Brahma Kumaris at UN Conference of the Parties (COP 14)

Egypt (Africa): The 14^th  meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 14), a United Nations Biodiversity Conference, is taking place in Sharm-El- Sheik, Egypt. Governments, organizations and civil society are meeting under the theme of “Investing in Biodiversity for People and Planet.”  The small coastal city Sharm-El-Sheik at the tip of the Sinai desert is fully decorated with road banners announcing the conference.

His Excellency, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, President of Egypt, opened the conference, which is being attended by about 3,000 delegates.  The organizer, the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Governments of Egypt and China, have launched “The Sharm-El-Sheikh to Beijing Action Agenda for Nature and People.”

The Brahma Kumaris (BK) have been accredited to the Convention on Biological Diversity since 2012 and have actively participated in the biannual Conference since then.  The BK delegation to COP 14 consists of:

• Dorcas Alusala, a graduated biologist from Nairobi, Kenya
• Chen from China, active in bio-diversity and environmental issues
• Golo from Germany/India, advisor to Brahma Kumaris on renewable energy
• James Mair, Professor Emeritus, Centre for Marine Biodiversity and Biotechnology, Edinburgh, Scotland
• Sonja from Denmark, Co-Ordinator for Brahma Kumaris initiatives in environment and biodiversity
• Juan Milling from Canada

On the opening day, the BKs happily launched their new leaflet and exhibition “Care and Compassion for Planet Earth”.  The BK team participated in a side event organized by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) called “Engaging Hearts and Minds – Launch of the new Living Planet Report”. Towards the end of the event, WWF asked the audience to identify the key message to get politicians to make things move.  People are quite sad and shared their concern about the loss of our biosphere.  Our relationship to nature has progressively deteriorated and we have to move it back into the center of global attention. WWF has therefore started the “Why Nature Matters” campaign.  We are the first generation to understand our role in the destruction of the natural habitat and the last one to be able to stop it.  WWF summarized their aim as follows:

• To engage 1 billion people
• Make nature matter
• Inspire the world to act by 2020

The BK group met Virginia and Cyril, new partners of the Brahma Kumaris from Wild Heritage.  The BKs are partnering with them in their official side events in the conference.

Dorcas, Sonja and Golo met with John Scott, head of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), United Nations Environment Programme, department for Traditional Knowledge, and discussed how the faith-based community can be more engaged in CBD’s work.  Afterwards the team met Christiana Palmer, the Executive Secretary of the Convention for Biodiversity.  They described the activities of the BKs and engaged with her in a fruitful discussion on the role for faith-based communities to safeguard nature.  She appreciated the work of the BKs and told them that she often speaks herself on the relationship between our inner and outer world.  Christiana would like to engage the faith-based community more under the umbrella of “Living in Harmony” for the next conference in Beijing 2020. Then Sonja conducted a guided meditation; Christiana liked it a lot as the weeks of organizing the conference had been quite stressful.  She proposed that the BKs should come to the CBD head office in Montreal and provide meditation for the staff.

Side Event: From Awareness to Action – A new mindset for Biodiversity

The BK official side event with the Convention attracted a full room with more than 50 people present.  The main question put to the panel was: How to make biodiversity a priority for everyone? The panelists explored how a shift in awareness, values and lifestyle can create the needed momentum towards the Aichi Biodiversity Targets.

Golo began his presentation by introducing the BK organization, their solar energy projects and environmental campaigns.  The BKs promote solar energy on a large scale.  They are also actively engaged in tree plantation programs and yogic farming. Ten years ago, the Aichi biodiversity targets for the protection of the environment were put into place by this UN conference but the trends of all the evidence are still negative.  The loss of crucial eco-systems is continuing.  Therefore, Golo was calling for a new paradigm – to include our inner world and the state of our mind – into finding a fresh approach to change the trends.  When we change on the inside, only then can we heal the planet.

Sonja Ohlsson spoke about the values and spiritual awareness needed to conserve biodiversity.  One of the main values is co-operation so that we can jointly work together to reach our targets.  She asked the audience : How can we measure better our progress in taking personal responsibility?

James presented aspects of the marine environment highlighting ocean acidification and marine plastic pollution.  He described collaborative projects that prioritized actions, for example, conservation of biogenic reefs.

Virginia Young, Director of the Australian Rainforest Conservation Society, shared two major threats for life on earth: the biodiversity crisis and the climate crisis.  She said biodiversity is the foundation of life on earth and that failure to protect biodiversity will make climate change worse.

The BK team also met the Catholic Youth Network from Africa.  They discussed how faith-based communities can strengthen their presence in the UN’s Environment Program and began planning a side event at the coming General assembly of UNEP in March in Nairobi.

The BK’s second side Event “Co-operation, Care and Compassion for Biodiversity” took place at the CEPA fair – Communication, Education and Public Awareness department.  The Side Event was moderated by Sonja and the panelists:

• Cyril Kormos, Director of World Heritage
• Dorcas
• Golo and
• James

who shared their expertise on lifestyle change, Values Education and the importance of primary forest.

Golo opened the discussion by highlighting how the inner world is connected to the outer world. By having care and compassion for the self, we automatically develop care and compassion for nature and all forms of life.

James talked about citizens’ science; how to explain and engage people in biodiversity.  He also integrates spiritual aspects in his courses.

Dorcas highlighted the important personal values connected to biodiversity.  She stated that positive thoughts are a resource that we can draw upon.  Dorcas also encouraged the faith-based community to engage more in the work for safe-guarding biodiversity.

Finally, Cyril Kormos presented the importance of primary forest.  He talked about ancestor trees having both symbolic meaning in all religions, and also playing a crucial role in the forests.

Sonja moderated the event and asked the panelists to share their practical examples of how a positive inner change has been beneficial for the eco system.  Sonja ended the program with a guided meditation.