Faith & Environment seminar hosted by the Archbishop of Canterbury

Last Thursday (29 October 2009) I was at:

Lambeth Palace (the London residency of the Archbishop of Canterbury) to represent the UK Baha’i community at a seminar on Faith & the Environment.

This seminar, hosted by the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams, was attended by 24 representatives of UK faith communities, 4 from CofE Diocesans, 15 from NGOs, 2 from the government, 5 from the British Council, and 5 from Lambeth Palace.  Women clearly in the minority (what did I expect?). The seminar was opened by the Archbishop of Canterbury and a short BBC documentary on climate change.

The documentary was followed with a short address by the Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP (Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change) who focused on our role as custodians of the planet, the interdependence between countries, and the concept of justice (developed countries should accept their responsibility and provide financial support for other countries). The Archbishop of Westminster (Most Rev Vincent Nichols) emphasized ecological conversion and integrity in our dealing with the issue. Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks reminded participants that in Hebrew the word for ‘humanity’ is the same as the word for ‘earth’. He emphasized that this global crisis offered opportunities to translate big ideas into daily/weekly rituals. ‘If everybody on earth observed the Sabbath (e.g. not using electricity or travelling), we probably wouldn’t be in this mess’. He also emphasized that science and religion must work together.

Short presentations of current activities in the UK and abroad were made by:

1) Faith4Change from Liverpool (by Sandra Cobbin from Clarity Development): which has been training volunteers to do sustainability audits (looking at energy and water use, waste management, land use, and purchases) on buildings owned by faith communities. Volunteers are NVQ trained and take their knowledge back into their communities.

2) Transition Network (by Ben Brangwyn): UK transition town network is a social experiment and it is still unclear if it will work, but we can learn.

3) Progressio (by Tim Aldred): natural resource management projects in South America.

4) A Rocha (by Dave Bookless): climate stewards project (www.climatestewards.net)

5) Islamic Foundation for Ecology & Environmental Sciences (IFEES, www.ifees.org.uk) (by Harfiyah Haleem): traffic reduction scheme around Croydon Mosque and co-publisher of the Muslim green guide to reduce climate change.

6) Al Khoei Foundation (by Yousif al-Khoei): emphasized the need to look more at the Holy Scriptures to engage more people.

7) CofE (David Shreeve – Archbishop’s Council, Martyn Goss – Diocese of Exeter, Brian Cuthbertson – London Diocesan Fund): CofE is aiming to reduce its carbon footprint by 80% in 2050 and launced the Shrinking-the-footprint project for its members in 2006. The 7-year plan in collaboration with the Alliance for Religions & Conservation was outlined.

8 British Council (by Martin Davidson): focus on dialogue with youth to increase global understanding of climate change, increase support for international agreements, and strengthen networks.

A joint statement was released:

Statement by Faith Leaders and participants in the Faith and the Environment Seminar hosted by the Archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth Palace , 29 October 2009

As leaders and representatives of faith communities and faith-based organisations in the UK we wish to highlight the very real threat to the world’s poor, and to our fragile creation, from the threat of catastrophic climate change. The developed world is primarily responsible for the already visible effects of global heating. Justice requires that we now take responsibility for slowing the rise in global temperature. We call upon UK negotiators at Copenhagen, and the other nations of the G20 in particular, to fight for a deal which speedily ends unsustainable reliance on fossil fuels and puts in place urgent measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions so that an increase in global temperature may be kept within two degrees centigrade.

We recognise unequivocally that there is a moral imperative to tackle the causes of global warming. This is reinforced by the reality that it is the poor and vulnerable who are most profoundly affected by the environmental impact of climate change – especially drought, floods, water shortages and rise in sea levels. Faith communities have a crucial role to play in pressing for changes in behaviour at every level of society and in every economic sector. We all have a responsibility to learn how to live and develop sustainably in a world of finite resources.

This responsibility comes into sharp relief today with less than 40 days before representatives of governments from across the world meet to agree a deal on climate change.

Building on the examples of local and international action to live and to work together sustainably which have been highlighted in our meeting today we pledge to:

• Reach out to our communities, both in the UK and internationally, in the coming weeks to raise awareness of the real potential for catastrophic climate change and to increase public support for an ambitious, fair and effective deal at Copenhagen ;
• Continue to share best practice and redouble our efforts to reduce emissions that result from our institutional and individual activities;
• Work with our partners, our sister churches and communities internationally to mitigate the effects of climate change on the poorest and most vulnerable communities in the developing world; and to press governments to support that effort.

To help to achieve these ends we agree to use today’s meeting as the first step in an ongoing process of collaboration. We believe our communities can be key agents of change and urge the Government wherever possible to support our efforts to build capacity and commitment to reduce carbon emissions, raise awareness and promote sustainable practice.

