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Earth Charter Activities in Asia
Philippine educators stress that the family and community must take back responsibility for education… parents admit that it’s their children who scold them when they drop litter… Singapore youth agree that they need to be more creative and courageous, believing that one individual’s actions do make a difference… a former planter responsible for clearing primary forest in Malaysia asks how someone like him could balance his family’s economic needs with environmental imperatives…
Glimpses from the series of events cosponsored by the SGI in January 2000, promoting the Earth Charter in six countries in Asia. More than 3,000 people joined activities organized by the SGI in cooperation with other NGOs and institutions already actively involved in the Earth Charter campaign.
Events ranged from public lectures and forums (Hong Kong, Korea and Malaysia), small group discussions on how the Earth Charter relates to youth, civil society and spirituality (Singapore), an environmental exhibition "Before It Is Too Late" and an academic forum (Thailand) to a seminar for SGI leaders (Philippines). In Malaysia, a recycling project was also launched in conjunction with a local environmental NGO, TrEES.
The charter was enthusiastically received, particularly by young people, who respond to its hopeful message that every individual has a vital role to play in transforming our world.
Youth members of the SGI in Thailand and the Philippines are planning follow-up activities for Earth Day on April 22, and in Hong Kong, the Earth Charter is now being proposed as a focal point for the Hong Kong Network on Religion and Peace, an interfaith group.
The aim of the SGI Asia Earth Charter tour was to build on the SGI’s initial support of the Earth Charter in the U.S.A. and Uruguay. The Boston Research Center for the 21st Century
has also held conferences on the Earth Charter and published several booklets on different aspects of the charter. Concern had been expressed that participation in the Earth Charter process in Asia was less active than in other regions, so the SGI and the Earth Council planned a speaking tour in order to reach a large number of people in a short
time.
Earth Council regional manager, Mrs. Ella Antonio, and special adviser Dr. Cielito Habito traveled from the Philippines to Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Korea as key resource people. Mr. Maximo Kalaw, executive director of the Earth Council, also addressed Soka Gakkai members in Osaka and Tokyo in early February. The Earth Council representatives stressed that the charter is not just about the environment, but about the values we as human beings need to embrace if we are to live fulfilled lives. Dr. Habito spoke of the six dimensions of
development--social, economic, political, spiritual, cultural and
ecological--and how, if all are not being nurtured, then human development will not be
sustainable.
A recurring theme in several Asian countries was how recent prioritization of economic development above all else had often been at the cost of neglect of the cultural, spiritual and ecological dimensions of life.
In his message to the participants in this series of meetings, SGI President Daisaku Ikeda said, "Asia is home to more than half of the human family; and perhaps nowhere else on Earth do the imperatives of ecological integrity, sustainable development, the eradication of poverty and human security converge and at times compete most intensely… Development is essential if people are to be lifted out of poverty, assured the capacity to meet basic needs, and to have the opportunity to realize their full potential. But unless that development is sustainable, it may undermine the ability of future generations to meet their needs… Just as it is possible to squander enormous resources while creating little or no value, it is possible to create rich and enduring value while making judicious use of the finite resources of our planet. This is the challenge that faces humankind as we enter the new
millennium."
The Earth Charter text has been debated and discussed by civil society groups around the world, and it is vital that Asian perspectives are also fully represented, particularly in view of the fact that other concerns often assumed to be global, such as human rights, are sometimes seen as issues which have been imposed on Asian countries by Western-dominated agencies and institutions.
The process of discussing the Earth Charter in Asia is only just beginning, and as SGI members spread awareness of its message to friends, colleagues and family, support for the charter at the grass roots will gather momentum. To date often only specialist environmental agencies have known about the charter, and the SGI can help attract support from a wide spectrum of ordinary citizens for this "people’s charter."
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