A Rocha is an international network of environmental organizations with Christian ethos. A Rocha, which means "the rock" in Portuguese (see entry Rocha).

History

A Rocha International was founded in Portugal in 1983.^[11] The A Rocha Worldwide Covenant defines the rights and responsibilities of each A Rocha entity to the others.

As of 2022, 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.^[12] There are ongoing conversations with other potential groups around the world, particularly in East and Southeast Asia.^{[10]: 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,^[13] and they have “a track record of successes”.^[14]

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^[15] and also in the Czech Republic.^[16] 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,^[17] camera trapping of mammals in India,^[18] the Kenya Bird Map,^[19] dry grassland biodiversity surveys in Switzerland^[20] and mapping tropical forests using unmanned aerial vehicles^[21][22]
• Habitat and species restoration projects, such as mangrove restoration projects in Ghana,^[23] and improving breeding chances for Grey-faced petrels by eradicating invasive mammals, restoring habitats and deploying artificial nests in Raglan, New Zealand,^[24] control of invasive Indian House crow in Kenya
• Reducing human–wildlife conflict in India, notably with elephants^[25][26] and leopards^[27]
• Setting up private or public parks and reserves such as the Kirosa Scott Reserve in Kenya,^[28] and Foxearth Reserve^[29] 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,^[30] and the Alvor Estuary in Portugal^[31][32]
• Bridging biodiversity conservation and sustainable livelihoods, such as via sustainable agriculture and community garden projects across Canada;^[33] the Arabuko-Sokoke Schools and Eco-tourism Scheme in Kenya;^[25][34] the establishment of CREMAs (community resource management areas) around Mole National Park^[25] and Lake Bosumtwi,^[35] Ghana; and training community members in Uganda to construct bio-sand water filters^[36]
• Environmental education activities and resources, such as the Wild Lebanon website in Lebanon^[37] and "creation care camps" in the USA^[38]
• Carbon footprint reduction and mitigation projects, such as producing charcoal briquettes from waste in Uganda,^[39] the "Eco Church" church greening programme in the UK,^[40][41] 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^[42]
• Cooperating worldwide for nature conservation, such as being a member of IUCN^[43] and IUCN's European Habitats Forum^[44]
• Engaging Christian communities with the relevance of nature conservation to the Christian faith, through conferences,^[45] speaking engagements,^[46] books^[7] and papers,^[9] and partnerships such as the Lausanne/WEA Creation Care Network^[47]

A Rocha also serves as an Erasmus+ / European Voluntary Service agency in France,^[48] the Netherlands^[49] and Portugal.^[50]

References

External links

• Official website