Buddhist Rituals, Mosque Sermons and Marine Turtles

Religion, Ecology and the Conservation of a Dinosaur in West Malaysia

Authors

  • Michael Northcott University of Edinburgh

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/jsrnc.v6i2.196

Keywords:

religion, ecology, tradition, Buddhism, Islam, Malaysia, leatherback turtle

Abstract

As industrial civilisation presses on the limits of ecosystems, scienti?c conservation requires new strategies to restrain the destruction or modi?cation of habitats and ecosystems in order to halt the decline in biodiversity. Some advocates of community-based conservation strategies propose that scienti?c conservation discourses and practices bene?t from supplementation by ritual practices and traditional knowledge associated with place-based religious traditions. Partnerships between conservation scientists and religionists, which engage religious discourses and rituals in local communities in the care of habitats and species, represent a signi?cant reframing of scienti?c conservation. Hybrid forms of conservation between science and religion manifest greater sensitivity to human ecological relationships than conventional statist conservation strategies. An example of such partnerships is the effort to conserve the endangered leatherback turtle in West Malaysia.

Author Biography

  • Michael Northcott, University of Edinburgh
    Professor, Divinity

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Published

2012-07-16

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Northcott, M. (2012). Buddhist Rituals, Mosque Sermons and Marine Turtles: Religion, Ecology and the Conservation of a Dinosaur in West Malaysia. Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture, 6(2), 196-214. https://doi.org/10.1558/jsrnc.v6i2.196