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Anne Marie Brennan and Siji Chacko SJ share scenes, snippets, and insights from COP26 live from Glasgow

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Faith at the Climate Frontiers: Consequences for Oceania and Asia

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Faith at the Climate Frontiers: Consequences for Oceania and Asia

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Ecojesuit is organizing Faith at the Climate Frontiers: Consequences for Oceania and Asia, a 90-minute event on 8 November in Glasgow with Ecojesuit COP26 delegates and partners, contributing to the calls of the Climate Vulnerable Forum and the Vulnerable Twenty Group for stronger global efforts to tackle climate threats.

This Ecojesuit event provides a platform to discuss COP26 updates on Oceania and Asia and share the voices from these regions on the challenges they are experiencing from the impact of a changing climate. Participants will also explore how a communal and interfaith response can strengthen these voices and actions from Oceania and Asia, following a process of synodality and solidarity.

In Oceania, its Small Island Nations increasingly experience sea-level rise, seabed mining, and extreme weather events. Similarly in Asia, climate events impact vulnerable communities through flooding and landslides, with destruction of its forests, coastal areas, and the greater biodiversity that sustain all lives. As communities struggle to adapt, global efforts need to address these concerns at the core.

These concerns are interconnected by way of the "river above" which is the Pacific Ocean - the life, the river of Asia feeding all rivers, seasons and lives. The surface area and ocean currents absorb energy and generate thermals and other air flows, forming the weather patterns and events while sustaining their movement westward. This flow is life-giving and life-taking, especially as the climate is changing and resources are exhausted. Addressing these concerns will only be possible if Oceania and Asia act together.

As shared in a recent event that the River above Asia and Oceania Ecclesial Network (RAOEN) organized, "(c)reating a space for synodality through a dialogue between local voices and Church and ecumenical leaders strengthens collaborations and commitments amongst groups with a common desire to care for the oceans and forests, and in the peripheral communities of Oceania and Asia, the cry of the Earth and cry of the poor are most deeply felt."

With the COP26 climate talks facing huge concerns and questions as to what can be meaningfully accomplished, there is a need to amplify efforts for a steadfast and hope-filled commitment to push for change and accountability, and for the inclusion of all voices and concerns in the global response to the climate crisis.
To join the Ecojesuit event Faith at the Climate Frontiers: Consequences for Oceania and Asia, please register through this link bit.ly/FaithClimateFrontiers.
The event will also be livestreamed in the Ecojesuit Facebook page and will be held on 8 November 2021, Monday, 8:30-10:00 am Glasgow/London (9:30-11:00 am Rome, 2:00-3:30pm New Delhi, 4:30-6:00 pm Manila, 7:30-9:00 pm Sydney, 8:30-10:00 pm Suva) in line with the COP26 daily theme on "Adaptation, Loss, and Damage" and will be accessible to both in-person and virtual participants.
The Ecojesuit event is organized in collaboration with RAOEN, Jesuit Missions UK, Ignatian Spirituality Centre, Christian Life Community, the Pacific Conference of Churches, the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conference, the Federation of Catholic Bishops' Conferences of Oceania, Caritas, and the Institute of Environmental Science for Social Change.

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Faith at the climate frontiers: Consequences for Oceania and Asia - Ecology and Jesuits in Communication

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Ecojesuit is organizing Faith at the Climate Frontiers: Consequences for Oceania and Asia, a 90-minute event on 8 November in Glasgow with Ecojesuit COP26 delegates and partners, contributing to the calls of the Climate Vulnerable Forum and the Vulnerable Twenty Group for stronger global efforts to tackle climate threats.

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Youth dialogue on Ecological Crisis: CLC Kenya and Balay Laudato Si'

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Youth dialogue on Ecological Crisis: CLC Kenya and Balay Laudato Si'

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St. Aloysius' College - Secondary, Triq il-Ferrovija l-Qadima, Birkirkara, Malta

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A message to our leaders from all students at St Aloysius College

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A message to our leaders from all students at St Aloysius College

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A message to our leaders from all students at St Aloysius College

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COP26 Infographic  final 28 Ocotber 2021  (4) (2)

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Mount St Benedict College, Pennant Hills Road, Pennant Hills NSW, Australia

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Wednesday 10th November
9:00am - 3:00pm
Hosted by Mount St Benedict College, Pennant Hills, Sydney
Via Zoom

Register: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NSW21YouthSummit

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(friends of trees in Hindi and Sanskrit) is a movement that evolved from the Forum for Environment that students started in 1988, with a focus on the conservation of biodiversity and promotion of ecological sensitivity.

