Leaves 28 (1) - January 2026

        Newsletter of the
         INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT FORUM
         Volume 28, Number 1 --- 15 January 2026    

Website: iefworld.org
Article submission: newsletter@iefworld.org Deadline next issue 10 February 2026
Secretariat Email: ief@iefworld.org Christine Muller General Secretary 
Postal address: 12B Chemin de Maisonneuve, CH-1219 Chatelaine, Geneva, Switzerland
Download the easier to read pdf version

From the Editor, Request for information for upcoming newsletters

This newsletter is an opportunity for IEF members to share their experiences, activities, and  initiatives that are taking place at the community level on environment, climate change  and sustainability. All members are welcome to contribute information about related  activities, upcoming conferences, news from like-minded organizations, recommended  websites, book reviews, etc. Please send information to newsletter@iefworld.org.

Please share the Leaves newsletter and IEF membership  information with family, friends and associates, and encourage interested persons to consider  becoming a member of the IEF.

Members Corner

We welcome our new IEF members and associates!

Members
Sandra Phinney (Canada)
Farshid Bonakdar (United Kingdom)
Gwendolyn Blaga Philbrow (Faroe Islands)
Christine Gandomi (South Africa)
Antonio Valle Tristan (Peru)
A.G. Nandana Wijelal Jayathilake (Sril Lanka)
Associates
Sharareh Zahibian (Iran)
Rowan Downey (USA)
Agnes Menz (USA)
Matika Maiseli (Tanzania)
Rehan Ullah (Pakistan)
Valarie Atwood (USA)

Suggestions from the IEF General Assembly

The IEF Governing Board has consulted on a number of suggestions made during the IEF General Assembly on 29 November 2025. The following are the suggestions and the responses of the board. 

After the successful IEF conference in the UK in June, it was suggested that we check in with participants six months after the event to see whether they have taken follow-up actions or started any initiatives as a result of attending. The board felt it was now too late to implement this useful idea, but it could be considered for future conferences.

Two suggestions concerned issues for future discussion: public discourse on environment, and the convergence of environmental and social problems and the threat of social breakdown. The board agreed to restart its webinars, but with a focus on positive issues such as the society-building power of the Bahá’í Faith.

On the proposal to host a monthly or quarterly open Zoom consultation for members who wish to share experiences, discuss environmental issues, and receive advice on implementing practices, the board is open to this, but is looking for a member who would write an invitation, facilitate the meeting, and write a report about it. The recent climate change course showed the interest in such open discussions. Any volunteers?

To involve the youth more, the IEF youth team will be asked what topics they want to have at future conferences, and to share their experiences and ongoing environmental actions. On the suggestion for a mentorship program that can be academic, work or study related, the board has previously developed a list of members as possible mentors, but we need to bring some mentors and youth together in a webinar or meeting to explore this further. We are turning to youth more to build their capacity.

One member pointed out the need to clearly communicate what is special about the IEF – what is its contribution that other organizations cannot offer? Members, especially also youth, need to have a vision of IEF to be more actively engaged. The Board decided to create a video about IEF’s mission that will be posted on the IEF website and that can also be shared widely. Producing a video is a long-term project. The current action is to consult about its content.

IEF Climate Change Course Class Reunion

As requested by some participants of the online IEF Climate Change course which took place this past fall, the IEF arranged a Class reunion on the weekend of 10th and 11th January. Like all course meetings, the reunion was held in two meetings to accommodate participants from time zones around the globe.

At these class reunion meetings, participants were happy to reconnect and to share their experiences, plans, and thoughts. They discussed climate action in the local community. Some reported on wonderful activities and on the creation of beautiful and useful materials:

Carolyn Paik told us about her presentation on climate change to a local gardening/permaculture group in Wisconsin. See more about this community activity below, with a link to her presentation. 

Valarie Atwood reported that she had trained as Climate Ambassador with ecoAmerica’s Blessed Tomorrow and is now offering online Climate Ambassador group trainings. The materials shared in the training contain templates for power-point presentations with lots of data which can be personalized.

Carolyn Paik also created materials for a Family Eco-Camp where children can directly experience nature. This can be an exciting adventure with wondrous outcomes, creating these experiences to immerse children and junior youth in the kingdom of nature with the intent to "...manifest and make evident the signs of oneness that have been deposited in all the realities of life". Participants will see in nature a reflection of the divine and thus develop a passion to become trustees of the planet's resources and active stewards of our environment. You can download the initial Eco-Camp material made by Carolyn Paik here. The intent is to share, use, and expand these materials.

