Taoists take up natural role for ecology

HENGSHAN, Hunan - "Taoism is the other faith I would embrace if I was not a Christian," said Martin Palmer, whose love of Taoist deity, the temples, the peace, and the sacred mountains dates back years.

Palmer, the globetrotting secretary-general of the Alliance of Religions and Conversation, began working 16 years ago with the Chinese Taoist Association (CTA), starting with protecting the ecology of sacred mountains.

A successful pilot program on Huashan Mountain in Northwest China's Shaanxi province later convinced the provincial government to give Taoists the authority to manage the mountain, with 10 percent of the ticket revenue at the scenic site to be used for financial support.