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Peter Harris, Director of A Rocha International, introduces our review of Christians in Conservation - 2004 A Rochas work around the

world in 2004:
s we review 2004 we can see that A Rochas founding convictions, constantly refined by experience, are proving to be very relevant as we work to understand and protect threatened habitats and species in widely differing contexts.

The decisions and choices of human society today are overwhelmingly significant in determining the outcome for the survival of biodiversity. Whether through the global impact of climate change or the local impact of planning decisions, it is those choices that are behind much of the data which we are collecting. Conservation organisations are increasingly recognising the priority of working closely, not just with wildlife and eco-systems, but with people. As you will see in the following pages, A Rocha teams are closely involved each day with the people who live around or in the protected areas. Human relationships with the natural environment, in all their complexity, require long-term commitment. Thus we remain convinced that residential field study centres can be catalysts in bringing creative solutions to local conservation questions. During the last year our teams in the Czech Republic, Canada, Kenya and Lebanon all invested in making such centres effective, and despite the major capital challenge, the commitment to people and places is bearing fruit. A Rocha works both to impress the urgency and relevance of these convictions on the world-wide Christian community of which we are a part, and also to enable the role of values, choices and belief to be better understood by all conservation organisations. The very positive response to the workshop we jointly organised at the World Conservation Congress in November, on Poverty, Faith and Conservation, showed there is great interest in taking this further. We welcome the many opportunities we now have to contribute in a practical way to safeguarding the earths remarkable natural inheritance. We are glad to contribute a Christian perspective, based on a growing wealth of diverse experience, and we continue to take our starting point as one of gratitude and hope for Gods good creation.

2004
A Rocha is an international conservation organisation working to show Gods love for all creation.The name A Rocha is Portuguese and means The Rock.
Mangrove planting by ASSETS students and the Watamu Turtle Watch community group at Mida Creek, Kenya, on World Environment Day 2004. Colin Jackson

A Rocha International Review

Community; Cross-cultural and Cooperation, and to a practical outworking of each. By Christian we mean that 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. In this review, we look back at the way in which the commitments were expressed by our teams in many very different cultures and physical environments in 2004, and look forward to the challenges of the next few years.

Introducing our work, A Rocha is identified by five core commitments: Christian; Conservation; commitments In all the countries where we

Conservation
We carry out research for the conservation and restoration of the natural world and run environmental education programmes for people of all ages.
A Rochas prime focus is nature conservation. This concern is expressed by the protection of important habitats and species and by the restoration of degraded habitats. We believe that for such projects to be successful, they must have a carefully researched scientific basis and be carefully implemented and monitored. To be effective, restorative action requires the involvement of local communities through participation and education.

Conservation research

Our research is designed to produce the maximum conservation benefit:

Research to protect important sites


A Rocha Lebanon is undertaking research to identify and declare new Important Bird Areas and to protect them through locally led conservation initiatives. Initial fieldwork in the spring and autumn of 2004 has led to a three-year programme (in the first phase) beginning January 2005 in partnership with the Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon. Lebanon is on one of the worlds busiest flyways for migrants, especially large soaring birds: hawks, eagles, cranes, pelicans and storks. Huge numbers are shot, for Lebanon also has one of the highest concentrations of hunters in the world. Once the most important sites for migrant and resident species have been identified, key local people will be trained to form site support groups, ensuring each area receives maximum protection from existing laws and carrying out basic monitoring and local advocacy.

Asian Elephant David Coleman

Small teams of fieldworkers are gathering the data which will lead to the designation of Important Bird Areas in Lebanon.