Announcement of Next IEF Online Course

The IEF Board decided to run its online course on Sustainable Development and Human Prosperity from 7 September – 18 October 2026! This 6-week course will assist the participants to see the broader picture of the environmental, social, and economic aspects of human development. Save the dates and look for more information in this newsletter later!

IEF Member Activities

Sharing Power-point on Climate Change

IEF member Carolyn Paik created a PowerPoint presentation for their Green Team Permaculture/Gardening Group in Wisconsin to help plan their educational programs for the coming year. Among the points she emphasized was the importance of designing resilient agriculture and using mindful gardening methods. She used the PowerPoint format because it both documents what they have learned and provides a visual learning tool that supports understanding through seeing and hearing. Moreover, they can consult and adapt it as needed for different audiences. It also allows them to pause for questions or further explanation as needed.

The Green Team is a nonprofit, volunteer-led organization dedicated to promoting environmental sustainability in our county through education, community action, and advocacy for eco-friendly practices. Over the years, it has hosted family-friendly sustainability fairs and offered workshops on topics such as seed saving, gardening practices, and zero-waste living. Here is the link to her excellent PowerPoint slides: https://iefworld.org/fl/climate_change_GreenTeam.pptx 

Climate Change Theatre Festival

IEF member Nava Sarracino collaborated with fellow theatre practitioners to take part in the "Climate Change Theatre festival": www.climatechangetheatreaction.org

Climate Change Theatre Action is a global festival of short plays about the climate crisis that brings communities together to take local and global action on climate. The theme this year, “The Time Is Now,” marked the 10-year anniversary and final festival under the current model. A response to the distressing environmental and political events happening all over the world, “The Time Is Now” was both a call to action and a reminder to stay connected to the present moment, an ultimatum and the promise of a new beginning.

The organisation has a collection of 50 short plays, written by a stellar group of playwrights, which they share with whoever arises to organise an event. The festival ran between September 19 and December 20, 2025. The requirements were that you use at least one play from the collection and link it to some sort of community action.

In Alaska not one but three events were organised, with two performances in Anchorage and one in Palmer and another in Talkeetna. Local environmental organisations shared what they were doing to change Alaska for the better. Nine of the 50 plays were performed and the program included music, poetry by Mavash Sabet, a prayer for the success of COP30 and a minute of silence for the victims of Typhoon Halong which occurred about two weeks before the performances and caused the displacement of about 2000 people from their villages.

The plays were well appreciated and impactful. Unfortunately, the audience was not diverse in terms of ethnicity or age. The cast was diverse though and worked very well together despite many sudden changes and challenges they faced. The show was beautiful, and there is now interest from Anchorage Museum to stage it there. It is hoped that we will be able to take part in the festival again and learn about how to engage the public more effectively.

Please see the news clip which covered the festival and a picture of IEF member Nava Sarracino with fellow cast member Tamara Rothman as they act as eagles talking about how humans have destroyed their home yet also how humans brought eagles back from the brink of extinction: https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2025/11/08/anchorage-performers-take-climate-crisis-through-art/ 

Weaving Paths, a New Documentary Film

CALI, Colombia — What does it mean to see all people as protagonists in the development of their community—a seed whose capacities can be nurtured to bear fruit for generations?

This question animates Weaving Paths, a new documentary released by FUNDAEC to mark its 50th anniversary. The film traces the evolution of this Bahá’í-inspired organization, founded in Colombia in 1974, as it has worked alongside rural communities to develop educational processes that integrate the material and spiritual dimensions of life.

Rather than offering a chronological history, Weaving Paths reflects on the deeper processes that have sustained FUNDAEC’s work over time. It portrays how a conviction has been fostered among thousands of farmers, youth, teachers, mothers, and many others, that every human being possesses latent capacities that can be awakened and directed toward the common good.

“At FUNDAEC, we felt it was important to share, from our own perspective, some of the insights that have marked these fifty years,” said Leslie Stewart, Special Centers Director of FUNDAEC, in a conversation with the News Service. “The film,” she added, “is not meant to be a comprehensive account, but a living reflection on experiences, collective efforts, and the gradual construction of patterns of community life rooted in dignity and purpose.”

