Deities and environment

In part 1 of a 4-part series, Karma Ura introduces the connection between conservation of citadels (pho-drang) of deities with environmental protection.

Environmental awareness can manifest in scientific, political and cultural terms. Beliefs and practices point to a management of environment frequently linked to the invocations of deities and spirits occurring throughout the country. Such cultural attitude and spiritual motivation of the people to protect certain features of the landscape from everyday uses have had a major role in the past. Environmental policies could cultivate the principles inherent in such practices to continue protecting the environment and local cultures.