Research to protect threatened species


More than thirty species of fauna and flora are being targeted by our research and conservation programmes: eg the European Pond Terrapin is being monitored and protected at the Ilon Marsh by A Rocha France; the ecology of the Slender-billed Finch is being investigated by A Rocha Peru; improved censusing methods for the African Elephant are being tested by A Rocha Ghana; and inventories of the Garry Oak are being undertaken by A Rocha Canada. In India, the population size of the Asian Elephant is only around 7% of that of their African cousins and continues to be threatened by fragmentation and degradation of natural habitats, poaching for ivory and human-elephant conflict. A Rocha India is investigating the human-elephant conflict issue in the Bannerghatta National Park and working with local communities to identify possible solutions. This involves assessing land-use, the intensity of the conflict, and the elephant population, and developing management recommendations.

Training national workers to undertake research


Training national workers is an important part of our research programmes. A Rocha Kenya has been providing training in bird-ringing in Nairobi, Ngulia and at the field study centre at Watamu. In September the centre was the venue for the first waterbird ringing course held in Africa, attended by participants from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Ghana.

Conservation projects
All A Rochas conservation projects seek to involve the local communities as much as possible. For example, in South Africa, along the Msunduzi Riverbank in Pietermaritzburg, the local residents have become involved in clearing alien trees and planting indigenous species; in West London, the UK team have formed the Southall Sustainability Forum, regularly bringing together Christian, Sikh, Hindu, Muslim and secular leaders who are encouraging their communities to be involved in bringing about A Greener Cleaner Southall & Hayes; and in France, the Scientific Officer has been working closely with landowners in the valle des Bauxde-Provence as they rehabilitate their cropland to biodiverse marshland. This year A Rocha Kenya completed an ambitious project to build new facilities for tourists. The first building phase was a hide at Mida Creek which overlooks a large shorebird roost and a 260m suspended walkway to it through tidal mangroves, with interpretation boards. Recently, a canopy platform was erected 12 m above the ground in a huge Baobab tree in the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest. The resulting income is being used to enable local youngsters to attend secondary school: 93 bursaries were awarded in 2004. These eco-bursaries involve the students and their parents in learning about and helping to care for the local creek and forest which are of international importance for wildlife.
A workshop to train volunteers in surveying the elephant population at Bannerghatta National Park.

The new canopy platform, with adjacent nature trail, built to attract more tourists to the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest. Colin Jackson

Natura 2000
Natura 2000 is the name given to the network of sites that have been designated by the European Union to ensure the continued conservation of important habitats and species. A Rocha is working to help protect Natura 2000 sites in Portugal, France and the Czech Republic.

Environmental Education
During the year 5,378 children took part in our programmes in the UK, Canada, Lebanon, Portugal and the Czech Republic. College and university students got increasingly involved: there are now two university groups in Ghana, at Kumasi and at Cape Coast, where the group have plans for an on-campus forest conservation project. In the USA, members of the new Wheaton student chapter sponsored two campus-wide events: showing the film Winged Migration and organising the universitys first Sustainable Dining Forum. More than 200 students from British Columbia helped at the new Canada Centre.

Young people at a Czech summer camp learning about trees.

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.
A great deal of contemporary environmentalism sees human beings as most of the problem; we see them as part of the answer. Our reasoning is both theological and practical: theologically, we see human beings and communities as being important; practically, we believe that a conservation project is only likely to be successful when a local community comes to value it. As a result, we have a commitment to involvement with local people, whether in education or development projects. All A Rocha projects are focused on involvement in a community, often being based around a residential centre. Because we believe that community is so important, we aim to develop within our teams those principles of openness, honesty and caring that are essential to healthy communities.

Our field study centres


Hay rides were all part of the fun at the Christmas Open Day at the Canada Centre.

In October, fourteen members of A Rocha Netherlands - including Mirjam Mulder, seen here in the common room - worked hard at the French centre for a week, painting and decorating. Priscille Pelletier

Much of A Rochas community life is based at our field study centres. There are six at present: Cruzinha, in Portugal, opened 1986; the Lebanese Centre and Les Tourades, France, opened 2001, Mwamba, Kenya, opened 2002; and the UK and Canada Centres which both opened in 2003. A 7th centre will open in the Czech Republic once it has been fully paid for and renovated. Each centre team is led by Christians, but people of any faith, or none, are welcome to stay as volunteers or paying guests.

