​Environmental ethics:

Environmental ethics is an established field of practical philosophy "which reconstructs the

essential types of argumentation that can be made for protecting natural entities and the
sustainable use of natural resources."​[1] The main competing paradigms are ​anthropocentrism​,
P​hysiocentrism (called ​ecocentrism as well), and ​theocentrism​. Environmental ethics exerts
influence on a large range of disciplines including ​environmental law​, ​environmental sociology​,
ecotheology​, ​ecological economics​, ​ecology​ and ​environmental geography​.
There are many ethical decisions that human beings make with respect to the environment. For
example:
1. Should humans continue to ​clear cut​ forests for the sake of human consumption?
2. Why should humans continue to propagate its species, and life itself?
3. Should humans continue to make ​gasoline-powered vehicles​?
4. What environmental obligations do humans need to keep for future generations?
5. Is it right for humans to knowingly cause the ​extinction of a species for the convenience
of humanity?
6. How should humans best use and conserve the space environment to secure and expand
life?
7. What role can Planetary Boundaries play in reshaping the human-earth relationship?

Role of Religion in conservation of Environment:

All religions agree that the creation is an act of God and should be treated as such...Almost all
religions address the issue of the creation of the universe, or universes, in different forms and
with varying degrees of clarity or detail. However, all religions agree that the creation is an act of
God and should be treated as such.

Spiritual leaders at all levels are critical to the success of the global solidarity for an ethical,
moral and spiritual commitment to protect the environment and God’s creation. These leaders
can become observers, make public commitments, share the story of their commitments and the
challenges and joys of keeping them, and invite others to join them. In addition, they can display
their sustainable behaviors, serving as role models for their followers and the public.

The following is a reflection on how religions have addressed religious commitments towards
the environment.
Baha’i Faith: ​The Baha’i faith is based upon world citizenship and it proclaims the unity of
humankind. In this order of idea, it defends the environment so that the whole humanity
(including future generation) can live happily in harmony with nature (ARC, n.d.).

Buddhism: ​The notion of karma alone, being an important part of Buddha's lessons, conveys the
values of conservation and responsibility for the future. It is said that the morality of our actions
in the present will shape our character for the future, an idea close to sustainable development.

Buddhist Connections and Reflection on Environment: ​“As a bee – without harming the
blossom, its color, its fragrance – takes its nectar and flies away: so should the sage go through a
village.”​ ​(Dhammapada IV, Pupphavagga: Blossoms, 49)

“Drop by drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the wise man, gathering it little by little, fills
himself with good.”​ ​(Dhammapada IX, Papavagga: Evil, 122)

“Our ancestors viewed the earth as rich and bountiful, which it is. Many people in the past also
saw nature as inexhaustibly sustainable, which we now know is the case only if we care for it.”
(Dalai Lama, 1990a)

Christianity: ​There are approximately hundred verses in the bible that talk about protection of
the environment. Christians therefore have environmental responsibility and encourage
behavioral change for the good of the future (OpenBible.info., n.d).

Christian Connections and Reflection on Environment: ​“Do not pollute the land where you
are. Bloodshed pollutes the land, and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has
been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it.” (Verse 35:33)

“When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, ‘Gather the pieces that are left
over. Let nothing be wasted.”​ (John 6:12)

“We must treat nature with the same awe and wonder that we reserve for human beings. And we
do not need this insight in order to believe in God or to prove his existence. We need it to
breathe; we need it for us simply to be.”​ ​(Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, 2010)

“The urgent challenge to protect our common home includes a concern to bring the whole human
family together to seek a sustainable and integral development, for we know that things can
change. The Creator does not abandon us; he never forsakes his loving plan or repents of having
created us. Humanity still has the ability to work together in building our common home.” ​(Pope
Francis, 2015)
Hinduism: ​Hinduism is a religion deeply rooted in nature. The sacred text (Vedas, Upanishads,
Bhagavad Gita, Epics) has many references of divinity related to nature, such as rivers,
mountains, trees, animals, and the earth. To protect them, Hinduism encourages environmental
protection and there are organizations who promote sustainable development and support the
protection of the environment through awareness campaigns and actions (GreenFaith, 2010).

