A Reinterpretation of Hindu Spirituality for Addressing Environmental Problems

Over the past decade, research has intensified on how to evaluate and manage these ES to minimize environmental impacts of business and everyday life. [8] Concepts such as civic ecology, [9] sustainable development, [10][11][12] and the bioeconomy [13,14] are being rapidly operationalized and often integrate ecological practices into their implementation strategies, by way of how we interact with nature. In this regard, philosopher and scientist Aldo Leopold wrote in the mid-20th century: "A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise." [15] Similarly, the paradigm of civic ecology [9] is founded in subjective philosophy, which aims to expand our awareness of the natural world and the systems in place.One of the fundamental practices in civic ecology is systems thinking, with the idea that individuals should form a relation to nature, like they do to a human community. Further, systems thinking is frequently used in science to understand how individuals interact with the system. For instance, an ecosystem shares this attribute, where a dynamically evolving system is influenced by interacting, individual elements including air, water, soil, microbes, plants, and animals. Unfortunately, this notion is often ignored, because the provisioning The current geological epoch is characterized by anthropogenic activity that greatly impacts on natural ecosystems and their integrity. The complex networks of ecosystem services (ESs) are often ignored because the provision of natural resources, such as food and industrial crops, is mistakenly viewed as an independent process separate from ecosystems and ignoring the impacts on ecosystems. Recently, research has intensified on how to evaluate and manage ES to minimize environmental impacts, but it remains unclear how to balance anthropogenic activity and ecosystem integrity. This paper reviews the main ESs at farm level including provisioning, regulating, habitat, and cultural services. For these ESs, synergies are outlined and evaluated along with the respective practices (e.g., cover-and intercropping) and ES suppliers (e.g., pollinators and biocontrol agents). Further, several farm-level ES trade-offs are discussed along with a proposal for their evaluation. Finally, a framework for stakeholder approaches specific to farm-level ES is put forward, along with an outlook on how existing precision agriculture technologies can be adapted for improved assessment of ES bundles. This is believed to provide a useful framework for both decision makers and stakeholders to facilitate the development of more sustainable and resilient farming systems.

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“…[ 35 ] For instance, many farmers in southeast Asia worship crops, and celebrate sowing and harvesting. [ 68 ]…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecosystem Services at the Farm Level—Overview, Synergies, Trade‐Offs, and Stakeholder Analysis

et al. 2023

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Green Ganesha Chaturthi: The Ritualising and Materialising of a Green Hindu Identity and the Emerging of an Alternative Representation of Ganesha

Koning

2022

Religions

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With the world facing an ecological crisis, Hindus are challenged to reflect on the ways they impact their environment. The last few decades witnessed a rise of theological reflections on Hindu traditions—especially scriptures and concepts (not least by western scholars)—that advocate environmentally friendly perspectives. This stands in sharp contrast with the multiple examples of how Hindu ritual practices cause harm to the environment. Ganesha Chaturthi is a festival that due to the public element of immersion of Ganesha idols, has led to severe pollution of waterbodies. Because of the attention that has been paid to this lately, the festival now calls for ecofriendly alternatives. This article analyses how recently, environmental awareness is ritualized and materialized in the festival of Ganesha Chaturthi. For this, fieldwork was conducted during Ganesha Chaturthi in Chennai and Mumbai in 2022. The focus of the article lies on the ecofriendly material and ritual innovations of the festival—for instance the variety of Ganeshas made of biodegradable materials—and the dynamics of interaction with (alleged) traditions to validate a Green Hindu identity in general and the development of a Green Ganesha in particular.

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A Reinterpretation of Hindu Spirituality for Addressing Environmental Problems

Cited by 2 publications

References 41 publications

Ecosystem Services at the Farm Level—Overview, Synergies, Trade‐Offs, and Stakeholder Analysis

Ecosystem Services at the Farm Level—Overview, Synergies, Trade‐Offs, and Stakeholder Analysis

Green Ganesha Chaturthi: The Ritualising and Materialising of a Green Hindu Identity and the Emerging of an Alternative Representation of Ganesha

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