Does it bother you that extinction of the species that God created is now occurring at the rate of 50 every day? Are you troubled by reports of declining fish stocks, and that tropical forests are being destroyed at the rate of one hectare per minute? Are you concerned about the forecasts of global climate change resulting from atmospheric pollution? If you are concerned, read on.
Perhaps you think that the forecasts of global warming are not yet proved, so we should just wait and see? That is not a good policy. Imagine you are standing in a road and you see a car speeding towards you. Do you wait until you are certain it will hit you, or do you get out of the way now?
Perhaps you think that all this concern is nothing to do with the Church: that the Church is here to save souls, not seals. But read your Bible. God placed us here to have stewardship over Creation f(Gen 1:28). We are here as tenants, not owners (Lev 25:23). After the Flood, God made a covenant not just with people, but with all the animals that came out of the ark (Gen 9:10). The Earth is not ours: it is the Lord’s, and everything in it (Psalm 24:1).
Aha! You may say. That is Old Testament stuff. What about the New Testament? What did Jesus say about conservation except for a few mentions of sparrows and lilies? Well, he did say that nothing must be wasted (John 6:12). That was after he had just miraculously fed 5000 people. He told the disciples to collect all the waste food, and they gathered 12 baskets. Even though he could create food any time he liked, he still abhorred waste.
Perhaps you think that the end of the world is imminent, so we should hurry things up by destroying the Earth? What! Should we do evil that good may come? Heaven forbid! (Romans 6:2).
Okay, so can the Church make a difference? Are there not many good conservation movements already? Yes, but not enough. The Christian Church, in all its many branches, is the largest non-governmental organisation in the world. It could make a very big difference.
Christians have set up an international Christian conservation organisation. It is called A Rocha, which is Portuguese for “The Rock”, which is the name of the place in Portugal where it all began. A Rocha now exists in 19 countries, including New Zealand. A Rocha has five main principles, as follows:
Christian: underlying all we do is our Biblical faith in the living God, who made the world, loves it, and entrusts it to the care of human society.
Conservation: we carry out research and practical work for the conservation and restoration of the natural world, and run environmental education programs for people of all ages.
Community: through our commitment to God, each other and the wider Creation, we aim to develop good relationships both within the A Rocha family and in our local communities.
Cross-cultural: we seek to work together in shared partnerships with tangata whenua and all cultures, both locally and around the world.
Co-operation: we work in partnership with a wide variety of organisations and individuals who share our concerns for a sustainable world. The cross-cultural theme is especially relevant in New Zealand, with its Maori and Pakeha cultures living side by side. For that reason, our title is A Rocha Aotearoa New Zealand (ARANZ for short).
ARANZ has now set up its HQ in Hamilton, with branches in Auckland, Palmerston North, Wellington and Christchurch. We had our first conference at Raglan in May 2008, attended by over 100 people, and hope to have regular conferences in the future. At branch meetings we carry out conservation activities, including propagation and planting of native species of trees and other plants, and control of predators. We have particularly chosen this work for several reasons. On a worldwide basis, tree planting is a way to counter global warming. Trees remove CO2 from the atmosphere and store it in their wood. It has been calculated that if everyone in the world planted 40 trees each, the global warming problem would be greatly delayed. Trees also prevent soil erosion, which is a problem in many areas. They also provide habitat for wildlife.
In the Palmerston North branch, we planted out 100 trees in 2007, 400 in 2008 and hopefully 1000 in 2009. We collect seed locally from native bush. A wonderful blessing has been the free use of a propagation unit belonging to the Seventh Day Adventist College, which has space for about 10,000 trees annually. Most seedlings are big enough to plant out after one year. One of our planting locations is on the Ruahine range. Soil eroded there ends up on the Manawatu river floodplain around Palmerston North. This raises the ground level, necessitating raising the stop banks, which is very costly. So we are also benefiting the local community.
All the branches need funding for root-trainers (plant pots), potting mix, transport, etc. You can join a local group, or form one of your own, or you can become a financial supporter and receive a free newsletter telling you what is being done in your area and around the country. Or you can pray for us: we need that. It is, in fact, the most important contribution of all. Just contact ARANZ by email (new.zealand@arocha.org) or write to ARANZ, PO Box 19104, Hamilton 3244. Alternatively, go to our website www.arocha.org
John Henley is on the trust board of ARANZ, convenor of the Palmerston North group and also a member of A Rocha International. He is a retired Professor of Geography at Massey University, with a special interest in biogeography, tropical rain forests and Easter Island. He’s also a deacon in the Anglican Church, with a special role in speaking about world environmental crises.
*The next social issues resource from the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand will focus on practical steps people and churches can take to care for Creation, as well as providing a straight-forward explanation of the scientific arguments around climate change. Your parish will receive eight copies during February.