In 2008 the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC) announced that they would partner in a programme to involve major traditions in the world’s faiths drawing up generational plans of action for protecting our planet. The aim was to take the next seven, eight, or nine years to embed practices and protocols into the way major faiths conduct their education, building programmes, celebrations and energy sourcing.
In April 2009 a meeting was held at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies (OCHS) bringing together representatives of the four largest Hindu temple communities in the UK, the first state funded Hindu School, and ARC.
Inspired by ARC and facilitated by the OCHS, the meeting conceived the Bhumi Project, an initiative aimed at educating, inspiring, informing, and connecting Hindus interested in service to Mother Earth. The project was officially launched at the Windsor Celebration of the Faith Commitments for a Living Planet in November 2009 in the presence of His Royal Highness Prince Philip and His Excellency Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations.
You can download our plan for the next nine years here (PDF).
