A Rocha is an international network of

environmental organization An environmental organization is an organization coming out of the conservation or environmental movements that seeks to protect, analyse or monitor the environment against misuse or degradation from human forces. In this sense the environme ...

s with Christian ethos. A Rocha means "the rock" in Portuguese.

History

A Rocha International was founded in Portugal in 1983. 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 The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

, France,

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Aotearoa ''Aotearoa'' () is the Māori name for New Zealand. The name was originally used by Māori in reference only to the North Island, with the whole country being referred to as ''Aotearoa me Te Waipounamu'' – where ''Te Ika-a-Māui'' means N ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, South Africa, Sweden,

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

, United Kingdom, and United States. There are ongoing conversations with other potential groups around the world, particularly in

East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

and Southeast Asia. A Rocha has five core commitments: Christian, Conservation, Community, Collaboration, and Cultural diversity.

Work

A Rocha aims to protect the environment through local, community-based conservation, scientific research, and environmental education, and they have “a track record of successes”. A Rocha operates field study centres in Canada (two centres), France (two centres), India, Kenya, Portugal and also in the Czech Republic. 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,

camera trap A camera trap is a camera that is automatically triggered by motion in its vicinity, like the presence of an animal or a human being. It is typically equipped with a motion sensor—usually a passive infrared (PIR) sensor or an active infrared ...

ping of mammals in India, the Kenya Bird Map, dry

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

biodiversity surveys in Switzerland and mapping tropical forests using

unmanned aerial vehicle An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft with no human pilot, crew, or passengers onboard, but rather is controlled remotely or is autonomous.De Gruyter Handbook of Dron ...

s * Habitat and species restoration projects, such as mangrove restoration projects in Ghana, and improving breeding chances for

Grey-faced petrel The grey-faced petrel (''Pterodroma gouldi'') is a species of petrel endemic to the North Island of New Zealand. In New Zealand it is also known by its Māori name and (along with other species such as the sooty shearwater) as a muttonbird. ...

s by eradicating invasive mammals, restoring habitats and deploying artificial nests in

Raglan, New Zealand Raglan ( or ) is a small beachside town located west of Hamilton, New Zealand on New Zealand State Highway 23, State Highway 23. It is known for its surfing, and volcanic black sand beaches. History The Ngāti Māhanga iwi occupied the ar ...

, control of invasive Indian House crow in Kenya * Reducing

human–wildlife conflict Human–wildlife conflict (HWC) refers to the negative interactions between humans and wild animals, with undesirable consequences both for people and their resources on the one hand, and wildlife and their habitats on the other. HWC, caused by ...

in India, notably with elephants and leopards * Setting up private or public parks and reserves such as the Kirosa Scott Reserve in Kenya, and Foxearth Reserve 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, and the Alvor Estuary in Portugal * Bridging biodiversity conservation and sustainable livelihoods, such as via

sustainable agriculture Sustainable agriculture is agriculture, farming in sustainability, sustainable ways meeting society's present food and textile needs, without compromising the ability for current or future generations to meet their needs. It can be based on an ...

and community garden projects across Canada; the Arabuko-Sokoke Schools and Eco-tourism Scheme in Kenya; the establishment of CREMAs ( community resource management areas) around Mole National Park and Lake Bosumtwi, Ghana; and training community members in Uganda to construct bio-sand water filters * Environmental education activities and resources, such as the Wild Lebanon website in Lebanon and " creation care camps" in the USA *

Carbon footprint A carbon footprint (or greenhouse gas footprint) is a calculated value or index that makes it possible to compare the total amount of greenhouse gases that an activity, product, company or country Greenhouse gas emissions, adds to the atmospher ...

reduction and mitigation projects, such as producing charcoal briquettes from waste in Uganda, the "Eco Church" church

greening Greening is the process of transforming living environments, and also artifacts such as a space, a lifestyle (sociology), lifestyle or a brand image, into a more environmentally friendly version (i.e. 'greening your home' or 'greening your office ...

programme in the UK, 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 * Cooperating worldwide for nature conservation, such as being a member of

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

and IUCN's European Habitats Forum * Engaging Christian communities with the relevance of nature conservation to the Christian faith, through conferences, speaking engagements, books and papers, and partnerships such as the

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

/ WEA Creation Care Network A Rocha also serves as an

Erasmus+ Erasmus+ is the European Commission's programme for education, training, youth, and sport for the 2021–2027 period, succeeding the previous programme (2014–2020). As an integrated programme, Erasmus+ offers more opportunities for the mobi ...

European Voluntary Service The European Solidarity Corps (ESC), known until 2016 as European Voluntary Service (EVS), is an international volunteering program by the European Commission for young people to go individually or in teams to another country, usually from one Eur ...

agency in France, the Netherlands and Portugal.

References

External links

* {{Authority control International environmental organizations Christianity and environmentalism Charities based in London Environmental organisations based in London Organizations established in 1983 1983 establishments in England Environmental charities based in the United Kingdom

History

Work

See also

References

External links