Report from the ARC-UNEP Meeting in Windsor, 2 November 2009
200 delegates from faith groups around the world have gathered in Windsor to celebrate the contribution that faiths can make to caring for the earth.
The opening session on Monday afternoon asked ‘why do we care? and highlighted reports from the Amazon, Africa and Nepal about the damage that climate change and deforestation is doing to native peoples. Archbishop Mokiwa Valentine told us how drought in Tanzania is creating poverty, disease, and death; Father Michael Holman SJ spoke about deforestation in the Amazon rainforest destroying the habitat of indigenous communities; and from Dekila Chungyalpa of WWF Nepal, details of how melting ice caps in the Himalayas are reducing the flow in the great rivers of Asia such as the Ganges, putting at risk the water supply of tens of millions of people.
Alongside the stories of destruction there were stories of hope; from speakers such as Sheikh Ali Gomaa, the Grand Mufti of Egypt, who outlined the creation of the new Muslim Association for Climate Change Action; and from Nigel Savage about the work of Hazom, a Jewish Environment NGO. There were many stories from the USA about growing activism in American churches on climate change, challenging our assumptions around America’s lack of concern about climate change.
The contributors reiterated the breadth of action taking place by faith groups worldwide worldwide and the common concern about climate change.
Tbc…
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