UGANDA: “Environmental Conservation a Cross-cutting Faith Matter for Religions,” Leaders Affirm
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
On World Nature Conservation Day (WNCD) which was commemorated on July 28 to increase awareness about the best practices to protect natural resources and encourage sustainability, religious leaders in Uganda have affirmed that conserving nature and keeping the environment green is faith based.
The Tuesday discussion comprised of panelists drawn from different religions including Muslims, Catholics, Anglicans, Bahai Faith and Pentecostals.
“Conserving the environment is supported by different faiths and all believers. We all believe that God created and gave the human being responsibility to care for it,” Fr. Deogratius Kiibi a Catholic priest from Kampala Archdiocese, Uganda, said in an interview to AMECEA Online after the discussion with other panelists which was also live online.
“We have to know that nature is a gift from God and we need to take good care of it,” Fr. Kiibi the Parish Priest of St. Joseph Catholic Parish Mpigi said, adding that “we are encouraging people to plant trees especially fruit trees.”
The cleric who has served in Mpigi Parish for nearly a year noted, “Planting of trees should not just be for financial gain. We need to look beyond money and plant trees for love so as to respect the gift God has given humanity.”
The discussion was organized by Uganda’s Little Hands Go Green, a civil society organization whose main mandate is environment conservation, education and activism with emphasis on young children.
According to the founder and team leader of the organization founded in 2012 Mr. Joseph Masembe, the religious leaders were a target for discussion to help them understand what the different faiths teach concerning care for environment.
Additionally, Masembe who has thousands of children whom he calls ‘Green Ambassadors’ scattered over 40 districts in the country as members of Little Hands Go Green said, “We targeted the religious leaders because they can reach out to the people, touch their hearts and change their mindset, more especially now that people are at home because of Covid-19.”
On his part, the representative of Bahai Faith, Mr. Charles Anglin echoed Fr. Kiibi’s words that nature conservation is for all faiths saying, “Religions have a lot in common when it comes to care for the environment. The reality is that nature is sacred and it reflects attributes of God such as love and beauty.”
“There is the interconnectedness of all things which is reflected in nature and our relationship with it. Basically, you cannot separate the spiritual and the material because it is God who is the Creator,” Mr. Anglin disclosed and continued, “As a result of this interconnectedness, man has been made a steward over nature irrespective of religion hence in our different faiths, we need to take responsibility and begin to interact with nature as God wants as to.”
The panelists also discussed the proposed East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) and appeal to the concerned authorities to think about this construction consider all the pros and pros.
According to Fr. Kiibi, “the concerned authorities should see how best they can do the construction and still conserve the environment.”
“Living in a polluted environment is detrimental if countries go only after money without putting into consideration pollution and destruction of the environment,” Fr. Kiibi said adding that “will be a dis-service to the future generation.”
The Little Hand Go Green that convened the discussion have been focusing on planting fruit trees as one of its main drivers to conserve the environment.
And the Green Ambassadors have so far planted over 500,000 fruit trees in different homes and schools across the country.