Time Out for the teams


Good relationships within each team are a priority, but require nurture. Time Out! was an innovation in September: centres closed for three days and all teams, whether or not based at a field study centre, took part in a common programme designed to inspire, encourage and resource them. The teams also shared news with each other, strengthening the sense of world-wide family. While big conferences which bring national leaders together are sometimes essential, Time Out! was an attempt to find a way of sharing together without the financial and environmental costs of international travel. It met a real need and will be repeated 8-10 September 2005.

The local community


All the A Rocha teams work closely with the communities around them. In 2004 A Rocha Canada welcomed 3,000 visitors to their centre, most of them local. They served over 4,000 meals and welcomed the help of over 150 local volunteers at special events and their monthly volunteering days. A youth team from the municipality helped with the first stage of a project which will improve the quality of a salmon stream which joins the Little Campbell River.

The wider A Rocha family


A Rocha teams help each other in innumerable ways: by sending good volunteers; through exchanges of staff; by handling designated funds for other projects given by their own supporters and by friendship, encouragement and praying for each other.

Cooperation
We work in partnership with a wide variety of organisations and individuals who share our concerns for a sustainable world.
With conservation organisations
A Rocha teams work closely with many other conservation organisations. The largest is IUCN - The World Conservation Union - with which we are linked in two ways: as a member NGO, and by our secondment of the EU Policy Officer to the IUCN Office in Brussels. In November, A Rocha took part, for the first time, in IUCNs World Conservation Congress. Our aims were three-fold: To begin to represent a Christian approach to nature conservation to probably the most representative audience possible - 6,000 people from 160 countries. To understand better the priorities and programme of IUCN and the current state of understanding shared by conservationists worldwide, in order to improve A Rochas ability to make a distinctive and relevant contribution. Finally, we wished to give personal support to the Christians present and to encourage the synthesis they are making between their faith and their professional life. Even with high expectations we were astonished by the many opportunities for deep discussion and exchange with a huge variety of people.
Peter Harris, Director of A Rocha International (third from right) participating in the Conservation Platform on Poverty, Faith and Conservation which A Rocha and the World Bank ran at the World Conservation Congress. Melissa Ong

CrossCultural

We draw on the insights and skills of people from diverse cultures, both locally and around the world.

In a world of extraordinary environmental richness and varied human cultures, environmental problems are inevitably diverse. This diversity poses problems. Uniform solutions tend to be inadequate; what works in one place, may not work in another. It is also easy to overlook situations in one part of the world where solutions to problems have already been developed that may be applicable elsewhere. A Rochas rooting in the Christian church helps surmount these problems. Theologically, being part of a body that extends across all cultures and languages gives us a prior commitment to cross-cultural relationships. Practically, our existing international links through churches give us immediate access to communities across the world that secular organisations do not have. A Rocha is committed to mobilising the experience of people from different cultures and contexts and to drawing on the wealth of insights and skills available in communities across the world, whether Christian or not.
The organisational structure of A Rocha has been designed to ensure that no one culture is dominant. The overall leadership is provided by a group of International Trustees of seven nationalities and in each country, the work is led by a national committee. The cross-cultural nature of A Rocha is obvious at our centres, where the team often represents many countries. In 2004, 102 volunteers from fourteen countries served overseas with nine national organisations. An additional 295 volunteers served with their national organisation.
Ana Catarina Santos, of the University of Azores, Portugal, realised an ambition to work with large mammals for her undergraduate degree dissertation when she was placed with A Rocha Ghana to study forest elephants. Working in the Kakum National Park, she assisted A Rocha team member Emmanuel Danquah in censusing of the African Elephant population through the study of dung piles and other signs. Apart from fulfilling the requirements of her degree, and helping A Rocha Ghana with its scientific programme, it was a very positive three months for both sides in other ways. Catarina made many friends and it was an encouragement to A Rocha Ghana to successfully host their first international volunteer. Will Simonson

With universities
A Rocha Portugal is increasingly working with universities. They have an official link with Faro, as research collaborators, and have regular contact with the Botanic Gardens of the University of Lisbon and the Instituto Superior Tcnico, Lisbon. They are also linked with the University of Cardiff, Wales: Dr Rob Thomas, from Cardiff, is leading the European Storm-petrel research programme based at Cruzinha.

