Leaders of religious groups in Jakarta convened to form an interfaith movement to fight climate change.
Jakarta, Indonesia – With an aim to rally the support of religious groups and their congregation to local climate action, Yayasan ICLEI Indonesia in coordination with DKI Jakarta Provincial Government organized the First Religion Group Workshop on 8th August 2019 at Jakarta, Indonesia.
ICLEI Indonesia and the provincial government of DKI Jakarta recognize the unique role of the religious sector in mobilizing stakeholders to adapt a sustainable lifestyle. To successfully engage the religious sector, several activities were conducted along with the leaders of different sects in the city. The kickoff workshop also aimed to surface insights and exchange perspectives regarding preaching for the environment and reiterating the role of mankind in protecting and conserving it.
Mr. Hayu S Prabowo, representative from MUI explained the operation of waste-to-energy facilitiy.
Representatives from Islam, Protestant Church, Catholic Church, Buddism, Hinduism, and Konghucu attended the event. These are the six main religions that are recognized by the Indonesian government. During the discussions, it was agreed that the religious groups will produce guidebooks that shall feature content regarding climate change and ways to address it.
The interfaith modules will showcase general knowledge about climate change and environmental sustainability, ways to incorporate environmental concepts into religious teachings (eco-preaching), and ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in places of worship.
The representatives from the religion groups have also committed to actively use and promote the modules by conducting training among delegates and other leaders.
Furthering the discussion, ICLEI Indonesia shared some relevant initiatives that could serve as inspiration for the interfaith movement. For instance, Islam Has started the Eco Worship Place program, an initiative that raises the awareness of stakeholders regarding the climate crisis.
The Az-Zikra Mosque is part of the Eco Worship Place Program.
After the discussion, the participants visited Az-Zikra Mosque in Sentul, an Eco Worship Place to know more about how this program is being implemented. There they learned that the mosque has a water conservation program which primarily uses a small rubber to limit the water coming out of the tap. They also collect and store the rainwater to reuse the water for worship purposes. On top of this, the mosque is also equipped with facilities for biogas and composting.
