Green Pilgrimage Network – Indian Chapter

This project has now been concluded.

Launched by ICLEI South Asia, the Green Pilgrimage Network of the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC) and the World Wide Fund (WWF), the Indian Green Pilgrim cities Network is the Indian chapter of the larger GPN programme, which aims to help different faiths make their holy cities and sacred sites as environmentally sustainable as possible.

The Green Pilgrimage Network (GPN) is an international initiative of the UK-based charity the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC). Through religious organizations, NGO’s and local government bodies, ARC is working with pilgrim sites all over the world to draw up plans for creating environmentally sustainable towns, cities and wild areas.

The Indian chapter of the GPN was launched in Hyderabad in mid-October2012. Improved transportation facilities and rising awareness of pilgrimage sites means that the number of visitors to sacred places in India is always increasing, putting strain on them in terms of energy consumption, water use and waste disposal. It is the aim of a Green Pilgrimage site that pilgrims are enabled to make a positive contribution to the living environment as a fundamental part of their spiritual journey.

ICLEI South Asia will concretely support the Indian pilgrimage cities part of the ‘Green Pilgrimage Network – Indian Chapter’ by helping them develop an environmental assessment, an action plan and a guidebook on financial opportunities.