Update on Nova Nada

Date: Tue, 23 Feb 1999 11:06:43 -0400
To: sust-mar@chebucto.ns.ca
From: jslakov@TartanNET.ns.ca (Jan Slakov)
Precedence: bulk
Return-Path: <sust-mar-mml-owner@chebucto.ns.ca>

next message in archive
next message in thread
previous message in archive
Index of Subjects


Dear Sust-Mar,   Feb. 22

I was very pleased to see, in the Dec. '98 - Jan. '99 issue of _Taiga News_,
a full page article on Nova Nada by Rita Morbia of the Sierra Club on Canada.

Since there has not been any coverage of Nova Nada since the press release
as the monks left Nova Scotia in the fall in the local media, not that I am
aware of, in any case, I decided to use the article to write a
letter-to-the-editor for local papers. 

It would be good to get some feedback from Nova Nada itself about "where we
go from here".

all the best, Jan
************************************************************
Dear Editor,

The monks have left Nova Nada but we can still hope they will one day be back.

Whether or not they return is dependent upon whether or not J.D. Irving,
Ltd. agrees to a silent 3.2 km buffer zone. This buffer would amount to less
than 1 per cent of their southwest Nova Scotia holdings. They could create a
nature reserve in the buffer zone or dedicate it exclusively to scientific
research. Alternatively, the company could choose to log in a way that is
compatible with the presence of a monastery in the area, i.e. practice
ecoforestry. 

Now that the monks have left Nova Nada for a one year sabbatical, they have
leased their property to the Maritime Ecoforestry Association, an
arrangement that has the potential to encourage some creative solutions. 

Even for those who care only about monetary considerations, it should be
remembered that the local economy will lose an estimated $500,000 to 1
million dollars in direct and indirect annual expenditures by the monastery.
The Nova Scotian government has been shamelessly absent from involvement by
calling it a dispute between two private landowners. Despite receiving
petitions with over 17,000 signatures, they have done nothing to help
resolve the situation.

Father William, the founder and Abbot of the monastery, has written: "No one
will grasp the full catastrophe of our forced departure from Nova Scotia
unless the centrality of the sacred is understood. ...Society without a
sacred centre is a cataclysm... Since this last year we have spent our time,
energy and dwindling finances to save the woods, the silence and monastery's
peace. We failed. Mammon has prevailed. The natural beauty is spoiled; the
silence is spoiled; ugliness surrounds us. The monks are exhausted. As
Founder and Abbott, I must remove them from the battlefield. Their wounds
are almost unbearable. You may ask, doesn't our opposition bear wounds? Oh
yes, worse than ours. Chasing money and power and raping the earth,
controlling people itself is a terminal illness."

Sincerly, 

Jan Slakov
----------------------------------------------
Note: To check out Taiga News, go to: http://www.sll.fi/TRN/



-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
You received this because you are subscribed to "sust-mar", the
Sustainable Maritimes mailing list. To unsubscribe, send email to
<majordomo@chebucto.ns.ca> with "unsubscribe sust-mar" (without quotes) as
the body of your message. To post a message to sust-mar subscribers, send it to
<sust-mar@chebucto.ns.ca> Posts that are off-topic or excessive length
(10K) will be rejected. For help contact <sust-mar-owner@chebucto.ns.ca>


next message in archive
next message in thread
previous message in archive
Index of Subjects