Network of Earthkeeping Christian Communities in South Africa

NECCSA Update: December 2004

A monthly newsletter on Church and Environment in South Africa

1. Advent and ecology

In the next few weeks Christians will celebrate Christmas in the midst of the pagan Xmas festival which will dominate our shopping malls and the media. It is no secret that Christmas has become synonymous with a consumerist culture, the reigning ideology of our time. As the Lutheran theologian Paul Santmire puts it, the question for environmentally sensitive Christians is: “Can that festival, which celebrates the Prince of Peace born in a stable, become something more for the general populus than an orgy of consumerism?”

One problem with emphasising virtues such as simplicity and frugality is that this appears to be less celebratory than the consumerist extravagance of the affluent and the consumerist indulgence of those who can ill afford it. Within the South African context with its economic inequality and enormous social problems it may be helpful to explore the meaning of festive celebrations in the midst of scarcity. The presence of God as Emmanuel on earth calls for much celebration and an affirmation of life – even amidst poverty, suffering, and environ­mental devastation. Indeed, while John the Baptist fasted, Jesus of Nazareth feasted. He was renowned for his parties and wished to be remembered in the context of a festive and inclusive meal, in the company of family, friends and (notoriously so) also the outcasts of society.

The point here is that happiness, fun and games are not the prerogative of those who can afford it only. The festivities of the affluent will always be undermined by the surrounding suffering, starvation, and conflict. However, the celebration of life is not only prevalent amongst the affluent but also in many poorer communities that also engage in joyful celebrations precisely in the midst of deprivation. Such celebrations call for a festive meal. In the midst of scarcity, food and drink are saved for the occa­sion. As Konrad Raiser, the former general secretary of the World Council of Churches, observes:

In celebration, human beings are able to transcend the scarcities and limitations of everyday life. Joy is the emotion which expresses the experience of over­flowing abundance and gratuity of life. Anniversaries and seasonal festivals mark the rhythmic flow of time. They break the dominance of the linear, goal-directed progression of time, and provide moments for recreation and re-generation.

On this basis Christians may celebrate the birth of Christ in a stable joyously and with gratitude to the Giver of Life – for the gift of life itself, for health, for family and friends, for peace, love and joy. We cannot buy any of these in a shopping mall. Even young children will be able to recognise this – and that they are worth far more than anything that money can buy.

2. An inspiration for tree planting

Prof Jesse Mugambi (University of Nairobi) responded in the following way to the article on Wangari Maathai in the previous NECCSA Update:

I appreciate very much the story you have carried in the NECCSA Update of November 2004, about Nobel Prize Laureate Prof. Wangari Maathai. Looking back over the years, I am delighted that her work in environmental rehabilitation has been internationally appreciated, recognized and rewarded. During the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s Prof. Wangari used to invite me occasionally to conduct seminars for some of her Women's Groups in the Green Belt Movement.

In early 1988, I conducted one such seminar on the Theology of the Environment . I emphasised that we as human beings have a responsibility to care for, rather than plunder, the environment in which God has placed us. A lively discussion followed, and the women (about 60 of them) were very excited. At the end of the seminar, I asked Prof. Wangari if I could also become a participant in the greening of the environment. Her reply was clear and definite. I should prepare as many holes as the number of trees I wanted to plant. Then I should manure them and wait for the rains. When the rains arrive, I should go the nearest Green Belt Nursery and invite one of the attendants to inspect the holes to ensure that they are ready. I obeyed, and prepared 400 holes on a plot of land about 25 km South West of Nairobi City, which was bare and barren. One morning in early April 1988, after my delivering my scheduled lecture at the University of Nairobi, I went to the Green Belt tree-nursery nearby, and collected 400 Grevillea Robusta seedlings. Still dressed in my grey suit, I drove to the land. I removed my coat, rolled my shirt sleeves and tacked my tie into my chest. I enjoyed planting those seedlings in four rows along the terraces I had earlier prepared. None of the seedlings dried.

