Forum for the Future in partnership with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung convened an awareness raising workshop conference on climate change. The conference was attended by pastors and priests from different churches in north-central Namibia and was held during 12-14 July 2016 in the Conference Hall of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (ELCIN) at Oniipa.
The participants did not only discuss the issue of climate change though, but also signed a letter in which they committed themselves to actively support all efforts against this threat: "WE DO NOT DO THIS JUST THROUGH PRAYING AND PREACHING, BUT ALSO THROUGH PUTTING INTO PRACTICE WHAT WE CAN, SUCH AS PLANTING TREES, PRESERVING WATER, AND PLANTING VEGETABLES. WE ADVOCATE FOR THE CHANGE OF THE WAY OF ERECTING OUR TRADITIONAL HOMESTEADS WITH MANY, MANY POLES AND STICKS THEREBY CAUSING DEFORESTATION."
The letter (see above) was signed by nearly 40 pastors and reverends.
The conference was officially opened by Pohamba Shifeta, Minister for Environment and Tourism. Awareness raising sessions were led by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (Department of Environmental Affairs), headed by Dr. Jonathan Mutau Kamwi, Chief Conservation Scientist.
The Minister also appealed to the clergy to preach about climate change by making it part of mainstream church programmes.He said the church can be the best mode of communicating information on climate change that can help communities deal with uncertainty and make decisions that are aligned both with the most reliable scientific information and their own ethical values. “We need each other as a church and government to put in place concrete actions to fight climate change. We must act now. And we must act with courage,” Shifeta told the conference.*
- Origin: The Namibian, 28.07.2016