Role of Religion in Biodiversity Conservation

Nature and development (Thimphu, Bhutan)

Religion has always played a vital role in protecting and conserving our green and pristine environment in different parts of the world. Environment: the sustainer of life, the source of raw materials for developmental activities, and every human’s needs and wants. Our ancestors and forefathers used to believe that environment was some sort of Divine manifestation. They believed in Bonism. This helped in less usage of the pristine environment. They thought they were committing sins if they harmed or used the environment. Over time, different religions started forming on the face of the earth, which led to other ideas and beliefs regarding protecting the environment. Every religion somehow played some role in protecting and conserving the environment. Christians believe that God gave them stewardship of the earth – they must look after it, its plants and animals, and pass it on to the next generation better than it was.

Qur’an refers to all Muslims as God’s Khalifahs [representatives of Allah on earth], and it says all Muslims should care for the planet, and on Judgment Day, one of the things God will consider is how they have treated mother earth.

Likewise, Hinduism, Buddhism, Bonism [still practised in some parts of the world], and other religions believe in the conservation of the environment as their religious duty because their Holy Scriptures tell them to do so.

We are facing many issues relating to the environment, such as global climate change and different sorts of pollution, and mainly facing the challenges of feeding the needs of the rapidly growing population. Many domains are being used to meet these needs, resulting in the loss of rich biodiversity and a pristine environment. Strong belief in religion has been abstaining people from abusing the environment. Some religions believe that their local/guardian deity lives somewhere where the forest cover is thick, and some trees are never touched because they believe that their supreme God dwells in it. With such a belief, our environment is being protected and preserved for generations. Our environment has been getting exploited from the very day developmental activities started. Many environmental campaigns are being carried out worldwide to address the ecological problem. To conserve and preserve the environment, billions of money are being allocated yearly to solve such problems. Religion, however, shapes our thinking regarding protecting and conserving our environment. It would be foolish to compare which religion cares more for mother earth, but within each belief system, something is done to preserve the environment.

Our people are not willing to change their minds. We all want change, but no one is willing to change. What I think is instead of worshipping and prostrating in front of lifeless idols, it would be more sustainable and blissful to care for and look after our own mother earth. God would be more pleased if we managed the environment properly.

To quote Hubert Reeves, “Man is the most insane species. He worships an invisible God and destroys a visible nature. Unaware that the nature he is destroying is this God he is worshipping.” How can we even dare to excessively exploit nature, knowing that God is Omnipresent?

Two Contradicting Questions

There appear to be two contradicting questions that the world’s major religions are trying to find an answer to over time:

 Are humans an equal part of a more excellent organism that they should themselves respect, serve and nourish?

 Or is the very of that organism to help and nurture the human race?

As Lynn White wrote in a 1967 controversial essay, “The Histological Roots of Our Ecological Crisis,” published in an anonymous magazine: “What people do about their ecology depends on what they think about themselves and things around them. Human ecology is deeply conditioned by beliefs about our nature and destiny about our nature and destiny, i.e., by religion.” Our way of seeing the world depends on our strong religious beliefs. All of the earth’s major religion talks of our paramount responsibility to care for the natural world. In Buddhism, the opinion of reincarnation and karma and considering plants and animals as these modes of salvation give value to all life. Humans must not harm the plants and animals of the earth as they, too, are on a karmic journey. Buddhism believes there is no difference between plants, animals, and humans. The only difference could be that we can speak and think, but humans are worse than animals because we excessively exploit the environment.

Amo chhu/Toorsa River (Samtse, Bhutan)

Haa (Bhutan), where Ap Chundu (Local Deity) resides, is lovely. In Haa, there are three similar mountains, popularly known as Ri-Sum. The local people believe that the mountain belongs to an individual God, i.e., Chhana Dorjee, Jampelyang, and Cherizeg. Local people also stopped mining because they believed that particular mountain belonged to the local deity, Ap Chundu. Such type of belief has helped conserve the environment over generations.

Hinduism, often called the eternal religion, places great importance on caring for nature. As Al Gore pointed out in his 1992 book, Earth is Balance: “The earth is our mother, and we are all her children.” What I don’t understand about Hinduism is that if they consider nature their mother, then why do they pile up wood to burn the corpse instead of burying them. It would be best for the environment to plant a tree where they had buried the dead body instead of burning them. As if they would get liberated from this world.

The Prophet Mohammed said, “The world is green and beautiful, and God has appointed you His stewards over it.” The Qur’an says, “Do not cut down a tree, be always kind and humane to God’s creations.” The Muslim faith in Allah and trust in Qur’an words are strong, but they happened to just contradict it. They had become so self-centred that they no more cared about God’s creation.

Nālandā University, Rajgir, Bihar, India

Because of the misinterpretation of the Bible texts, many Christians presume that man is superior to animals and nature. Still, being superior doesn’t mean that we shall go on killing speechless animals and destroying nature. It means that we should care for and love the family of Mother Nature.

The Dalai Lama said, “Our ancestors viewed the earth as rich and bountiful. Many people in the past saw nature as inexhaustibly sustainable, which we now know is the case only if we care for it.” Our ancestors were one of the greatest environmentalists because they exceptionally cared for pristine nature as their religious beliefs were strong. As everything is becoming technologically advanced, our generation does not realize the importance of conserving wildlife as most young people are becoming atheists.

Judaism points out that humans are only the manager of the earth and not the owner. Man should not exploit natural resources excessively as each generation is entitled to benefit from nature. Hinduism wants its follower to lead a simple life. They are said not to run after material pleasures and destroy the natural balance. Every religion has always believed in salvation. From the time of immortal souls like Durva, Prahlad, Valmiki, Mohammed, Suddhama, Mira Bai, Milerpa, Mahavira, Siddhartha, and the great personalities have all gone in search of the great secret, i.e., Holy Name. They have inspired many people to search for the great unknown, dramatically reducing the exploitation of natural resources. They believed the green and pristine environment was the best place to meditate. Does believing in a specific God stop humans from using the environment excessively and lessen the killing of animals?

