daniel chigunwe
Flora Teckie
Correspondent
Today, Zimbabwe joins the rest of the world in commemorating the World Environment Day.
‘World Environment Day’ is observed on June 5 every year.
The day is a reminder of the urgent need for more appropriate use of our natural environment, its protection and preservation.
As custodians of the earth, we have the obligation to ensure that our natural resources are protected as part of a divine trust for which humanity is ultimately answerable.
The Bahá’í International Community, in one of its statements, makes the following observation: “The rapid progress in science and technology that has united the world physically has also greatly accelerated destruction of the biological diversity and rich natural heritage with which the planet has been endowed.
“Only a comprehensive vision of a global society, supported by universal values and principles, can inspire individuals to take responsibility for the long-term care and protection of the natural environment”.
Preservation and protection of our natural resources should be viewed not only in technical and economic terms, but also as a moral and ethical issue.
An important component of resolving climate change and other environmental challenges, in the Bahá’í view, will be the cultivation of values, attitudes and skills that give rise to just and sustainable patterns of human interaction with the environment.
Furthermore, there will be need to observe the principles of economic justice, equality between the races, universal education, and gender equality.
In terms of economic justice, for example: In many parts of the world, the danger to rain forests comes as vulnerable communities, seeking a fair share of the world’s wealth, cut trees for fuel or to clear land for agriculture purposes, often without being aware that over the long term they may be damaging rather than improving their children’s chances for a better life.
Any attempt to protect nature, must, therefore, also address the fundamental inequities between the world’s rich and poor.
According to a statement of the Bahá’í International Community, “Wealth needs to be acquired and expended by nations in a way that enables all the people of the world to prosper.
Structures and systems that permit a few to have inordinate riches while the masses remain disadvantaged must be replaced by arrangements that foster the generation of wealth in a way that promotes justice”.
Coherence between material and spiritual dimensions
There is a need for dynamic coherence between the material and spiritual dimensions of sustainable consumption, and the production, exploration and implementation of, not only the policy and technical aspects, but the values that influence attitudes and transform behaviours.
The Bahá’í International Community states: “Only a comprehensive vision of a global society, supported by universal values and principles, can inspire individuals to take responsibility for the long-term care and protection of the natural environment”.
There is need to observe justice in utilising the earth’s resources.
Upholding justice implies moving from self-interest to a mode of sharing and caring for our natural resources.
In a statement to Paris Conference, entitled: ‘Shared Vision, Shared Volition: Choosing Our Global Future Together’ the Bahá’í International Community says: “A more balanced attitude toward the environment must therefore address human conditions as consciously as it does natural ones. It must be embodied in social norms and patterns of action characterised by justice and equity. On this foundation can be built an evolving vision of our common future together”.
Need for unity and willing cooperation among people
Solutions to address the current environmental challenges, in the Bahá’í view, will require a globally accepted vision for the future, based on unity and willing cooperation among the nations, races, creeds, and classes of the human family.
It will require that the principle of the oneness of humanity become a ruling principle of international life.
“This principle [the oneness of humanity] constitutes more than a call for cooperation; it seeks to remould anachronistic and unjust patterns of human interaction in a manner that reflects the relationships that bind us as members of one human race …
To progress beyond a world community driven by a largely economic and utilitarian calculus, to one of shared responsibility for the prosperity of all nations”, says the Bahá’í International Community, the principle of oneness of humanity “must take root in the conscience of the individual.
In this way, we come to recognise the broader human agenda — which subsumes those of climate change, poverty eradication, gender equality, development, and the like — and seeks to use both human and natural resources in a way that facilitates the progress and well-being of all people” and “As consciousness of the oneness of humankind increases, so too does the recognition that the wealth and wonders of the earth are the common heritage of all people, who deserve just and equitable access to its resources”.
Furthermore, the need for international cooperation to protect the environment cannot be over-emphasised, as the local, national and the international communities are linked through the environment.
Thus, an appropriate global action for environmental protection and preservation must be rooted in spiritual values and principles in addition to technical and economic considerations.
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Website: www.bahai.org
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