This students' movement is now working in 23 states of India and with around 2,000 schools and colleges in the country. The headquarters is in Patna, Bihar, India which is a bio-reserve that students planted and now regularly manage.

Tarumitra strongly advocates extending the green cover, especially the planting of rare, endangered, and medicinal flora which caters to indigenous groups. This movement has always taken a stand for alternative sources of energy, organic gardening and farming, green and eco-friendly activities, vermi composting and mulching, waste management and other green practices that minimize the carbon footprint.

They collaborate and network with local, state, and central administrative authorities such as the State Pollution Control Board, the Department of Forest, Environment and Climate Change, the Municipal Corporation Body, the State Department of Agriculture, among others.

When rampant cutting of trees take place in public places or unhealthy practices are undertaken and increasing pollution levels, the Tarumitra clubs of various school and colleges respond unanimously through road shows, human chains, signature campaigns, flash mobs, street plays, and other similar group actions to create higher awareness on urgent issues that contribute to global warming and climate change.

The students have a lot of green innovative ideas to reduce pollution levels and also imbibe a sense of eco-spirituality through seasonal festivals and celebrations such as Holi (Festival of Colors), Diwali (Festival of Lights), Friendship Day with trees, and Valentines' day with Mother Earth.

Students also learn about organic rice planting and the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) method that was synthesized in the 1980s by French Jesuit Henri de Laulanié who started to work with rice farmers in Madagascar in 1961.

SRI is a method of rice cultivation that increases the productivity of irrigated rice by changing the management of plants, soil, water and nutrients. SRI leads to healthier soil and plants, supported by greater root growth and the nurturing of soil microbial abundance and diversity. The SRI method is now taken up in about 40 rice-producing countries.

Tarumitra has a strong belief that students are not only the future but the present as well. When students become aware of eco-friendly and green ideas from their childhood, the possibility is greater that they would refrain from activities which are harmful to the environment.

Tarumitra received the UN Special Consultative Status (ECOSOC) in 2005, enabling them to participate in events like the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development where progress on the Sustainable Development Goals are reviewed with UN member-states.

Students representing Tarumitra participate in UN Summits and these young green leaders have time and again addressed General Assemblies on ecological concerns. Students from various part of the globe such as Zamorano Pan-American Agricultural School (a non-profit private university in Honduras, Central America) and Lehigh University (a private research university in Pennsylvania, USA) have come to Tarumitra India for internship programs.

Tarumitra's green journey is animated by committed youth who actively respond to and engage with urgent environmental global issues, and in caring for our common home, Tarumitra works on the principle of Universal Cousinship and strongly advocates that "the whole world is my family."
Ms Devopriya Dutta is an environment worker and is the coordinator of Tarumitra. She is also a member of the Ecojesuit Ecoteam of the Jesuit Conference of South Asia and she has a six-minute video Introduction to Tarumitra Asharam 2019 that provides an overview of Tarumitra activities. Tarumitra founder Fr Robert Athickal SJ also shares about Tarumitra and his journey in this four-minute video.

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The green journey of Tarumitra with the youth - Ecology and Jesuits in Communication

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(friends of trees in Hindi and Sanskrit) is a movement that evolved from the Forum for Environment that students started in 1988, with a focus on the conservation of biodiversity and promotion of ecological sensitivity. This students' movement is now working in 23 states of India and with around 2,000 schools and colleges in the country.

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10 Downing Street, Downing Street, London, UK

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Pupils urge Prime Minister to show bold leadership at COP26

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Pupils urge Prime Minister to show bold leadership at COP26

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Pupils from Catholic high schools delivered the ‘Be BOLD Petition’ to 10 Downing Street yesterday, urging British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to make bold commitments at COP 26.

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Pupils from Catholic high schools delivered the 'Be BOLD Petition' to 10 Downing Street yesterday, urging British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to make bold commitments at COP 26.

The petition, created by Jesuit Missions, calls on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to show strong leadership at COP26 to limit the annual global temperature rising above 1.5°C. The pupils that delivered the petition attend St Ignatius College in Enfield, Ursuline High School in Wimbledon, and Wimbledon College in Wimbledon.

The petition asks the Prime Minister to deliver three key aims. The first being to lead global action on reducing carbon emissions. The second is to stop funding the fossil fuel industry. The third is to work with world leaders to meet the commitment to providing low-income countries with $100 billion each year in climate finance.

