Responsible use of the natural world

WE ANNUALLY mark International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer on September 16.

This is a global call for action for protecting the Earth’s atmosphere, bearing in mind that the future prosperity and the peaceful co-existence of people will greatly depend on responsible interaction with our natural resources.

The ozone layer is crucial in protecting our health, and its depletion is caused by human activities that alter the composition of the global atmosphere.

It is the Bahá'í view that, “Setting humanity on a more sustainable path to the future involves transformation in attitudes and actions”.

It will depend on our unity as humanity: on a globally-accepted vision for the future, based on unity and co-operation among the races, nations, creeds and classes. It is obvious that as long as one group of nations perceives its interests in opposition to another, progress will be limited and short-lived.

The trends, with their main focus on the material aspects of environmental challenges – such as depletion of the ozone layer, climate change, deforestation, soil erosion, plastic pollution and water shortages – while ignoring its moral and ethical dimensions, is counterproductive to humanity’s long-term well-being. Rather than exploiting the Earth’s resources without due regard to sustainability, should we not be asking how to live with an ethic of respect, care and justice towards all life and nature?

There is a need for a commitment to a higher moral standard, and the development of consultative skills, for the effective functioning of society at all levels.

The Bahá’í International Community states: “A fundamental component of resolving the climate change challenge will be the cultivation of values, attitudes and skills that give rise to just and sustainable patterns of human interaction with the environment. 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.”

We cannot deny that our world order has failed to protect the environment from ruinous damage. In the Bahá'í view, there is a dire need for a world federal system to enable humanity to arrange its material and social and economic life based on justice for all people, and with reverence towards our natural world.

The Bahá'í International Community further states: “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. Material civilisation, driven by the dogmas of consumerism and aggressive individualism, and disoriented by the weakening of moral standards and spiritual values, has been carried to excess. 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.”

We, as trustees of the world’s vast natural resources, must protect this heritage for future generations. Justice and equity play a crucial role in inspiring humanity to take responsibility for protecting the natural world. To be just and fair in using the Earth’s resources means moving from the self-interest dominating our world to a mode of sharing and caring for our natural resources. It also implies the need to address the extremes of wealth and poverty, with its clearly adverse impact on the world’s natural resources.

Solutions to environmental challenges, such as the depletion of the ozone layer, therefore require a worldwide vision for the future based on unity and co-operation among the nations, races, religions and ethnic groups. It requires the observance of moral standards and spiritual values that lead to a just and peaceful global order.

For feedback please contact secretary.nsa@bahai.org.za or call 011 801 3100. Visit www.bahai.org