A Rocha

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International environmental organization

title: "A Rocha" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["international-environmental-organizations", "christianity-and-environmentalism", "charities-based-in-london", "environmental-organisations-based-in-london", "organizations-established-in-1983", "1983-establishments-in-england", "environmental-charities-based-in-the-united-kingdom"] description: "International environmental organization" topic_path: "society/religion" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Rocha" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary International environmental organization ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox organization"]

FieldValue
nameA Rocha
typeenvironmental NGO network
founded_date
founderMiranda and Peter Harris
predecessorA Rocha Trust
headquartersLondon, UK
originsConstituted in the UK
leader_titleInternational chair
leader_nameSoohwan Park
key_peopleEd Walker (Executive Director, ARI) • Andy Atkins (CEO, A Rocha UK) • Rev Dave Bookless (Head of Theology, ARI)
area_servedWorldwide
focuscommunity-based conservation projects
revenueGBP £750,000 (2022)
num_volunteers841 in 2017
num_employees144 in 2017(FTE)
homepage
::

| name = A Rocha | logo = | type = environmental NGO network | founded_date = | founder = Miranda and Peter Harris | predecessor = A Rocha Trust | headquarters = London, UK | origins = Constituted in the UK | leader_title = International chair | leader_name = Soohwan Park | key_people = Ed Walker (Executive Director, ARI) • Andy Atkins (CEO, A Rocha UK) • Rev Dave Bookless (Head of Theology, ARI) | area_served = Worldwide | product = | focus = community-based conservation projects | method = | revenue = GBP £750,000 (2022) | endowment = | num_volunteers = 841 in 2017 | num_employees = 144 in 2017(FTE) | homepage = | footnotes = A Rocha is an international network of environmental organizations with Christian ethos. A Rocha means "the rock" in Portuguese.

History

A Rocha International was founded in Portugal in 1983. The A Rocha Worldwide Covenant defines the rights and responsibilities of each A Rocha entity to the others.

As of 2024, A Rocha is working in over 20 countries: Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Ghana, India, Kenya, Lebanon, Netherlands, New Zealand/Aotearoa, Nigeria, Peru, Portugal, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Uganda, United Kingdom, and United States. There are ongoing conversations with other potential groups around the world, particularly in East and Southeast Asia.

A Rocha has five core commitments: Christian, Conservation, Community, Collaboration, and Cultural diversity.

Work

A Rocha aims to protect the environment through local, community-based conservation, scientific research, and environmental education, and they have “a track record of successes”.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Ringing_05_Determining_characteristics.jpg" caption="bird ringer]] ageing a [[hoopoe]] at the Cruzinha field studies centre, Portugal"] ::

A Rocha operates field study centres in Canada (two centres), France (two centres), India, Kenya, Portugal and in the Czech Republic. These serve primarily as a base for A Rocha's and other organisations’ field studies and for environmental education, and most also offer accommodation for visitors.

Areas of A Rocha's work include:

  • Species and landscape surveying and monitoring, such as raptor counts in Pembina Valley, Canada, camera trapping of mammals in India, the Kenya Bird Map, dry grassland biodiversity surveys in Switzerland and mapping tropical forests using unmanned aerial vehicles
  • Habitat and species restoration projects, such as mangrove restoration projects in Ghana, and improving breeding chances for Grey-faced petrels by eradicating invasive mammals, restoring habitats and deploying artificial nests in Raglan, New Zealand, control of invasive Indian House crow in Kenya
  • Reducing human–wildlife conflict in India, notably with elephants and leopards
  • Setting up private or public parks and reserves such as the Kirosa Scott Reserve in Kenya, and Foxearth Reserve and Minet Country Park in the UK
  • Enlarging and campaigning for the safeguarding of existing natural and protected areas, such as the Atewa Forest in Ghana, and the Alvor Estuary in Portugal
  • Bridging biodiversity conservation and sustainable livelihoods, such as via sustainable agriculture and community garden projects across Canada; the Arabuko-Sokoke Schools and Eco-tourism Scheme in Kenya; the establishment of CREMAs (community resource management areas) around Mole National Park and Lake Bosumtwi, Ghana; and training community members in Uganda to construct bio-sand water filters
  • Environmental education activities and resources, such as the Wild Lebanon website in Lebanon and "creation care camps" in the USA
  • Carbon footprint reduction and mitigation projects, such as producing charcoal briquettes from waste in Uganda, the "Eco Church" church greening programme in the UK, and running "Climate Stewards", a global programme which encourages people to reduce their carbon footprint, and accepts donations to offset emissions via community forestry and cookstove projects in Ghana, Kenya and Mexico
  • Cooperating worldwide for nature conservation, such as being a member of IUCN and IUCN's European Habitats Forum
  • Engaging Christian communities with the relevance of nature conservation to the Christian faith, through conferences, speaking engagements, books and papers, and partnerships such as the Lausanne/WEA Creation Care Network

A Rocha also serves as an Erasmus+ / European Voluntary Service agency in France, the Netherlands and Portugal.