Director of Jesuit Missions, Paul Chitnis, said, "Global warming affects everyone especially the poorest communities in the world. The world's leaders must show bold leadership at COP -26 and meet the commitments they have repeatedly made. Failure to do so will be measured in the lives and livelihoods of people who have done the least to cause global warming but have the most to lose."

The 'Be BOLD Boris' petition has received widespread support from parishioners, pupils, and Jesuit Mission supporters. Fr Damian Howard SJ, the Provincial of the Jesuits in Britain, led a prayer service at Westminster Abbey for the pupils before visiting 10 Downing Street.

Fr Damian said, "The Jesuits in Britain recognise climate change as one of the most important global issues to address. That is why we committed to divesting from fossil fuels two years ago, but we recognise more action is needed. Jesuits around the world have joined forces to engage in COP26 . The young people that are advocating for change today are an inspiration. I am delighted to be able to support them today."

The Jesuits are committed to working for the Care of Creation. The Superior general, Fr Arturo Sosa said, "The damage done to the earth is also damage done to the most vulnerable, such as indigenous peoples, peasants forced to emigrate, and the inhabitants of urban peripheries. The environmental destruction being caused by the dominant economic system is inflicting intergenerational damage: not only does it affect those now living on earth, particularly the very young, but it also conditions and jeopardizes the life of future generations."

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Pupils urge Prime Minister to show bold leadership at COP26 - Jesuit Missions

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Pupils from Catholic high schools delivered the 'Be BOLD Petition' to 10 Downing Street yesterday, urging British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to make bold commitments at COP 26. The petition, created by Jesuit Missions, calls on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to show strong leadership at COP26 to limit the annual global temperature rising above 1.5°C.

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A cannonball moment: The July 2021 flooding in Germany

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A cannonball moment: The July 2021 flooding in Germany

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CLC-Germany

Up to 2021, the effects of climate change did not have a great impact on the "normal life" of German citizens. But by the seventh month, Germany experienced a kind of "cannonball moment" when after hours of record rainfalls, several regions in Germany and in the neighbouring countries experienced severe flooding that killed more than 180 people in Germany and destroyed houses and major infrastructure. (Germany floods: At least 70 dead and dozen more missing after record rainfall in western Europe, from The Sun, 16 July 2021)

According to The Earth Observatory, "(w)hile it will take some time for experts to analyze whether this event was influenced by human-caused global warming, scientists have amassed data showing that warming has led to more intense and frequent downpours in many parts of the world. Some researchers and meteorologists have also suggested that warming may be changing the jet stream in ways that make atmospheric "blocking" patterns - like the one that prolonged these downpours - more likely."

Why was it a "cannonball moment" for Germany?

It's because people in one of the richest nations worldwide realized that the climate crisis is a reality for everyone's life, and is not only something that happens in poorer countries far away and that they can follow on TV or in the media.

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A cannonball moment: The July 2021 flooding in Germany - Ecojesuit@COP26

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CLC-Germany Up to 2021, the effects of climate change did not have a great impact on the "normal life" of German citizens. But by the seventh month, Germany experienced a kind of "cannonball moment" when after hours of record rainfalls, several regions in Germany and in the neighbouring countries experienced severe flooding that killed more...

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Agriculture and hope in Machghara, Lebanon

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Agriculture and hope in Machghara, Lebanon

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CLC-Lebanon

Many members of the Christian Life Community (CLC)in Lebanon are taking individual initiatives to contribute to taking care of our "common home." Some helped in cleaning the capital after the blast of 4 August 2020 in the port of Beirut, others are working on waste sorting, raising ecological awareness, and changing their ways of life by saving energy and water, among other daily and personal actions. In Machghara, a village known for its gigantic moon and for the musician and composer Zaki Nassif in the West Bekaa, Christian Life Community (CLC) member Pamela is participating in a family project in an agriculture field.

Agriculture in Lebanon, largely dedicated to wine and citrus production, is one of the most climate vulnerable sectors due to the country's limited water and land resources. The agriculture project aims to regenerate and re-develop the family's two remaining lands of 1.3 hectares each, previously planted with various kinds of fruit trees, mainly apples such as Gala, Pink Lady, Jonathan, Granny Smith, Fuji, Red Chief, Jonagold, Golden, and Starken, etc. Other fruits grown are grapes, cherries, mulberries, apricots, figs, quinces, among others.

The project is starting the production and development of homemade products from fruits such as jams, syrups, vinegar, apple wine, and other products but there are many challenges.

