ECOLOGICAL EDUCATION

AND SPIRITUALITY
CFE 5B – Environment Protection and
Management
 INTRODUCTION
•The sixth and last chapter of Laudato Si’
is entitled “Ecological Education and
Spirituality”.
•The goal of Chapter 6 is stated in #202 –
 INTRODUCTION
“Many things have to change course, but it is
we human beings above all who need to
change.
We lack an awareness of our common origin,
of our mutual belonging, and of a future to be
 INTRODUCTION
The basic awareness would enable the
development of new convictions, attitudes and
forms of life.
A great cultural, spiritual and educational
challenge stands before us, and it will demand
that we set out on the long path of renewal.”
 INTRODUCTION
• The message of Chapter 6 is found in #218 –
“In calling to mind the figure of Saint Francis of Assisi,
we come to realize that a healthy relationship with
creation is one dimension of overall personal
conversion, which entails the recognition of our errors,
sins, faults and failures, and leads to heartfelt
repentance and desire to change.”
 INTRODUCTION
• Chapter 6 of Laudato Si’ includes the
following topics related to Ecological
Education:
- Towards a New Lifestyle
- Educating for the Covenant Between
Humanity and the Environment
 INTRODUCTION
• Towards a New Lifestyle
• Because of the consequences of “collective
selfishness” brought about by excessive
consumerism, we should also think of the
catastrophes caused by social crises.
 INTRODUCTION
• Towards a New Lifestyle
• A change in lifestyle is a way to exert
pressure on those who have power in various
spheres so that there is a great need for a
sense of social responsibility on the part of
 INTRODUCTION
• Towards a New Lifestyle
• There is a need for “universal consciousness”
and a call to seek a new beginning. We ought
to develop a new capacity to open ourselves to
others, and respond to the challenge to
overcome individualism.
 INTRODUCTION
• Educating for the Covenant between
Humanity and the Environment
• There is a need to create new cultural habits.
• Personal virtues are the basic conditions for
a fruitful environmental education.
 INTRODUCTION
• Educating for the Covenant between
Humanity and the Environment
• Environmental education should pay
attention to small things/actions and bring
out the best in us because personal efforts
 INTRODUCTION
• Educating for the Covenant between Humanity and
the Environment
• There are various educational settings: the family,
which is of special importance because of the many
wonderful things that happen in it, and Christian
communities and religious institutions because of
their role in the formation of conscience.
 INTRODUCTION
• Other topics included in Chapter 6 are:
- Ecological Conversion
- Joy and Peace
- Civic and Political Love
- Sacramental Signs and the Celebration of Rest
 INTRODUCTION
• Other topics included in Chapter 6 are:
- The Trinity and the Relationship
between Creatures
- Queen of All Creation
- Beyond the Sun
 INTRODUCTION
• World Environment Day was
established by the United Nations
General Assembly in 1972 to mark the
opening of the Stockholm Conference
on the Human Environment.
 INTRODUCTION
• Commemorated yearly on June 5, World
Environment Day is one of the principal
vehicles through which the United Nations
stimulates worldwide awareness of the
environment and enhances political
attention and action.
 INTRODUCTION
•Furthermore, Presidential Proclamation
No. 237 extends the celebration of
World Environment Day by declaring
June as Philippine Environment Month.
 INTRODUCTION
•Republic Act 9512, The National
Environmental Awareness and
Education Act of 2008, is an existing
mandate on environmental awareness
and education.
 INTRODUCTION
• Under RA 9512, discussion of environmental
awareness and the implementation of the
different environmental protection laws are
mandatory topics for tertiary education, and
covered in the General Education Course
“Science, Technology and Society.”
 INTRODUCTION
• Furthermore, pursuant to the policy set
forth in RA 9512, the month of
November every year shall be known as
the National Environmental Awareness
Month throughout the Philippines.
 INTRODUCTION
• This chapter includes a lesson revisiting the
Indigenous Peoples especially that we have so
much to learn from them in terms of relating with
nature; and
• a lesson on the appreciation of biodiversity, the
foundation of a healthy relationship with creation.
 THE INDIGENOUS
PEOPLES’ RELATIONSHIP
WITH NATURE
•PERSONAL REFLECTION
•What is your most significant learning
about indigenous peoples after taking
CFE 5A – CICM Mission in Action I?
THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
OF THE PHILIPPINES
 POPULATION
• The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)
reported an indigenous population of 8 million.
• The National Commission on Indigenous
Peoples (NCIP) estimates it at 14 million.
• They belong to more than 110 ethno-linguistic
groups.
 CATEGORIES
• CORDILLERA PEOPLES
• They are commonly called Igorots and found
in the six provinces in the Cordillera mountain
ranges.
• Ifugao, Bontoc, Kankanaey, Kalinga, Ibaloy,
Tingguian, Isneg, Yapayao
