In the News–A Spiritual Perspective June 6, 2011 Issue

Prayerful defense of the world’s forests

By Beatrice Labarthe

In February 2011, the United Nations launched a year-long celebration of the vital role the world’s forests play in the life of our planet. At the global level, forests are essential for their ecological, economic, and social functions. They help purify the atmosphere, help prevent soil erosion and global warming. They are full of life—both human and animal—and bring benefits that go beyond offsetting climate change. 

Everyone is affected by this issue because we all use wood in one way or the other. Much of humanity lives in or on forests, as indicated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN): “Home to 80 percent of world’s biodiversity and 300 million people, forests provide for the livelihoods of 1.6 billion, almost a quarter of humanity.”

Those who want to engage in protecting the forests can do so through prayer, an eco-prayer we might say, while taking wise steps, such as recycling waste paper or engaging in bold initiatives like planting trees as carried out by The Green Belt Movement in Kenya and many other organizations around the world. 