The magnitude 9.0 Indian Ocean earthquake triggered a lethal tsunami on December 26, 2004, killing tens of thousands of people all over the region, making it the deadliest such disaster on record and a universal catastrophe for humanity.

The scale of the catastrophe that struck South Asia has taught us a number of lessons about disaster-preparedness and response. One lesson is that there is no warning system in place for tsunamis in the Indian Ocean. Another glaring lesson is the danger of bureaucratic delays. Other factors are also to blame, including a worsening global environment, poor infrastructure in the tsunami-devastated areas and underestimate of the gravity of the situation.

However, while we are dealing with the shock, sorrow and grief of this catastrophic disaster in the Indian Ocean, I think maybe we should take a little time to reflect upon what we had done in our past, and to rethink our relationship with nature and natural systems.

It is true that humans are the most intelligent species on Earth, and they have the greatest amount of free will and the greatest capacity to alter their physical environment. As a matter of fact, humans have used their intelligence to transform all aspects of their environment, using their technological capabilities to invent their own way of living. In an age drunk on its ability to conquer nature, some people even claim that humans can emancipate themselves from the natural order and pursue things they want in addition to things they need.

But they have forgotten that all species have one thing in common: we all depend on the earth for survival. In this catastrophic disaster, villages and seaside resorts in more than 10 countries were obliterated by the massive tsunami. Tourists, fishermen, homes and cars were swept away by walls of water that rolled across the Bay of Bengal. We are once again reminded of the power of nature, and the insignificance of humans when facing the force that nature can send our way.

Humans are the most powerful and the smartest race on the earth. However, in view of the human-nature relationship, humans cannot do as they please, instead they need to control their own actions. Human beings should regard nature with more respect, taking into account whether their actions will do harm or not to other people, to plants and animals and the natural systems on which all life depends.

For example, human activities are increasing significantly the concentrations of some gases in the atmosphere, such as greenhouse gases, which tend to warm the earth's surface and the lower atmosphere. This is called the greenhouse effect - it causes global warming which results in the expansion of the waters of the ocean. Global warming has resulted in the melting of polar ice caps, which contributes to the increase in the volume of water in the oceans and hence to the rise in sea level. Higher sea levels in turn can increase the level and amount of destruction caused when tidal waves hit. That is why this tsunami was so deadly.

Human beings are a part of nature, but they are a part whose activities have become a threat to the other parts of nature and, in the final analysis, to human beings themselves. This human-nature dualism is unsustainable. With a view to establish a relationship of long-term mutual well-being between humans and nature, humans should have more respect, affection, and love for nature, while human activities should be harmonized with nature. This is not to deny the power and importance of science and technology, nor the value of human wisdom. The point is that our human activities should be brought into conformity with natural laws.