Made by Greywolf
Copyright
British Druid Order 2009
Copyright
British Druid Order 2009
SPIRITUAL ECOLOGY
On this page you'll find links to external sites chosen to represent the best on the web for offering an approach to ecology that combines practicality and spirituality. We looked for sites that bring together indigenous peoples and contemporary Pagans, but they seem few and far between. If you know of any not listed here, please let us know.
THE WORLD DRUM
A Norwegian healer, Whitecougar, had a vision. A Sami shaman, Birger Mikkelsen, made a Drum; the World Drum; the heartbeat of our Mother Earth. The message it carries is that humankind must change our attitude and behaviour towards the Great Mother who feeds, supports and nourishes us, from one of exploitation to one of spiritual connection. From a first rite at the Norwegian Parliament in 2006, the Drum has travelled to more than sixty indigenous, New Age and Pagan groups and more than twenty countries on four continents. From ceremonies these groups have made with the Drum, its song has sounded out, heart to heart, spirit to spirit; the voice of Mother Earth, crying to her children. To visit the World Drum website, CLICK HERE and check out our own World Drum page via the side menu for the rites we held at Dragon Hill and Avebury.
ANIMISM: RESPECTING THE LIVING WORLD
First, a definition: 'Animism is the attempt to live respectfully as members of the diverse community of living persons (only some of whom are human) which we call the world or cosmos.'
The Animism: Respecting the Living World website is a companion for the book of the same name by leading Pagan academic, Graham Harvey. The site expands upon the book and includes further discussion, examples, elaborations and incitements that will enable more fruitful discussions about these ways of living respectfully within the wider community that is the living world. Plenty to think about and discover on this still-growing site, CLICK HERE.
INDIGENOUS ENVIRONMENTAL NETWORK
'A network of Indigenous Peoples empowering Indigenous Nations and communities towards sustainable livelihoods, demanding environmental justice and maintaining the Sacred Fire of our traditions.'
A source for Indigenous Environmental and Social Justice issues with postings of current news, ongoing actions and calls for support. Includes an Archive section for learning more about historical efforts by government and corporations to exploit the resources of Indigenous people worldwide, IEN position papers, articles, press releases and more. The concentration is on North American Native communities, however, their partnerships extend to all of Mother Earth. CLICK HERE.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES & CONSERVATION: WWF STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES
Indigenous peoples inhabit nearly 20 per cent of the planet, mainly in areas where they have lived for thousands of years. Compared with protected area managers, who control about 6 per cent of the world's land mass, indigenous peoples are the earth's most important stewards. During more than three decades of conservation work, the World Wildlife Fund has been approached by many indigenous and rural communities seeking collaboration on issues like protected area management and the conservation of natural resources. Notable amongst them are the Hupa Indians of northern California, the Inuit of Isabella Bay in Canada, the Zoque Indians of Mexico, the Karen of Thailand, the Shona people in Zimbabwe, the Kuna of Panama, the Shimshali of Pakistan, the Phoka people of northern Malawi, the Imagruen of Mauritania, the Ewenk of Siberia, and many others scattered all over the globe. WWF is, or has recently been, working with indigenous peoples in all regions of the world: in Europe, Latin America, North America, Asia, the Pacific, and Africa. To view the WWF position statement on indigenous peoples and conservation, CLICK HERE.
THE NATURE CONSERVANCY & INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
Supporting People and Places
Most of the world's biodiversity exists in areas inhabited by people. Effective conservation cannot be achieved unless the people who live and rely on those lands are an integral part of the conservation process. For more than 50 years, The Nature Conservancy has depended upon partnerships with local communities to conserve some of the most biologically critical and threatened ecosystems on Earth. The Nature Conservancy works in all 50 United States and more than 30 countries around the world. In more than 30 of those programs, nationally and internationally, the Conservancy is working collaboratively with indigenous and traditional communities to help protect their lands for generations to come. Included in The Nature Conservancy's seven core values is a 'Commitment to People,' which states that we 'respect the needs of local communities by developing ways to conserve biological diversity while at the same time enabling humans to live productively and sustainably on the landscape.' For more information, CLICK HERE.
