News

After the Lusaka conference on environmental protection organized by Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa and its partners, we have taken resolutions among which was the creation of Anglican green movement in our home countries. It is in this regard that when we came back in Rwanda we made a report to the office of Archbishop and shared the information with all other Bishops calling them to give due attention to the issue of environmental degradation in order to take necessary measure for protection and restoration of the Creation. Then on Saturday 30 October 2021 in Karongi Missionary Diocese took place the launching of the Anglican Green Movement in the Diocese. Four Bishops and the General Secretary of the Anglican Church of Rwanda took part in the event. Fruit trees were planted, pastors were mobilized to go and do the same in their respective parishes. The work will continue with teaching, conferences, tree planting and setting in place strategies of waste reduction and management. Some of the specific channels to use include choirs, schools and youth clubs.. Save Mother Africa Bishop Jeanne Pierre

Green Anglicans is a movement within the Anglican church that aims to advocate for climate action, educating members of the church about climate change. Climate change is a very Eurocentric concept and tends to be very difficult to explain in simple terms, it is important to get as many young people involved in the Green Anglicans movement. Having youth involvement will help raise awareness in the church and in their respective communities, which would result in more people engaging in climate action. The Green Anglicans movement hosted a one day conference from the 17th to the 18th of November 2021 in Benoni, Gauteng. The conference was well attended with youth representatives from all Diocese in South Africa (all nine provinces). The conference began with ice breakers conducted by John-Paul Roberts, this allowed everyone to feel comfortable and welcomed. A virtual presentation by Amnesty International highlighted how climate change is a human rights issue. Climate change violates the right to life, health, clean water and sanitation and housing. Global warming threatens our lifeline as it limits our access to water, which limits vegetation and animal life. This contributes to the rise of diseases and illnesses in our people. As a result of climate change, certain areas have been affected by floods and others by draughts resulting in people leaving their homelands to become climate refugees searching for better living conditions in foreign lands. A percentage of the people that have been severely affected by global warming and climate change suffer from anxiety and depression along with other diseases. A talk by Litebogo from SAIIA (the South African Institute of International Affairs), motivated the young people in attendance to take action and advocate for climate action. Litebogo expressed the importance of educating people in rural areas. Holding government officials and the relevant authorities accountable is important in raising awareness.   The attendees of the conference completed a few activities that were aimed at enhancing their knowledge and awareness of climate change. Attendees were tasked with organising a “protest” and delivering a mandate to the minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Samson Gwede Mantashe, demanding climate action. This highlighted the need to implement laws that regulate pollution, waste management and manufacturing to preserve the little that we have. A second activity was to create “problem trees” based on issues contributing to global warming. We had to identify the root causes of the problem and the results (leaves and branches). The exercise allowed attendees to decipher the causes, the effects thereof and possible solutions to the problem. Emphasis was also put on the three R’s (Reduce, Reuse & Recycle) and adapting them into our daily lives. Rev. Mash sharing an overview  of the themes in the Old and New Testament that showed how  God entrusted humans to care for creation. Then the attendees had to prepare short sermons on the topic, which was challenging and inspiring! In closing, attendees were tasked with finding ways to educate members of their respective communities and having awareness projects advocating for climate action. By Lindelwa Ncobo Photo Credit : JP Roberts

  Bishop Tsietsi Seleoane, Bishop of the Diocese of Mzimvubu has written in protest of the Seismic blasting by Shell on the Wild Coast, part of which falls under his Diocese  There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number— living things both large and small. (Psalm 104:25)   To whom it may concern, As people of faith ,we formally object   to any form of seismic surveys  off the East Coast of South Africa from now or any date in the future, by Shell Exploration  or any future companies Any seismic surveys will have a devastating impact on the local environment and ecosystem and all parties involved have failed to consider the necessary environmental impact this would have on the local society both short term and long term. Furthermore, the impact of migrating mammals in the region will impact the entire South African ecosystem and plays a far greater role in fighting Climate Change through carbon sequestration and to the wider ecosystems across our South African coastline. The value of the ecosystem and ecotourism far outweighs the value of foreign shareholders profiting off the East Coast of South Africa that doesn’t belong to them. Exactly this exclusion will cause further financial inequality with the rural community already struggling due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and tourism restrictions. The world is now at ‘code red’ for Climate change. We have to reduce  emissions from fossil fuels in order to avoid catastrophic climate change . The  International Energy Agency has stated that there are sufficient known fossil fuel resources, so that there should be no new or further exploration. As people of faith, we know that we are called to treasure and protect the Earth, not squander it for the sake of the wealth of a few.  We request that our democratic rights be upheld to object to these environmentally damaging practices. Regards, Bishop Tsietsi Seleoane Diocese of Mzimvubu Rev Dr Rachel Mash Coordinator Anglican Church of Southern Africa Environmental Network And steering committee members of the ACSA Environmental Network        