——–

I found it heartwarming to hear the different faith communities emphasizing the same issues (justice, shared responsibility, science & religion working together, seeing this crisis as an opportunity for global cooperation).

Ethical dimensions of climate change /de ethische kant van klimaatsverandering

Blog Action Day 2009 on Climate Change was yesterday. So, yes, I know I’m late.

I’m just going to share a few thoughts from the Baha’i International Community (BIC) and the International Environment Forum (IEF) on the ethical dimensions of climate change.

In May I attended a workshop organised by the BIC and we were asked to look at several case studies of vulnerable countries such as Fiji, Niger, and Bangladesh. We were asked to identify what we considered to be the ethical issues embedded in the case study. I found the following questions very thought-provoking:

Who or what should be protected or safeguarded?
Who are affected most?
Who are the most vulnerable?
What rights do the most vulnerable have to protection?
Who has the responsibility to protect and assist the most vulnerable?
Who should participate in deciding what actions should be taken?

Not easy to answer any of these, but they do make you think!

The BIC statement “Seizing the Opportunity: Redefining the challenge of climate change” is as thought-provoking as the above questions, so I’m just going to share some of its paragraphs (emphasis in bold is mine). You can read the whole statement here:

“As negotiations proceed to set the rules and establish the mechanisms that will determine how governments assist vulnerable countries and approach this global challenge, they will test the resolve of the international community to address comprehensively and justly the shared threat of climate change.

Yet, in the face of the destructive impacts of climate change – exacerbated by the extremes of wealth and poverty – a need for new approaches centered on the principles of justice and equity is apparent. A dynamic and bourgeoning discourse on the ethical dimensions of climate change has brought to the fore the role of ethical inquiry in overcoming some of the most difficult substantive and process-related challenges. The fundamental questions it seeks to address include: Who is responsible for the consequences of climate change?; Who should pay for the damages?; How should target levels of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere be determined?; What procedures will ensure fair representation in decision-making?; and, if nations have a responsibility to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, how do those responsibilities devolve onto the various units of government, organizations, individuals and non-state actors? The challenge before the world community, then, is not only a technical one but a moral one, which calls for the transformation of thoughts and behaviors so as to allow our economic and social structures to extend the benefits of development to all people. To contribute to this important discourse, we assert that the principle of the oneness of humankind must become the ruling principle of international life. This principle does not seek to undermine national autonomy or suppress cultural or intellectual diversity. Rather, it makes it possible to view the climate change challenge through a new lens – one that perceives humanity as a unified whole, not unlike the cells of the human body, infinitely differentiated in form and function yet united in a common purpose which exceeds that of its component parts.

… the United Nations must give more attention to the gender dimensions of climate change. Neither the principal legal nor scientific framework guiding climate change negotiations – the UNFCCC and the Synthesis Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – makes reference to gender. To begin to remedy this situation, we call on the United Nations and member states to include a gender dimension in their response to climate change and in their ongoing and future negotiations of climate change agreements. As a starting point, a gender component could be included in national reports to the UNFCCC; the presence of gender experts on UNFCCC delegations would further strengthen the gender analysis.

Efforts to reconceptualize sovereignty, from an absolute right to a responsibility, signal that a shift in consciousness towards greater degrees of global solidarity is already underway. To be sure, the solution to climate change exceeds the capacities and resources of any one nation and requires the full cooperation of all nations, each according to their means.

Much has been said about the need for cooperation to solve a climate challenge that no nation or community can solve alone. The principle of the oneness of humankind presented in this statement seeks to move beyond utilitarian notions of cooperation to anchor the aspirations of individuals, communities and nations to those of the progress of humanity. In practical terms, it affirms that individual and national interests are best served in tandem with the progress of the whole. As children, women, men, religious and scientific communities as well as governments and international institutions converge on this reality, we will do more than achieve a collective response to the climate change crisis. We will usher in a new paradigm by means of which we can understand our purpose and responsibilities in an interconnected world; a new standard by which to evaluate human progress; and a mode of governance faithful to the ties that bind us as members of one human race.”

Ethical dimensions of climate change /de ethische kant van klimaatsverandering

The Baha’i International Community launched its appeal to the world leaders on the moral and ethical implications of climate change. This appeal is supported by 23 other organizations and its launch date coincided with a High Level meeting at the UN in New York.