 CATEGORIES
• AETA TRIBES
• They are scattered in Luzon, Visayas and
Mindanao, and are known by different names.
• Ata, Ayta, Agta, Ita, Ati, Dumagat,
Remontado, Mamanwa
 CATEGORIES
• VARIOUS TRIBES OF NORTH-
EASTERN, CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN
LUZON AND SOME ISLANDS OF
VISAYAS
• Ilongot, Mangyan, Tagbanua, Palaw’an,
 CATEGORIES
• MINDANAO LUMAD
• This refers to the major tribes found in almost all
provinces of Mindanao.
• Subanen, Manobo, Bagobo, B’laan, T’boli, Ubo,
Higaonon, Talaandig, Mandaya, Mansaka,
Manguangan, Tiduray, Banwaon, Dibabawon,
Tagakaolo
 THE TERM “INDIGENOUS
PEOPLES”
• At the start of the colonization of the
Philippines in 1565, the term indigenous
would have been applicable to all the various
cultural and linguistic groups who then
inhabited the more than 7,000 islands that
make up the present national territory.
 THE TERM “INDIGENOUS
PEOPLES”
• Now, we call indigenous only such people
who, at the beginning of the 20 th century and
the start of the American regime, were never
fully subjugated, Christianized nor Islamized,
and who kept their pre-conquest cultural and
religious traditions quite intact.
 THE TERM “INDIGENOUS
PEOPLES”
• Today, IPs still maintain a historical continuity
with pre-invasion societies that developed in
their territories.
• They have their own social and cultural
characteristics distinct from the dominant
culture, and issues on their identity and rights.
 THE SITUATION OF
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
•The IPs view land as life.
•Sustainable development and
intergenerational responsibilities
underlie their use of land and resources.
 THE SITUATION OF
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
• The rich diversities of their culture, indigenous
knowledge systems, spirituality and practices,
governance and justice systems support a way of life
that is genuinely human, participatory and communal.
• Many, if not the majority, of the IPs are in a survival
mode of subsistence, such as swidden farming,
hunting and gathering.
God is the Almighty Creator,
Man is Only a Weak Creature
(Job 38 – 39)
• Job, an oriental chieftain, pious and upright,
richly endowed in his own person and in
domestic prosperity, suffers a sudden and
complete reversal of fortune.
• In Job 38:1-42:6, God speaks from out of a
whirlwind.
• He seems to ignore completely Job's desire
for an explanation or justification of his
suffering; instead, he humbles Job by
challenging him to explain how the
universe was created and how it is ordered.
•In the end, Job recovers his attitude of
humility and trust in God, which is
deepened now and strengthened by his
experience of suffering.
• In the essay entitled, ‘Biblical Views of
Nature: Foundations for an Environmental
Ethic’, Bunge writes:
Insights relevant to an understanding of our
relation to the natural world are also found in
It emphasizes the importance of nature as a
medium of God’s revelation, for it presupposes
that God’s wisdom can be revealed through
observation of the natural world.
At the same time, it points out the tremendous
diversity and ultimate mystery of God’s creation.
Other Wisdom texts, such as God’s first
speech from the whirlwind (Job 38 and
39), indicate that God takes delight in
non-human creatures and did not create
them for human benefit alone.
Such passages imply that human beings
need to respect nature, to recognize the
intrinsic value of its many creatures, to
learn from it, and to preserve its
incredible diversity.
• The evolution of the nomenclature applied to
these native peoples reflect the changes in the
attitude of the Church.
• During the Spanish Period, the predominant
labels for them were infidels, savages,
barbarians and pagans, to name a few.
• During the American Period, they were
lumped together as non-Christian tribes
(together with Muslim Filipinos) and
words like savages and pagans
continued to be used to categorize them.
• In the later decades of the 20th century,
common terms used were natives,
cultural minorities, and tribal Filipinos.
• Today, the official name for them is
Indigenous Peoples.
 INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND
NATURE
•Video Presentation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9
MvdMqKvpU
 INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND
NATURE
•Most IPs regard nature as sacred.
•They believe that the spirits of their
ancestors dwell in their land, forests and
rivers.
 INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND
NATURE
•The forest serves as a place for worship.
•They hold rituals to ask permission to
farm and hunt.
 INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND
NATURE
• They prohibit the cutting of trees in
watershed areas, which serve as source of
their spring water.
• Some trees are protected for their medicinal
value and the other trees are cut down only
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
AND INTERGENERATIONAL
RESPONSIBILITY
•Sustainable development and
intergenerational responsibility underlie
the IPs’ use of land and resources.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