Erasto Magamba Richards was one of the speakers at the Global faith event at COP26 I greet you all in the name of the Most High. My name is Magamba Richard Erasto, a youth delegate from Uganda and the Youth leader, Kampala Diocese, Church of Uganda. I must say i’m exceedingly humbled to stand before this honorable gathering to briefly share thoughts that are representative of the youths across the globe in regards to climate justiceI come from Uganda, a country whose current debt burden is 52.4% of the national GDP (Source ;Bank of Uganda). Uganda like many countries in the global south is highly indebted. These countries excessively exploit their natural resources to clear off debt. Just last week as we attended COY16, the parliament of Uganda was debating the degassetment of three(3) forest reserves in Kayunga district including Wamale, Kiule and Bajo central forest reserve in the name of human settlement. This is a serious indictment to everyone of us seated here. We ought to have a global eye and condemn such activities in the strongest terms otherwise we may be seen to be paying lip-service to climate justice. As we speak now, 48 countries are spending five times more on debt repayment than mitigating the devastating effects of climate change. Some have no choice rather than exploiting their natural resources to pay off the debts, exacerbating the climate crisis. Developed economies should ponder offsetting the debt from the highly indebted countries in exchange for climate change mitigation activities like afforestation lest we are doomed! There cannot be Climate justice without Debt justice! It is important that this honorable gathering enforces the ecological debt owed by the rich countries to the many poorer countries. This in essence shall enhance carbon financing in areas where forestry can still be promoted for posterity.We propose that this forum actualises existing climate finance commitments without delay. This shall raise the capacity of the respective environmnental protection infrastructure in the global south Lastly, we propose that to make environmental protection a cardinal role of every citizen, the global political leadership should influence the incorporation of the subject of climate change in school syllabi right from the lower education levels throughout the academic ranks. Religious leaders also have a big role to play in the climate justice agenda. These should at all times remind their congregation of their obligation to protect the environment. Governments should also subside the alternative energy resources like electricityand gas to offset the use of firewood and charcoal burning. I submit!

On Saturday the 30 of October members of the “Water Disciples” visited the Intaka Island in the centre of Century City Cape Town. The area is a restored wetland where there are a large variety of birds.  The day started off with a silent meditation – ‘Church in Creation’  led by Rev Dr. Mash, during this time members had an opportunity to connect with nature while enjoying the beautiful sounds from the singing birds and running water from the canals .  We reflected on scriptures and poems on the theme of water, and connected with the spiritualty of our baptism water. One of the group, Sikelela said:” This exercise allowed me to reconnect with my inner being as I  comes from a loud busy community, where one can’t help it but become busy as well”. One of the rangers took members on a tour of the island where we learned about how the area is conserved, the movement of the wetlands and the their importance in cleaning and purifying the water.  Members also got a talk on how one can become an environmental conservationist and what to look at to pursue this career. The day ended off with a guided boat ride around the wetlands, witnessing the different birds and learning more around how birds behave in the wild. Many of the members said they mostly come to the Canal Walk Mall, to get away from their communities ,  but did not know just a few meters away lies this beautiful space where one can come and have a quiet or bird identifying day, and this is a very good place to destress, for your mental and spiritual wellness The Water Disciples is a programme set up to respond to the need to protect the aquifers and ground water in Cape Town. Following the devastating “Day Zero’ drought many people put in boreholes and ground water may become unsustainably used. It is also being polluted. The Water disciples programme seeks to bring awareness of groundwater to the faith communities. Oh, feed me this day, Holy Spirit, withthe fragrance of the fields and thefreshness of the waters  which you havemade, and help me to hear and to holdin all dearness those exacting and wonderfulwords of our Lord Jesus Christ, saying:Follow me. (Mary Oliver) The Water Disciples programme is supported by WWF-SA Bino Makhalanyane

Many climate activists are frustrated by COP26 – not enough action, too much greenwashing. Activists who have observer status have been met by closed door negotiations. The voices of those on the climate change frontlines – the most affected people and areas (MAPA) are not being heard. Is it all ‘blah blah’ or is there cause for hope? In the first week, the following has been agreed AGREEMENT ON FORESTS At least at least 110 countries representing 85 per cent of the planet’s forests  signed the pivotal COP26 Glasgow Leaders Declaration on Forests and Land Use, committing to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030. See: Historic agreement on forests AGREEMENT ON COAL 77 countries pledged to end coal use. Signatories to the agreement  committed to ending all investment in new coal power generation domestically and internationally. They have also agreed to phase out coal power in the 2030s for major economies, and the 2040s for poorer nations. Several major banks agreed to stop financing the coal industry. See; Pledge on coal PLEDGE ON METHANE More than 100 countries committed to reducing methane,  a commitment that could prevent 0.2 degrees Celsius of global warming. The alliance’s members will seek to lower global emissions of methane — the second-largest contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide — by 30 percent below 2020 levels by 2030. Besides the EU and the U.S., more than 103 countries have signed up so far, including major methane emitters like Nigeria and Pakistan. See: Methane pledge PLEDGE ON FINANCE More than 20 countries and financial institutions pledged to  halt all financing for fossil fuel development overseas and divert the spending to green energy instead from next year. The move marks a significant boost for the transition to clean fuels. See: Finance pledge Of course these are only pledges: according to the  IEA if – and it’s a big if! all the new pledges are funded and implemented then global warming could be limited to  1.8℃ this century. There are crucial gaps. China, India  Russia and Australia have not pledged to phase out coal. Brazil and DRC Congo have signed the declaration to end deforestation by 2030 – but  the pledge is non binding  – will it really be honoured? Neither China nor the African development bank have pledged to stop financing fossil fuel development. It is far from perfect. Declarations have been made before and not honoured. There has been also been a lot of greenwashing , and not enough binding commitments to implementation. But what is happening in the Blue zone and Green zone is only one part of the story –  the other story is the thousands and thousands of people marching in Glasgow and around the world. Grandmothers and gurus, babies and bishops, socialists and swamis, priests and polar bears are on the move. From Amazonas to Zimbabwe, the giant has been woken. We will not stop now. The presence of indigenous people and the small island states,  despite the incredible challenges of being there – has been strongly felt , and the faith communities were powerful in their presence. The challenge facing  civil society and  faith communities  now is to make sure that pledges are honoured, that goals are raised, that deadlines are shortened, in our own countries and internationally. In the words of Jim Wallis  a pastor from Washington DC – you can always spot the politicians – they are the ones walking around with wet fingers in the air to see which way the wind is blowing. Our job is to change the wind. Rev Rachel Mash Environmental Coordinator Anglican Church of Southern Africa Photo credit – Interfaith Scotland