Religious Pledge to Preserve Nature

A National Consultation on Religion and Conservation , was organised on April 21, 1999 at New Delhi on the eve of the Earth Day by WWF-INDIA, The People s Commission on Environment and Development, The Temple of Understanding and the World Conference for the Religion and Peace-India with an objective of obtaining commitments from major faiths to support nature conservation and environment protection. The consultation was supported by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India.

Prominent representatives of the Bahai s, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism participated in the aforesaid consultation. Each one of them made a commitment in the nature of a Prithvi Sankalp , a pledge to Mother Earth. The consultation was a follow up of two historic events. In September 1986, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the WWF, leaders of the Buddhist, Christian, Hindus, Jewish and Islamic faiths congregated in the Italian town of Assisi, to articulate their respective Environmental Concepts. This inter-faith meeting culminated with a Declaration of Nature. Later, in 1995, Religion and Conservation Summit took place at Windsor in U.K. in which nine major religions participated and once again reiterated their commitments to conservation.

This National Consultation on April 21, also attempted to harness the crucial support of the religious faiths for nature conservation and environment protection. It also forms an integral part of the WWF Living Planet Campaign, which is an appeal to people everywhere to take positive action to help preserve the natural world.

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The Union Minister for Environment & Forests, Shri Suresh P. Prabhu, releasing a book - "Religion and Conservation", during the National Consultation Meet on Earth Day (April 21st, 1999) at WWF India premises, New Delhi

Prithvi Sankalp - A Pledge to Mother Earth

That human beings are a part of nature, and the protection of the environment is vital for the survival and well being of life on Earth.
That it is our individual and joint responsibility to understand, respect and safeguard the dynamic processes of nature and all that is within its embrace - animate and inanimate.
That human use of nature and natural resources has to be conditioned by a new consciousness and the correction of past errors and inequities, as well as the institution of new relationships among individuals and human societies inter se and with the Earth.
That it is critical to inculcate and promote environmentally responsible behaviour among all people.
That we are expected to be responsible for the moral and spiritual order necessary to maintain the life-sustaining capacities of the Earth, and agree to work towards expanding the religious, cultural and ethical dimensions of human behaviour.