Taking care of the fruit trees needs to be done in person for many years and includes scheduling fruit picking in the proper time, storing the fruits safely, producing adequately, and distributing. With limited assistance from government and related ministries, limited financial resources, restricted supply of clean water, and the impacts of a changing climate, these challenges pose great harming to the trees, and can lead to reduced fruit production.

In such a politically-challenged rural region, this project is an example of sustainability and survival, ensuring the trees do not deteriorate and the lands are made productive and not sold.

As Christians, Pamela and her family believes this project and the "fruits" of their labor are part of "preserving" and caring for Creation, our "common home" that is the work of God and of people.

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Agriculture and hope in Machghara, Lebanon - Ecojesuit@COP26

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CLC-Lebanon Many members of the Christian Life Community (CLC)in Lebanon are taking individual initiatives to contribute to taking care of our "common home." Some helped in cleaning the capital after the blast of 4 August 2020 in the port of Beirut, others are working on waste sorting, raising ecological awareness, and changing their ways of...

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Singer/songwriter Trish Watts shared this song during the Art for Earth webinar of SJES South Asia in September 26

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November 6: Global Day of Action for the Climate 2021 (CAFOD)

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November 6: Global Day of Action for the Climate 2021 (CAFOD)

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CAFOD will be joining millions of people across the world who will be out marching for climate justice on Saturday 6 November for the Global Day of Action for the Climate. Register here: https://cafod.org.uk/News/Events/COP26-Day-of-Action-2021

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You are here : Home > News > Events > Global Day of Action for the Climate 2021

This event has passed. Thank you for you interest in CAFOD Events. Please see our current events below.

Get in touch

If you'd like to organise an event to support CAFOD have a look at our A-Z of fundraising ideas and handy how-to guides. Collection envelopes, prayer cards and other resources are available to order from the CAFOD shop.

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Global Day of Action for the Climate 2021 | CAFOD

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You are here : Home > News > Events > Global Day of Action for the Climate 2021 This event has passed. Thank you for you interest in CAFOD Events. Please see our current events below. If you'd like to organise an event to support CAFOD have a look at our A-Z of fundraising ideas and handy how-to guides.

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We had the join to meet before the closure of season of creation, on the 1st october and learn with our new friend, Manuel, how he does compost in his own backyard in the middle of town. He talked to us with bewilderment about the natural process, and trully contaged us while he discreetly gave us his testimony. We now all wish to soon strat doing compost in our houses settled in Lisbon. It is a wonderfull way to give back to the land what we received, and to be cooperators of this valuable process, this slow miracle, and to bring others to join this joyfull movement!

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The youth from the portuguese FEC delegation (pilgrims of the CIDSE's Our Common Journey to COP26 participated both in Lisbon and Oporto's global strikes for future. Not only the two groups were connected between the two strikes as they were connected with the many other international participants of Our Common Journey who attended the strikes in their own countries.
Our common journey to COP26 (padlet.com)

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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Headquarters, Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington, DC, USA

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Contest: Sustainable Communities Web Challenge

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Contest: Sustainable Communities Web Challenge

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How will your community move beyond carbon and into a net zero future?

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) presents a virtual coding challenge to create Web Pages for Communities to explore local environmental impacts and innovations. Presented with Code for America, this official US Federal Challenge event is offering a total of $10,000 in cash awards. Additional project support provided by the Georgia Center of Innovation.

Start anytime from now up until the finale on October 2, 2021.

The challenge: Create a community page that visualizes your community's path to a sustainable, net zero future. A community can be your neighborhood, town, city, county, region or state. Use data and widgets from the EPA and other sources to share your vision for a sustainable community.

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Sustainable Communities Web Challenge

Saturday, Oct 2, 2021: 10AM to 6PM ET

Steps for creating your entry

1. Identify your community of interest and register

Your community can be a neighborhood, city, county, region of a state, or multiple states. Indicate your community when you register online.

2. Discover important local issues based on the industries in your community

Use our industry comparison tool to identify local issues.

3. Join or form a new team

Create or join a team for your city or community. You may also form a coding/design team focused on specific project areas. You can return to your registration page later to add team and project info. Use the link in the email you receive during registration.

4. Create a community page

Check out our existing community pages and learn how to make your own. The easiest way is to fork the apps directory, then copy and edit an existing app folder. Also, clone the localsite repo into the same webroot as the apps folder to provide support files. Read more about how to create your own local site.

5. Create beautiful content and add new functionality

Create new visuals and content for your community page. Embed new or existing USEEIO widgets in your page. We encourage page designs that can be reused by multiple communities.