References

References

  1. [https://arocha.org/en/about/people/ed-walker/ A Rocha website, ''People: Ed Walker'', retrieved 2024-05-15]
  2. [https://arocha.org.uk/nature-cant-wait/ A Rocha website, ''Nature Can't Wait'', article by Andy Atkins dated September 26, 2023]
  3. [https://arocha.org/en/about/people/ A Rocha website, ''People'', retrieved 2024-05-15]
  4. [https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search/-/charity-details/3985212 UK Government website, Charity Commission, ''A Rocha UK, Charity number: 1089276'' (December 2022)]
  5. (25 January 2024). "House Crows no more".
  6. "Eco Church".
  7. Collins, Susan Ashley. (March 2008). "Transformative Learning Through Conservation: A Case Study of the Arabuko-Sokoke Schools and Eco-tourism Scheme, Kenya". Natural Resources Institute, [[University of Manitoba]].
  8. A Rocha. ''[http://www.arocha.org/en/news/bangalore-leopard-attack-what-now/ Bangalore Leopard attack – what now?] {{Webarchive. link. (2 April 2019 ''. Retrieved 26 October 2016.)
  9. [[French Republic]]. 100 Projects for the Climate: ''[http://www.100projetspourleclimat.gouv.fr/en/projects/444-women-water-climate Women, Water & Climate] {{Webarchive. link. (3 August 2020 ''. Retrieved 26 October 2016.)
  10. A Rocha Ghana. ''[http://ghana.arocha.org/projects/collaborative-ecosystems-conservation-of-ghanas-lake-bosumtwi-basin/ Collaborative Ecosystems Conservation of Lake Bosumtwi] {{Webarchive. link. (1 October 2023 ''. Retrieved 26 October 2016.)
  11. A Rocha India. ''[http://www.arocha.in/projects/camera-trapping/ Camera trapping]''. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  12. A Rocha Canada. ''[https://arocha.ca/what-we-do/sustainable-agriculture/ Sustainable Agriculture: Creation care through food]''. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  13. (2008). "The Role of Religion in the HIV/AIDS Intervention in Africa: A Possible Model for Conservation Biology". [[Conservation Biology (journal).
  14. Charity Commission for England and Wales. ''[https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search?p_p_id=uk_gov_ccew_onereg_charitydetails_web_portlet_CharityDetailsPortlet&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_state=maximized&p_p_mode=view&_uk_gov_ccew_onereg_charitydetails_web_portlet_CharityDetailsPortlet_LIFERAY_SHARED_backToSearch=https%3A%2F%2Fregister-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk%2Fcharity-search%3Fp_p_id%3Duk_gov_ccew_portlet_CharitySearchPortlet%26p_p_lifecycle%3D1%26p_p_state%3Dnormal%26p_p_mode%3Dview%26_uk_gov_ccew_portlet_CharitySearchPortlet_cur%3D1%26_uk_gov_ccew_portlet_CharitySearchPortlet_delta%3D20%26_uk_gov_ccew_portlet_CharitySearchPortlet_keywords%3Da%2Brocha%2Btrust%26_uk_gov_ccew_portlet_CharitySearchPortlet_orderByCol%3D%26_uk_gov_ccew_portlet_CharitySearchPortlet_orderByType%3Dasc%26_uk_gov_ccew_portlet_CharitySearchPortlet_priv_r_p_prevCol%3D%26_uk_gov_ccew_portlet_CharitySearchPortlet_priv_r_p_useSession%3Dtrue%26_uk_gov_ccew_portlet_CharitySearchPortlet_priv_r_p_mvcRenderCommandName%3D%252Fsearch-results&_uk_gov_ccew_onereg_charitydetails_web_portlet_CharityDetailsPortlet_organisationNumber=5008790 A Rocha International]''. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  15. [[Charity Commission for England and Wales]]. ''[https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search?p_p_id=uk_gov_ccew_onereg_charitydetails_web_portlet_CharityDetailsPortlet&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_state=maximized&p_p_mode=view&_uk_gov_ccew_onereg_charitydetails_web_portlet_CharityDetailsPortlet_LIFERAY_SHARED_backToSearch=https%3A%2F%2Fregister-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk%2Fcharity-search%3Fp_p_id%3Duk_gov_ccew_portlet_CharitySearchPortlet%26p_p_lifecycle%3D1%26p_p_state%3Dnormal%26p_p_mode%3Dview%26_uk_gov_ccew_portlet_CharitySearchPortlet_cur%3D1%26_uk_gov_ccew_portlet_CharitySearchPortlet_delta%3D20%26_uk_gov_ccew_portlet_CharitySearchPortlet_keywords%3Da%2Brocha%2Btrust%26_uk_gov_ccew_portlet_CharitySearchPortlet_orderByCol%3D%26_uk_gov_ccew_portlet_CharitySearchPortlet_orderByType%3Dasc%26_uk_gov_ccew_portlet_CharitySearchPortlet_priv_r_p_prevCol%3D%26_uk_gov_ccew_portlet_CharitySearchPortlet_priv_r_p_useSession%3Dtrue%26_uk_gov_ccew_portlet_CharitySearchPortlet_priv_r_p_mvcRenderCommandName%3D%252Fsearch-results&_uk_gov_ccew_onereg_charitydetails_web_portlet_CharityDetailsPortlet_organisationNumber=288634 A Rocha Trust]''. