October/ November 2010

Panem et circenses

Greenpeace (Argentina) reported today (9/10/10) that Argentina´s government is using funds marked for forest conservation to pay for an initiative to provide the public with free TV access to football games. It reminds us of the metaphor Panem et circenses (bread and games), used to describe a superficial means of appeasement. As Wikipedia explains: “...In the case of politics, the phrase is used to describe the creation of public approval, not through exemplary or excellent public service or public policy, but through the mere satisfaction of the immediate, shallow requirements of a populace. The explanation aptly describes what we are up against in terms of raising awareness on matters related to caring for creation.

We recently found a very concrete example of government insensitivity towards forest conservation whilst travelling through the Chaco. Deep inside a zone in which Argentina Supreme court has decreed that deforestation is banned, we found the mayor of a small town (Pichanal), quite happily clearing and burning forest on his property.

Land recently clearedby the Mayor of Pichanal, in an area where deforestation
 has been temporarily banned by Argentina´s Suprem Court

Edging towards the first acquisition of land

The political inertia concerning conservation needs causes a great sense of frustration for those who can see what is going on here. That is why we feel that alongside protecting lands we must also engage in research and publications that might help people “join the dots”, by showing how action (or inaction) in a given area and given problem may generate negative consequences in other areas.

The fact that the government is not taking conservation seriously underlines the growing need for private initiatives that might provide an “exemplary or excellent public service” in the realm of conservation. In this regard, government inaction serves to spur us on towards fulfilling the vision we have for Land for Life.   It’s not an easy challenge we have chosen, yet it is one that we feel God has called us to and in that regard we wait upon him to open doors.

As mentioned in our previous newsletter, we are very keen to move ahead with the purchase of a plot of forest covered land. We are now convinced that in order to make waves we need to work at a concrete level and start showing examples of “what could be”. We have identified a region in which we would consider potential sites, and would like to now move to position of having funds available in order to make a purchase whenever the opportunity arises. If you are interested in making a donation or know someone who would, we would ask that you please get in contact with Felicity Hall to discuss options. Email:  hall.felicity@gmail.com

New contacts

In the meantime we continue to develop our network of contacts, which was one of our key goals for this year. Andrew recently met with Ricardo Clarke, a leading authority on birds in northern Argentina and director of clarkexpediciones, a bird watching tour operator. He and his wife Dr. Patricia Marconi (previously with National Parks) have created and run a small nature reserve on the outskirts of Salta. The purpose of the meeting was to share our idea of conducting research on birds as indicators of what is occurring to the biodiversity of the Chaco as a result of deforestation. Ricardo expressed his interest in the project and willingness to give us a hand in defining the technical aspects of the methodology we hope to use. The link with Ricardo was facilitated by a couple who have also shown a great deal of interest in our work. They are Ossian Lindholm, a professional photographer specializing in nature and landscapes, and his wife Ana Ines Figueroa who owns and runs a prestigious ecotourism agency called Adventure and Landscape.  

Registering the Trust

In order to speed up the paperwork for registering our work as a charity we have contracted the services of a local professional. This should help things along, but right now we are stuck on finding an appropriate name for the organization. We would like a name that works equally well in Spanish and English. We would also like a name that will give readers some idea of what we about (i.e. Christians involved in conservation through the establishment of protected areas of native forests). If you have any brilliant ideas, please email them to us pronto! Once we have a name we will be developing an appropriate logo.

Other work

As we write this letter there appears to be little to report.  It’s not the lack of work, but more the fact that we have been overwhelmed by other activities. Andrew has continued to travel. He has recently returned from a trip to Ecuador and heads off to Guatemala next week, for what should be his final international trip for Compassion International this calendar year (as trips to Philippines and Kenya have been postponed). He has also had to help ASOCIANA complete a project that he was responsible for and which has also required some local travel to the Chaco.

Items for prayer

·         Pray for quick success in registering our charity with the local authorities

·         Pray for ongoing work with preparing the formal proposal for the Land for Life initiative.

·         Pray for funds to start coming in order to build a reserve in preparation for purchasing a plot of forested land.