 |
Kathmandu Thursday November 16, 2000 Mangshir 01, 2057.
|
WWF accepts 26 ‘sacred gifts’
By Surendra Phuyal
BHAKTAPUR, Nov 15 - Prince Philip, Duke of
Edinburgh, husband of Queen Elizabeth II of England, today accepted 26 different
‘sacred gifts for a living planet’ from the representatives of the world’s
major faiths at a gathering of conservationists and religious leaders from around the
world in this historic city.
His Majesty King Birendra inaugurated the
colourful ceremony billed Journey to Kathmandu: Sacred Gifts for a Living Planet as part
of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)’s 39th annual conference which got underway
here Tuesday by lighting a traditional lamp - Panas.
Her Majesty Queen Aishwarya and His Royal
Highness Crown Prince Dipendra were also present at the ceremony. The gathering has been
described as the continuation of a similar religious meet held in the Italian town of
Assisi in 1986 during the 25th annual conference of WWF.
The religious faiths represented at the
conference are: Baha’is, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jains, Jews, Muslims, Shinto,
Sikhs, Taoists and Zoroastrians. Taoists and Zoroastrians are the new entrants in the
Alliance of Religion and Conservation (ARC), which has been described as the brainchild of
Prince Philip. Prince Philip is the President Emeritus of WWF.
Bhaktapur Mayor Prem Suwal and highranking WWF
officials welcomed the guests as dozens of school children holding flags of the 11 faiths
and the symbols of the 26 ‘sacred gifts’ participated in the musical procession
that went around the 17th century Durbar Square.
The celebration, which started after a Bhaktapur
priest rang the huge bell at the temple of Taleju Bhawani, the protectress of the city,
also saw religious representatives and local students performing traditional dances and
prayers of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Sikh, Zoroastrianism and Taoism.
"This ancient land has been home to
different faiths and cultures that have blended with each other in an environment of
tolerance and harmony," said His Royal Highness Prince Gyanendra, also Chairman of
King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation (KMTNC) in his welcome address.
Prince Gyanendra who had also attended the
Assisi meeting added, "Religious establishments and environmentalists must be
regarded as natural allies...The Journey to Kathmandu is yet another step in our efforts
to come up with a tangible programme of cooperation for common action. This meeting will
remain another landmark in our endeavour to forge a beneficial partnership for promoting
the cause of environmental conservation."
WWF and ARC see a Sacred Gift as a practical,
concrete and active expression of a religious tradition and its belief about the natural
world, according to a statement issued today. This initiative will honour what is already
happening and specific Gifts indicate significant new commitments.
The Sacred Gifts announced today are:
* The Mongolian Buddhist leaders have announced
the reintroduction of a centuries-old ban on hunting the snow leopard and the saiga
antelope; Japan’s Shinto religion is expanding its commitment to sustainable
management in all of its sacred forests.
* The women’s division of the US United
Methodist Church is launching a new 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.
* The 7,000 Sherpa people living in Nepal’s
Sagarmatha National Park will participate in a major drive towards sustainable forest
management shaped by traditional religious and cultural practices.
* Two archbishops and six bishops, representing
1.5 million catholics in the US states of Idaho, Oregon, Montana and Washington and the
Canadian province of British Columbia, are calling for action to stop degradation of
Columbia river.
* The Union of Liberal and Progressive
Synagogues (ULPS) 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 Conservacion Humana have recently enlarged
its Huiricuta Ecological and Cultural Protected Area by 50 percent.
* The Sikh community in India has launched an
important 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 located north of
Beirut on the hills facing the Bay of Jounieh, the Jain community worldwide recently
created the international Ahimsa Award to be given annually by the Jain Institute to those
Jain companies, communities and individuals who promote good environment practise.
* The Catholic Benedictine Sisters of Erie,
Pennsylvania, will significantly expand their innovative environmental education
programme;
* The China Taoist Association, the umbrella
organization for all Taoists in China, will use its influence and extensive network to
actively promote environmental sustainable alternatives to the use of endangered species
in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). The Association will also join forces with the
Buddhist Association of China to develop a programme to protect and restore Taoist and
Buddhist sacred mountains.
* Starting this spring, the Zoroastrian
community in India will establish groves of baval trees--which is used to fire their
temples--to supply temple fires, besides planting non-use groves with the aim of
re-establishing forests woodlands in areas of deforestation.
* Pariah Pumps, a christian environmental
network, primarily comprised of Church of England parishes in association with the
Conservation Foundation, is establishing a network of 4,0000 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.
* 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 and home to some of the most magnificent coral reef in the
western Indian ocean.
* The Episcopal Power and Light Ministry of the
US is expanding its programme to combat global warming. This Episcopal Church-related
project encourages individuals, groups and institutions inside and outside the Church to
purchase renewable energy.
* The US National Council of Churches in
co-operation with the National Religious Partnership for the Environment will
significantly expand their highly successful state-by-state effort across the US to form
coalitions for reduction and advocacy work on global warming.
* Representatives from a range of Hindu groups
and of the local government in Orissa will restore and re-establish the state’s
sacred forests to provide sustainably-produced wood for the ancient Hindu festival
honouring 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.
* In a joint action, the leaders of the United
Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and the Union of American Hebrew Congregations will call
upon their members to undertake the most ambitious environmental programme ever launched
by American Judaism.
* The Gift will promote the conservation of the
natural environment of the Dodecanese Islands, Greece, through the support of organic
farming by the Ecumenical Patriarch.
* Saudi Arabia’s National Commission for
Wildlife Conservation and Development will establish in the country’s first Biosphere
Reserve as a Sacred Gift.
* And the United Methodist Pension Board is
spearheading a drive to convert all the denomination’s funds to ethnical investments,
a move affecting up to US $ 40 billion of Church assets.
Other Stories
|