• The Catechism of the Catholic Church

defines a more holistic understanding of
development.
• “Man is himself the author, center and
goal of all economic and social life.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

• The decisive point of the social question

is that goods created by God for
everyone should reach everyone in
accordance with justice and with the
help of charity” (CCC 2459).
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

• Moreover, “true development concerns

the whole man. It is concerned with
increasing each person’s ability to
respond to his vocation and hence to
God’s call” (CCC 2461).
 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
• In Laudato Si’, Pope Francis highlights the possibility
of alternative forms of progress and development.
• He writes in #191: “Efforts to promote a sustainable
use of natural resources are not a waste of money, but
rather an investment capable of providing other
economic benefits in the medium term.”
 INTERGENERATIONAL
RESPONSIBILITY
•Laudato Si talks about justice between
the generations as part of Chapter 4 –
Integral Ecology.
•“The notion of the common good
extends to future generations…
 INTERGENERATIONAL
RESPONSIBILITY
•We can no longer speak of sustainable
development apart from
intergenerational solidarity.”
•The world is a free gift to be shared with
other generations.
 INTERGENERATIONAL
RESPONSIBILITY
• “Intergenerational solidarity is not optional,
but rather a basic issue of justice, since the
world we have received also belongs to those
who will follow us…
• An integral ecology is marked by this broader
vision.” (#159)
 INTERGENERATIONAL
RESPONSIBILITY
• Our concern must include future
generations.
• “What is at stake is our own dignity…
• The issue has to do with the ultimate
meaning of our earthly sojourn.” (#160)
 INTERGENERATIONAL
RESPONSIBILITY
• The present pace of consumption, waste and
environmental change is leading to
catastrophes.
• “The effects of the present imbalance can
only be reduced by our decisive action, here
 INTERGENERATIONAL
RESPONSIBILITY
• The environmental crisis is accompanied by
ethical and cultural deterioration.
• We are also unable to see the needs of those
excluded from development.
• Hence, there is also an urgent need for
intragenerational solidarity. (#162)
 INTERGENERATIONAL
RESPONSIBILITY
• In its pastoral letter, An Urgent Call for Ecological
Conversion, Hope in the Face of Climate Emergency
(2019), the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines
also underscores intergenerational responsibility and
solidarity.
• It writes: “We must reject the current ways of excessive
production and consumption, which get us habituated to
 INTERGENERATIONAL
RESPONSIBILITY
• Ignoring the political and developmental constraints
in the current initiatives towards amending the 1987
Constitution could pave the way towards the
deletion of the people’s right to a safe and sound
ecology, and remove the legal barriers to an all-out
foreign exploitation of our national resources.”
 INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION
•Medium and large-scale corporate
mining and conflicting laws governing
natural resources continue to be major
problems that IPs face in their
communities.
 INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION
•Environmental degradation caused by
mining has resulted in health problems,
significant reduction of agricultural
production, water pollution and
decreased fish catch.
 INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION
• In Laudato Si’, Pope Francis writes that “it is
essential to show special care for indigenous
communities and their cultural traditions.
• They… should be the principal dialogue
partners, especially when large projects
affecting their land are proposed.
 INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION
• For them, land is not a commodity but a
gift from God and from their ancestors
who rest there, a sacred space with which
they need to interact if they are to maintain
their identity and values.” (#146)
 INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION
• In its pastoral letter, An Urgent Call for Ecological
Conversion, Hope in the Face of Climate Emergency
(2019), the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the
Philippines committed as a concrete ecological
action to “respect, recognize, and support the rights
of indigenous peoples in protecting their ancestral
domains and promoting sustainable development.”
• Make a contrast between the lifestyle of the
indigenous peoples and of the present generation.
• What are some CONCRETE, DOABLE,
PRACTICAL and REALISTIC ways you can
learn from the indigenous peoples in relation to
protecting the environment?
• Furthermore, what are some CONCRETE,
DOABLE, PRACTICAL and REALISTIC
ways you can do to help alleviate the
situation of indigenous peoples pressured to
abandon their homelands to make room for
agricultural or mining projects?