Climate Justice and Environmental Action - the Christians Tackling Climate Change in the Middle East
By Dr Ruth Valerio, Embrace’s Programmes, Partnerships & Advocacy Director
I stand on the balcony looking out as the sun sets over the horizon. I can see the Dead Sea six miles to my left and, almost straight ahead, over the hills where the sun is turning orange, is Jericho in the West Bank. Swifts wheel overhead, their cries piercing the warm sky. I try to focus on their beautiful call and ignore the persistent low hum of the bus down below, whose driver has frustratingly refused to turn off the ignition, despite us being settled here for a few hours.
As I look down, all around me I see green lush vegetation. Tall trees, bushes, flowers and vegetables, low plants spreading along the ground – it is all in stark contrast to the surrounding area of harsh desert rock. Further out, I can see a few trees but the courtyards of the houses in the village are mostly devoid of greenery, just bare sandy brown.
I’m at the Greening the Desert project in Jordan, a pioneering centre using permaculture principles to reverse desertification, tackle climate change and inspire us to live in harmony with nature. Jordan is a country suffering deeply from desertification and climate change, and from the impacts of decades of abusing the earth, clearing forests, draining wetlands, depleting aquifers, poisoning and overgrazing the land. But the Greening the Desert project offers a different way by which we can interact with the natural world and enable ourselves and nature to thrive together. And from what I can see around me, it works!
Looking out from the balcony at the Greening the Desert project in Jordan.
This visit to Greening the Desert is part of a workshop I’m attending on climate justice, biodiversity conservation, and creation care, organised by Act Alliance, and bringing together Christian organisations and churches taking action on the climate and environmental crises we are facing. I am very aware of the climate cost of coming to Amman and so am able to combine it with an overland trip into Israel and the West Bank to meet our partners there.
The Environmental Challenges in the Middle East
The Middle East faces terrible environmental challenges. Many areas, such as Jordan, are literally running out of water, and climate change is meaning less rainfall. Arable lands have been badly managed, leading to decreasing crop production. Air pollution is high and plastic pollution is everywhere. Biodiversity loss is heart-breaking, on the land and in the air and seas, due to climate change and other human activities, and coastal ecosystems are degraded. Exacerbating and weaving through so many of these issues is the ongoing tragedy of conflict.
Environmental action - how Christians are responding
The challenges are immense, but it is inspiring hearing from the 20 or so organisations and church denominations at the conference as they share what they are doing. Many are working on climate programmes with impacted communities, helping them learn how to adapt to new realities as well as change practices to prevent things from getting worse. Some are involved with environmental justice movements, working with young people to respond to damage being done by occupation or conflict, whilst others are engaged theologically with helping churches and theological colleges discover how they can get engaged. One organisation is working to tackle plastic pollution in a particular city, while another is involved with ringing and protecting migratory birds.
Two things are clear throughout the gathering: firstly, that climate justice, social justice, and ecological justice are intrinsically linked and must be tackled together. Secondly, that environmental action is an important part of the Christian faith and we must see it integrated into our understanding of the gospel and discipleship.
Embrace’s Projects - Tackling water shortages in Iraq
At Embrace the Middle East I’m proud that we are bringing these things together in some of the work we support. I was privileged recently to be able to visit villages in the north of Iraq, near the Syrian and Turkish borders. Every Mukhtar (village leader) we spoke with told us their biggest challenge is water and the lack of rain. Into this context Embrace partner, the ecumenical Christian Aid Programme, is running programmes with the young people in the villages, training them to lead campaigns and action on climate change and water conservation, and providing new opportunities for income generation as the crops suffer. One group of villages has benefited from a water tank we were involved in funding.
New water tank, built with Embrace funding, to help water shortages for a group of villages in northern Iraq.
Later on, as we drove between cities, it was shocking seeing the amount of plastic strewn everywhere as Iraq has no recycling facilities and using and throwing away plastic is now embedded in society. In response to this, AHC (Ankawa Humanitarian Committee, linked to the Chaldean Catholic church) is working in schools, providing drinking water stations and giving each child a reusable bottle. They are working with the children and young people to raise up environmental leaders, supporting them as they undertake different initiatives.
Embrace’s Projects – Promoting Sustainable Agriculture in Lebanon
Meanwhile, just over 500 miles to the west of Ankawa, in the Akkar region of Lebanon, Embrace is supporting MERATH (Middle East Revive and Thrive), a well-established partner, as they work with a Baptist church on a new ‘Sustainable Agriculture’ project, cultivating previously fallow land owned by the church. The project promotes environmentally friendly farming techniques and produces good quality, organic food that is distributed to vulnerable families struggling to make ends meet. It started as a small pilot project, but each year they have been able to increase their harvest and now it is going from strength to strength. Some of the food produced is now sold and the profits are reinvested to help sustain and build the project. The rest is distributed for free.
The Embrace-funded sustainable agriculture project in Lebanon.
After a difficult start, this project is now thriving and yields are increasing every year. One of those involved in the project said to Embrace’s Programmes & Partnerships Lebanon manager, Sophia recently: ‘I feel this land is an example of something spiritual: we used to be so harmful to the land, but we have reconciled it with what God intended it for. We are reconciling with the land.’
Reconciliation with God. Reconciliation with the land. And reconciliation with each other. This is the vision we work for together. Thank you for being a part of it.
ECO-FRIENDLY SHOPPING
Many of the gifts in our shop are fairly traded and eco-friendly - such as this tote bag, made from a mix of locally sourced Egyptian cotton and upcycled Egyptian plastic bags.