No.25 Summer 2009ISSN 1599-4880

Living Together Helping Each Other

Eco-ethics:
Asia-Pacific
Perspectives
Rediscovering
Eco-ethics: A Path to a
Sustainable Future

Creating a Safe School
Environment inUttar PradeshInterview withChérif Khaznadar
Summer 2009 SangSaeng 1

FocusⅠEco-ethics: Asia-Pacific Perspectives

Rediscovering
Eco-ethics:
A Path to a
SustainableFuture

Is there anything which distinguishes livingorganisms from non-living materials beyond thefact that they use information to replicate? And that
information is non-random? The belief that life isspecial is fundamental to a biocentric view, which iscentered on life. One aspect of nature that people value
and take delight in is the diversity of living organisms.
The United Nations World Charter for Nature (1982)
declares, “Every form of life is unique, warranting
respect regardless of its worth to man.” This type ofvaluation is extrinsic.
We need to ask whether there is intrinsic value tonature and life. If nature has intrinsic value, we have all
the more reason not to harm it. Many people want toprotect nature, not because of its value or property, but
simply because it is there. Various studies, such as the1993 International Bioethics Survey and subsequent
surveys (Macer, 1994), show this widespread respect
for nature and life. These studies have helped us

Respect for Life and Nature

By Darryl Macer(Regional Adviser on Social and Human Sciences inAsia and the Pacific, Regional Unit for Social andHuman Sciences in Asia and the Pacific,
UNESCO Bangkok, Thailand)d.macer@unesco.org

Respecting universal principles
on the relationship ofhumans to the earthC

itizens of all ages need to make ethical decisions
in their life, not only about their relationshipwith other human beings and the way they use
science and technology, but about their relationshipwith other living organisms as well. By and large,
people have favored a human-centered view of theworld, called anthropocentrism. However, throughtime, different worldviews have emerged, including
eco-centrism which views the world with theecosystem as the centre.
The inter-relatedness of all living organisms isreadily seen in most ecosystems. Ecology refers to therelationship of every organism with the environment.
All organisms need water. They have the same
genetic code and share similar genes. At first sight,
all creatures appear to be temporal. This relatedness
is expressed by the fact that they share somethingcommon—life. They live and then they die. There isalso continuity between the inorganic and organic.
The animistic traditions of South Asia and East Asia
can be classified as ecocentric views.

8 SangSaeng Summer 2009

identify shared universal ideas about the relationship ofhumans to the earth and about human responsibility tonature.
In Japanese, the word inochi can be translated as“life,” “nature,” and “the energy that holds things
together.” There are various images associated with theword, but its essence is that every living organism isdistinct, unique, and equal to other organisms. Inochi
is distinct from the idea of soul; it departs when anorganism dies. All organisms share the same amount oflife, whether they are dead or alive.

Eco-ethics and Human Responsibility

There are several views of ethics. Descriptive ethics
involves describing people’s views on ethical conduct.
Case studies and observations of people’s behavior
provide us data in considering the worldview ofdifferent people. However, there is a need for more
research on the gap between stated attitudes onenvironmental issues and actual behavior.

Summer 2009 SangSaeng 9

The definition of moral agents is important to many
theories of ethics. We can see an expanding moral
community—from human beings (anthropocentric) tosentient animals (sentience-centric) to living organisms(bio-centric) and to the environment (eco-centric). There
are other views of life that are now gaining recognition
such as cosmo-centrism and theo-centrism.
All these views place responsibilities upon humanbeings to be ethical in making decisions that affectthe ecosystem, demanding them to behave ethically

Emergence of Other Views

From the perspective of prescriptive ethics, ethics
is a socially accepted moral standard to define what
you can do and what you cannot do (e.g. behavioralethics) and/or a standard of what harm can be inflicted
upon other moral agents, including human beings(e.g. consequential ethics). As a matter of course, ourwhole life as individuals, families, and communities isregulated by tacit rules of behavior and consequences.

A human-centred world view is now being challenged.

© Lim Jong-Jin / APCEIU

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We have a deep and eternal relationship with the ecosystem.
The first is biological dependence; valuing nature gives humans
an evolutionary advantage. UDBHR’s Article 17 on “Protectionof the environment, the biosphere and biodiversity” specificallyillustrates how the relationships among different elements ofthe environment and biosphere (including human beings) are
important in environmental ethics:“Due regard is to be given to the interconnection between(g) to safeguard and promote the interests of the present andfuture generations;(h) to underline the importance of biodiversity and its
conservation as a common concern of humankind.”

Article 2 of the Declaration states UDBHR aims as:

Common Concern

international treaties andtexts.
UDBHR provides a universally
agreed framework to describe bioethics,
which brings together much of the previous
scholarship and recommendations on environmental ethics bydescribing common ethical principles and providing a frameworkfor normative ethical reflection. Although the UDBHR does notelaborate specific ethics for environmental application, it includes
a number of consensus statements that can be applied to ecoethics.

