I consider myself privileged to write a short pre-launch review of this excellent book authored by Justice Christie Weeramantry who is undoubtedly Sri Lanka’s most eminent jurist of modern times. I have known Justice Weeramantry from the late 1960’s when he was our country’s youngest Supreme Court Judge. In 1972 he accepted a prestigious law Professorship at Australia’s Monash University where for the next 18 years until 1990 he won great fame as a jurist and text writer – apart from mesmerizing his law students who packed his lecture theaters and even sat in the corridors and steps outside. I was then a junior colleague of his at Monash and was often happy when Australians greeted me with much respect mistaking "Weerasooria for Weeramantry"!.

After Monash, Professor Weeramantry was elected a Judge of the International Court of Justice at the Hague, popularly called the World Court and was also its Vice President and Acting President – a rare honour for any Asian. A Doctor of Laws and Doctor of Literature of the University of London, Judge Weeramantry is the author of over twenty well-known books and two hundred articles in leading journals. He remains a much sought after speaker at Symposiums and Conferences in over fifty countries. What is absolutely stunning about this man of great humility and charm is that for over 60 years since he became a lawyer, he has not, like many other lawyers, confined himself to the Law. Rather, he has always sought to liberalize and broaden the scope of what we call "Law’’ and steer it away from its narrow legalism.

In his texts, his articles and his World Court judgments, his objective has been "to develop the law" and also make an impact on "developing areas of the law", such as the illegality of nuclear weapons, sustainable development, preventing science and technology from denigrating human rights, promoting cross-cultural understanding and championing peace for all and education for our youth. The Weeramantry International Centre for Peace Education and Research (WICPER) founded by him in 2001 with its headquarters in Sri Lanka, has won global recognition and plaudits. (see wickperg.org)

In this new book, Justice Weeramantry devotes his vast learning and long and varied experience of human beings to the subject of Environment in the context of Religion. The book is sponsored by the World Future Council which is a global forum of fifty highly recognized personalities who give voice to our ethical values (see www.worldfuturecouncil.org). The book, which is to be ceremonially launched in Colombo on September 17 is dedicated to the millions of children of this world whose future welfare is our Sacred Trust.

The 325 page book has eleven chapters and three extremely useful Appendices.

Apart from a historical overview of the subject in Chapter 2, Chapter 3 deals with Religion in the context of the current ecological crisis. Chapter 5 deals with what is now known as the Assisi Declarations of 1986 named after St Francis of Assisi (1181 – 1226). Basically, the Declarations call upon the world’s religions to reestablish ecological harmony for Planet Earth.

Chapters 6 to 10 form the crux of the book and will interest all readers. These Chapters deal with the attitude of Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Islam and Judaism to the Environment. From them we learn more not only about each of these religions but how they can assist in preserving the global Environment. As Justice Weeramantry says "the purpose of this study is to draw out some of the rich insights which the world’s religions can offer us in illuminating an area of deep concern to the human future – namely the rights of future generations and the conservation of the environment. Undoubtedly, there is a direct relevance of religions teaching to the protection of the environment but regrettably, this connection has not attracted much scholarly attention until the twentieth century. We are not here concerned with matters of religious dogma and ritual, but with common core of values and norms of conduct taught by all religions".

Naturally, it has not been possible to include all religions in this book. It is confined to Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam. While all religions have much to offer in to the field of Environment, the five religions studied in the book reveal the vastness of the untapped wisdom available in the religious field. Moreover, even among the five religions covered, in the Western World, there is only a slender acquaintance with Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam. As Justice Weeramantry quite rightly points out this alone renders it all the more important to integrate these teachings into discussions of such worldwide importance.

In this book, Justice Weeramantry in his inimitable style of convincing writing, argues that we must not neglect perhaps the richest reservoir of Environmental wisdom available to us. The common core of teachings of the great religions discussed in the text, enshrine the wisdom of a millennia of human interaction with the Environment. We must not ignore this vast resource because it is yet largely unknown and unused in relation to the Environment.

Justice Weeramantry’s book builds a powerful bridge between the past and the present, between the religious and the secular and between the world’s different cultures. It is a vital step forward toward protecting the rights of the future against the depredations of the present. Undoubtedly the book will make a significant impact on the way we regard and address the problems that threaten our Environment and the very existence of humanity.