Press Conference: Faiths for Oceans at COP17, UN Convention on Biodiversity

do in every continent and we have advocacy as one of our major areas of work. So attending UN processes like the UN Ocean Conference, the UN Biodiversity Conference, the climate change COPs, and as well, as you mentioned, the the new BBNJ, which will have its first COP in January. So doing that advocacy work, bringing local stories and local communities to international governance spaces is essential to our work, along with local community organizing, education, and cultural and spiritual protection and restoration. where cultures have been denied their land, their place, their water, to live their fullest lives. So this is our work. Some of our key advocacy areas are deep sea mining, for example, and the rights of fisherfolk. And so those are some of the areas that we'll be doing advocacy work, both here and in other UN environmental spaces. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Amy. I'd like to hand it over to Cameron Shehzad of Bahu Trust. Bahu Trust are one of the High Ambition Coalition for Ocean Action's founding member organizations. Cameron, I wonder if you could share an Islamic perspective on ocean stewardship and why it's important for Islamic organizations to act.

Thank you, Tariq. the oceans is something we take for granted. It's not something that's always at the forefront of our mind. Even though the oceans is 70% of the world. Um whether it's in our faith places or even at conferences or environmental events. We tend to neglect oceans. Uh we forget what it provides us. Um so it's great to be in a place where we're reminded of the significance and the importance of oceans. From an Islamic perspective and in Islam, the entire natural world is seen as a sign of God's wisdom, of his power and of his mercy. We know the oceans, they sustain life, they support communities, and they form this beautiful part of the intricate balance of our planet. And the Al-Mizan, the covenant for the earth, reminds us that every part of creation has this value and a purpose. And this means that the oceans has its own value in its own right, you know, beyond just the food and the livelihoods and the resources that it provides to all human beings. And there's a specific verse in the Holy Quran which warns us, it gives us a warning and it did that 1400 years ago. And the Holy Quran says that corruption has appeared on the land and the sea by what the hands of humankind have wrought. And that verse directly speaks to the environmental challenges that we're facing in the oceans today. And we're seeing that being reflected in the oceans in the form of plastics, in the form of polluted waters, damaged coral reefs, and the loss of marine life. And Al-Mizan calls on us to recognize that. But equally, that verse that I mentioned isn't all about doom and gloom. The verse in the Holy Quran also says that if we reflect, we can also change things, we can turn things around. And I suppose that's what we need to be doing right now. And so Al-Mizan teaches us that Allah's creation has inherent worth, that every creature has value because it's part of his creation. And it gives us a different way of thinking about marine life, you know, something that we tend to forget. And Islamic teachings are on compassion, on rahma, and doing the utmost good in ihsan, which means with excellence, not something that we should just do because for the sake of doing it. And so our responsibility is about balance. And Surah Rahman, after which Al-Mizan is named is the the chapter of mercy so in it as you know as a Muslim it's constantly we're reminded to not deny the blessings that God has provided but the chapter also talks to us about not skimping the balance that what we take with one hand we give back with the other if at all it's even required to take you know really we should be living in simplicity humility and modesty So really the responsibility means taking only what we need, avoiding waste and protecting the sources of future generation. And your question around the practical, how we turn faith into action, really our responsibility has to be practical too, not just spiritual. So as individuals, there's things we can do, simple things like reducing the waste, our plastic waste, consuming seafood responsibly, knowing where it's sourced from, making the right choices. As faith communities, we have a role to educate our communities on how we can do things at home, how we do things in our faith places where from a congregation perspective, people learn without being taught just by being there. But also I feel places of worship and faith communities have a huge role in advocating. We shouldn't just limit our actions to behaviour change. We need to be calling for policy change, for legislation change. And also, I don't think it should also be limited to communities of ocean. Like, I'm from the UK. We don't see ourselves as an ocean nation, yet we're an island. I live right in the middle, but we're not associated. And I think we have a responsibility to speak to our faith places and say, we are people of the ocean, and we need to talk. We shouldn't just be talking about the trees and the plants and the bees. We also need to be advocating. And so this is where Al-Mizan really calls for faith, science, and ethical behavior, and practical action to work together.

