A Rocha

A Rocha

Predecessor	A Rocha Trust [1]
Founded	13 December 1983; 42 years ago (1983-12-13)
Founder	Miranda and Peter Harris [2]
Type	environmental NGO network
Focus	community-based conservation projects [3]
Headquarters	London, UK
Origins	Constituted in the UK [4]
Area served	Worldwide
International chair	Soohwan Park
Key people	Ed Walker (Executive Director, ARI) [5] • Andy Atkins (CEO, A Rocha UK) [6] [7] • Rev Dave Bookless (Head of Theology, ARI) [8] [9]
Revenue	GBP £750,000 (2022) [10]
Employees	144 in 2017(FTE) [11] : 20
Volunteers	841 in 2017 [11] : 20
Website	arocha.org

A Rocha is an international network of environmental organizations with Christian ethos. A Rocha means "the rock" in Portuguese.

History

A Rocha International was founded in Portugal in 1983. ^[12] The A Rocha Worldwide Covenant defines the rights and responsibilities of each A Rocha entity to the others.

As of 2024, A Rocha is working in over 20 countries: Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Ghana, India, Kenya, Lebanon, Netherlands, New Zealand/Aotearoa, Nigeria, Peru, Portugal, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Uganda, United Kingdom, and United States. ^[13] There are ongoing conversations with other potential groups around the world, particularly in East and Southeast Asia. ^{[11] : 8–9}

A Rocha has five core commitments: Christian, Conservation, Community, Collaboration, and Cultural diversity. ^[3]

Work

A Rocha aims to protect the environment through local, community-based conservation, scientific research, and environmental education, ^[14] and they have “a track record of successes”. ^[15]

A bird ringer ageing a hoopoe at the Cruzinha field studies centre, Portugal

A Rocha operates field study centres in Canada (two centres), France (two centres), India, Kenya, Portugal ^[16] and in the Czech Republic. ^[17] These serve primarily as a base for A Rocha's and other organisations’ field studies and for environmental education, and most also offer accommodation for visitors.

Areas of A Rocha's work include:

• Species and landscape surveying and monitoring, such as raptor counts in Pembina Valley, Canada, ^[18] camera trapping of mammals in India, ^[19] the Kenya Bird Map, ^[20] dry grassland biodiversity surveys in Switzerland ^[21] and mapping tropical forests using unmanned aerial vehicles ^{[22] [23]}
• Habitat and species restoration projects, such as mangrove restoration projects in Ghana, ^[24] and improving breeding chances for Grey-faced petrels by eradicating invasive mammals, restoring habitats and deploying artificial nests in Raglan, New Zealand, ^[25] control of invasive Indian House crow in Kenya ^[26]
• Reducing human–wildlife conflict in India, notably with elephants ^{[27] [28]} and leopards ^[29]
• Setting up private or public parks and reserves such as the Kirosa Scott Reserve in Kenya, ^[30] and Foxearth Reserve ^[31] and Minet Country Park in the UK
• Enlarging and campaigning for the safeguarding of existing natural and protected areas, such as the Atewa Forest in Ghana, ^[32] and the Alvor Estuary in Portugal ^{[33] [34]}
• Bridging biodiversity conservation and sustainable livelihoods, such as via sustainable agriculture and community garden projects across Canada; ^[35] the Arabuko-Sokoke Schools and Eco-tourism Scheme in Kenya; ^{[27] [36]} the establishment of CREMAs (community resource management areas) around Mole National Park ^[27] and Lake Bosumtwi, ^[37] Ghana; and training community members in Uganda to construct bio-sand water filters ^[38]
• Environmental education activities and resources, such as the Wild Lebanon website in Lebanon ^[39] and "creation care camps" in the USA ^[40]
• Carbon footprint reduction and mitigation projects, such as producing charcoal briquettes from waste in Uganda, ^[41] the "Eco Church" church greening programme in the UK, ^{[42] [43]} and running "Climate Stewards", a global programme which encourages people to reduce their carbon footprint, and accepts donations to offset emissions via community forestry and cookstove projects in Ghana, Kenya and Mexico ^[44]
• Cooperating worldwide for nature conservation, such as being a member of IUCN ^[45] and IUCN's European Habitats Forum ^[46]
• Engaging Christian communities with the relevance of nature conservation to the Christian faith, through conferences, ^[47] speaking engagements, ^[48] books ^[49] and papers, ^[8] and partnerships such as the Lausanne/WEA Creation Care Network ^[50]

A Rocha also serves as an Erasmus+ / European Voluntary Service agency in France, ^[51] the Netherlands ^[52] and Portugal. ^[53]