This is the text of the appeal:

We, the undersigned non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council, leaders of the world’s religions, and other members of civil society, urge the governments of the world to participate in the UN High Level Event on Climate Change through representatives at the highest level and unequivocally call on them to:

Consider deeply the ethical and moral questions at the root of the climate change crisis—questions of justice and equity that will determine the survival of cultures, ecosystems, and present as well as future generations;

Recognize that the quest for climate justice is not a competition for limited resources but part of an unfolding process towards greater degrees of unity among nations as they endeavor to build a sustainable, just and peaceful civilization;

Distinguish their contributions to this High-Level Event by demonstrating trust, justice, solidarity, and a vision of prosperity for the most vulnerable populations;

Demonstrate courage and moral leadership as they articulate the vision and secure the foundations for a comprehensive and legally binding agreement during the 15th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCC and the 5th Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol in December 2009; and

Ensure that commitments in all arenas of the climate change challenge are guided by ethical and moral considerations so as to inspire the trust and confidence of individuals, communities and institutions to effect the changes needed to build a sustainable civilization.

We call on the gathered leaders to summon the same spirit and sense of urgency that led to the creation of the United Nations, to forge a climate change agreement worthy of the trust of humankind.

International Day of Peace / Internationale Dag van de Vrede

When a thought of war comes, oppose it by a stronger thought of peace. A thought of hatred must be destroyed by a more powerful thought of love. Thoughts of war bring destruction to all harmony, well-being, restfulness and content. Thoughts of love are constructive of brotherhood, peace, friendship, and happiness.

These wise words are from Abdu’l-Baha in ‘Paris Talks’. He also says:

If you desire with all your heart, friendship with every race on earth, your thought, spiritual and   positive, will spread; it will become the desire of others, growing stronger and stronger, until it reaches the minds of all men. Do not despair! Work steadily. Sincerity and love will conquer hate.

All very appropriate for the International Day of Peace, observed each year on 21 September. This UN Day is a global call for ceasefire and non-violence. It is a time to reflect on the horror and cost of war and the benefits of peacefully resolving our disputes. This year it focusses on the important issues of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

How fitting then that the Operation Market Garden (WW2) was commemorated around Nijmegen-Arnhem in the Netherlands this weekend. And how do I know? I was born in Nijmegen, so this has always been part of my history knowledge. Besides we often visited the different war cemeteries in the area.

Oh, and can someone explain why white doves are considered peace doves? Have you ever fed several of them at the same time? I  can tell you from experience that there surely is no peace at feeding time amongst them!

doves

Update

An update of my activities seems long overdue. So, what’s kept me busy the last few weeks? First of all a very successful (1st ever in England) residential cluster school near Durham over the August Bank holiday weekend. I still need to pull together a final report, but that’ll happen soon.

Last week, with a UN nomination deadline looming, I managed to sort out nominations for 4 women to attend different Regional Implementation Meetings (RIMs). These women will get their trips funded by the UN. RIMs are preparation meetings for next year’s 18th session of the Commission on Sustainable Development. The nominations have come via the 3 Organising Parties for the Women’s Caucus. The Baha’i International Community (BIC) proposed a Baha’i from Brazil, Women in Europe for a Common Future (WECF) proposed women from Russia and Indonesia (both winners of the 2009 Goldman Environmental Prize), and Voices of African Mothers (VAM) proposed someone from Ghana. Unfortunately we’ve been unable, so far, to find a suitable candidate from the Western Asia region.

The next thing on the list writing a guideline on the structure of the discussion paper needed by the end of November. Hopefully with this guideline, we can split the topics (chemicals, hazardous waste management, transport, mining, and the 10-year review on sustainable consumption & production) between BIC, WECF and VAM. Each topic needs to be covered in 1600 words which isn’t a lot!

CEDAW – rights of women / vrouwenrechten

CEDAW. Any idea what it stands for? No…..? Shame on you! Honestly. It is the most important (besides the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, of course) Treaty on Human Rights for Women.

CEDAW is the UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women and it outlines standards for ratifying countries to meet in the treatment and rights of women.  If you want a quick overview of the facts (their Q&A is very good), check this website out.

On 1 March this year, 185 countries had ratified this Treaty. Mind you, CEDAW was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1979. But if you live in one of these countries (Iran, Nauru, Palau, Qatar, Somalia, Sudan, Tonga, USA), you should feel bad. Honestly, you should, because these 8 countries have not ratified this Treaty on basic human rights of 50% of the world’s population. It means that these 8 countries have not committed themselves to take concrete action to improve the status of women and end discrimination against them. And yes, unfortunately that does include the USA… can you imagine? The world’s biggest power at the moment is simply ignoring the human rights of all women and girls.

I’m sorry, I can’t get my head around that. I’ve less ‘trouble’ with the other countries that have not ratified this Treaty, but the US? Now, if you happen to live in the US, you can do something about that by asking your Senator to support the ratification of CEDAW.

And what can the rest of us (those not living in the US) do? Well, we can make sure that our own governments and our own actions show our commitment to this Treaty every day. After all, it affects every single one of us, whether you’re female or male.

