Diversity of Life

EARTHKEEPING NEWS
A NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN COALITION FOR CHRISTIANITY AND ECOLOGY

Volume One, Number Six
July/August 1992

HOW DO WE CONSERVE THE DIVERSITY OF LIFE? — A GLOBAL STRATEGY

This shocking statement introduces a news release of a comprehensive Global Biodiversity Strategy unveiled in February 1992 in Caracas, Venezuela at the Fourth World Congress on National Parks and Protected Areas, by the World Resources Institute (WRI), World Conservation Union (IUCN), and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Over 45 organizations around the world in the last three years helped shape the 85 specific recommendations for conservation at the local, bioregional, national and international levels. Instead of addressing the loss of biodiversity as an isolated issue, the Strategy sets forth a conservation blueprint that takes into account broader social and economic concerns, linking species protection and human needs. "Unless there is better understanding of the importance of the structure, functions and diversity of the world's natural systems, the economic development efforts vital to millions who live in poverty and hopelessness will fail," according to the Report.

The Case of the Church and the Forest

In many parts of the world, the best means of strengthening protected areas is to integrate them with local social and economic goals, as the following example makes clear.

In the densely developed Washington suburbs of Prince Georges County MD, is Belt Woods, one of the few fragments of virgin old growth forest in the East, and home to the highest density of birds nesting in deciduous forest in the nation.

In 1959 W. Seton Belt bequeathed to St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, in Upper Marlboro MD, 635 acres of land which had been in the Belt family since the late 1600s. As suburban development pushed land values up, charitable purposes for land use were broadly interpreted. In 1981 the church allowed over 500 ancient white oaks to be cut for export, with profits going to church ministries. This action spurred the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to purchase 100 acres of unlogged forest to create a forest preserve, designated as a National Natural Landmark.

When alerted to the fact that the County's long range master plan was being revised, the church sought rezoning for more development. Naturalists warned that the desired densities would threaten the ecological integrity of the virgin forest. In 1991 environmentalists, naturalists, trustees, developers, planners, the diocesan environmental committee, and concerned laity worked out a compromise plan satisfactory to all parties . The building density will be halved, and housing will be carefuly integrated with wooded tracts. Homes will be separated, by natural buffers and wooded corridors, from the 250 acres to be left untouched . For more information contact Rev. Larry Harris, St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, 1411 Oak Grove Rd. Upper Marlboro MD; or Dan Boone, Wilderness Society, 1400 I Street, NW ,Washington DC 20005 (202)842-3400.

The Role of Local Congregations

Recommended Action 82 in the Global Biodiversity Strategy Report reads: Strengthen research on ethical, cultural, and religious concerns related to conserving biodiversity. "People's commitment to conserving biodiversity springs from their sense of place and the most effective citizen action has been that of people who are intimately acquainted with a region. Planning that reflects both ecological and social realities needs cooperation among all sectors. For this reason, work on environmental ethics should take place primarily at the bioregional level."

Where better to begin the ethical, cultural and religious research than in local communities of faith which can bring together persons from all sectors?

The institutional church, no less than any other institution in our society, is caught up in the battles between private property rights and the rights of other peoples to land, and other species, to habitat; between the desire for an abundant energy supply and the need to prevent catastrophic pollution of the planet; between short term profits and long term sustainability.

The Kairos Network — Research by Local Church Groups

Many in the churches are saying that now is the Moment of Truth, the kairotic time, and possibly the only time we have left to study and to act on these issues.

Initiated by Pax Christi, Sojourners and others as part of the 1992 Columbus Quincentenary, congregations across the country have brought people together in over 700 Kairos Reflection Groups to examine the issues of justice, peace and integrity of creation in their regions. Using a common set of questions, each group creates a document which, when combined with similarly generated doc uments across the USA, will present an authentic challenge to both the institutional church and the nation.

In a process of theological reflection, the groups seek to understand the moment of crisis and opportunity (kairos moment) in which we are living. The questions focus attention on the local community and the nation; on the local congregation and the broader church. Participants are asked to discern the signs of the times, to identify the pressing issues, and to name the crisis and opportunity of faith. They are asked what they have learned from the past; what their vision is for the future; and what their specific priorities are for action.

For the Biodiversity Strategy Report,write World Resources Institute,1709 New York Ave.NW, Washington DC 20006.

For the list of questions, or to join the Kairos Network, contact Joan Elbert, 1992 / Kairos USA, 2170 Broadway, Box 139, New York NY 10024, (212) 769-0541.