With businesses
A Rocha UK has pioneered this approach by working with two commercial firms and another charity to build a floating classroom for use on the Grand Union Canal in West London. The boat has a classroom for up to thirty children, computer equipment and safe places for viewing the canal from the deck. The boat will be used by local schools with A Rochas environmental education teachers and at other times will be hired out for community groups, business functions and private parties.

GREENLAND

ICELAND

CANADA

UK

USA

FR PORTUGAL

Canary Islands

Northern Shoveler by C. Cousins


MEXICO
THE BAHAMAS

AL

MAURITANIA

MAL

GHA
VENEZUELA COLOMBIA

PERU
BRAZIL

BOLIVIA

ARGENTINA

A Rocha International
Improve capacity for conservation research; plan an overall training strategy; develop a business approach to enable national organisations to be more financially sustainable.

Bulgaria
Appoint a full-time leader to establish an office in Sofia, begin a local practical conservation programme and promote the project to potential supporters.

Canada
Plan an on-site schools programme at the centre in British Columbia. Establish a new A Rocha project and Important Bird Area in the Pembina Valley, Manitoba.

Looking ahead
Finland
Continue to build support through preaching, teaching, press articles and radio programmes. between landowners in the valley; complete roof repairs; recruit a cook and environmental educator.

Here are just a few of the activities which will be priorities for ARI and each national organisation in 2005 - 2006:
India
Complete and write up current fieldwork into human-elephant conflict issues in Bannerghatta National Park. Seek funding for fieldwork in the Kalrayan Hills, for jeep and for office rental.

Czech Republic
Continue long-term monitoring of birds in the Orlick Zhor in June (with Czech Ornithological Society); continue regular nature clubs and summer camps for children. Begin second phase of fundraising for new centre in East Bohemia.

France
Produce new publicity materials for national membership campaign; continue hydrological and wildlife monitoring at the Ilon Marsh and Etang du comte; further encourage partnerships

Ghana
Further develop the conservation commitment of villages around Mole National Park; run membership drive in primary and secondary schools; find new office in Accra.

Kenya
Continue surveys and produce a management plan for Sabaki River Mouth - an

FINLAND

RUSSIA

NETHERLANDS. CZECH RANCE BULGARIA


TURKEY

KAZAKHSTAN MONGOLIA

LEBANON
IRAN EGYPT LIBYA SAUDI ARABIA

CHINA

JAPAN

LGERIA

Red Admiral by L. Sprenger

LI

NIGER CHAD SUDAN NIGERIA

INDIA
PHILIPPINES

Swallowtail by L Bernhard

ANA

ETHIOPIA

SOMALIA

ZAIRE

KENYA
TANZANIA I N D O N E S I A

ANGOLA ZAMBIA

NAMIBIA MADAGASCAR

AUSTRALIA

SOUTH AFRICA

NEW ZEALAND

Regular monitoring of local wildlife is an important part of A Rochas research programmes. Our teams in Portugal and Lebanon record Northern Shoveler flocks on their wetlands in winter and spring and find Red Admiral and Swallowtail common on their butterfly transects.

Map of the world showing the locations of the fifteen national organisations. The A Rocha International Team are based in Portugal, France, Belgium and the UK.

UK
Influence Christian communities by teaching at theological colleges; scaling up publicity for Environment Sunday; producing a study pack to accompany the Living Waterways video and publishing the A Rocha Bible Studies Book. A Scientific Director could be appointed to oversee UK research projects.