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  16. A Rocha. ''[http://www.arocha.org/en/get-involved/centres/ Stay at our field study centres] {{Webarchive. link. (26 January 2021 ''. Retrieved 25 October 2016.)
  17. Climate Stewards. ''[http://www.climatestewards.org Home page]''. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  18. A Rocha Czech Republic. ''[http://www.arocha.cz/en/our-work/kruparna/ Our field study centre Krupárna – The Mill]''. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  19. [[European Youth Portal]]. ''Volunteering organisation information: [https://europa.eu/youth/volunteering/organisation/947622489_en A Rocha France]''. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  20. Elsdon, Ron (1992) ''Greenhouse Theology'' pp 193–195, Monarch, {{ISBN. 1-85424-153-2.
  21. [[European Youth Portal]]. ''Volunteering organisation information: [https://europa.eu/youth/volunteering/organisation/946433075_en Stichting A Rocha Nederland]''. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  22. [[European Youth Portal]]. ''Volunteering organisation information: [https://europa.eu/youth/volunteering/organisation/943112862_en A Rocha – Associação Cristã de Estudo e Defesa do Ambiente]''. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  23. A Rocha Ghana. ''[http://ghana.arocha.org/projects/community-mangrove-restoration-project/ Community mangrove restoration project] {{Webarchive. link. (7 October 2023 ''. Retrieved 26 October 2016.)
  24. A Rocha. [http://www.arocha.org/en/people/?filters%5Bteam%5D=international&filters%5Bposition%5D=council International council of reference] (''People'' page filtered by team and position). Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  25. A Rocha. ''[http://www.arocha.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Annual-Review-2015-16.pdf International Review 2015/16]''. Retrieved from http://www.arocha.org/en/publications/intl-review-2015-2016/ on 25 October 2016.
  26. A Rocha. ''[http://www.arocha.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Annual-Review-2016-17.pdf International Review 2016/17]''. Retrieved from www.arocha.org {{Webarchive. link. (1 March 2021 on 29 October 2018.)
  27. A Rocha. ''[http://www.arocha.org/en/people/rebecca-irvin/ Rebecca Irvin]''. www.arocha.org Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  28. IUCN. ''[https://www.iucn.org/content/european-habitats-forum-0 European Habitats Forum] {{Webarchive. link. (26 October 2016 ''. Retrieved 26 October 2016.)
  29. IUCN. ''[https://www.iucn.org/secretariat/membership/about/union/members/who-are-our-members Members database] {{Webarchive. link. (29 October 2016 ''. Retrieved 26 October 2016.)
  30. (February 2022). "IUCN 2016: High-level Session 5 Sep – Connections: Spirituality & Conservation (ID: #WCC_13830)". IUCN.
  31. Johnson, Marina. [[Church of England Newspaper. The Church of England Newspaper]] 1 August 2008: ''A Rocha: Spearheading the Green revolution in the church''.
  32. Bookless, Dave. ''[http://www.jubilee-centre.org/bible-and-biodiversity/ The Bible and Biodiversity] {{Webarchive. link. (30 January 2020 ''. The [[Jubilee Centre]] Cambridge Papers. Retrieved 19 October 2017.)
  33. [[Animal Demography Unit]], [[University of Cape Town]]. ''[http://kenyabirdmap.adu.org.za Welcome to the Kenya Bird Map project]''. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  34. A Rocha Kenya. ''[http://www.arocha.or.ke/projects/dakatcha-woodland/ Dakatcha Woodland] {{Webarchive. link. (6 February 2023 ''. Retrieved 28 October 2016.)
