Religion employed for environmental causes<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): State Minister of Environment Sarwono
\nKusumaatmadja warns that the barrage of campaigns to save the
\nenvironment should take into consideration the values and beliefs
\nof the people to be more effective. One being religious values.<\/p>\n
Many pro-environment messages are lost on the public because
\nthey fail to touch values which people believe are at stake,
\nSarwono said on Monday.<\/p>\n
This failure results in \"ambivalent attitudes\" on the part of
\nthe people coupled with numerous difficulties encountered by
\nefforts to save the environment, he said in a keynote address
\nlaunching a five-day workshop on traditional beliefs and
\nreligious approaches to environmental preservation.<\/p>\n
Given the central role that religion plays in people's lives,
\nreligious approaches may become an effective, propelling drive in
\nthe campaign against environmental degradation caused by
\nmaterialistic approaches of development, he said.<\/p>\n
\"All religions carry the same environmental messages that
\nefforts by human beings to improve material well-being should be
\ncarried out through sustainable means.\"<\/p>\n
Using religion will help Indonesia contribute more to the
\ninternational environmental campaigns since all major religions
\nof the world, as well as hundreds of traditional beliefs, have
\nadherents here, he said.<\/p>\n
An estimated 30 local and foreign environmentalists and
\njournalists are taking part in the workshop, which continues
\ntoday in Trawas, Mojokerto, East Java.<\/p>\n
Prominent scholars participating include Dr. Franz Magnis
\nSoeseno, Dr. Nurcholis Madjid and Soetjipto Wirosardjono from
\nIndonesia and Pamela Colorado from the Worldwide Indigenous
\nScience Network in Hawaii and Lalitha Vaidyanathan from India.<\/p>\n
Sponsored by the Earth Wire Project environmental news network
\nand UNESCO, the workshop aims to establish inventories of values
\nadvocated by religions and traditional beliefs concerning the
\npreservation of nature, and analyzing and translating relevant
\nvalues into popular messages to be disseminated by the media to
\nthe public.<\/p>\n
UNESCO's chief representative to Indonesia, Jurgen Hillig, in
\nhis address to the workshop on Monday, commended various non-
\ngovernmental organizations (NGOs) which have been playing pivotal
\nroles in the environmental preservation campaign. \"The NGOs have
\ncontributed mightily by mobilizing necessary emotional commitment
\nto ensure that meaningful actions are undertaken,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that there is a need for enhanced education on
\nglobal and environmental change and their impacts on natural
\nresources. \"The educational institutions will face new pressures
\nto provide adequate training on those issues,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Koesnadi Hardjasoemantri, a legal expert, said Indonesia's
\n1982 Environmental Management Act provides a strong legal base
\nfor the role of religion in the development of environmental
\nawareness.<\/p>\n
\"One of the strong avenues to develop environmental awareness
\nis religion, which teaches, among other things, how to treat the
\nenvironment entrusted to man by God,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The environmental act points out that the living environment
\nis a blessing from God and its capability must be developed and
\nsustained so that it can continue to serve as a life source and
\nsupport, he said.<\/p>\n
He suggested that future environmental campaigns involve
\nintellectuals from the younger generations. (swe)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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