See also

• Christian views on environmentalism

References

1. Charity Commission for England and Wales. A Rocha Trust . Retrieved 15 September 2020.
2. A Rocha. Peter Harris . Retrieved 25 October 2016.
3. A Rocha. Meet A Rocha . www.arocha.org Retrieved 29 October 2018.
4. Charity Commission for England and Wales. A Rocha International . Retrieved 15 September 2020.
5. A Rocha website, People: Ed Walker, retrieved 2024-05-15
6. A Rocha UK. Meet the team Archived 4 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 25 October 2016.
7. A Rocha website, Nature Can't Wait, article by Andy Atkins dated September 26, 2023
8. Bookless, Dave. The Bible and Biodiversity Archived 30 January 2020 at the Wayback Machine . The Jubilee Centre Cambridge Papers. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
9. A Rocha website, People, retrieved 2024-05-15
10. UK Government website, Charity Commission, A Rocha UK, Charity number: 1089276 (December 2022)
11. A Rocha. International Review 2016/17 . Retrieved from www.arocha.org Archived 1 March 2021 at the Wayback Machine on 29 October 2018.
12. Elsdon, Ron (1992) Greenhouse Theology pp 193–195, Monarch, ISBN   1-85424-153-2.
13. A Rocha. Overview Archived 10 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 25 October 2016.
14. Johnson, Marina. The Church of England Newspaper 1 August 2008: A Rocha: Spearheading the Green revolution in the church.
15. Awoyemi, S. M. (2008). "The Role of Religion in the HIV/AIDS Intervention in Africa: A Possible Model for Conservation Biology". Conservation Biology . 22 (4): 811–813. Bibcode:2008ConBi..22..811A. doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2008.01007.x. PMID   18786094. S2CID   20857918.
16. A Rocha. Stay at our field study centres Archived 26 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 25 October 2016.
17. A Rocha Czech Republic. Our field study centre Krupárna – The Mill . Retrieved 25 October 2016.
18. Stelmach, Lorne (17 June 2013). "Record raptor counts in the valley". The Morden Times. Morden, Manitoba. Retrieved 26 October 2016– via pembinatoday.ca.
19. A Rocha India. Camera trapping . Retrieved 26 October 2016.
20. Animal Demography Unit, University of Cape Town. Welcome to the Kenya Bird Map project . Retrieved 28 October 2016.
21. A Rocha. Dry grasslands biodiversity surveys Archived 1 March 2021 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 28 October 2016.
22. A Rocha. Mapping tropical forests Archived 14 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 28 October 2016.
23. Vaglio Laurin G, Chan JC-W, Chen Q, Lindsell JA, Coomes DA, Guerriero L, et al. (2014) Biodiversity Mapping in a Tropical West African Forest with Airborne Hyperspectral Data. PLOS ONE 9(6): e97910. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0097910 . Published 17 June 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
24. A Rocha Ghana. Community mangrove restoration project Archived 7 October 2023 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 26 October 2016.
25. Smallman, Elton Rikihana (14 September 2016). "Oi, grey faced petrel making a Raglan comeback". Stuff. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
26. "House Crows no more". 25 January 2024.
27. Sluka, Robert D.; Kaonga, Martin; Weatherley, Janice; Anand, Vijay; Bosu, Daryl; Jackson, Colin (2011). "Christians, biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation: a potential synergy?". Biodiversity. 12 (2): 1–8. Bibcode:2011Biodi..12..108S. doi:10.1080/14888386.2011.599780. S2CID   153376787.
28. Varma, S., Anand.V.D., Gopalakrishna S.P., Avinash, K.G., and Nishant M.S. (2009). Ecology, Conservation and Management of the Asian Elephant in Bannerghatta National Park, southern India . A Rocha India/ANCF: Asian Elephant Ecology and Conservation Reference Series No.1. A Rocha India and Asian Nature Conservation Foundation, Bangalore. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
29. A Rocha. Bangalore Leopard attack – what now? Archived 2 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 26 October 2016.
30. A Rocha Kenya. Dakatcha Woodland Archived 6 February 2023 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 28 October 2016.
31. A Rocha UK. Foxearth: dawn of a new quest . Retrieved 28 October 2016.
32. A Rocha Ghana. Save Atewa Forest Archived 5 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 27 October 2016.
33. Taylor, Jenny (29 February 2012). "Religiously literate campaign secures prison sentence for rogue developer in Portuguese beauty spot". Archived from the original on 29 October 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
34. Donn, Natasha (5 February 2015). "Environmentalists slam council over Ria de Alvor development plans". Portugal Resident. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
35. A Rocha Canada. Sustainable Agriculture: Creation care through food . Retrieved 26 October 2016.
36. Collins, Susan Ashley (March 2008). Transformative Learning Through Conservation: A Case Study of the Arabuko-Sokoke Schools and Eco-tourism Scheme, Kenya (PDF) (Master of Natural Resource Management). Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba . Retrieved 26 October 2016.
37. A Rocha Ghana. Collaborative Ecosystems Conservation of Lake Bosumtwi Archived 1 October 2023 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 26 October 2016.
38. French Republic. 100 Projects for the Climate: Women, Water & Climate Archived 3 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 26 October 2016.
39. A Rocha Lebanon. Wild Lebanon – Powered by A Rocha Archived 20 October 2021 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 26 October 2016.
40. A Rocha USA. Creation Care Camp Archived 27 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 27 October 2016.
41. A Rocha Uganda. Charcoal briquettes Archived 7 October 2023 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 26 October 2016.
42. "Eco Church". The Church of England. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
43. "St Paul's Goes Green for Eco Church". St Paul's Cathedral. 4 February 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
44. Climate Stewards. Home page . Retrieved 28 October 2016.
45. IUCN. Members database Archived 29 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 26 October 2016.
46. IUCN. European Habitats Forum Archived 26 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 26 October 2016.
47. Regent College. Holy Ground: Answering God's Call to Creation Care . Retrieved 26 October 2016.
48. Olelo Community Media (5 September 2016). IUCN 2016: High-level Session 5 Sep – Connections: Spirituality & Conservation (ID: #WCC_13830) (Video). Honolulu, Hawai‘i: IUCN. Retrieved 26 October 2016.^{[ dead YouTube link ]}
49. Naylor, Chris. Postcards from the Middle East: How our family fell in love with the Arab world. Oxford, England 2015: Lion Hudson.
50. Lausanne/WEA Creation Care Network. About . Retrieved 26 October 2016.
51. European Youth Portal. Volunteering organisation information: A Rocha France . Retrieved 25 October 2016.
52. European Youth Portal. Volunteering organisation information: Stichting A Rocha Nederland . Retrieved 25 October 2016.
53. European Youth Portal. Volunteering organisation information: A Rocha – Associação Cristã de Estudo e Defesa do Ambiente . Retrieved 25 October 2016.

External links

• Official website