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A Rocha at the COP

The international climate change conference, COP26, takes place from 1-12 November 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland. It is the 26th Conference of the Parties, bringing together the signatory countries of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The key aims are to agree on ‘ambitious’ targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and to achieve ‘net zero’ by 2050, when the amount of greenhouse gases we are adding to the atmosphere is no longer more than we take out.

13 staff members will be representing A Rocha from the UK, Ghana, France, Canada, Climate Stewards and A Rocha International. A Rocha Ghana and A Rocha UK have exhibition stands and others will be networking, reporting out, and seeing how they might influence outcomes. Their key asks will be for countries to commit to emissions targets that will, if implemented, cut greenhouse gases by 40% in 10 years; for rich countries to fulfil promises to provide $100 billion a year in climate finance; and for all countries to include Nature-based Solutions in their national plans, with agreement on sound, common principles or standards.

The team will be posting regularly on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Read more and follow along as the conference unfolds. And if you are interested in beginning your own journey to Net Zero, why not take a look at Climate Stewards’ new website? There are free online tools and advice to help individuals, churches, NGOs and businesses measure, reduce and offset their carbon emissions.

Photo by Fredrika Carlsson on Unsplash

13. Conservation in action, Nurdle hunt with Env. club members, Monicah Njambi, A Rocha Kenya

The Big Give Christmas Challenge 2021 is open!

Double my donation!

From noon (GMT) on #GivingTuesday 30 November until noon on 7 December any donation you make through the Big Give’s Christmas Challenge website will be doubled (while match funds last) by generous donors and the Big Give’s philanthropic partner, the Reed Foundation.

Our involvement last year enabled A Rocha International to raise over £31,000 towards our global environmental education activities. Your support has helped to equip and empower children and communities to live sustainably with the world around them, like these schoolchildren in Uganda …

This year, A Rocha International is taking part in the Christmas Challenge again, during which we’ll be aiming to raise £30,000 to continue this work supporting and coordinating A Rocha’s global environmental education programme. In 2022 we want to:

  • Resource the A Rocha organizations through a series of training webinars and a week-long environmental education conference, including up-to-date information on current environmental concerns and policies;
  • Enable A Rocha’s environmental education officers to share their knowledge, ideas and expertise, particularly around Plastic Free February, supported by contextual material and digital resources;
  • Create a Biodiversity Toolbox that brings together quality materials and highlights examples of good practice; and
  • Provide the training and support needed to ensure A Rocha’s global environmental education activities are operating effectively to meet local needs.

 

With every donation doubled, your gift will have twice the impact.

Shea butter workers - A Rocha Ghana

Greening businesses in Ghana

In Ghana, as in many places around the world, consumers are demanding greener, cleaner products and services, even if it means paying more. That’s why A Rocha Ghana, working in collaboration with IUCN Ghana, is engaging with companies across the country to help them respond.

Businesses in Environmental Stewardship Network (BESNet) provides a platform for businesses across Ghana to contribute to environmental sustainability and biodiversity conservation. Through training workshops and webinars, companies are being equipped and informed on how best they can value nature through their practices and decision-making processes.

Currently, the network includes close to 30 companies: from multinationals like Guinness Ghana, to small-scale businesses like Werlan Farm.

‘BESNet introduced us to the need to value natural capital in our business,’ says Ruth Kaweh Allan, the owner of Werlan Farm. ‘Through it we learned that protecting the land, the insects, the trees, and all living organisms on it would contribute to sustainability. We intensified our organic farming practices. Instead of pesticides we are using homemade concoctions with neem oil, pepper, onion and some spices to control pests and diseases. We also use farmyard manure to provide nutrition across the farm.’

The Green Corporate Star Award offers special recognition to businesses that demonstrate a particular commitment to environmental sustainability through their operations or by supporting environmental projects.

In time, the BESNet team hopes to develop more resources and tools that businesses can use to ensure their practices are environmentally friendly, as well as support them to develop environmental sustainability policies.

Through BESNet, A Rocha Ghana is demonstrating that it is possible to do business and protect the environment.