IBA in urgent need of protection. Carry out two surveys for unknown breeding grounds of the endangered Clarkes Weaver in Marafa. Improve and extend the Training Teachers to Teach programme.

Netherlands
Continue search for the ideal site for a field study centre. Hold regular outings to help build up membership. Find sponsorship for the national newsletter.

Portugal
Complete management plan for Alvor estuary; run longterm European Storm-petrel research programme in June with help, for the first time, of Earthwatch volunteers.

Lebanon
Complete plant identification database. Continue Important Bird Area research. Find funding for eco-guide training course in bird identification. Increase the scope of the schools and university environmental education programme.

Peru
Decide on location for field study centre; submit funding proposals for research and environmental education programmes in Lima slums. In Christian communities, generate environmental awareness and encourage participation in conservation events.

South Africa
Increase team from 1-3 part-timers: Noluvuyo Mshumpela joins early 2005 as Schools Fieldworker in Pietermaritzburg with the Phila Endalweni programme which provides outdoor leadership training for interns and environmental education for local children.

USA
Complete West Annapolis Bird Project - enabling a community to care for declining bird species within their neighbourhood. Help several Christian schools manage their property for wildlife and educational purposes. Locate a field study centre site.

Financial Review
Income

This report has been produced by the A Rocha International Team, whose role is:

To support all the national teams in fulfilling their mission as self-sustaining organisations To provide leadership and training programmes To publicise the work at an international level To foster the emergence of new A Rocha initiatives

2004

USA 6% AR International 20%

UK 25% Canada 16%

In 2004, the income received by A Rochas national organisations and A Rocha International amounted to 1,231,000 GBP.* The chart shows the designation of that income: the more recently established national A Rocha organisations (in Bulgaria, Finland, Ghana, Peru and South Africa) do not appear because their financial activity was comparatively limited. Some national organisations received funds from donors in other countries, thus the chart reflects the financial activity of each country, rather than the geographical source of the funds. In Canada, the Czech Republic and Kenya the teams were fundraising to purchase their field study centres and so their income was considerably higher than in previous years, as their income included donations towards the capital costs of their centres. The value of personnel seconded by partner agencies has been included.

Portugal 6% Netherlands 0.3% Lebanon 3% Kenya 12% Czech 4% France 7%

India 0.4% A Rochas total income by organisation in 2004


1,231,000 GBP 2,818,000 CAD 2,247,000 USD 1,817,000 Euros

Expenditure
In 2004 A Rochas expenditure totalled 1,209,000 GBP*. The chart analyses this by A Rocha organisation. Expenditure by national A Rocha organisations in Bulgaria, Finland, Ghana, Peru and South Africa was comparatively small, and has not, therefore, been included in the chart. The main expenses were programme costs incurred in relation to conservation research, monitoring and education activities. We are very careful to keep our spending on fundraising and publicity low.
*These figures are rounded and based on management accounts, because audited accounts for all the national organisations were not available at the time of going to press.

USA 6% AR International 23%

UK 26%

Canada 13% Portugal 5% Netherlands 0.2% Czech 2% Kenya 12% France 6% India 0.2% A Rochas expenditure by organisation in 2004
1,209,000 GBP 2,768,000 CAD 2,207,000 USD 1,785,000 Euros
Printed on recycled paper Designed and produced by: indigo 01435 873994

Thank you!
We are grateful for all the funding received, from a variety of sources - individuals, churches, grant-making trusts and foundations, corporations and statutory bodies.
The Audited Financial Statement for A Rocha International for 2004 is available from the A Rocha International Office on request:

Lebanon 7%

A Rocha International
3 Hooper St, Cambridge, CB1 2NZ, UK. Tel/Fax +44 (0) 1387 710286 E-mail: international@arocha.org
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www.arocha.org
A Rocha International is a member of IUCN, the World Conservation Union.

Registered Charity No. 288634

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