Nonviolence and Environmental Peace
The Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies at the University of Rhode Island (URI) congratulates Dr. Leban Serto as our Nonviolence Trainer of the Month for February 2022. Dr. Serto is the honorary director of the Centre for Peace Education Manipur (CFPEM), India. Dr. Serto is being recognized for his continuous activism and contribution towards Nonviolence and Environmental Peace, said Dr. Brendan Skip Mark, the current director of the Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies at URI.
The CFPEM distributed moringa seeds and saplings, mango saplings, seasonal vegetables, and other seeds to eleven villages of the Aimol Pallel area in the Tengnoupal district of Manipur State. This extensive environmental peace activism and effort began on June 6, 2021, as a celebration of World Environment Day at the Aimol Chingnunghut village in Manipur. Mangte Wanglalkhup coordinated the event with support from the Working team of Growing 10,000 Moringas in Southeast Asia.
Dr. Serto has been an enthusiastic activist who promotes Nonviolence and Peace in remote villages and big cities. He is a certified Level III Trainer in Kingian Nonviolence and Conflict Reconciliation from the Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies at the University of Rhode Island. As Dr. Martin Luther Kings, Jr. said, “The time is always right to do what is right,” Dr. Serto always tries to protect human rights and the sustainable environment. His focus is not restricted to social justice but also to protecting and improving environmental peace.
Moringa trees are scientifically proven to be a good source of vitamins and nutrients. Similarly, nonviolence is also indispensable for people’s physical and mental health. Therefore, Dr. Serto started to name them the Six Principles of Kingian Nonviolence after consulting with Dr. Paul Bueno De Mesquita, a Professor Emeritus and former director of the Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies at the University of Rhode Island. For example, some trees are named ‘Courage Tree,’ some are called ‘Beloved Community Tree,’ some are named Problem Solving Tree, and ‘Justice Tree.’ The community of the Aimol tribe in the Tengnoupal district is taking good care of many such trees.
The distribution of seeds also reached far beyond the state of Manipur. The CFPEM activism also extended to many communities in neighboring states such as Assam, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, and West Bengal. Their seeds also reached the far-away state of Karnataka in south India. Dr. Serto aims to see a world with a balanced environment and enhanced peace and nonviolence.
For more information, visit: https://www.facebook.com/cfpem.india.