Hinduism Connections and Reflection on Environment: ​“I shall now explain the knowable,
knowing which you will taste the eternal. Brahman, the spirit, beginningless and subordinate to
Me, lies beyond the cause and effect of this material world.” (Bhagavad Gita 13.13)

“According to the different modes of material nature — the mode of goodness, the mode of
passion and the mode of darkness — there are different living creatures, who are known as
demigods, human beings and hellish living entities. O King, even a particular mode of nature,
being mixed with the other two, is divided into three, and thus each kind of living creature is
influenced by the other modes and acquires its habits also.” (Bhagavata Purana 2.10.41)

“There is an inseparable bond between man and nature. For man, there cannot be an existence
removed from nature.” (Amma, 2011)

Islam: ​Hundreds of Qur’an verses support the protection of the environment. Many some
Islamic organizations promote the relation between Islam and sustainability. Islam also
approaches environment from a stewardship perspective. The earth is God’s creation, and as
humans, we have been entrusted to preserve it as we found. The responsibility of humanity is to
protect and ensure the unity (Tawheed) of God's creation. Moreover, Islam prohibits the
excessive consumption of resources the planet provides to the humanity (Qur’an 7:31, 6:141,
17:26-27, 40:34). In fact, Qur’an mentions wasteful consumption (Isrāf) as the thirty-second
greatest sin. In 2015, the Islamic Climate Change Symposium adopted the Islamic Declaration
on Global Climate Change.

Muslim Connections and Reflection on Environment: ​“Devote thyself single-mindedly to the

Faith, and thus follow the nature designed by Allah, the nature according to which He has
fashioned mankind. There is no altering the creation of Allah.” (Qur’an 30:30)

“Do not strut arrogantly on the earth. You will never split the earth apart nor will you ever rival
the mountains’ stature”​ ​(Qur’an 17: 37).

“It is Allah who made for you the earth a place of settlement and the sky a ceiling and formed
you and perfected your forms and provided you with good things. That is Allah, your Lord; then
blessed is Allah , Lord of the worlds.” (Qur’an, 40:64)
Jainism: ​Originated from India, the main teaching from Jainism is Ahimsa, the non-violence, in
all parts of life. Verbally, physically and mentally, Jainism doctrines focus on a peaceful and
disciplined life. Kindness to animals, vegetarianism and self-restraint with the avoidance of
waste are parts of Jains life. In addition, in 1990, The Jain Declaration on Nature was written to
mark the entry of the Jain faith into the WWF Network on Conservation and Religion (The Jain
Declaration on Nature, 1990).

Jainism Connections and Reflection on Environment: ​"Do not injure, abuse, oppress, enslave,
insult, torment, torture, or kill any creature or living being." (Mahavira)

“​ As a highly evolved form of life, human beings have a great moral responsibility in their
mutual dealings and in their relationship with the rest of the universe. It is this conception of life
and its eternal coherence, in which human beings have an inescapable ethical responsibility, that
made the Jain tradition a cradle for the creed of environmental protection and harmony.” (The
Jain Declaration on Nature, 1990).

SACRED GROVES:

One of the finest examples of traditional practices in India based on religious faith which has
made a profound contribution to nature conservation has been the maintenance of certain patches
of land or forests as "sacred groves' dedicated to a deity or a village God, protected, and
worshipped. These are found all over India, and abundantly along the Western Ghats, the west
coast, and in several parts of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. In Kerala there
are hundreds of small jungles dedicated to snakes ​(Sarpakavu, Sarpa ​meaning snake, ​kavu
meaning jungle). There are also Ayyappan ​kavus ​dedicated to Lord Ayyappa, the most famous of
which, visited by millions of devotees every year, being the sacred hill of Sabarimala with an
Ayyappan temple.

According to Madhav Gadgil (1985):

"Sacred groves ranged in extent from fifty hectares or more to a few hundred square metres.
Where the network. of sacred groves has remained intact till recent times, as in the South Kanara
district of the west coast, one can see that they formed islands of climax vegetation at densities of
2 to 3 per. sq. km, ranging in size from a small clump to a hectare or more, and originally
covering perhaps 5 per cent of the land area. This must have been a very effective way of
preserving tropical biological diversity, for we are still discovering new species of plants which
have disappeared from everywhere else, in these sacred groves."

In spite of the depletion of forests in many parts of India, some sacred groves still remain intact
as oases in deserts, conserving rich biological diversity. The maintenance of sacred groves can
thus be considered to be an outstanding example of a traditional practice that has contributed to
forest conservation, albeit in a small measure. There are also examples of sacred ponds attached
to temples in many parts of India. Some of these have been responsible for the protection of
certain endangered species of turtles, crocodiles, and the rare freshwater sponge.