RCBWG Activities
SCB Project Inspires WWF’s Efforts to Help Conservationists Work with Faith Groups
Inspired by a Society for Conservation Biology project, the World Wildlife Fund's Beliefs & Values Programme recently issued guidance to assist conservationists in developing effective partnerships with leaders and members of faith organizations. Learn more here.
RCBWG at ICCB 2021 in Kigali, Rwanda
Learn about some of the recent work of our board members in this session presented at the International Congress for Conservation Biology.
Visit the ICCB 2021 website to learn more!
RCBWG at ICCB 2019 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Workshop on Islamic Approaches to Conservation Moderated by Chantal Elkin, RCBWG President
Premiere of NEW SHORT FILM (6min): Culture, Spirituality and Conservation by SCB Religion and Conservation Biology Working Group and IUCN CEESP Theme on Culture, Spirituality and Conservation
Also available for viewing via IUCN Youtube. Special thanks to Chantal Elkin and Ashley Massey Marks, RCBWG President and Vice President.
RCBWG at ICCB 2017 in Cartagena, Colombia
Holy Wisdom Monastery of Middleton, Wisconsin, USA, received the inaugural Assisi Award at the 28th International Congress of Conservation Biology in Cartagena, Colombia.
The Assisi Award acknowledges organizations and individuals whose work demonstrates that faith-based conservation is contributing significantly to the common global effort of conserving life on Earth.
Fabrizio Frascaroli, RCBWG president, said, “The Religion and Conservation Biology Working Group of the Society for Conservation Biology is truly delighted to present this award in Cartagena, in front of a diverse audience of conservation scientists, indigenous representatives and policy-makers.”
The Holy Wisdom Monastery is an ecumenical Benedictine community located near Madison, Wisconsin, with a mission to weave prayer, hospitality, justice and care for the earth into a shared way of life. Their community setting includes restored prairie, a retreat and guest house and a ‘green’ monastery building.
Sister Mary David Walgenbach, prioress of Holy Wisdom Monastery, said, “The Sisters and the women and men who support the Holy Wisdom Monastery are deeply honored to receive the Assisi Award. The Sisters and Holy Wisdom Monastery inherit the 1500 year-old Benedictine tradition of caring for creation. This heritage is lived today in collaboration with environmentalists and scientists in our building, the highest rated LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) nc 2.2 Platinum certified building in the U.S. Our Wisdom Prairie Project improves the water quality of Madison lakes, streams and wetlands.”
The name of the Assisi Award celebrates a historic 1986 meeting where leaders of all major world religions made public declarations to protect the environment. The meeting was an initiative of His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, President of WWF International at the time.
The town of Assisi was chosen as the meeting site due to its connection to St. Francis, a saint ecumenically admired and also respected by non-Christians in virtue of his reverence for nature and close bond with the natural world.
The Assisi Award recognizes initiatives from around the world conceived in the context of major world religions as well as indigenous spiritual traditions.
Frascaroli said, “We hope the award will highlight how the drive to protect the biosphere is not the prerogative of a single philosophy, but rather stems from a variety of worldviews, values and knowledge systems.”
Holy Wisdom Monastery was not the only religious entity to be acknowledged at the opening ceremony of ICCB. A Franciscan missionary, Fr. Hermann Borg, received the SCB Distinguished Service Award for his exemplary work in Kenya, which showcases the true meaning of Stewardship,.
Father Borg explained, “We started to plant trees in Subukia 30 years ago. We did not know what we would achieve, we just started to do it. These 1 million trees have now grown tall and have changed the climate and improved the livelihoods of the people.”
Father Borg hopes that his efforts can contribute to inspiring others and spreading the message of the Holy Father concerning the environment. He commented, “As the Catholic Church is the most globally spread institution, we should not underestimate its potential for influencing people regarding the respect for nature. I think this is a realization of the teachings of Laudato Si’, which motivates so many local, regional and global actions.”
The importance of faith-based approaches to conservation is gaining recognition. On June 19th, religious and indigenous leaders from 21 countries convened in Oslo for the Interfaith Rainforest Initiative, supported by Norway’s King Harald V. Last September, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress (WCC) passed Resolution 33, which stated that “effective and equitable approaches to the design, governance and management of protected or conserved areas need to be grounded not only in science but also in cultures, religions, worldviews and co-existing customary practices relating to nature.”
At the ICCB, the RCBWG hosted a symposium and workshop for its Best Practices Project, compiling a set of guidelines and best practices to support scientists to hone communication and successfully work with faith groups.
