Martin Palmer

Palmer, Martin

Palmer, Martin

Secretary-General, Alliance of Religions and Conservation

Job Title: 

Secretary-General, Alliance of Religions and Conservation

Martin Palmer is Secretary General of the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC), a secular, non-governmental body founded in 1995 by HRH Prince Philip. Martin Palmer has worked in the field of religions and the environment for more than 30 years. In 1986, as religious advisor to WWF International, he brought together five major faiths – Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism – to a unique event in Assisi, Italy, (birthplace of St Francis, patron saint of animals and the environment) as part of WWF International’s 25th anniversary celebrations.

In 1997 he founded the Sacred Land Project, preserving sacred sites from Mongolia to Mexico. As a result of that project, in 2006 ARC and WWF International published a groundbreaking document, Beyond Belief, which explored the role that faith can play in the protection of sacred forests, mountains, rivers, lakes, seas and deserts. The document examined 100 sacred places that are also places of vital biodiversity.

Martin Palmer studied theology and religious studies at Cambridge University. He has written a number of books on faith and the environment, including Faith in Conservation, The Atlas of Religion and Christianity and Ecology. He is a renowned China scholar and has translated several classical Chinese books, including Tao Te Ching, I Ching and Chuang Tzu for Penguin Classics. Among his other works are: The Jesus Sutras, Travels through Sacred China, The Times World Religions, Sacred Britain and The Sacred History of Britain. He is environment advisor to the China Taoist Association.

Martin Palmer is a regular radio and television commentator, invited to speak on religious, ethical and historical issues in particular on BBC Radio 4, BBC World Service and BBC TV.

ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR

ValuesQuest
Get Full Text in PDF Abstract Values guide our way through the possibilities and problems of life and they are the main drivers behind our societal instruments like economy, education and governance, which shape the world we live in. There is a growing sentiment that something is far from right in the way we live today, that the values guiding the course our society is taking are not the ones which can lead us into a better world, quite the opposite. Values evidently are fundamental for humans...