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World Religions Unite on Conserving the Planet
Subject: Religious Leaders in Nepal Bearing Sacred Gifts------- To: Paul Helliker <phelliker@cdpr.ca.gov> Dear Mr. Helliker,
I thought you might like to read another article from the
Environment News Service entitled: Religious Leaders in Nepal Bearing
Gifts - By Deepak Gajurel. KATHMANDU, Nepal, November 16, 2000 (ENS) -
Religious leaders from the world's 12 major faiths have journeyed to
Nepal for a conservation conference dubbed Sacred Gifts for a Living
Planet. Jain monk Munisri Kamalkumur walked 1,000 miles
(1,609 kilometers) from his home in India to bless the opening of this
week's conference. (Photos courtesy WWF - Click here http://ens.lycos.com/ens/nov2000/2000L-11-16-12.html).
From Bahais to Zoroastrians, each religion
represented at the World Wide Fund for Nature's (WWF) 39th annual
conference has announced conservation initiatives. These initiatives include a drive by the Methodist
Church worldwide to develop an ethical investment framework for up to
US$30 billion of church assets, to support environmental and social
justice, through shareholder action, engagement with corporate heads and
consumer choice. In response, Nepal's prime minister Girija Prasad
Koirala announced that the country is doubling the size of one of the
country's most significant national parks. "Nepal announces that Royal Bardia National
Park is given to the world as a Gift to the Earth," said Koirala,
during the inaugural session of the five day conference, which ends
Friday. Nepal's expansion of Royal Bardia National Park was
welcomed by conservationists. Prince Gyanendra of Nepal and Prince Philip,
president emeritus of WWF, view opening ceremonies. WWF-Nepal's Dr. Chandra Gurung said that the
expansion will link 11 prime wildlife habitats in Nepal and India known
as the Terai arc. This will provide a corridor to ease wildlife movement
between transborder areas. "It will pave the way for the creation of one
of the best tiger habitats in the region," said Department of
National Parks and Wildlife Conservation director general Dr. Tirtha Man
Maskey. Located in the mid western Terai, or southern
plains, of Nepal, Royal Bardia National Park currently covers 968 square
kilometers and is home to endangered species such as Royal Bengal
tigers, one horned rhinos, Asiatic elephants, four horned antelopes and
swamp deer. Under the extension program, another 900 square
kilometers of forest areas surrounding the park will be protected. About 250 Royal Bengal tigers roam Chitwan, Parsa,
Bardia and Shukla Phanta national parks of Nepal, according to the
national parks department. Royal Bardia is the second protected area to
be declared a gift to earth, which is WWF's highest recognition of a new
and significant conservation action. Bengal tigers still roam Nepal's national parks.
(Photo courtesy Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation) In 1997, Nepal declared Kanchanjanga Conservation
Area in the far-eastern hills as the country's first gift to the earth.
With Wednesday's announcement, Royal Bardia becomes the 60th such gift
dedicated to the earth worldwide. Nepal has established a network of 16 protected
areas covering a total of 17,000 square kilometers, nearly 19 percent of
the country's total land area. The establishment of Royal Chitwan
National Park in 1973 began the era of organized conservation in Nepal. Experts see the WWF international conference as a
boost to Nepal's conservation efforts. "The event encourages Nepal
to protect the fragile nature and ecosystem of the Himalayas, besides
instilling awareness about the importance of nature conservation among
the masses," said WWF International President, Prof. Ruud Lubbers. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and president
emeritus of WWF, accepted 26 Sacred Gifts for a Living Planet at the
gathering of more than 500 conservationists and religious leaders in
Bhaktapur, the 12th century city 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) east of
Nepal's capital Kathmandu. Nepal's King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev
inaugurated the conference, which was organized by WWF and the Alliance
of Religion and Conservation. The religious faiths represented at the
conference are Bahais, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jains, Jews,
Muslims, Shinto, Sikhs, Taoists and Zoroastrians. More than 500 people gathered in the ancient city
of Bhaktapur for this week's conference. (Photo courtesy WWF) The meeting's religious angle resembles the WWF's
25th annual conference in the Italian city of Assisi in 1986. Organizers
define a sacred gift as a practical, concrete and active expression of a
religious tradition and its belief about the natural world. "This initiative will honor what is already
happening and specific gifts indicate significant new commitments,"
said a WWF statement. Here are descriptions of some of the gifts
announced Wednesday. The U.S. National Council of Churches in
cooperation with the National Religious Partnership for the Environment
will significantly expand their state by state effort to forge
coalitions for greenhouse gas reduction and advocacy work on global
warming. The U.S. Episcopal Power and Light Ministry is
expanding its program to combat global warming. The project encourages
individuals, groups and institutions inside and outside the church to
purchase renewable energy. The women's division of the U.S. United Methodist
Church is launching an initiative to eliminate the use of chlorine in
paper products throughout the church in an effort to reduce the amount
of dioxins released into the environment. Two archbishops and six bishops, representing 1.5
million Catholics in Idaho, Oregon, Montana and Washington and the
Canadian province of British Columbia, are campaigning to stop
degradation of Columbia river. The Union of Liberal and Progressive Synagogues,
whose members account for about one quarter of the United Kingdom's
Jewish community, has launched a wide ranging environmental audit,
focusing on key issues including climate change and forest conservation.