UNITED NATIONS FORUM ON INDIGENOUS ISSUES
A Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
by Lisa Bowen
'We have always adapted. Our homes are designed to the environment. Where we live, no Kuna house has been destroyed by an earthquake or a hurricane because we know how to build to our territory.' Onel Masardule, of Panama, spoke passionately about the need for indigenous people to have an integral role in international discussions about climate change. As the United Nations convened its Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues earlier this year, more than 120 representatives from indigenous and traditional peoples, from Norway to the Amazon, gathered for collaborative action to ensure that their voices are heard when it comes to the complex challenge of climate change. 'Because we are concerned about climate change, like everyone is concerned, we want to share our knowledge with the world,' said Ecuador's Johnson Cerda, representing the Quichua Community of Santa Elena, a co-organizer of the event along with Conservation International (CI) and the U.N. Development Program's Equator Initiative. The Indigenous People and Climate Change workshop brought together indigenous and traditional peoples with representatives from governments, funding agencies, and other nongovernmental organizations. 'Indigenous peoples are very concerned about the lack of information they have that would enable them to be more engaged in the political discussions about climate change. There is definitely a movement, and will continue to be a movement for increased participation,' said Kristen Walker-Painemella, Vice President and Executive Director of CI's Indigenous and Traditional Peoples Initiative. Several indigenous leaders spoke during the workshop, including Norway's Olav Mathis Eira, vice-president of the Saami Council. He described how climate change impacts indigenous people in Europe's four northernmost countries, where reindeer herding is an important livelihood and traditional way of life. 'My neighbor lost 70 reindeer two years ago. They just died and we couldn't tell why. It turned out it was death by a parasite that usually dies during a cold winter, but it has survived with warmer weather,' Mathis Eira said. 'Also, the ice is unstable. We need thick ice, but with mild winters it is not that easy anymore. It makes it a problem to tell younger herders where to cross rivers.' For more information, CLICK HERE.
RELIGION & NATURE
ReligionandNature.com is a source for information about the complex relationships among the religious perceptions and practices of the earth's peoples and their diverse environments.
ReligionandNature.com hosts the International Society for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture, and features important scholarly works, including the award-winning Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature, and the Society-affiliated Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture.
ReligionandNature.com's Forum provides news and resources for the media, concerned citizens, and scholars who wish to keep abreast of developments in the exciting and raucously interdisciplinary religion and nature field. The Forum also will provide a venue for ongoing discussion, debate, and collaboration. We hope that all who are interested in the nexus of what is variously understood to be 'religion,' 'spirituality,' 'nature' and 'ecology,' and who wish to deepen their understanding of the relationships between ecosystems and religious perceptions and practices will find much of value, and return regularly, to our web site. CLICK HERE.
Finally, here's a look at one potentially interesting group that refuses to have anything to do with indigenous peoples or Pagans ... Hmmm ... I look forward to removing this shortly ...
ARC: Alliance of Religions and Conservation - but why no Pagan or Indigenous groups?
According to their website, "ARC is a secular body that helps the major religions of the world to develop their own environmental programmes, based on their own core teachings, beliefs and practices. We help the religions link with key environmental organisations, creating powerful alliances between faith communities and conservation groups. ARC was founded in 1995 by HRH Prince Philip. We now work with 11 major faiths through the key traditions within each faith."
The 11 faiths are: Baha'ism, Buddhism, Christianity, Daoism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Shintoism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism. Why no mention of the indigenous peoples who are closest to the land and have most to lose through ecological degradation, or for the Pagan groups who are their nearest equivalent among peoples of European origin? I've e-mailed them to ask just this question and will let you know what response I get.
I did e-mail ARC and got a reply saying that they have no interest in expanding the faiths they work with to include indigenous peoples or Pagans. Part of their reasoning is that these faiths are adequately represented elsewhere, that they are too fragmented and thet they have no clear, written theology. These reasons are all highly questionable, but, given the tone of the response from ARC, there seems little point in pursuing them.
Meanwhile, ARC have put out a call for religious groups to contribute to a project called Theology of Land. For details of this interesting global conservation initiative, visit their Theology of Land page, scroll down to the heading, 5.0 Ideas on Developing a Theology of the Land, and read on. It should generate food for thought. If you'd like to respond, you can do so via a link on the BDO Forum. Locate 'Druidry and the Environment' in the Board Index, click to open it and select the 'Theology of the Land' topic. If enough responses are forthcoming, I'll do what I did for the Avebury reburial issue (see below) and compile a document to submit to ARC outlining the Druidic 'Theology of the Land' (or should that be 'Theaology' or 'Pantheology?') If you'd just like to query why ARC has no indigenous or Pagan representation, here are their contact details:
ARC, The House, Kelston Park, Bath BA1 9AE, UK
info@arcworld.org
tel +44 (0)1225 758 004
On this page you'll find links to external sites chosen to represent the best on the web for offering an approach to ecology that combines practicality and spirituality. We looked for sites that bring together indigenous peoples and contemporary Pagans, but they seem few and far between. If you know of any not listed here, please let us know.
