1. Moral, Ethical and Religious Considerations ConcerningLand husbandry Module 556 Land Husbandry in Drought Prone Area Jittima Poonnotog RRM/ORD

2. Problems • Deforestration in rain forest • decrease the habitat, wildlife, wilderness • create soil erosion, flooding, drought, famine • Diminishing fertile land due to erosion (wind and water) and overuse of agrochemical (pesticide,herbicide) • increase fertiliser use • Increasing pollution • depletion of ozone, global warming, contamination of food chain • Reduction of natural resources • unsustainable livelihoods

3. Global Religions • Judaism • Christianity • Islam • Hinduism • Buddhism

4. Summary Concept • God create the earth and it belongs to God * • Humans can use and modify natural resources but do not have an ownership • Humans’ role is to protect, maintain and preserve them - not to pollute and devastate • Live in harmony with nature • All species are interdependent and interrelated • Kindness towards people, animals, plants and the earth * Buddhism does not believe in God

5. Summary Concepts • Islam - misuse of animals and plants results in environmental degradation • Hinduism • not use anything in an amount that cannot be replaced • not interrupt the system by using chemical manure, pesticide, cutting the forests • cows are worshipped and protected

6. Development • “ Sustainable development requires changes in values and attitudes towards environment and development, towards society and work at home, on farms, and in factories. • The world’s religions could help provide direction and motivation in forming new values that would stress individual and joint responsibility towards the environment and towards nurturing harmony between humanity and environment.” (Gosling, 2001)

7. Environmental Ethic • Every part of ecosystem has its unique function • Humans influence it more than we realise and the result alters many other things • Land ethic includes soil, water, plants and animals • It is a moral response to the natural environment (Wenz, 2001)

8. Environmental Ethic • Same action may define either right or wrong in different situation of common morality • The community land may wrongly practice as people do whatever they want in order to serve purposes and not recognise their responsibilities (Wenz, 2001)

9. Natural Resource Use • Using non-renewable resource should base upon • good reason • not extinct • search for alternative resource • Resources are for human as well as other creatures so we should not take everything • Human apply technology to the natural resource in their environment

10. Towards Technology Technological advances increases world crop production e.g.<400 mill tons(1900) to nearly 1.9 bill tons(1998)(Wenz,2001) • Irrigation through wells, pumps and dams can direct water to agricultural land • Agrochemical (fertiliser, pesticide, herbicide) prevent crop yield decline • Genetically modified plant and HYV (high-yielding variety) increase output.

11. Effect from Technology • Specialisation • Grow crops for commercial use not for self sufficiency • depend on monetary system • concentrate on intensive cropping or livestock rearing

12. Effect from Technology • Monoculture replaces agricultural diversity • spend money on fertiliser and pesticide • loss free animal manure • Loss traditional agricultural system • crop rotation • seed collecting

13. Effect from Technology • New kind of crops • spend money in buying seed • Use machinery instead of animal labour or community labour • spend money on fuel

14. Environmental Impact • Water shortage; need make more / deeper wells, dams • Reduce water table; pump • Chemical on crop land; pesticide/herbicide • Soil erosion • Soil infertility • e.g.HYN wheat and rice in India

15. Society Impact • Specialist depend on others to support his requirement by monetary system. Money is a tool for evaluation life. • People feel insecure due to incompleteness of life’s necessities • Specialisation improve efficiency but not have holistic world view. They tend to create environment hazard. • The poor become poorer as they cannot afford to protect their crop

16. Moral Impact • Become privatism • Do not feel as a part of environment • No responsibility to environment