Seven Key Areas
6. Partnerships
We all know that working in partnership with others is far more powerful than working alone. As the Dalai Lama said: 'We can see that all the desirable experiences that we cherish or aspire to attain are dependent upon cooperation and interaction with other sentient beings.' There are many different types of partnership, so how can faith groups increase their impact on the environment by working in partnership with others?
I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things
Mother Teresa
DEDICATED STAFF
and a DEDICATED FUNDING SOURCE
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Do you have staff dedicated to developing environmental work? Is there a focal point for this work, a website? An office? If not, could you open an environment office?
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Can you put funds aside annually to fund this work and outreach?
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Will these staff have access to the right training and resources to do their work effectively?
LAY PEOPLE
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Have you tried to involve lay people who are active in environmental fields to help you develop appropriate ecological responses to issues? Lay people often want to contribute but no-one asks them to do so.
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Try establishing an advisory group of members of your faith who are specialists in different fields related to the environment – law, water management, land management, education, waste management etc. The advisory group will offer you most professional advice and could also link your programmes into the wider work of local, national or international agencies, so that your own efforts are multiplied, or leveraged.
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It's also worth thinking about the level of professionalism, diversity of backgrounds and experience, and generations represented you need within an advisory group. Who will represent the needs of your community in a diverse and inclusive way?
ECO-TWINNING
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Do you have existing links or twinnings with other groups – churches, mosques, temples, dioceses and the link in different parts of the world?
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If they are in places that are already experiencing climate change at a critical level, have you thought of partnering with them on an environmental basis? And if you are in a place that is experiencing climate change, have you thought about bringing that into your twinning relationship?
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Have you explored the possibility of twinning with a secular organisation?
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What can be shared beneficially between your organisation and the one you twin with (resources, knowledge and the like)?
OTHER PARTNERSHIPS
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Look around and see who might partner with you because they share the same interests, for example, in organic farming, clean energy usage, recycling, among many others. There is no need always to reinvent the wheel!
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Have you made links with secular bodies that are working, environmentally, in the field?
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Have you made links with other faith bodies in your region that are interested in improving their environmental impact but may not know where to start?
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Are there areas where you can share expertise and experience and avoid duplication?
CASE STUDIES
Three new faith-based environmental organisations were created as a result of the 2009 Faith Commitments programme
Bhumi Global
The Bhumi Project (now known as Bhumi Global) was created as a worldwide Hindu response to the environmental crisis. Facilitated by the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies and backed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), it was officially launched at the 2009 Windsor celebration.
In 2020 it registered as an independent, non-profit organisation and was renamed Bhumi Global. It core purpose is to connect Hindus and non-Hindus on environmental issues.
Bhumi Global's Director Gopal Patel says: 'Bhumi Global's mission is to engage, educate, and empower people and communities to address the triple crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. Our work is based on Hindu principles of environmental care.'
Bhumi Global's strategy includes:
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Global leadership – working with leading global institutions such as the United Nations
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Empowering a new generation – working with young people
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Interfaith engagement – working with all spiritual and religious traditions
Young Hindus water a newly planted tree in Kenya as part of a Hindu reforestation project
Daoist ceremony at the Daoist Ecological Temple, Taibaishan. Daoism has a history going back more than 2,000 years. Today it is estimated that 170 million people follow Daoism to some extent, mostly in China.
Daoist Ecological Temples Network
In 2006, the first Daoist ecological temple was created at Taibaishan in China's Shaanxi Province, by a partnership between the China Daoist Association, Shaanxi Province, the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC) and the Ecological Management Foundation.
This humble beginning led to the Daoist Ecological Temples Network which was launched at ARC's Faith Commitments celebration at Windsor Castle in 2009.
Since then, it has since grown to more than 200 temples across China – and is still expanding. It held its first Daoist Ecological Temples meeting, entitled 'Heavenly Grottos, Lucid Waters and Lush Mountains', in September 2018 – described as by the China Daoist Association as 'the most successful Daoist event for 10 years'.
The Network provides ecological education, facilitates message dissemination on wildlife, mercy release and vegetarian fasting, organises youth camps and supports the adoption of ecological practices in Daoist temples across China.
EcoSikh
EcoSikh arose as a global Sikh response to the the threats of climate change and the deterioration of the natural environment.
EcoSikh connects Sikh values, beliefs and institutions to the most important environmental issues facing the world. Its inspiration comes from the words of the Sikh founder, Guru Nanak Dev Ji, which it says lays the foundation for a sacred vision for the environment: 'Air is the Guru, Water the Father and the Earth is the Great Mother.'
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It established Sikh Environment Day on March 14 each year and now thousands of gurdwaras, schools and other institutions take part.
EcoSikh has launched a range of other initiatives including:
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Guru Nanak Sacred Forest – a project to plant 300+ micro forests all over the world in honour of the Sikh founder, Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
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Guru Nanak Bagh – the world's first gurbani-based garden that exhibits the entire range of trees and plants referred to in Sikhism's most sacred text, the Sri Guru Granth Sahib. ('Gurbani' is a Sikh term meaning writings or compositions by Sikh gurus.)
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