Thank you so much, Cameron. I'd like to now turn left here. Kanavacharya Vijay Amjatan, founder and president of the United Madras Association, which is also a SHIN. Vijay, you're also New York based, and the new BBNJ COP of the High Seas Treaty is going to be coming to your city in January. Why do local voices matter and how can communities help shape the work towards the High Seas Treaty?

Thank you, Tariq, and good morning to all of you. International decisions and treaties and all these decisions needs local action to be realized. Oftentimes when we make these treaties and we decide these policies, they're often done far away from our local communities, often not engaging local communities. However, to have these treaties realized and fully be fulfilled, We need local action. In New York City, we're an island. We're surrounded by water. And oftentimes, people think of New York City as, of course, part of America, but this huge mainland. But New York City itself, we are fully covered by water all around. And we interact with that water through ferries, to the diverse faith communities that call New York City home. At the United Madrasa Association, we try to teach eco-worship. One of the strengths of New York City is our diversity, bringing all the worlds together, living in one place. And with that also comes our faith traditions that interact with the water. And we should all have the right to do so, but also to do so responsibly. So we leave this water the way we found it, and even help contributing to making sure that it's sustainable and continues to be pure and beautiful for the next generation. Local action gives lives to international treaties. Local action is where we build connections, where we build communities of peace and tranquility in collaboration with the water that we seek to worship and pray to. And I always say to my community that we revere the water. We call the water Ganga. We call the oceans, and we go to pray for healing, for spiritual growth and practice. But oftentimes, part of that worship, we leave our debris behind. And other times, it's about reeducating how to live in a very sustainable and equal friendly way. And we call this eco worship, but also too, we try to teach our communities that we have to turn our faith into action. With the conference coming to New York City in January, we have a unique opportunity to not just only speak about ocean care and wellness from an international perspective, but show how new local communities really, their voices be heard, but also through action to see how those international laws and decisions can be realized by local volunteers who are on the ground doing the work.

Wonderful. Thank you so much, Vijay. And how we obviously speak about the ocean, as you did so beautifully and eloquently, also shapes what we notice and value. With that, I'd like to pass it on to Elise of the Face for Oceans team, who leads our comms. I will now introduce the Ocean Vocabulary, a moral glossary for a changing world, well, the head of its launch. Elise, over to you.

Good morning, everyone. Before I joined Faith for Oceans, throughout my work in ocean conservation, I've noticed something curious. Whether I was speaking with scientists, fishers, indigenous representatives, or policy makers, and now faith leaders, I kept hearing the same concern for the ocean, but people were not always using the same words. And that made me wonder, if you're not always speaking the same language, how can we build the same future? That question is really where the ocean vocabulary and our collective work began. So let me show you what I mean. I will show you two words that you might not expect to find in the same glossary. So marine heat wave. Here we can explore the science, what is happening to the ocean and why does it matter. Then Humility before depth. Here, we encounter another kind of language, the values and responsibilities that shape how we respond. These are not two separate conversations. They belong together. In fact, it's a glossary with a conscience. And it creates space for these different perspectives to speak to one another. So it's a conversation starter. It brings ocean science into conversation with faith and spiritual traditions, indigenous and coastal knowledge, ethics, and new ways of thinking about our relationship with the ocean. Now let's take marine protected areas. doesn't want to go. Doesn't want to go to marine protected areas. Oh! Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. There we are. At first, this sounds like a conservation term. The definition explains what they are, but also reminds us that protection only works when it's well managed and supported by communities. And that's exactly what the ocean vocabulary does. It connects words with the people and actions that bring them to life. and help us understand how people connect with it, care for it, and find meaning in protecting it. But we wanted to go further than definitions. The Ocean Vocabulary is also a learning resource. We developed teaching resources that can be used in classrooms, faith communities, and study groups. And you can even print them on a card. The words we use shape what we notice. What we notice shapes what we value. And what we value shapes what we are willing to protect. Yet, the ocean is still too often discussed in separate conversations. Conservation speaks one language. Economics another, policy a third, and too often the ocean is treated as something apart from human life. But for millions of communities around the world, the ocean is food, culture, identity, livelihood, and belonging. Recognizing these many dimensions is also why we created this tool. So our hope is that the ocean vocabulary helps people discover new words, new perspectives, and maybe even new lies. And this is not finished. It is meant to grow with science, with communities, and with the ways we learn to care for the ocean. The question is not simply whether we know enough about the ocean. It's whether we have the words, the values, and the shared understanding to protect it together. Because if we want a shared future for the ocean, we may first need a shared language. Thank you.