The Mexican state of San Luis Potosi in partnership
with indigenous Huichol Indians and Conservation Humana have enlarged
its Huiricuta Ecological and Cultural Protected Area by 50 percent. The Catholic Benedictine Sisters of Erie,
Pennsylvania, will expand their innovative environmental education
program, which works in some of the poorest neighborhoods in the city. The United Methodist Pension Board is converting
all the denominations' funds - about US$30 billion - to ethical
investments. Pariah Pumps, a Christian environmental network,
primarily made up of Church of England parishes in association with the
Conservation Foundation, is establishing a network of 4,000 parishes to
promote environmental awareness and action. The Church of Sweden, one of the country's largest
forest owners, will certify at least 100,000 hectares, one quarter of
its forests, as sustainably managed forest. Buddhists in Mongolia - home to 700 endangered snow
leopards - have reinstated a hunting and logging ban which will allow
for much greater protection of important natural sites such as the Khan
Kentii conservation area, which covers 1.2 million hectares. Japan's Shinto religion is expanding its commitment
to sustainable management in all of its sacred forests. The 7,000 Sherpa people living in Nepal's Sagarmatha (Everest) National Park will participate in a major drive towards sustainable forest management shaped by traditional religious and cultural practices. India's Sikh community has launched an initiative
to promote environmentally sustainable lifestyle, focusing on energy and
water conservation. The Maronite Church of Lebanon has created the
first Maronite Protected Environment in 400 hectares of the Harisa
Forest north of Beirut on the hills facing the Bay of Jounieh. The Jain community has created the international
Ahimsa Award to be given annually by the Jain Institute to Jain
companies, communities and individuals who promote good environment
practices. The China Taoist Association is calling on its 40
million members to stop using endangered species in traditional Chinese
medicine and look for environmentally sustainable alternatives. The
association will also join forces with the Buddhist Association of China
to develop a program to protect and restore Taoist and Buddhist sacred
mountains. Starting next spring, the Zoroastrian community in
India will plant groves of baval trees, used to fire their temples,
besides planting non-use groves to re-establishing woodlands in areas of
deforestation. The Muslim fishing communities of Pemba and Misali
islands in Tanzania will conserve one of the most important turtle
nesting sites in the Zanzibar archipelago, which is home to some of the
most magnificent coral reef in the western Indian ocean. Representatives from a range of Hindu groups and of
the local government in Orissa, India, will restore and re-establish the
state's sacred forests to provide sustainably produced wood for the
ancient Hindu festival honoring Lord Jagannath. The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, called
the first among equals in the orthodox church, recently announced the
creation of the River of Life environmental network along the Danube
River. The leaders of the United Synagogue of Conservative
Judaism and the Union of American Hebrew Congregations will ask their
members to undertake the most ambitious environmental program ever
launched by American Judaism. Saudi Arabia's National Commission for Wildlife
Conservation and Development will establish the country's first
Biosphere Reserve. To read more about "Journey to Kathmandu:
Sacred Gifts to the Living Planet," visit http://www.wwf-uk.org/news/news161.htm
Well Mr. Helliker,
I firmly believe that the largest threat to all of the sacred
gifts mentioned above is
more needless contamination and pollution.
I personally know of many viable and safe alternatives.
The only thing can stop the "legal" use of these safe
and far more effective alternatives are the efforts (or lack thereof)
made by our "regulators". So, I ask you, "What sacred
gift will you bring?" Will
it be more silence and your continued demands that only your
"registered" POISONS can be used to "control" pest
problems in California or will you help protect our earth and its
people? |
