SUNDAY STORY

Face2News/Washington, DC

Washington based environmental organization EcoSikh successfully completed planting 850 sacred forests ahead of United Nations Climate Summit COP28. On Monday, on the birth- anniversary of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikh faith, EcoSikh planted its 850th sacred forest of 1313 trees in the heart of Indian industrial city, Ludhiana, which also faces severe ecological issues.

EcoSikh’s global president, Dr. Rajwant Singh will be showcasing the Sacred Forest initiative as an effective climate solution for ecological restoration and will offer collaboration with governmental organizations and faith groups. He has been invited by COP28 CEO, Adnan Z. Amin Chief Executive Officer, to address a panel titled Urban Wisdom: Indigenous knowledge and governance of future cities.'

EcoSikh plants Sacred Forests throughout India using Miyawaki methodology. These sacred forests are named after ‘Guru Nanak’. They attract biodiversity within months and helps restore the local ecological imbalance in cities and urban areas. So far 850 Guru Nanak Sacred Forests have been planted and each forest has 550 trees of native species.

In an invitation to EcoSikh, Mr. Amin said, “We look forward to welcoming you to the UAE to contribute to this crucial opportunity for action to combat climate change."

EcoSikh’s global president, Dr. Rajwant Singh will be showcasing the Sacred Forest initiative as an effective climate solution for ecological restoration and will offer collaboration with governmental organizations and faith groups. He has been invited by COP28 CEO, Adnan Z. Amin Chief Executive Officer, to address a panel titled Urban Wisdom: Indigenous knowledge and governance of future cities.'

Dr. Rajwant Singh said, "We all need to take action urgently in response to devastating rising temperatures. We cannot wait for some entity or government to find solutions to the ecological disasters we are facing all around us now. Many communities are loosing their ancestral lands due to several environmental factors beyond their control. We cannot sit and watch while people are suffering due to catastrophe.”

He added, "As faith communities, it is our moral duty to do something. If the world does not take action today, we may not have any other chance to avert the disaster that is coming upon us”. As of now, EcoSikh has planted over 500,000 trees in India and 25,000 trees worldwide.

Charan Singh, EcoSikh's Forest Convener, is also attending COP28 and will explore partnerships with various governmental and non-governmental entities. He said, “Our strategy to fight climate change should not only be focused on emission reduction. We need to remove carbon from the atmosphere. Sacred Forests is one effective way to achieve that goal. Mass action of such kind can help control the rising temperatures."

He added, “EcoSikh has been training young people to become forest makers. Our project has galvanized the youth of Punjab, India, and volunteers at grassroots levels are growing each day and people are feeling empowered that they can make a difference.”

EcoSikh was founded in 2009 in collaboration with United Nations Development Program as the Sikh community's response to climate change. For over a decade, EcoSikh has been working on environmental issues in India, and now has chapters in Canada, UK, Ireland and in United States. It has represented Sikh community on various national and international platforms on climate change and sustainable development. It has been invited by the White House, United Nations and is working with the World Economic Forum. In 2019, as a way to celebrate the 550th birth anniversary of ‘Guru Nanak’, EcoSikh pledged to plant 1 million trees. It has now 18 staff members and over 60 forest makers who have been trained.