Religious and indigenous leaders from 21 countries gathered in Norway on Monday to launch a new initiative aimed at saving the world’s tropical rainforests from the impact of deforestation and climate change.
It was the first time leaders from Catholic, Protestant Jewish, Buddhist and other faiths joined indigenous leaders from Brazil, Peru, Indonesia, Colombia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to call for urgent action to protect the forests.
Inspired by Pope Francis’ outspoken stance on global warming and overdevelopment in his 2015 “Laudato Si'” encyclical, the groundbreaking event was held in Oslo and backed by Norway’s King Harald V.
“Without the forests we do not have life; we live thanks to the forests,” Monsignor Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, who heads the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Sciences, told the conference.
“If we continue to do deforestation, it is like suicide. We need to act together to defend our common house.”
The conference was told the size of tropical rainforests in South America, sub-Saharan Africa and Asia is falling rapidly due to palm oil, soy and crop production, and extensive mining and logging operations with annual losses equal to an area the size of Austria.
Vicky Tauli-Corpuz, an indigenous leader for the Kankana-ey Igorot people in the Philippines, is U.N. special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples.
She said that forest communities had put their lives on the line to care for the planet’s tropical forests and the conference was the first step towards critical collaboration.
“Many of these dominant religions have been linked to the colonization of our communities,” she told RNS. “It is important that they come together to support the indigenous people who are the main guardians of the forest.”
Tauli-Corpuz, who led community opposition to logging expansion under the late Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, said deforestation and mining had taken their toll on her community of 1 million people in northern Luzon and others in the Philippines.
“We are nothing without our forests,” she said. “Our culture, our spirituality, our livelihoods, our incomes and our health are tied to them.”
Tauli-Corpuz said she hoped the Oslo talks would lead to more cooperation with indigenous people and stop the violation of their rights. “These are concrete things that can happen,” she said.
Din Syamsuddin is a professor of Islamic thought who also heads a center for promoting dialogue between civilizations in Jakarta, Indonesia. He said respecting nature was included in the teachings of the Quran and it was time to educate a new generation about saving the forests.
“Conserving rainforests is timely; sustainability is the responsibility of all, before it is too late,” he told the Oslo conference. “Why don’t we start now?”
Rabbi David Rosen, international director of interreligious affairs at the American Jewish Committee, said the world is “a divine creation” and that he also believes there is a moral responsibility to protect it for future generations.
“We are nothing without our forests,” she said. “Our culture, our spirituality, our livelihoods, our incomes and our health are tied to them.”
Tauli-Corpuz said she hoped the Oslo talks would lead to more cooperation with indigenous people and stop the violation of their rights. “These are concrete things that can happen,” she said.
Din Syamsuddin is a professor of Islamic thought who also heads a center for promoting dialogue between civilizations in Jakarta, Indonesia. He said respecting nature was included in the teachings of the Quran and it was time to educate a new generation about saving the forests.
“Conserving rainforests is timely; sustainability is the responsibility of all, before it is too late,” he told the Oslo conference. “Why don’t we start now?”
Rabbi David Rosen, international director of interreligious affairs at the American Jewish Committee, said the world is “a divine creation” and that he also believes there is a moral responsibility to protect it for future generations.
Dr Malawi is like a father to the fatherless.. i never believed these will really make a change in my marriage, and i never have it in my thought that i could ever been with my husband Mr Devis after divorcing and ending our 33 years marriage…. My life was upset i never knew where to start from when my husband broke up with me….. My name is Tanisha Devis from Poland but got married and live in Chicago USA, [email protected] is the right email address to contact for an urgent help in getting your lover back…. My husband and I have been together for 33 years before he divorced me and i was so upset because i thought i have lost my marriage forever… i did all i could to please for my husband to bring me back home but all to be in vain.. i had to travel away from my state because i was not having anywhere to stay because my home was not conducive for me to stay because my husband want me out of the house, i travel to a friend of mine in California, one night, when i was searching on a good spell caster results that help in bringing back lost lover’s and husband’s, i found an interesting story that was shared by Santana Valdez From Texas Huston, about a good spell caster called Dr Malawi,and how he helped her in getting her husband back home, and i decided to put a try in contacting him… he replied me back.. i thought at first these was just normal and he told me that i was going to get back my husband after a period of 28 hours i still doubted him…. But today as i am sharing these good news is for me to express my experience to all the whole universe that these is a good spell caster that helps in bringing back lost lovers and he is ([email protected]) I am happily with my husband and my 3 kids, TARRY, WENDY, JEFF… great Malawi i thank you for helping me to get my family back…. his email address is ([email protected])