  35. Taylor, Jenny. (29 February 2012). "Religiously literate campaign secures prison sentence for rogue developer in Portuguese beauty spot".
  36. Lausanne/WEA Creation Care Network. ''[http://lwccn.com/about/ About]''. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  37. A Rocha. ''[http://www.arocha.org/en/projects/mapping-tropical-forests/ Mapping tropical forests] {{Webarchive. link. (14 June 2021 ''. Retrieved 28 October 2016.)
  38. A Rocha. ''[http://www.arocha.org/en/meet-a-rocha/ Meet A Rocha]''. www.arocha.org Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  39. Stelmach, Lorne. (17 June 2013). "Record raptor counts in the valley". The Morden Times.
  40. A Rocha. ''[http://www.arocha.org/en/overview/ Overview] {{Webarchive. link. (10 February 2021 ''. Retrieved 25 October 2016.)
  41. A Rocha. ''[http://www.arocha.org/en/people/peter-harris/ Peter Harris]''. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  42. Donn, Natasha. (5 February 2015). "Environmentalists slam council over Ria de Alvor development plans". Portugal Resident.
  43. Naylor, Chris. ''Postcards from the Middle East: How our family fell in love with the Arab world''. Oxford, England 2015: [[Lion Hudson]].
  44. [[Regent College]]. ''[http://www.regent-college.edu/lifelong-learning/conferences/pastors-conference-2015 Holy Ground: Answering God's Call to Creation Care]''. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  45. A Rocha Ghana. ''[http://www.saveatiwa.com.gh Save Atewa Forest] {{Webarchive. link. (5 August 2018 ''. Retrieved 27 October 2016.)
  46. (2011). "Christians, biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation: a potential synergy?". Biodiversity.
  47. (4 February 2016). "St Paul's Goes Green for Eco Church". [[St Paul's Cathedral]].
  48. Smallman, Elton Rikihana. (14 September 2016). "Oi, grey faced petrel making a Raglan comeback". Stuff.
  49. A Rocha. ''[http://www.arocha.org/en/projects/dry-grasslands-biodiversity-surveys/ Dry grasslands biodiversity surveys] {{Webarchive. link. (1 March 2021 ''. Retrieved 28 October 2016.)
  50. A Rocha Uganda. ''[http://uganda.arocha.org/projects/charcoal-briquettes/ Charcoal briquettes] {{Webarchive. link. (7 October 2023 ''. Retrieved 26 October 2016.)
  51. A Rocha UK. ''[http://arocha.org.uk/foxearth/ Foxearth: dawn of a new quest]''. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  52. A Rocha UK. ''[http://arocha.org.uk/about-us/meet-the-team/ Meet the team] {{Webarchive. link. (4 June 2018 ''. Retrieved 25 October 2016.)
  53. A Rocha USA. ''[http://nashville-arocha.us/creation-care-camp/ Creation Care Camp] {{Webarchive. link. (27 February 2017 ''. Retrieved 27 October 2016.)
  54. Vaglio Laurin G, Chan JC-W, Chen Q, Lindsell JA, Coomes DA, Guerriero L, et al. (2014) Biodiversity Mapping in a Tropical West African Forest with Airborne Hyperspectral Data. [[PLOS ONE]] 9(6): e97910. {{doi. 10.1371/journal.pone.0097910
  55. A Rocha. ''[http://www.arocha.org/en/values/ Our values]''. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  56. Varma, S., Anand.V.D., Gopalakrishna S.P., Avinash, K.G., and Nishant M.S. (2009). ''[http://www.asiannature.org/sites/default/files/BNP-Elephants%20with%20ISBN.pdf Ecology, Conservation and Management of the Asian Elephant in Bannerghatta National Park, southern India]''. A Rocha India/ANCF: Asian Elephant Ecology and Conservation Reference Series No.1. A Rocha India and Asian Nature Conservation Foundation, Bangalore. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  57. A Rocha Lebanon. ''[http://www.wildlebanon.org/index.html Wild Lebanon – Powered by A Rocha] {{Webarchive. link. (20 October 2021 ''. Retrieved 26 October 2016.)

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international-environmental-organizationschristianity-and-environmentalismcharities-based-in-londonenvironmental-organisations-based-in-londonorganizations-established-in-19831983-establishments-in-englandenvironmental-charities-based-in-the-united-kingdom