FocusⅠEco-ethics: Asia-Pacific Perspectives

10 SangSaeng Summer 2009

Throughout the world today, institutions have given
considerable reflection on environmental ethics. The adoptionof the Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights(UDBHR) by UNESCO Member Countries in 2005 followed aseries of consultation meetings. In these meetings, a number ofagencies and governments called for more formal codification ofenvironmental ethics principles that had been adopted earlier in

Universal Eco-ethics Principles

The Ethics of Energy Technologies in Asia and the Pacific(EETAP) project seeks to open up ethical and value questions thatare often neglected and undermined. EETAP’s work significantly
complements the consideration of the ethics of climate change andthe development of better policies on the environment through theapplication of eco-ethics to state-of-the-art scientific reviews.
EETAP’s working groups seek to develop dialogue around theseissues with focus on environmental ethics and human security.
Each group will produce a report with policy options that canbe used by policymakers, civil society, philosophers, scientists,and researchers in reflecting on the ethical dimensions of energy
policies and activities.

Challenging Value and Ethics

toward the latter. The expansion of the “ethical community” froma human dimension to include the ecological dimension increases
the difficulty of resolving ethical dilemmas, but signifies the innate
membership of humans in the ecosystem.

Upper: Sarawak, Malaysia / Lower: Preah Vihear, Cambodia© Kim Chan-Bok / APCEIU© Lim Jong-Jin / APCEIU• Macer, D. R. J. 1994. Bioethics for the People by the People .
Christchurch: Eubios Ethics Institute.
• Macer, D. R. J. 1998. Bioethics is Love of Life: An Alternative
Textbook. Christchurch: Eubios Ethics Institute.
• Macer, D. R. J. 2002. "The next challenge is to map the humanmind." Nature , 420, 121.
• UNESCO. 2005. Universal Declaration on Bioethics and HumanRights.
• UNESCO Ethics home page, http://www.unesco.org/ethics

References

Members participate as individuals in the highest standards ofintellectual vigor and integrity. The reports will be subject to peer
review, including circulation to member countries’ governments,
and do not represent the views of partner organizations. We needa variety of case studies as we consider the eco-ethics that weshould have for the future.
Sustainable living involves not just efficient agriculture, butalso reducing energy use and pollution. The spirit of love includes
minimizing consumption and avoiding disturbing other people
and beings. It involves changing public policy and the way people
think. We must realize the importance of using new technologythat aids this process and facilitates the achievement of this goal.
There are three types of research required for a transition to
an enduring Earth (Macer, 1994; 1998). First, the use of science
to discover the workings of nature, such as elemental cycles, anddeveloping technology for energy and resource conservation;
second, adoption of economic systems that are consistent withsustainable living; and third, lifestyle change. Reflecting on oureco-ethics allows us to examine our values and lifestyles. This act
alone may be the key to a sustainable future, not only for humanbeings but also for all of life.
For specific information on the ongoing work in eco-ethics andrelated fields, please look at the webpage of the working groups:
http://www.unescobkk.org/rushsap/energyethics/.

Collective Act

people of all ages and fields interested in participating in working
groups with focus on energy and environmental ethics. They could
come from the fields of engineering, government, institutional
advisory bodies, civil society organizations, energy-relatedindustries, education, and many other areas.

Expanding the “ethical community”
to include ecology increases the difficultyof resolving ethical dilemmas, butsignifies our return to our status asmembers of the ecosystem.

human beings and other forms of life, tothe importance of appropriate access andutilization of biological and genetic resources,
to traditional knowledge and to the role of humanbeings in the protection of the environment, the biosphereand biodiversity.”
UDBHR does not provide sufficient details of an accepted ecoethics, but UNESCO is expected to continue the work in the future.
The Sixth Ordinary Session of the Commission on the Ethics ofScience and Technology (COMEST) held in Malaysia in June 2009
recommended that UNESCO develop an ethical framework ofprinciples in relation to climate change.

Asia’s Heritage Can Benefit Others
Asia has a very rich biological, social, and spiritual heritage, andmankind stands to benefit from it. We can urge policymakers tofind appropriate models of ecological communities in the region.
“Bioethics is a love of life,” and traditions can be applied to shape
how we respond to modern dilemmas, like balancing humanrights with long-term ecological vision for a sustainable future.
If we consider a complete bioethics, we must include our dutiesto our fellow human beings as well as to nature. With the growing
awareness of environmental change and damage, we should beaware of the need for sustainable living. We should not only viewthe environment as essential to human existence, but we should
value it in and by itself.
I invite readers to be involved in the shaping of an eco-ethics
for our generation and those that are to come. EETAP is open toSummer 2009 SangSaeng 11