Network of Earthkeeping
Christian Communities in South Africa
NECCSA Update: August
2004
A
monthly newsletter on Church and Environment in South Africa
1.
Adopt the road nearby! A
visible witness to the transforming power of the gospel
The possibility of
this country wide project was raised in the NECCSA Update of July 2004.
The NECCSA
Governing Board decided at its meeting on Thursday 29 July that this project
will be formally promoted and warmly encouraged by NECCSA. The idea is not that
this will be a project of NECCSA but that Christian groups, organisations and
congregations will be encouraged to initiate a variety of such local projects.
The focus of this
project should be on local roads. If groups other than Christian organisations
or congregations participate in the project, this should be welcomed. The
involvement and responsibility of local and provincial governments to maintain
the roads should be affirmed at all times. Christian groups should only attend
to roads where no one else is involved at present.
NECCSA will seek
to establish a group of expert advisers who may be contacted in this regard.
Expertise regarding indigenous flora, local government and legal implications
may be required.
This project
should encourage local Christian organisations and congregations to attend to
housekeeping / earthkeeping on church premises as well.
Please let us know if you are aware of Christian groups already involved
in caring for our roads in this way. We will continue to promote this and keep a
count of how many such projects will be established.
2.
Resources
The
latest edition of Our Planet, produced by the United Nations Environment
Programme, focuses on Women Health and the Environment, and can be read at www.ourplanet.com. "The
director of UNDEP, Klaus Toepfer says "This edition of Our Planet
celebrates women, and underlines their unique vulnerability to environment-related
health problems, from water and sanitation issues to ones of indoor air
pollution."
Included
are articles by Mamphela Ramphele, the retiring Managing Director of the World
Bank and Senior Advisor to its President; Margot Wallström, European
Commissioner for Environment; Marina Silva, Brazil's first woman environment
minister; Lena Sommestad, Minister for the Environment, Sweden, and
Rejoice Mabudafhasi, Deputy Minister for Environmental Affairs and Tourism,
South Africa; Mary Robinson, formerly President of Ireland and United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights is Executive Director of Realizing Rights:
The Ethical Globalization Initiative.
3.
Worldwide Anglican Environment Network
In Septemeber 2002, at a meeting of the Anglican
Consultative Council (ACC) in Hong Kong, the worldwide Anglican Communion
established an Environment Network, an officially recognised network of the
ACC. Now a website has been established to facilitate the functioning of
this network. It may be accessed at www.anglicancommunion.org.
As well as pages on Anglican perspectives on the environment it also
contains some interesting links to other sites and resources.
4. National Land Care Conference,
7-9 September 2004
The
Department of Agriculture is organising a National Land Care Conference. The
conference is being held at the Cape Institute for Agricultural Training
(previously called the Elsenburg College of Agriculture) at Elsenburg, near the
historic town of Stellenbosch, the second oldest town in South Africa.
The theme of
the conference is "Celebrating LandCare" and in setting this
theme the plan is to create awareness of the importance and seriousness
government places on Land Care and to give recognition to Land Care projects by
rewarding the successful participants at a Awards evening. For more information,
visit the conference website www.elsenburg.com/landcareconference
and click on Draft
programme for full details of the proceedings, on Field
trip details for information on 6 exciting day-long outings scheduled for
Wednesday 8 September, and on how to present a paper if you would like to make a
presentation
NECCSA website address: HYPERLINK
"http:www.neccsa.org.za
where membership details could also be found. You are invited to accept
ownership of this website in order to use it to share information on
Christianity and earthkeeping practices. Please send any information to the
email address below.
You are welcome to distribute this NECCSA
Update electronically to any other interested person. You are also welcome to
send news to be included in the next NECCSA update to
HYPERLINK "mailto:%20andrew.war emcemp@iafrica.com
by 16 September. You may send such contributions in the language of your choice.
Distributed by EM Conradie 26/08/2004