Abdu’l-Bahá has elevated the station of women in this radiant age…..  He has taught that men and women are like the two wings of a bird, and neither is superior to the other. Girls should be educated in the same way as boys, perhaps even given preference.

(from Munirih – Memoirs and Letters, p. 85)

UN – more visists to come /VN – nog meer bezoek

Excited & anxious, wondering what I’ve got myself into. Why? Because the Baha’i International Community has been appointed as one of the 3 organising parties (OPs) of the Women Major Group for the current 2-year cycle of the Commission of Sustainable Development (CSD 18 & 19). And I’ll be doing a lot of the coordination required over these 2 years.

It hasn’t sunk in yet….  Maybe getting a BIC email address will do that, or the next conference call with the UN, or when I start waking up at night, thinking about all the things that need doing to tight deadlines. Who knows? At the moment I’m just amazed and grateful for the opportunity offered to serve the worldwide Baha’i community.

“Service is prayer” the Baha’i Writings say – well, there will be plenty of that between now and May 2011.

And no, I don’t necessarily think I know an awful lot about mining, hazardous waste management, chemicals and their effects on health & environment, transport, and the 10-year framework on sustainable production & consumption (SPC). But that will change rapidly I’m sure. Now, the search is starting for Baha’is who work in these fields . So, if you are, drop me a line and we might end up seeing each other in New York in May!

Wish I was in DC next week…

because the International Environment Forum is integrating its annual event into the annual conference of the Association for Bahá’í Studies – North America, and is co-organizing several plenary and breakout sessions. The International Environment Forum is a Bahá’í-inspired professional Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) whose members from the Bahá’í Faith and the wider community promote the application of spiritual and ethical principles to the challenges of the environment and sustainable development.

The teachings of the Bahá’í Faith shed light on the dialectical relationship between the human soul and its environment. As Shoghi Effendi explained, “We cannot segregate the human heart from the environment outside us and say that once one of these is reformed everything will be improved. Man is organic with the world. His inner life moulds the environment and is itself also deeply affected by it. The one acts upon the other and every abiding change in the life of man is the result of these mutual reactions.”¹ The nature, quality, and condition of the environments we inhabit therefore have profound implications for human well-being. In this context, how can science and religion, as complementary systems of knowledge and practice, be applied more effectively to the preservation, refinement, and improvement of the myriad environments – natural, cultural, and built – within which we live and grow?

¹ Cited in Conservation of the Earth’s Resources: A Compilation of Extracts from the Bahá’í Writings, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice, 1990.

I also wish I could be in Orlando in December for this: the 2009 Bahá’í Conference on Social and Economic Development (SED) in Orlando, Florida, which begins Saturday evening, December 19 and ends at noon on Tuesday, December 22. The theme for this year’s Conference is “Bahá’í-inspired Development and the Growth Process: Partners in Transforming Society”.

Meanwhile I just get stuck into grassroots work with ‘Sustainable Allendale’, a small group of people looking at what we’d like this village/valley to be like in 2030. Now, I like this kind of forward planning – reminds me of the Plans of our Universal House of Justice. And it’s amazing how easy it is to use Baha’i principles while consulting about sustainability issues. Can’t remember how often I’ve used the ‘we need unity of thought first before we can have unity of action’, but I think it’s starting to sink in with others

Ah, life is good, and sustainable development is such an inspiring topic!

Junior Youth Animator Resource Website

Animator Ideas is a resource website for animators of Bahá’í junior youth groups.  It covers suggestions on how to get your Junior Youth group up and running as quickly as possible, lots of ideas on extra activities while using the Junior Youth books, working with parents, ideas to promote discipline, and much more!

“Among the young ones in the community are those known as junior youth… Creative attention must be devoted to involving them in programmes of activity that will engage their interests, mould their capacities for teaching and service, and involve them in social interaction with older youth. The employment of the arts in various forms can be of great value in such activity.”

- The Universal House of Justice, 2000

Check it out and spread the word – it’s an amazing resource for animators.

11 July = Baha’i Rights Day/ 11 juli = Baha’i Rechtendag

O SON OF MAN!
For everything there is a sign. The sign of love is fortitude under My decree and patience under My trials.

The above Arabic Hidden Word illustrates what is needed. Today is Baha’i Rights Day. A day in which we focus our attention, ever so briefly, on the denial of basic human rights to Baha’is in Iran.

I could try and write so much more, but even my best efforts wouldn’t be nearly as informative and eloquent as checking out the website of Iran Press Watch for the latest updates and reading the article written by Sherie Blair.

O SON OF MAN!
For everything there is a sign. The sign of love is fortitude under My decree and patience under My trials.