# Environmental Protection from a Baha'i Perspective

*Exported from [Holy-Writings.com](https://www.holy-writings.com/) on 2026-06-19 — 1 clipping.*

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> Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Arthur Lyon Dahl, Environmental Protection from a Baha'i Perspective, bahai-library.com.
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> 
> Environmental Protection from a Baha'i Perspective
> 
> Arthur Lyon Dahl
> published in Naturopa83
> 
> Council of Europe, 1997
> 
> The essence of the Bahá'í approach to the environment
> is founded in the fundamental principle of the harmony of science and religion,
> which must be in balance. Science without religion tends to materialism,
> while religion without science can fall into superstition. Science can
> give us tools to help us live in the physical world, but only religion
> can tell us how to use those tools for good rather than for evil.
> Bahá'u'lláh, the Prophet-founder of the Bahá'í
> Faith, described nature as God's Will and as its expression in and through
> the physical world. For Bahá'ís, nature and all the creation
> reflect the qualities and attributes of God, to be contemplated and admired
> in all their diversity. The beauty and verdure of the country are seen
> as the world of the soul. Mercy and compassion must be shown not only to
> human beings, but to every living creature, and cruelty to animals is prohibited.
> The Bahá'í writings refer to the natural world as a unified
> system in which all beings are connected together, such as in the dependence
> of plants on carbon dioxide produced by animals and microbes, and of animals
> on the oxygen produced by plants. Co-operation and reciprocity are seen
> as essential properties of nature.
> Humankind has a special place in the natural world. While the human
> body has a physical reality that is, like animals, subject to nature's
> laws, it is endowed with a second rational or intellectual reality, which
> can guide, control and overcome nature. Then there is a third human dimension,
> the spiritual reality, that delivers us from the material world to find
> illumination, transcending the limited human reality to attain to the infinitude
> of God.
> Our physical, social and spiritual environments are all interrelated.
> We are organic with the world, and cannot segregate the human heart from
> the environment outside us. Our inner life moulds the environment and is
> itself also deeply affected by it. Therefore, Bahá'í communities
> are called upon to assist in conserving the environment in ways that blend
> with their rhythm of life, and many undertake tree planting, organic gardening,
> and other practical environmental projects. The Bahá'í International
> Community maintains an Office of the Environment as part of its United
> Nations representation.
> Material development is important to free us from the captivity of the
> world of nature; for as long as man is captive to nature he is a ferocious
> animal struggling for existence. However, over a hundred years ago, Bahá'u'lláh
> warned about the hazards to the planet of too much material civilization:
> "If carried to excess, civilization will prove as prolific a source of
> evil as it had been of goodness when kept within the restraints of moderation."
> Bahá'ís see the world as evolving rapidly towards a global
> society as technology breaks down barriers between nations. The problems
> of the environment are symptoms of the larger imbalances in society, and
> the barriers to their solution are largely economic, social and political.
> Changes in behaviour, sacrifices of individual interests in the common
> good, and major social adjustments will be required. Even where solutions
> have been agreed, as at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, the will to apply
> them has been lacking, and this lack of will is fundamentally a spiritual
> problem. Changed values and a restoration of moral and ethical principles
> are needed.
> Society needs to be reorganized on a more organic pattern to reflect
> the diversity and decentralized nature of planetary environments. Local
> problems should be addressed at the local level, but with a sense of global
> responsibility. At the same time, the planetary scale of certain environmental
> problems escapes from the control of national governments. A rapid transition
> to a world society, with the establishment of the appropriate institutions
> of a world federation or commonwealth, will be necessary to address these
> global problems effectively. All humanity needs to recognize its oneness
> and develop a sense of world citizenship. The central aim of the Bahá'í
> Faith is to help to lay spiritual foundations for such a world civilization.
> As Bahá'u'lláh has said, we should become like the leaves
> of one tree, the flowers of one garden, the waves of one sea.
> 
> * The views expressed are the author's own and do not
> necessarily reflect those of the United Nations Environment Programme.
> 
> METADATA
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> Views15933 views since posted 1997; last edit 2025-04-10 10:26 UTC;
> 
> previous at archive.org.../dahl_environmental_protection;
> URLs changed in 2010, see archive.org.../bahai-library.org
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> — *Environmental Protection from a Baha'i Perspective (Used by permission of the curator)*