Studies, St. Andrew’s College for the past 8 years.. NET cleared conducted by UGC. Best Student of the Department in M.A. Secured a First Rank in TYBA Geography, a Second Rank in M.A. from University of Mumbai. Received a UGC grant for a Minor Research Project on “Spatial Patterns of Health and Hygiene in Suburban Mumbai. Areas of interest includes: Environmental concern, creating awareness, initiatives undertaken at the Local, National and International Level. co-author for Environmental Studies text book for Himalaya Publication since 2009 till date as per the prescribed syllabus by university of Mumbai from time to time. Recently nominated for the Bharat Shiksha Ratan award by Teheg, New Delhi.

9. Prof Jyoti Bhatia:

A Post Graduate in Commerce and a Graduate in Law from Mumbai University. She has cleared the National Level Eligibility Test (NET) conducted by UGC. She is also an Associate Member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India. She is a full-time faculty in Accountancy Department at the St. Andrew’s College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai. She is a regular contributor of papers at seminars and conferences conducted by various educational bodies.

Along with over 9 years of experience as a Professor, she takes active interest to visit new places. Driven out of her experiences of one such visit at the Holy river Ganga, she presented an article that explores new dimensions on Religious significance of Water.

10. Dr. Homi Dhalla:

He was awarded the M.A. degree by Harvard University and the Ph. D. degree from Mumbai University. He has represented the Parsi community at several international 122 conferences in different parts of the world focusing on the issues of peace, ecology, human rights, inter-religious dialogue etc. He has also been very active in the interfaith movement for the last 30 years, both at the local as well as at the international level. He was awarded the “Mother Teresa National Award for Interfaith Harmony” in 2007.

He had made a DVD entitled “Many Faces of Peace” for the former President of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam which has been translated into different languages.

As the Founder-President of the World Zarathushti Cultural Foundation, he has initiated various cultural projects for the Parsi community viz., Sanjan excavations and the conservation of the Bahrot Caves. He has established libraries in Bangalore, Baroda and Pune, besides crafting two cultural museums at Udvada and Navsari.