A Rocha - Christians in Conservation
A Rocha (the Rock in Portuguese) is an international movement
dedicated to recovering a biblical approach to the study and care of creation. A
Rocha began in 1983 on the Portuguese Algarve coast, famous for its pleasant
climate and beautiful countryside – an apparently idyllic setting for Rev. Peter
and Miranda Harris, who moved there from Merseyside, with a vision of a
Christian-based Field Studies Centre. Yet the attractions of the Algarve have
been its ecological undoing. Mass tourism and EC grants have led to the
destruction of cork-oak plantations, almond and olive orchards, and sustainable
fishing, replacing them with the rapid (but often unsustainable) profits of
hotels, golf courses and marinas. A way of life has been lost for local people,
and for the land itself.
The Harrises established A Rocha’s first centre beside the Alvor,
the last undeveloped estuary in the western Algarve. They, and volunteer
helpers, began scientific studies, and gradually established the ecological
importance of the Alvor, as vital for breeding and migrating birds, and holding
a huge variety of plant and insect life (including a moth new to science). A
Rocha’s patient campaigning, working with local communities and gathering
accurate data, led to international interest in the estuary. Despite many
threats of development, the Alvor estuary has been included in the Natura 2000
list of important European wildlife sites.
This is not simply a conservation story, however. At any one
time the centre contains Portuguese students undertaking dissertations, young
people from around Europe, and its largely Portuguese team. The scientific work
goes alongside deep discussions about life, mixed with a large dose of community
living. A Rocha is about a practical expression of Christian faith. As the
vision expressed in Portugal has been caught elsewhere, “5 Cs” have been chosen
as characterising A Rocha’s distinctive approach:
The 5 'C's of A Rocha
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CHRISTIAN
We are motivated by our biblical faith, particularly in God the Creator.
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CONSERVATION
We focus on scientific studies of important habitats and species.
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COMMUNITY
We bring people together for environmental education and action, with special
emphasis on students and school children.
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CROSS-CULTURAL
We involve staff and volunteers internationally and give priority to parts of
the world where resources for conservation and Christian witness are limited.
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CAMPAIGNING
We work with local and international agencies for the protection of key areas
and environments.
By the mid 1990s, Peter and Miranda Harris found themselves at
the centre of a global network, passionate about the beauty of the natural
world, and concerned about a Christian response to the environmental crisis.
Since then, national A Rocha initiatives have quickly emerged in the Lebanon,
France, Kenya, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Canada, the USA, and
Finland. Each A Rocha project has its own flavour within the shared ethos, and
as examples, the Lebanese, Kenyan and British projects will each now be
described.
A Rocha Lebanon
The wars that have criss-crossed the Lebanon for decades have
left ecological and human scars. A Rocha’s involvement has focussed on the
Aammiq marsh in the Bekaa valley, amongst the largest inland fresh water areas
in the Middle East. The marsh has suffered from widespread hunting of songbirds
(sometimes with semi-automatic weapons), encroachment by tenant farmers, erosion
by goats belonging to nomadic Bedouin, and a reduced water-table due to
increased human pressure. A Rocha has worked with the landowners and the local
community, studying the marsh’s ecology, and seeking to balance the needs of
people and wildlife.
Results have already included a remarkable reduction in hunting
and clearer boundaries to the marsh. Many schools now visit the marsh, and a
whole generation is being exposed to the natural environment, and an
environmental arts programme is reaching local women. The project crosses the
ancient religious divides in the Lebanon, by seeing care for the land as a
unifying factor.
A Rocha Kenya
Mwamba – Swahili for “rock” – is on the Kenyan coast at Watamu.
It is an area of outstanding beauty, including the internationally protected
Arabuko Sokoke forest, which contains threatened bird species and disappearing
habitats. The area symbolises the dilemmas of conservation in the developing
world. Tourists enjoy snorkelling, wildlife and all-inclusive hotels, whilst a
growing population suffers poverty, an unstable economy, and the temptation to
make money through illegal logging.
A Rocha Kenya is finding ways to combine sustainable development
with protecting the natural environment. Scientific research into the wildlife
has gone hand-in-hand with environmental education and community development,
and an innovative scholarship fund has seen local hotels agree an eco-tourist
“levy”, enabling local children to have a secondary education.
A Rocha UK - Living Waterways
A Rocha UK’s project is rather different - no beautiful forests
here! Instead, urban West London, and the religiously and ethnically diverse
communities of Southall and Hayes – where Sikhism, Islam and Hinduism are
dominant. The area is rich in culinary and cultural terms, but environmentally
poor. Parts of Southall suffer from amongst the worst access to “green space”
within Europe – a statistic brought to life by medical research showing the
links between mental illness and green-space deprivation. Since early 2001 “A
Rocha Living Waterways” has been working to study and protect a ninety acre area
of publicly-owned open land – the Minet site - and turn it into a community
resource. Alongside this vision of a country-park and nature-reserve, are
parallel emphases on environmental education and community development.
Whilst in its early days, the project has recently seen
agreement on the development of the Minet site as a country-park, with work due
for completion by summer 2003. This area had been derelict for decades, and
became the focus for abandoned vehicles, fly-tipped rubbish and illegal
motorbiking. A Rocha’s studies revealed it was also rich in wildlife, including
Kingfishers, Woodpeckers, Skylarks and rare water-beetles. To the present author
– vicar of a local Southall church before becoming full-time Director of A Rocha
UK – the site, and the attempts of the Living Waterways project team to live out
Christian community in a multifaith urban setting, have come to encapsulate
themes that relate to human treatment of the whole earth:
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The destruction of a beautiful creation through greed and
carelessness
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The inbuilt resilience of fragile nature in adapting and
surviving
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The ability of creation to speak to people from all cultures and
backgrounds
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The need for humans to be in contact with the earth, as the
place for belonging
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The potential for “creation care” to provide a common agenda for
world faiths, concentrating on what unites rather than divides.
A Rocha Living Waterways is still in its infancy, and finding as
many questions as answers. Time will tell whether a concern for wildlife and the
natural environment – overwhelmingly white middle-class interests in Britain –
can take root in a multi-ethnic urban setting. Time will tell if creation can
provide a framework for genuine interfaith co-operation based on a common
humanity.
At a wider level, A Rocha’s growth around the world is provoking
many to re-read the Bible. Many people appreciate wildlife, but fail to link the
creation they enjoy to the God they worship. The Biblical drama tells of a God
who delights in the act of creation, makes humanity from dust, and has a
covenant with the earth itself (Genesis 9); a God who takes material form,
undergoes a bodily resurrection, and promises a renewed heavens and earth.
A Rocha is an example of a Christian organisation that is not
mere words but has attempted to express its theology in practical projects. A
Rocha, however imperfectly, gives a view of Christian mission in the world,
where common humanity forms the basis for community, where care for creation
forms part of one great commission along with care for people. It is not
theories and ideas which change people in their attitudes to the environment,
but relationships in community, shared experiences in story form, and working
together in practical tasks at a local level.
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This article is written by Revd. Dave Bookless, Director of A Rocha UK
since its launch in February 2001. Dave was born in India, taught
religious education in Bradford, and was an Anglican vicar in Southall for
ten years. He is married to Anne, and has four young daughters. A Rocha
runs a UK membership scheme, with quarterly newsletters and regular
supporters’ events. Contact via:
A Rocha UK
13 Avenue Road
Southall
MIDDLESEX UB1 3BL
020 8574 5935
uk@arocha.org
www.arocha.org
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