THE WORLD DRUM
A Norwegian healer, Whitecougar, had a vision. A Sami shaman, Birger Mikkelsen, made a Drum; the World Drum; the heartbeat of our Mother Earth. The message it carries is that humankind must change our attitude and behaviour towards the Great Mother who feeds, supports and nourishes us, from one of exploitation to one of spiritual connection. From a first rite at the Norwegian Parliament in 2006, the Drum has travelled to more than sixty indigenous, New Age and Pagan groups and more than twenty countries on four continents. From ceremonies these groups have made with the Drum, its song has sounded out, heart to heart, spirit to spirit; the voice of Mother Earth, crying to her children. To visit the World Drum website, CLICK HERE and check out our own World Drum page via the side menu for the rites we held at Dragon Hill and Avebury.
ANIMISM: RESPECTING THE LIVING WORLD
First, a definition: 'Animism is the attempt to live respectfully as members of the diverse community of living persons (only some of whom are human) which we call the world or cosmos.'
The Animism: Respecting the Living World website is a companion for the book of the same name by leading Pagan academic, Graham Harvey. The site expands upon the book and includes further discussion, examples, elaborations and incitements that will enable more fruitful discussions about these ways of living respectfully within the wider community that is the living world. Plenty to think about and discover on this still-growing site, CLICK HERE.
INDIGENOUS ENVIRONMENTAL NETWORK
'A network of Indigenous Peoples empowering Indigenous Nations and communities towards sustainable livelihoods, demanding environmental justice and maintaining the Sacred Fire of our traditions.'
A source for Indigenous Environmental and Social Justice issues with postings of current news, ongoing actions and calls for support. Includes an Archive section for learning more about historical efforts by government and corporations to exploit the resources of Indigenous people worldwide, IEN position papers, articles, press releases and more. The concentration is on North American Native communities, however, their partnerships extend to all of Mother Earth. CLICK HERE.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES & CONSERVATION: WWF STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES
Indigenous peoples inhabit nearly 20 per cent of the planet, mainly in areas where they have lived for thousands of years. Compared with protected area managers, who control about 6 per cent of the world's land mass, indigenous peoples are the earth's most important stewards. During more than three decades of conservation work, the World Wildlife Fund has been approached by many indigenous and rural communities seeking collaboration on issues like protected area management and the conservation of natural resources. Notable amongst them are the Hupa Indians of northern California, the Inuit of Isabella Bay in Canada, the Zoque Indians of Mexico, the Karen of Thailand, the Shona people in Zimbabwe, the Kuna of Panama, the Shimshali of Pakistan, the Phoka people of northern Malawi, the Imagruen of Mauritania, the Ewenk of Siberia, and many others scattered all over the globe. WWF is, or has recently been, working with indigenous peoples in all regions of the world: in Europe, Latin America, North America, Asia, the Pacific, and Africa. To view the WWF position statement on indigenous peoples and conservation, CLICK HERE.
THE NATURE CONSERVANCY & INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
Supporting People and Places
Most of the world's biodiversity exists in areas inhabited by people. Effective conservation cannot be achieved unless the people who live and rely on those lands are an integral part of the conservation process. For more than 50 years, The Nature Conservancy has depended upon partnerships with local communities to conserve some of the most biologically critical and threatened ecosystems on Earth. The Nature Conservancy works in all 50 United States and more than 30 countries around the world. In more than 30 of those programs, nationally and internationally, the Conservancy is working collaboratively with indigenous and traditional communities to help protect their lands for generations to come. Included in The Nature Conservancy's seven core values is a 'Commitment to People,' which states that we 'respect the needs of local communities by developing ways to conserve biological diversity while at the same time enabling humans to live productively and sustainably on the landscape.' For more information, CLICK HERE.