Link to 48 min. film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NX4-zciYbw 
Link to entire article about the film:
https://news.bahai.org/story/1842/weaving-paths-film-reflects-fundaecs-vision-work-50-years 

Expressing Spirit in the World of Matter

When living a coherent life, we express spirit – love – “in the world of matter”. We are turning away from our lower self – the ego – and, with a “world-embracing vision”, we are focusing on serving our fellow humans. We are “anxiously concerned with the needs” of our age and try to make the world a better place. In this manner we are fulfilling our twofold moral purpose: Serving the well-being of the community and developing our spiritual capacities, two aspects of our life’s purpose that cannot be separated; they are one. The following words of Baháu’lláh encompass both: Let your vision be world-embracing, rather than confined to your own self. (Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh XLIII)

For such a coherent life, we need knowledge: What are the “needs of the age we are living in”? How can we contribute to addressing the serious social and environmental problems that are facing humanity? And how can we express spirit – love – in daily actions and activities, big and small?

Knowledge about the existential threats of climate change, of the loss of wild plants and animals and the pollution of our air, water, and soil, and learning what we can do about them is a prerequisite for meaningful actions motivated by love.

Offering sprinkles of such knowledge has been the objective of the Sustainable Living Tips and Conversations that were featured in the Wilmette Institute newsletters every month during the past nine years. This is the last one of these brief articles.

You can still read most of the 108 Sustainable Living Tips and Conversations on the Wilmette Institute website where they are listed in chronological order.

You can also read them on the IEF website where they are ordered under categories. The categories are:

• Food
• Gardening and yard
• Transportation
• Shopping and consumption
• Waste and garbage
• Energy
• Around the house
• Lifestyle and health
• The big picture – spiritual reflections
• Public discourse, social action and education

To read the entire article, go here: https://iefworld.org/SL2025_12  
Sustainable Living Tips and Conversations on the IEF website: https://iefworld.org/SL2025_12  
Source: https://wilmetteinstitute.org/expressing-spirit-in-the-world-of-matter/ 

Message from Tuvalu

Austin Bowden-Kerby, a long-term IEF member from Fiji, has been helping the Pacific coral atoll nation of Tuvalu, where the reefs were killed by climate change-caused ocean heating in 2024. Just before Christmas, he was interviewed on their work to try to restore the coral reefs and ensure the future of the country.

See his hopeful message here: https://www.facebook.com/reel/854293163972427.

Baha’i Consultation, a Method for Decision-Making
A Contribution to “Decision Change”

Tremendous efforts have been expended at the Climate COPs to slow and limit the steady warming of the Earth caused by human activities, mainly by the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. The progress made must be acknowledged because mitigating climate change is a very complex issue, and finding global consensus is very difficult. However, the progress made is far from being commensurate with the scope of the climate crisis and with the far-reaching actions required to prevent a climate catastrophe.

Arnold Bomans and Peter Roessingh have tried to address this problem by looking “for a way, for a procedure, of creating a new design for decision-making”, thinking that a more appropriate and efficient decision-making system could lead to more effective actions. They wrote a paper about Decision Change which is available here: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/6/2372.

A brief summarizing video is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eVmEKOS3XI 

In their quest, the authors invited others to share their thoughts and ideas about their proposal. So, in the spirit of supporting their efforts, I am sharing here my personal thoughts about the Baha’i method of decision-making, generally called consultation.

Continue reading this article here: https://iefworld.org/Muller_DecisionChange 

Faith for Biodiversity

At the end of last year, Faith for Biodiversity offered a 3-part webinar series exploring how faith-based communities can contribute to monitoring the implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework. All recordings are now available, along with the presentations made and additional resources.

Their website also includes faith perspectives on biodiversity: https://www.biodiversity.faith/faith-teachings 
The article about the Baha’i Faith was written by IEF President Arthur Dahl and IEF member Dr. Emmanuel Zapata-Caldas: https://www.biodiversity.faith/faith-teachings/bahai 

Source: Faith for Biodiversity, https://www.biodiversity.faith/kmgbf-monitoring 

Biodiversity Researchers Engaging with Policy-Science Interfaces

Reflections for Biodiversity Researchers Engaging with Policy–Science Interfaces

Open access: https://lnkd.in/e_pyCKTB 

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework sets ambitious goals. But goals only matter if they translate into real action. Our commentary asks a practical question:

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬?
Here are a few takeaways that may be useful for anyone working at the science–policy interface: 

1. 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 
   Researchers can engage with NGOs, local governments, civil society, communities, and other actors who shape policy in less visible but powerful ways.
2. 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐲 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐞 
   Mapping the actors, decision processes and power dynamics helps identify realistic entry points.
3. 𝐔𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 
   Not “science speaking to policy”, but dialogue, co-creation and mutual learning.
4. 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 
   They help open doors, maintain continuity, and share responsibility.
5. 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐦 This can be uncomfortable territory for researchers, but it is part of many policy processes in practice.
6. 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 Universities and research organisations can support policy engagement by valuing these efforts, creating time and spaces for it, and recognising non-traditional outputs. If you work on biodiversity and wonder how research connects to real-world decision-making, we hope this piece is helpful -whether as guidance, reflection material, or something to share with students and colleagues.

