Saffron-clad Monks Go Green

ODDAR MEANCHAY, Cambodia - In this north-western Cambodian province, a group of monks banded together to form a forest community, carrying out inspections to make sure there is no felling of trees or poaching.

In the capital Phnom Penh, the Association of Buddhism for the Environment (ABE) created a website, www.sanghanetwork.org, to discuss environmental protection activities that monks are carrying out in the Mekong region. Over in Prasat Sambo district in Kompong Thom, a young monk has set up a library on the environment in his pagoda.

These are some examples of how Cambodia's monks, whose numbers have grown since the end of decades of conflict in this South-east Asian country, are stepping out of the temples and getting involved in social concerns, ranging from caring for the sick -- to tending to the environment as well.

In doing so, they are picking up some lessons from across the border in Thailand, where many monks have also taken up social causes.

   “In Thailand, there are very few forests but they are well-protected while in Cambodia, they are much more numerous but people do very little to safeguard them,” the Venerable Bun Salout, head of the monks in the forest community of Samrong district in Oddar Meanchey said, with a hint of sadness.
 
   The monk, who studied in Thailand for six years, knows that the kingdom can learn a lot from its neighbour. “If we do nothing to stop deforestation, then in 10 years Cambodian forests will disappear!” said Salout.

   Cambodia is the third more deforested country in the world, says the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations in its 2005 report. It registered the greatest number of primary forest loss between 2000 and 2005 after Nigeria and Vietnam. According to the Ministry of the Environment, the kingdom's forest cover has dropped from 73 percent in the last 60 years to 61 percent in 2002. In 1993, the government declared as protected zones 23 forested areas totalling 3.27 million hectares or 18 percent of the country's territory.

   Activists have also linked up with monks, believing that the synergy between green campaigners and monks, who are well-respected in Cambodia's mainly Buddhist society, could make a difference.

   “If the monks agree to use their influence to push for a better environment, it is because the pagoda is a reflection of a sensitive ecologist," pointed out Va Moeurn, director of the non-government group Mlup Baitong, which together with the Alliance for Religion and Conservation formed a network in 2004 to engage monks in environmental protection.

   This network, the Association of Buddhism for the Environment (ABE), was formed in a 2004 conference attended by about 100 monks from Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Burma as well as 18 mainly environmental NGOs. It was held with the aim of creating a 'saffron' special interest group to defend green values, and then have monks exchange experiences in these efforts.

    The Venerable Tep Vong, head of the monks of the Mohannikay order in Cambodia, said: “The destruction of nature only generates problems for man, so it is very important to learn how to safeguard them. But today, the Venerable one regrets, not enough people care about this problem to conserve our nature.”

   Government officials agree that there is a link between religion and nature that can be tapped into for social change. Buddhism teaches its faithful that they will achieve happiness if they do not do wrong to nature, explains Hing Kim Than, undersecretary at the Ministry of Cults and Religious Affairs, "In countries where Buddhism of the Small Vehicle is practised, pagodas are set up as examples for the defence of the environment. Our ancestors built pagodas on the mountain to protect the forests and their inhabitants…"

Guardians of the Forest

For the monk Bun Salout, the protection of the environment meant obtaining, in February 2002, government permission to create a protected forest community of 18,000 hectares between the districts of Samrong and Anlong Veng.

   As more people moved into the community, some began cutting trees for trade and other purposes. But when the monks campaigned against these, they received threats not to interfere with the cutting of trees. Certain heads of villages and communes protected individuals behind the felling of trees, the monk explained, adding that the bribery of local officials allows culprits to go unpunished.

   To protect the woods, two or three monks, as well as volunteers from the village, make the rounds to see to it that trees are not cut and that there is no poaching of animals. “The villagers can recover the resin of the trees, or harvest tubers or fruits. I never oppose that. But I don’t want them touching the animals,” the Venerable Bun Salout pointed out.
 
   When poachers or people who cut trees are found, their tools, traps and equipment are confiscated. "Those who want to get their equipment back must shell out at least 500,000 riel (129 U.S. dollars), and another 50,000 riel (12 dollars) for each cut tree. There is also a fine calculated according to the weight of the criminal tariff of a dollar per kilogramme," explained the monk.

   Between 1999 and 2004, the forest administration of Cambodia's Ministry of Agriculture apprehended more than 3,500 people for illegal logging.

   In 2005, the Venerable Bun Salout led the National Day of Planting with thousands of people, including government representatives, participating. The Samrong forest community has become famous among students and NGOs that go there to study nature or develop ecotourism projects and meditation centres, among other things.

   Other measures to protect the environment have included the practice of wrapping trees with swathes of yellow cloth, one that was introduced some two decades ago by monk and peace activist Samdech Preah Moha Ghosananda, according to Bun Salout.  The ceremony calls for the fabric to be tied around big trees, along with prayers of longevity for these gifts of nature.

   This practice is also seen in Thailand, where monks in Ubon Ratchathani say it is an opportunity to involve young people in respecting the environment.

   “When we do this ceremony, we also invite young people and explain to them the importance of respecting trees. We tell them that trees should be treated the same way we treat human beings,” explained Chadtakul, a Thai monk living in Ubon Rachathani.

   Subsequently, the trees cannot be cut down.  “Cutting these trees is an attack on the Buddha and the Buddhist community,” explained Cambodian monk Bun Heng.

While the ceremony does not appear in Buddhist writings, Bun Salout and many monks say its religious significance is legitimate. “Buddha went to the forests to contemplate. It was in the forests where he got accustomed to presenting his wishes to the trees. Each time he did that, the tree was acknowledged for its importance,” says the Venerable Bun Salout.

Media Come in Handy

Media have also been a vehicle for monks to teach the value of the environment and reach out to more communities.

The website about environmental activities by monks in several Mekong countries is not the only project the ABE has in mind. Other plans include the production of educational television spots and films featuring the work of monks and communities in Oddar Meanchay, Kratie and Kompong Chhnang provinces in Cambodia.

   In Sambo, some 40 kilometres from Kompong Thom's town centre, 25-year-old monk Long Buntthoeun tends to the 'green' library he opened in 2001. "We may not have many books but the library is enough to catch the interest of villagers," said the enthusiastic monk, adding that readers can either read the books in the library, or borrow them for a 10-day period.

   He believes that the library has a role to play in his deforested district. "Due to poverty and ignorance, many villagers end up working for illegal loggers. If they realise the impact of their actions, they will stop cutting trees and refuse to become accessories to this crime," he said.

   There is now growing interest among pupils to protect the forests. In fact, there are now three forest communities around Sambo Prey Kup.

In Wat Sambo, the monks patiently cultivate tree seedlings, which will be distributed to the villagers.

   "The villagers modified their behaviour because of the counsel of the monks and today are more likely to inform the authorities of forest offences," said 21-year-old student Moun Troeum. "They have become witnesses."

(These articles were also published in 'Cambodge Soir' and the Khmer-language weekly newspaper 'Somne Thmey'.)