UNITED NATIONS FORUM ON INDIGENOUS ISSUES
A Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
by Lisa Bowen
'We have always adapted. Our homes are designed to the environment. Where we live, no Kuna house has been destroyed by an earthquake or a hurricane because we know how to build to our territory.' Onel Masardule, of Panama, spoke passionately about the need for indigenous people to have an integral role in international discussions about climate change. As the United Nations convened its Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues earlier this year, more than 120 representatives from indigenous and traditional peoples, from Norway to the Amazon, gathered for collaborative action to ensure that their voices are heard when it comes to the complex challenge of climate change. 'Because we are concerned about climate change, like everyone is concerned, we want to share our knowledge with the world,' said Ecuador's Johnson Cerda, representing the Quichua Community of Santa Elena, a co-organizer of the event along with Conservation International (CI) and the U.N. Development Program's Equator Initiative. The Indigenous People and Climate Change workshop brought together indigenous and traditional peoples with representatives from governments, funding agencies, and other nongovernmental organizations. 'Indigenous peoples are very concerned about the lack of information they have that would enable them to be more engaged in the political discussions about climate change. There is definitely a movement, and will continue to be a movement for increased participation,' said Kristen Walker-Painemella, Vice President and Executive Director of CI's Indigenous and Traditional Peoples Initiative. Several indigenous leaders spoke during the workshop, including Norway's Olav Mathis Eira, vice-president of the Saami Council. He described how climate change impacts indigenous people in Europe's four northernmost countries, where reindeer herding is an important livelihood and traditional way of life. 'My neighbor lost 70 reindeer two years ago. They just died and we couldn't tell why. It turned out it was death by a parasite that usually dies during a cold winter, but it has survived with warmer weather,' Mathis Eira said. 'Also, the ice is unstable. We need thick ice, but with mild winters it is not that easy anymore. It makes it a problem to tell younger herders where to cross rivers.' For more information, CLICK HERE.
RELIGION & NATURE
ReligionandNature.com is a source for information about the complex relationships among the religious perceptions and practices of the earth's peoples and their diverse environments.
ReligionandNature.com hosts the International Society for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture, and features important scholarly works, including the award-winning Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature, and the Society-affiliated Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture.
ReligionandNature.com's Forum provides news and resources for the media, concerned citizens, and scholars who wish to keep abreast of developments in the exciting and raucously interdisciplinary religion and nature field. The Forum also will provide a venue for ongoing discussion, debate, and collaboration. We hope that all who are interested in the nexus of what is variously understood to be 'religion,' 'spirituality,' 'nature' and 'ecology,' and who wish to deepen their understanding of the relationships between ecosystems and religious perceptions and practices will find much of value, and return regularly, to our web site. CLICK HERE.
Finally, here's a look at one potentially interesting group that refuses to have anything to do with indigenous peoples or Pagans ... Hmmm ... I look forward to removing this shortly ...
ARC: Alliance of Religions and Conservation - but why no Pagan or Indigenous groups?
According to their website, "ARC is a secular body that helps the major religions of the world to develop their own environmental programmes, based on their own core teachings, beliefs and practices. We help the religions link with key environmental organisations, creating powerful alliances between faith communities and conservation groups. ARC was founded in 1995 by HRH Prince Philip. We now work with 11 major faiths through the key traditions within each faith."
The 11 faiths are: Baha'ism, Buddhism, Christianity, Daoism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Shintoism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism. Why no mention of the indigenous peoples who are closest to the land and have most to lose through ecological degradation, or for the Pagan groups who are their nearest equivalent among peoples of European origin? I've e-mailed them to ask just this question and will let you know what response I get.
I did e-mail ARC and got a reply saying that they have no interest in expanding the faiths they work with to include indigenous peoples or Pagans. Part of their reasoning is that these faiths are adequately represented elsewhere, that they are too fragmented and thet they have no clear, written theology. These reasons are all highly questionable, but, given the tone of the response from ARC, there seems little point in pursuing them.
Meanwhile, ARC have put out a call for religious groups to contribute to a project called Theology of Land. For details of this interesting global conservation initiative, visit their Theology of Land page, scroll down to the heading, 5.0 Ideas on Developing a Theology of the Land, and read on. It should generate food for thought. If you'd like to respond, you can do so via a link on the BDO Forum. Locate 'Druidry and the Environment' in the Board Index, click to open it and select the 'Theology of the Land' topic. If enough responses are forthcoming, I'll do what I did for the Avebury reburial issue (see below) and compile a document to submit to ARC outlining the Druidic 'Theology of the Land' (or should that be 'Theaology' or 'Pantheology?') If you'd just like to query why ARC has no indigenous or Pagan representation, here are their contact details:
ARC, The House, Kelston Park, Bath BA1 9AE, UK
info@arcworld.org
tel +44 (0)1225 758 004