Friday, 14 July 2006
Photo: Jeroen van Amelsvoort

Mongolia Web News reports:

Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, is visiting Mongolia to join president Nambar Enkhbayar in the celebrations of the 800 years statehood of Mongolia. On Tuesday July 11th, he attented a special version of the national festival of Naadam. In the afternoon he paid a visit to a project to increase capacity in the Mongolian felt and cashmere industry let by designer Alan Flux.
Afterwards the Duke of York visited Gandan monastery where he was received by the abbot, His Emminence Venerable Khamba Lama. He was introduced to an eco-ger that has been set-up to promote
environmental awareness through and with the Buddhist community as part of a programme of the Alliance of Religions and Conservation - a UK based NGO founded by Prince Philip.

The World Bank has published a report on their work on working with religious communities on environmental programmes (pdf file - 6mb):

All of the World’s major faiths can argue for better environmental management.
The past record of explicit care for the environment by faith communities can
hardly be said to have been exemplary, but over the last 20 years all of these
faiths have reexamined their teachings and beliefs in the light of the various
global environmental crises. All of them have found that they should be more active
in caring for the environment, not just because this would be a good thing to do, but
because it is a natural expression of their faith. The faiths are thus natural allies of the
environmental movement.
We increasingly recognize the role of civil society as a key network for environment and
development programs. However—and with some notable exceptions—the potential
of faith communities and faith-based organizations has not been fully explored. Yet in
almost every country in the world, the faiths have a wider network on the ground than
any other element of civil society. They also have centuries of experience, and in many
places provide a substantial part of the educational, medical, and welfare structures and
personnel in the country. They also often have larger followings than many political
parties, across much wider social ranges. The faiths actually are the oldest, largest, most
respected, and deepest-penetrating NGOs. They share with us an agenda of promoting
wise environmental management, even if this has been somewhat lost during parts of
their history.

Reuters reports:

The Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader, has thrown a lifeline to India's dwindling tiger population after an emotional appeal to outlaw the trade in animal skins provoked an extraordinary reaction in his homeland.

All over Tibet, there have been reports of people burning wild animal furs since the Dalai Lama, the Himalayan region's exiled god-king, made his appeal at a Buddhist prayer meeting in southern India in January.

Thousands of Tibetans attended the festival and many carried the Dalai Lama's words back to their Himalayan homeland.

Conservationists say there has been a sharp rise in the poaching of tigers and leopards in India in recent years to feed an explosion of demand from Tibet. They say the tiger faced being wiped out in India as a result. Now they have some renewed hope.

"The reaction of the Tibetan people, now they have been made aware of the results of their actions -- it gives a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel for the Indian tiger," said Belinda Wright of the Wildlife Protection Society of India.

An ancient tradition of wearing animal furs seemed to have been revived in Tibet in recent years, partly perhaps as a result of greater disposable income. Since December, 1999, 18 of 19 major seizures of wildlife parts or skins in India either involved Tibetans or were strongly linked to Tibet, said Wright.

In January, the Dalai Lama said he was "ashamed" to see images of Tibetans decorating themselves with skins and furs.

"When you go back to your respective places, remember what I had said earlier and never use, sell, or buy wild animals, their products or derivatives," he asked pilgrims at the Kalachakra, an initiation ceremony for Buddhists in south India.

A survey of residents in the area surrounding Gandantegchenling Monastery has demonstrated a lack of consensus on what form the future development of this district should take.
Conducted by the Alliance of Religions and Conservation as part of the World Bank "Sacred Urban Landscape Protection Initiative - Environmental Education and Conservation Management for Monasteries in Ulaanbaatar", the survey is part of a larger project to assist Gandantegchenling Monastery in developing an environmentally-sound management plan for the Monastery and its surrounding urban area.

According to the report, "The issue of urban planning in the wider Gandan Hill area has long been fraught with controversy, with great differences in opinion existing over whether the land in this area should be privatized, whether the existing residents should be evicted to create a planned residential district or religious complex, and whether Gandantegchenling Monastery should enjoy direct control over the land outside its own walls."
While there is very strong agreement among the local population that Gandantegchenling Monastery is a significant historical and cultural site, it is evident that residents do not believe the existence of a religious complex in this area necessarily implies a need to control the ownership, management or development of the current residential district. Approximately 85% of surveyed residents believe that the area should remain a ger district, while 76.6% were favourable to the development of the site as a modern residential area. Only 29.2% of residents stated they would willingly surrender their lots even if offered fair compensation, and more than two-thirds of the population does not expect to leave this area under any circumstances; 92% of residents support the privatization of the land surrounding the monastery.

The survey report suggests that a zoning-based development strategy for this urban region could be viewed as most acceptable by local residents, who support the private development of the residential district but would also like to see the historical and cultural value of the Gandan hill sacred area better protected. Such a strategy would recognize the right to private ownership of the area surrounding the monastery, but would impose some zoning restrictions on property use and on construction, in the interest of maintaining the overall integrity of the site.
A meeting of stakeholders from the monastery, local and national governments and the local population is expected to be held in March to discuss the management of this historic site in further detail. An official Site Management Plan for the Gandantegchenling Monastery / Geser Temple area is to be finalized this spring.

The full text of the report can be found here .

Dreaming Of Danzan Ravjaa: June 2005: "The week was dominated by the Northern Buddhist Conference on Ecology and Development, which ran from Monday to Thursday. It was masterfully organized by my man Guido Verboom, who is Mongolia’s representative for the Manchester, England based Alliance of Religion and Conservation. The World Bank co-sponsored the event, as did the governments of the Netherlands and Mongolia. More than 200 people attended, at least a third of whom were monks and nuns from across East Asia. The main issue was how can Buddhists, living a life based on compassion and the understanding of the interrelationship of all things, take the lead in their respective countries as far as environmental protection and community education in good practices. It was really fascinating and, I think, very productive."

the Mongol Messenger:

"Environmental and Religious Conference Opens
The Northern Buddhist Conference on Ecology and Development opened in Ulaanbaatar, on Monday 20th June at the Chingis Hotel. The four-day conference was organised by the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC), a secular, non-government organisation which aims to assist and encourage the use of religions to promote conservation, by raising awareness in faith communities and developing environmental education programmes"

ARC:

"Northern Buddhists launch new ecological network
Ulaanbaatar: June 20 2005:

As the sound of chanting spread across a room full of several hundred Buddhist monks in Ulan Baator this morning, the newly elected President of Mongolia launched a unique event.

The occasion was the launch of the Northern Buddhist Conference on Ecology and Development.

The meeting was historic for two key reasons. It was the first conference bringing together the Buddhist monasteries in Mongolia since 1911. It is also the first body to broker partnerships between Buddhist communities, Northern Buddhist governments, the World Bank and other international bodies.


If just one tree were planted in the Gobi whenever a Mongolian person dies, then within one generation there would be up to 2.7 million more trees in the desert, with all the wildlife and climate support that these new woodlands would bring with them.

Joining leading Buddhists from Russia, Mongolia, China, Korea, and Cambodia were senior figures from the World Bank, Dutch Government, international environmental organizations such as WWF, and the Alliance of Religions and Conservation."