SOURCE: LinkedIn: Adina Arth, PhD candidate at University of St.Gallen https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7414210424625106944/ 

Safeguarding and Enhancing International Scientific Collaboration for Climate Action

Anthropogenic climate change is one of the most complex and pressing crises facing humanity. It is characterized by interconnected impacts, unequal vulnerabilities, and need for unified action at the global level, complemented by context-specific solutions to account for geographical, historical, socio-economic and cultural diversity1. International scientific collaboration is essential for responding to such collective challenges. It facilitates pooling of financial and human resources, enhances data sharing, and fosters scientific progress through incorporation of data and perspectives from diverse contexts. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), for instance, has been a critical facilitator of climate change research, policy and international negotiations. Collaboration strengthens scientific consensus and creates conditions to enable technology transfer, political cooperation and science diplomacy. The global scientific community urges continued support for scientific research and collaboration to address long-term challenges that crucially impact our wellbeing. 

Continue reading this article here: https://iefworld.org/ISC2025 

Our Full Selves: The Value of Permission

I have spent the last few years trying to raise the importance of values and ethics in the climate change discussion. Recently, I have spent the past few months using the Brazilian COP30 Presidency’s call for a “Global Ethical Stocktake” to accelerate these efforts. Thanks to this initiative from Brazil—essentially a call for diverse populations all over the world to reflect and consult on the ethical dimensions of overcoming climate change—I am able to see the value of permission in a global discourse.

We are aware that the notion of homo economicus is a fiction. Yet the essential qualities of compassion, empathy, and love have precious few spaces to find expression in the highest halls of decision-making. Fortunately, this new conversation has given all of us such an opportunity.

I have had the privilege to observe, participate in, or host “ethical stocktakes” in a wide range of contexts. From a community gathering in rural Kenya, to a discussion on the sidelines of the General Assembly, to a convening hosted by the Laudato Si’ movement in Italy, the sentiment I felt most deeply in all these conversations was gratitude. Thank you for giving us permission to discuss a topic central to the human experience, but often peripheral in policy debates.

At the regional Global Ethical Stocktake for North America, which I was able to observe, roughly 30 people from Mexico to Greenland shared their own scientific, Indigenous, faith-based, or other ethical understanding of the climate crisis. High-level officials teared up listening to a beautiful rendition of “What a Wonderful World,” political heavyweights were moved by traditional invocations, and the interventions combined intellectual rigor with heartfelt compassion. The mind and the heart were both present - as they were when I hosted a conversation in rural Kenya. (Video messages from those participants can be found on our Instagram and X channels.)

Practical realities were certainly addressed, but they were done so in the context of our circumstances being more than just the result of policy decisions and scientific findings. From violence committed against activists, to the role of fossil fuels in climate change, the difficult realities were spoken of, and approaches offered. But participants also touched on the importance of relationship, of culture, and of duty as this work is advanced, of aligning values with approaches.

Even matters of love were welcome: love for each other, for humanity as a whole, and for all with whom we share this planet. In other words, the interventions were not collapsed down to policy proposals and tactical strategies alone. Rather, they were colored and reinforced by intangible realities that we all know and experience, but which are so often relegated to the personal sphere. While the former set of practical considerations rightfully identify challenges we face, the latter can serve as new motivations, ethically based, that can galvanize people to take action.

Plenty of data show that community bonds are fraying, our mental health is suffering, and that trust in institutions is declining. As anxiety and fear for the future deepen, we are at risk of a vicious downward cycle. Yet it was in these diverse Global Ethical Stocktake conversations that participants felt hope. When we discuss challenges from a place of our shared humanity, it seems we are able to both bond together and devise solutions reflective of our shared endeavor.

Perhaps what drives us has as much to do with metrics as love. And these conversations help us expand solidarity beyond just family and friends to encompass the whole of humanity, planet earth itself, and the generations to come. My hope is that we take advantage of the permission granted by the COP30 Presidency to continue this holistic conversation at all levels: from the kitchen table to the negotiation room. The intellect is necessary but insufficient. A more holistic conversation is needed. And it has begun.