Environmental Sustainability in India: The role of faith in the localization of SDGs

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Abstract

While there is nowadays no more disagreement about the need to act for a more sustainable future, the question remains what we define as a sustainable action and how we want to achieve it. The UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) depict this challenge, as they summarize global ambitions for a sustainable future in 17 goals and 169 targets but leave it to each nation to implement them. And hence decide what action is needed and how it should take form in the respective society. This localization leads to a translation, contestation, and a possible change of sustainability norms. It is through this perspective of localization that this research wants to look at the nexus of faith and environmentalism. Each faith tradition offers a perspective on nature and environmentalism. And even though this perspective can be contested and is not automatically translated into action, we can find possible normative aspects, meaning values, practices and actors engaged in environmentalism in each faith. The question is if and how these normative aspects play a role in environmentalism, particularly in a religious society like India. The presentation aims to give a broader insight into Hindu, Christian and Muslim narratives for environmentalism, discuss current forms of activism and will put the findings on the role of faith in relation to the political ambition of SDG localization.

Speakers from the University of Münster

Roßmöller, Anica

Institute of Political Science (IfPol)