Wonderful. Thank you very much, Elise. And please do join us tomorrow at the Faith Hub for the launch of the Ocean Glossary. And you can see Elise for those details. Finally, as a final announcement, on Thursday, Faith for Oceans will be launching a new report called The Moral Catch, which is focused on faith, fisheries, and justice. We often say when an offer sounds too good to be true, we ask, what's the catch? And fishing gives that phrase another meaning. The catch is the fish brought from the water, but it can also carry a cost and harms that become harder to see once it enters into a supermarket, for example. Behind seafood may be a worker trapped by recruitment debt, a community losing access to edible fish while facing hunger, or women whose access to fish in markets is tied to sexual coercion. And before any of this, the fish was alive. Its life and its suffering mattered, as do the populations and habitats that must have time to also recover from its extraction. These are fundamentally not only just policy and ecological questions, they are moral questions. And these are the questions that we've gathered a number of faith leaders to come and provide a framework around the question of, you know, is there a moral way in the way that the world fishes, and what can make a catch moral? And the report and the framework and the toolkit will explore those questions through six conditions. Protection, so are people fed, animals and ecosystems also protected from harm? It's nourishment, who is fed, who earns and who carries the cost? It's about reconciliation, whose rights and voices shape decisions? It's restoration, what repair is owed and who pays? It's about the source, can we trace origin, ownership and working conditions? And it's ultimately about abstinence. When must we take less and when we must stop? And we have a companion toolkit that can help faith institutions who want to join the High Ambition Coalition and take action on seafood sustainability. So again, we'll be launching this on Thursday at the Ocean Pavilion. You're very welcome to join. And also, we'll be sharing the link to download also the reports and will be available in French as well. So, yeah, I think that's all for today. We have five more minutes in case there's one or two questions. We're happy to take them.

Can I repeat it? Yeah, my name is Frederick Mujira. I'm from Uganda. I wanted to find out from you how will faith leaders hold governments accountable if they fail to meet national biodiversity commitments?

Thank you. I'll attempt that as a It's a very good question, I think a very important question. First of all, faith leaders need to be taught about what the biodiversity framework and the targets are. And remember, faith leaders tend to have so much on their plate and so many social issues that they need to be dealing with on a regular basis, whether it's the cost of living crisis, whether it's war and conflict, whether it's mental health issues. So faith leaders sometimes are on the brunt end of having to deal with so many issues. I think part of the role of Faiths for Biodiversity and Faiths for Ocean and the other groups is to put something in place to train faith leaders. Faith leaders doesn't have to be a priest or an imam or a rabbi. You have faith leaders in young people. You have faith leaders in women, in school teachers, in madrasa teachers. And then we also use our places of worship because we have social capital. Social capital brings about voting and helps elect people. So we can do it in a non-party political way where we train people around how to hold and be effective in holding power to account, really. So I think we have a role to play in that.

Yeah, I can add really quickly, too. In New York City, for example, oftentimes, because the communities are so diverse, In one small area, we have almost 8.5 million residents in a small five borough region. And we often lean towards having interfaith coalitions when it comes to various issues in the community and affects the lives. Historically, government over there has not really used this interfaith coalition around the seas and the oceans and protecting it. And I think the idea that, you know, we are surrounded by water, for example, doesn't really resonate with people to know that they have a role to play. And almost all faith traditions, they use the water. Even if you want to be baptized, you want to be cleansed, you want to-- so many faith traditions use the water, interact with the water. And there is real opportunity to show beyond words how action and real action can turn into sustaining life in the ocean as well as on the Earth.

