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Finding climate solutions in nature

Should climate action come before biodiversity conservation?

In the words of our friend and climate scientist, Katharine Hayhoe, indigenous groups, communities of colour and the poor often suffer the effects of climate change ‘first and worst’. We add that vulnerable species like bumblebees, corals and Neotropical amphibians are also some of the first victims of a warming world. We are facing not one, but three global crises: the rapid loss of our planet’s biodiversity; climate change and a rapid increase in the global average temperature; and increasing inequality and poverty. These problems are interconnected, but so are their solutions! Nature-based Solutions work with and enhance nature on land and sea, providing benefits for both human wellbeing and biodiversity while addressing climate change. 

Forests are popular as carbon sequestration powerhouses, but they’re not alone: grasslands store about a third of the global terrestrial carbon, and research shows that restored meadows can become natural carbon sinks. A Rocha Switzerland is restoring dry meadows by removing invasive species and supporting farmers to manage the land more ecologically, while A Rocha France is restoring wet meadows in the llon Marsh. The carbon replenished in the soil can be even more stable than carbon sequestered in trees, vulnerable to wildfire, drought and disease.  

Meanwhile, seagrasses are vital marine meadows which store vast amounts of carbon while providing thousands of species with food, shelter, breeding and nursery areas, and habitat corridors. A Rocha Kenya has developed a seagrass identification guide to help conserve seagrass in Watamu Marine National Park. Of the 12 species of seagrass recorded in Kenya, 11 have been found in this critical site! In Florida, A Rocha USA assists a local zoo with their seagrass restoration programme by monitoring test sites to determine the best places for restoration. These ‘blue carbon’ solutions are a win for both climate and biodiversity, especially Red Listed species like the sea cucumbers and manatees that depend on seagrass.  

Growing trees is a tried-and-true Nature-based Solution, when it’s done well. A Rocha Ghana supports local smallholder farmers to plant native and fruiting trees in Lake Bosomtwe. Using an agroforestry model, they intersperse trees with food crops: this supports livelihoods in communities that are already feeling the impacts of climate change, such as irregular rainfall, while also sequestering tonnes of CO2. In addition to the agroforestry models, A Rocha implements the ‘whole land planting’ approach which seeks to restore degraded areas within the Lake Bosomtwe Landscape, sequestering carbon and supporting wildlife.  

Protecting intact forests and other ecosystems is just as important as restoration. Peru is home to some of the last Pacific Dry Forest remnants; sadly, only three percent remains intact. A Rocha Peru works with local communities in Pacasmayo to restore the degraded Dry Forest and sustainably manage the remaining landscape. With support from Climate Stewards, A Rocha reduces pressure on the forests by providing clean cookstoves to low-income families. Each cookstove gives a family a safer, cleaner and more efficient way to cook, while reducing the need for wood and charcoal from local forests.  

Nature-based Solutions are not a substitute for the need to phase out fossil fuels rapidly. They are a powerful strategy for addressing the interconnected global crises we face and a means by which we express love towards our human and non-human neighbours. You can read the A Rocha Worldwide Family’s position on Nature-based Solutions to climate change here.   

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Building resilience, reducing carbon footprint

‘Releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ Name’: that’s the mission of Compassion Netherlands. Years ago, Compassion Netherlands realized that combatting poverty has a strong link with the theme of sustainability, now a point of attention in policy. Compassion is an international charity working to end child poverty, while trying to keep their carbon footprint as small as possible and invest in the resilience of the families they serve. 

Charities working in the global south, like Compassion, see that those who often contributed the least to climate change are hit the hardest by the impacts. Working through local churches, they support children with food, medical care and more. Compassion Netherlands sees that the regions where the children live are impacted by climate change and that there is often little resilience. 

‘Years back we thought that sustainability was something you did because it was good, and then you also had poverty reduction’, says Wietse Kooistra, COO of Compassion Netherlands. ‘But now we see those two are connected. The excessive consumption of Western countries encourages pollution, child labor and modern slavery. What we do in the West has a lot of effect on children and families we want to serve.’ 

Since 2019, Climate Stewards has calculated from 2019 the carbon footprint of Compassion Netherlands. After calculating their footprint, Climate Stewards and Compassion Netherlands always have a chat about what they both have been doing to reduce emissions. They encourage each other continuously to reduce their footprints. The first few years were a bit easier, with things like LED light bulbs. Now they are getting to a point where the low-hanging fruit has been picked, and it gets harder to reduce emissions further. 

Sustainability is a point of attention for all teams within Compassion Netherlands. To keep moving forward, teams focus on different aspects of sustainability: the Facilities team is looking at things at the office, like use of energy, meat consumption and carpooling. For example, their office furniture is partly second hand. The Field Experience team is looking at employee travel – within Europe, they travel by train instead of flying.  

Internationally, resilience is especially important for churches, children and their families. Taking care of creation and knowing how to deal with the consequences of climate change are important topics. For instance, in Peru, Compassion is giving lessons and training about sustainability to help families adjust to the changing environment and increase their resilience. Compassion provides solar solutions, stimulates recycling and help starting a vegetable garden. The children also go to the beach and pick up litter. The initiator of the cleanup is the local church, which also teaches the children about good stewardship. 

It is inspiring to see how Compassion has been working on integrating sustainability into their organization. To help children break the cycle of poverty, sustainability in all aspects of their work is important.

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Re-imagining a new way to care for and protect people and nature

In June 2024, A Rocha International funded and facilitated a three-day Environmental Education (EE) Teachers’ Workshop and a five-day EE Conference at Mwamba Centre, Watamu, Kenya, hosted by A Rocha Kenya. Both events shared the theme ‘From Forest to Ocean’, and involved insightful guided visits to globally important biodiversity hotspots. 

12 conference delegates from six A Rocha Organizations in Nigeria, Ghana, India, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda visited Arabuko Sokoke Forest, and saw rare, endemic and endangered species, including the Golden-rumped Elephant Sengi Rhynchocyon chrysopygus. At Mida Creek, delegates visited mangroves by dug-out canoe and walked on a canopy boardwalk for experiential learning on mangrove biodiversity in Watamu Marine National Reserve. A visit to Local Ocean Conservation enabled delegates to see rescued turtles and learn about turtle and mangrove conservation.  

A Rocha International’s EE and Conservation Policy Director, Sarah French, led participatory and practical sessions on diverse topics such as mangrove biodiversity, climate change, Nature-based Solutions, plastics, The Biodiversity Plan (Global Biodiversity Framework), the Sustainable Development Goals, EE and Education for Sustainable Development, Project Cycle Management and global overviews of the Conservation and Sustainable Development field.  

Delegates shared informative updates on the impact of their EE activities and led sessions on co-existence, pollinators, creation care, mangrove projects, eco-schools and creative games and activities, such as the scenario game and Giant Story Book.  

As Stephanie Nkansah, from A Rocha Ghana expressed, ‘These conferences help us build our green muscle memory with sustainable actions and information we can apply in our everyday environmental education work.’ 

The Teachers’ Workshop brought together 18 primary and secondary school teachers from Dakatcha and Malanga forests. This enabled participants to gain knowledge and learning on best practice and build capacity, relationships and peer-support to strengthen their environmental education activities. This will impact upon 8,287 students, including 1,664 wildlife club members!