Today, in November 2004, after sixteen and a half years, the trees are tall and mature. The plot of land looks beautiful, and has greatly appreciated in value. Grevillea Robusta intercrops very well with most crops. So the trees have enhanced rather than hindered our farming activities. Neighbours have learned from this example, and the area is now yet another Green Belt – one of the many that Prof. Wangari has promoted.

I am delighted to report, from first-hand experience, that Prof. Wangari Maathai has been very successful in encouraging many individuals and communities to add value to nature through planting trees. She is a great daughter of Kenya, of Africa, and of the whole World. I share in her emphasis, that we can make a constructive difference, if we act now to make this world better than we found it.

3. News from Nigeria

Amadi Ahiamadu send us some feedback on recent developments in Nigeria:

Last August, youths in oil bearing communities in IZON communities of the Niger Delta protested against Shell and the federal government for the continued destruction of their agricultural land and incessant pouring of pollutants on the portable water in the area. They were confronted by armed soldiers and policemen dispatched into the area not to harass them as such but to ensure the safety of oil installations which Shell mounted at so many points in various communities in the area. 

The most worrisome aspect of the pollution problem facing the IZON and other ethnic communities in the Niger Delta is the emission of pollutants hydro-carbon into the atmosphere in several cubit meters daily, and since the 1970's this has gone on unabated and every appeal to Shell, Total-Fina-Elf, and Agip, to find a better way of harnessing the crude oil exploitation from the area has fallen on deaf ears, and several thousands of innocent souls have gone to their untimely graves as a result of drinking polluted water, and from air pollutants which has heightened the occurrence of diseases such as tuberculosis, asthmatic infections, jaundice and cerebrospinal meningitis.

Unfortunately, the international community have not been sensitized enough to come to the rescue of the severe life threatening activities of oil prospecting companies in Nigeria. Hence oil products of Shell, Totalfinaelf and Agip continue to enjoy international patronage to the utter neglect of the many lives endangered by their inhuman operational modus operandi, and total destruction of the ecology and eco-system in the areas of their operation. It is time now for NECCSA to begin a systematic sensitization of the international community on the fate of the endangered human species in the Niger Delta areas of Nigeria which is providing the world with a fifth of all its energy needs today.

4. World Conservation Union (IUCN) opposes GMO’s

The IUCN, meeting recently in Bangkok, has called for a halt to any further release of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) until it can be shown that they are "safe beyond reasonable doubt" for human health and for the natural environment.

The IUCN, one of the world's largest conservation organisations, noted in its resolution that GMOs had been introduced worldwide, especially in develop­ing countries, with "little or no controls" on their entry into national and regional markets. It also noted that GMO use was controlled primarily by the private sector, "whose incentives for development and marketing may be greater than for assessing potential problems".

The IUCN said there was growing concern over the impact of GMOs on human health, adding that the potential role of GMOs in achieving global food security had not been adequately defined.  It has called on the IUCN council to compile a report on the impact of GMOs on health and the environment. Although the IUCN resolution is not legally binding, member countries are obliged to carry out the adopted items.

5. Book launch on water justice

On 9 December a book on water justice issues, The Age of Commodity: Water Privatization in Southern Africa, edited by David A McDonald and Greg Ruiters (London: Earthscan Press), will be launched in Cape Town.

The Age of Commodity examines the dynamics of water privatization and commodifi­ca­tion in Southern Africa, including: ideological, legislative and constitutional issues; public-private partnerships (PPPs); ‘corporatization’ and outsourcing. The book presents case studies of important water commodification initiatives in South and Southern Africa, drawing out crucial themes common to water privatization debates around the world including corruption, social justice and donor conditionalities.

NECCSA website address: www.neccsa.org 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 emcemp@iafrica.com by 15 January 2005. You may send such contributions in the language of your choice.

Distributed by EM Conradie 8/12/2004