Thank you for that question. And I love what my friends here have shared. And I would also just say how important it is for faith communities, faith leaders to be here in these spaces. You know, just here in the CBD process, we've seen how the faith community has grown, even just in the last five years. And so I think by being in places like UN processes, we're saying that faith isn't just relegated to our faith temples, our faith spaces as we understand them, but in fact, the whole of creation is a sacred place, as are these places. These UN meetings are sacred places because we're bringing a sacred message. Thank you. We have one more.

Thank you. My name is Irene Nasimiu from Kenya. Mine is not a question. I just want to support what you've said. Indeed, there is need for faith-based organizations to support conservation. I'm looking at an example in our country, Kenya, in Nakuru County, where Christians go there at shrines to pray. and they fast, when they come out of that place, their prayers get answered. I'm looking at Kakamega County at a place called Ngolomotsio, where we go, we believe as Christians, we go and pray, talk secretly to our God, and our prayers are answered. So I support this discussion that indeed, faith-based organizations need to support conservation. Thank you.

Thank you very much. And maybe also to uphold that, this June, we held the first Ocean Interfaith Forum in Kilifi County in Kenya. And we brought together the local, sort of different local congregations and groups. We also brought together different mayors, ministers. And it was very unique because ministers would be walking into the forum and they'd be seeing the priests and the imams who would be leading them. And they took their voices very seriously, at the same time linking to the brothers, previous question, what is important to recognize is that faith leaders also shouldn't step into, you know, we've all heard of greenwashing. There's also faith washing and there's tolerance washing. And, you know, it's very easy for policymakers to engage with faith leaders and faith voices as a way to wash and also make their choices seem moral when sometimes they're not and actually goes against our traditions. So it's very important as well for faith leaders to actually be stepping to these spaces and their own power be stepping into their own integrity and to also not allow them to be used by governments and businesses as a way to cover actually actions that are not faith aligned. And that also is really the message around the Moral Catch report. I mean, of just how honest we have to be around the state of the world fisheries and the oceans and the moral action that we require today in our economies. I think I've been told we're out of time, so we'll be happy to answer your questions on the floor as well. and looking forward to connecting with you throughout the COP. Thank you. Oh, sorry. Do we have time? I'm looking at the team. Yeah.

15 minutes.

All right. Okay, please.

Hello. Thank you very much. I really appreciated how water was talked about and the sacredness of it. One thing that brings to mind, that this brings to mind is water and the issue of generative AI. And I'm wondering if your organization has any statement on the use of generative AI. Thank you.

Thank you very much for your question and making that connection with water and AI. I think it's something that is still very much in the exploratory phase, how to, you know, with such a complex issue, how to respond in a way that is equally nuanced and complex. Pope Leo recently issued a new encyclical, Magnificat Humanitas, and that goes into great detail about our relationship with AI, technology, and how to keep human life and all life at the center of our tools, our language, and that we need to be careful, proceed with caution, and understand that there's value in technical development and so forth, but to not lose sight of and the consequences of technology. And so really keeping life at the center of any, you know, usage, decisions, application, and so forth. But I think we're still very much trying to understand, you know, what the messages are. Yeah, thank you.

No, just what the Pope said.

My name is Adriano Quintela from Oceano Azul Foundation. And it's not a question, it's more like a comment. I want to congratulate you for this initiative, the Ocean Vocabulary, because in fact, words matter, and words matter a lot in the decisions that we take. And I want to give you an example, which is, for example, the fact that marine protected areas are often seen as a cost, a burden, a sacrifice. And once you change the narrative to marine protected areas being an investment, all of a sudden, everything changed because we focus not on the losses, but on the wins. And so this is what I want to say to congratulate you for this initiative. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much. Words matter, and I would like to thank the words from our esteemed panelists. today. Thank you so much for joining the Faith for Oceans press conference. We'll be here and around, obviously, for the next few days. Please join us for the launch of the Ocean Vocabulary tomorrow, and then we'll catch on on Thursday. And God bless you all. Thank you.