ENVIRONMENTAL GUIDELINES - World Wildlife Fund

GUIDELINES FOR ADAPTATION
IN HIGHLY VULNERABLE AREAS
Develop emergency relief
plans: In areas that are
likely to be affected
by glacial melting,
landslides, or even
flooding, monasteries
should reach out to
emergency relief, health
and environmental
non-governmental
organizations to set up
disaster management
plans within their
communities.
Plan new construction
carefully: Monasteries
can also set up
partnerships to assess
where best to build
new constructions-for
example, establish the
projected flooding line
on mountain slopes
above rivers.
Monitor changes carefully:
Many NGOs and
government bodies
are tracking impacts
of climate change and
have set up projects
that monitor them.
Monasteries in areas
like the Kanchenjunga
tri-national area, where
glacial lake outbursts are
expected, can work with
these groups to better
prepare and educate their
communities.
GUIDELINES FOR THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY
Work towards a unified Buddhist response:
Communities should work towards a unified
Buddhist response to climate change. This could
be skillfully articulated in time to influence
the UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen
(December 2009) and represent the concerns
of the international Buddhist Sangha (over
350 million strong). It is not too late and we
still have a window of opportunity to save the
Earth’s climate from runaway climate change.
Advocate for Renewable Energy: We can
join the worldwide call for a moratorium
on construction of all new coal-fired
power stations. We can actively support
the move for a rapid, international
transition to renewable energy sources
such as wind, solar, and thermal power.
22 ENVIRONMENTAL GUIDELINES ...