This Franciscan missionary's been planting trees in Kenya for 30 years
24 July 2017
Article in Business Standard on SCB Distinguished Service Award recipient Fr. Hermann Borg of Mother Earth Network
Best Practices Project
Guidelines for Interacting with Faith-Based Leaders and Communities (February 2018)
Best Practices Survey—Promising First Step toward Developing Guidelines (December 2016)
A summation of the Religion and Conservation Biology Working Group's (RCBWG) Best Practices Survey of SCB members on engaging faith communities is now available. Conducted on behalf of RCBWG from May 31-September 10, the survey results underscore the benefits to conserving biological diversity when researchers and practitioners relate positively to faith leaders and communities.
Respondents to the survey also shared their approaches to engaging leaders and members of faith communities in ways that might be helpful to other SCB members. Societal support for conservation has become increasingly vital for approval, collaboration, and advocacy of scientific solutions aimed at mitigating threats to the loss of biological diversity on the land and in the water. Results of the survey point to religious and native faith communities as allies in this quest.
Prepared by Jame Schaefer (Marquette University) and Susan Higgins (Center for Large Landscape Conservation) who serve on the RCBWG Board, “Best Practices Survey—Promising First Step toward Developing Guidelines” provides an overview of the responses to ten questions submitted by thirty-nine SCB members who have engaged leaders and members of faith communities in conservation projects. The faith communities represent the major world religions--Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism--and a diversity of native spiritualities including Australian Aborigine and Native American.
The projects on which SCB members reported occurred on all continents except Antarctica. Among the foci are aging polar bears, bison, climate change, coral rehabilitation, fish, iguana, kangaroo, rattlesnakes, terrestrial vertebrates, wildlife used for bush meat, forest management and restoration, restoration of rivers, and protective management of shrines and sacred places.
The Best Practices Survey was launched by the RCBWG as the first step of the three-year Best Practices Project aimed at producing guidelines for SCB members to consider when planning and conducting conservation research and application. During the second step proposed for ICCB 2017, the successful practices of some SCB members who participated in the survey will be highlighted in a symposium followed by a workshop during which best practices guidelines will be drafted. They will be refined subsequently, processed through several iterations, and presented to the SCB Board of Governors for recommending to SCB members.
New Hope for the Oceans: Engaging Faith-Based Communities in Marine Conservation
Jame Schaefer published an article on the New Hope for the Oceans Forum at the International Marine Conservation Congress in Newfoundland/Labrador on 31 July 2016 featuring the Best Practices Project.
Abstract
Science alone cannot protect the oceans and their biological diversity. Whereas, scientists can identify problems and empirical steps toward their resolution, support for research, problem solving, and implementation of solutions must come from societal sources. Among the most promising are religious communities whose members are motivated by their faith to collaborate with marine scientists in achieving shared goals. Many reasons prevail for engaging faith communities in mitigating assaults on the oceans and protecting them from threats to their functioning. Participants in the open forum convened by the Religion and Conservation Biology Working Group of the Society for Conservation Biology during the 4th International Marine Conservation Congress shared their insights on (1) why and how marine researchers and conservation practitioners can best involve faith communities, (2) actions and attitudes that deter constructive engagement with faith communities, and (3) ways forward that the SCB should consider facilitating. Among ways forward identified are the Best Practices Project initiated recently by the RCBWG, adding cultural values and ethics as disciplines SCB members should probe when addressing conservation problems, regularly including cultural values and ethics in panels with other disciplines at international and regional SCB congresses, and appointing an associate editor of SCB publications who will assure the inclusion of articles in which religious and spiritual worldviews, values, and ethics are integrated with the conservation sciences.
Prayer Animal Release Can Embody Conservation Principles
A CALL TO ACTION: POLICY BRIEF ENDORSED
The RCB Working Group has become aware of practices in which religious communities engage that are causing havoc in biotic communities. Among these problematic practices is the widespread aberration of the Buddhist ritual of releasing animals that was originally intended to show compassion but has since fallen short of this objective. One of the Committees of the RCB Working Group, the Religion and Conservation Research Collaborative (RCRC), was formed to research this problem and to recommend the adoption of policies that appear in a brief endorsed by the Global Policy Committee of the SCB titled "Prayer Animal Release Can Embody Conservation Principles: A Call to Action."
Thus far, religious communities have reacted positively when made aware of scientific facts that point to deleterious effects of their practices. Some ideas for native species to be released in appropriate areas have been shared by Buddhists when interacting with scientists. These collaborative efforts initiated by the SCB to resolve problems bode well for biological conservation, the well-being of people who are involved, and the flourishing of Earth.