Nature connected with Almighty God

Forest has always been associated with the names of Gods and Goddesses, especially in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.

a. Ficus religiosa, the peepal tree, is venerated and is not to be cut down. Buddhists believe that Siddhartha Gautama was enlightened under this very tree. This tree is also associated with Lord Krishna and Lord Vishnu.

b. The banyan tree in Maharashtra is venerated once a year by tying a thread around it as a mark of respect.

c. Many species of animals are venerated as the vehicles of different Gods on which they travel through the cosmos:

    i. The elephant and the rat are associated with Ganesh, the elephant-headed God.

    ii. Vishnu is associated with the eagle.

    iii. Rama has a close relationship with monkeys. In Hindu mythology, Hanuman, the Monkey God, helped Rama during Tretayug (the eon of Lord Rama).

    iv. Surya, the sun God, ride a horse and travels the cosmos.

    v. The tiger and lion are associated with Goddess Durga and Pārbati.

    vi. Blackbuck is associated with the moon Goddess.

    vii. The cow is associated with Lakshmi and Krishna.

    viii. Vishnu’s incarnation has been represented as taking various animal forms such as fish, tortoise, a bore and a dwarf, and Narshima (half man and half lion form).

    ix. Tulsipati, which is associated with Lakshmi and Vishnu.

    x. Takin, believed to be created by Drukpa Kuenley.

These plants and animals are believed to be associated with God, and this belief in it is helping the environment remain untouched.

Religion Playing an Active Role in Preserving Environment

The Alliance for Religions and Conservations (ARC) is a secular body that helps faith leaders to create environmental programs based on their core faiths and practices. One of their most successful projects is on one of the islands of Tanzania. Fishermen there used dynamite as a quick and easy way to catch fish. But this method of fishing proved to be damaging and killed immature fish and turtles. Local Conservation Organizations tried to educate the fishermen on the harm of dynamite fishing, but their effort was unsuccessful. The government then banned the practice, but the fishermen took no notice. The ARC stepped in after that. ARC found out that all the fishermen were Muslims and that the local sheiks had a lot of influence in the community. So they showed the sheiks passages in the Qur’an that promoted pro-environmental behaviour and told them that dynamite fishing was going against the Qur’an. The sheiks spread the information to their community, and, as devout Muslims, the fishermen listened. When the fishermen were interviewed, one of them said, “I have learned that the way I fished was destructive to the environment. This side of conservation isn’t from the mzungu [“white man” in Swahili]; it’s from the Qur’an.

In Indonesia, a country rich in biodiversity but under threat from development, Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences (IFEES) is joining hands with schools to restore the rainforest. IFEES has similarly created an Islamic eco-village for orphans in Tanzania. It was built based on the Prophet’s practices in managing natural resources. In 2013, a study conducted in Indonesia showed that putting environmental messages into Islamic sermons and meetings increased public awareness and concern for the environment. Jeanne McKay of the University of Kent says, “Since then, Indonesia (has) issued its first fatwas (rulings on Islamic law) prohibiting illegal wildlife trafficking and poaching.”

“Using faith-based approaches can prove to be a positive way forward and indeed had the potential to gain far-reaching benefits rather than staying confined to a conventional science-based approach,” says McKay. Damage done to the earth is also harm done to humans.

Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, spent his life searching for the source of human suffering. After finding the truth, he finally concluded that a balance must be maintained between self-destructive and self-indulgence. The future generation would only be able to see our green nature in pictures, similar to us seeing dinosaurs just now.

Can you see the moon?

Judaism said God created the universe and only possessed absolute ownership over creation (Gen 1-2, Psalm 24:1, I Chron. 29: 10-16). Jewish believes humans are created in God’s image, which concludes that humans were put on the earth to act as God’s representative and actualize God’s presence in creation. Judaism says environmental justice is a Jewish value to create a sustainable and equitable distribution of wealth and resources without hampering nature. It says there is a Midrash (Rabbinic Commentary in the Bible), which Jewish environmentalist quotes: “When God created the first human beings, God led them around the Garden of Eden and said: ‘See how beautiful they are- how excellent! For your sake, I created them all. See to it that you do not spoil and destroy My world; for if you do, there will be no one else to repair it.’”

From the time of our forefathers and ancestors, we strongly believe in our religion and the myths and mythologies related to that particular religion. These myths prove to be very useful in preserving and conserving the environment. There is a Chinese proverb, “If you plan for one year, plant rice. If you plan for ten years, plant trees and if you plan for hundred years, educate people.” Suppose we really want our natural resources to be sustained for the future generation. In that case, we need to educate this generation’s people about the importance of green and lush environments. Because of the exploitation of resources and developmental activities worldwide, different environmental issues erupt every year. Religion and NGOs are working hand in hand to address these issues as this mother earth belongs to everyone. It is not only the responsibility of the Organizations to look after the environment but also an individual responsibility. It is not necessarily essential to pick up the waste thrown by others, but we must manage our own waste. If the individual is responsible, the world will also be responsible sooner or later. Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

Care for the environment from the inner core of your heart. Don’t pretend to care just because a particular paragraph from one specific scripture of a specific religion says you to do so. Care should come from wisdom, not knowledge.

References

1. Buddhism. (2022, September 22). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism
2. Hinduism. (2022, September 18). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism
3. Quran. (2022, September 19). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quran
4. Christians. (2022, September 8). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christians
5. Bon. (2022, September 20). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bon
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