Learn more: How to Prepare a Winning Entry

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2021 Sustainable Communities Web Challenge

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Sustainable Communities Web Challenge Saturday, Oct 2, 2021: 10AM to 6PM ET Your community can be a neighborhood, city, county, region of a state, or multiple states. Indicate your community when you register online. Use our industry comparison tool to identify local issues. Create or join a team for your city or community.

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Loyola University Chicago, West Sheridan Road, Chicago, IL, USA

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Please join us for an end of summer bike tour along Lake Michigan. As part of the lead up to the UN Convention on Climate Change’s 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) in November, this bike pilgrimage will support the journey being undertaken by climate activists around the world travelling to Glasgow, Scotland to advance equitable climate policy and a just future for all.
We will meet on Loyola’s Lake Shore Campus at the bike racks nearest the south entrance to Halas at 4 pm (see attached map for location). We will ride ~3 miles south to the mouth of Montrose Harbor and spend some time in reflection on issues related to migration, climate refugees, and our natural world.

We will then bike back to the Lake Shore Campus intending to be back before 6 pm. Please RSVP and we ask that you come prepared for the weather. Make sure to provide a contact email and check your email during the day of the 1st if the weather looks questionable.

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Cumbre Climática de la Juventud de Latinoamérica y el Caribe

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Cumbre Climática de la Juventud de Latinoamérica y el Caribe

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En el 2021 se realizará la Cumbre Climática de la Juventud de Latinoamérica y el Caribe, mejor conocida como #RCOYLAC2021. Constará de una serie de eventos virtuales y presenciales que permitirán a la juventud expresar su voz y, mediante un proceso participativo sin precedentes, redactar una declaración consensuada que será presentada en diferentes ámbitos nacionales e internacionales. Asimismo, se busca fortalecer las alianzas entre las organizaciones de la sociedad civil de juventud que se encuentran trabajando en materia de Cambio Climático y acercar a los tomadores de decisión documentos basados en información científica con el ánimo de hacer propuestas y hacer un llamado a la acción colectiva. (https://rcoylac.org/)

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Amazon Rainforest - Codajás, State of Amazonas, Brazil

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La espiritualidad de los cuerpos femeninos

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La espiritualidad de los cuerpos femeninos

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"Me siento atraída, sorprendida y fascinada por el camino de comunión con el Dios de la naturaleza, que los ancianos de las comunidades viven y pudimos constatar en los diferentes pueblos con quienes contactamos en las Itinerancias."

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Me siento atraída, sorprendida y fascinada por el camino de comunión con el Dios de la naturaleza, que los ancianos de las comunidades viven y pudimos constatar en los diferentes pueblos con quienes contactamos en las Itinerancias.

Por Maria Eugenia Lloris Aguado, FMVD *
Los ancianos de las comunidades de la Amazonía viven una conexión profunda con todo lo creado es admirable. En Angoteros hablando con Walter - padre del actual Apu - de 75 años, al mostrarle la imagen de Pachayaya, inició una oración en kichwa con devoción. Más que las palabras, nos asombró su espontaneidad y su semblante iluminado como se viese al Invisible.

O al compartir con el chamán David, en Pucallpa, que nos mostraba un vídeo de unas luces que aparecían en el medio de la selva cuando él entonaba los cantos que los xapiris le inspiraban: " Todo es energía. Ellos se muestran, son los espíritus de nuestros antepasados manifestándose, entrando en comunicación ", afirmaba.

Pero no es una práctica restricta a los hombres. La relación de las mujeres con la naturaleza, especialmente con la Tierra, posee un substrato simbólico vital, e inherente al propio cuerpo de cada una de ellas: de fecundidad y natalidad. Su cuerpo, como prolongación de la tierra, que engendra, cuida, alimenta: la pachamama.

Aprender de las mujeres

La mujer Awà Guajá de la imagen, con la rodilla en el suelo, cargando en brazos el niño de su vientre, alimenta al cerdito de monte que la naturaleza le ofreció. Alimenta la cría que perdió su madre por alimentar al ser humano, talvez a la familia o a los parientes y familiares de la comunidad de la mujer Awà Guajá. Una relación de reciprocidad e integración, en la espontaneidad de la vida, que va más allá de racionalizaciones. Imagen que muchos de nosotros talvez vimos en nuestras visitas a las comunidades.

La Madre Tierra, como esas mujeres y como tantas mujeres que llevan la vida en sus entrañas, busca un espacio seguro para dar a luz y dejar brotar la vida que lleva dentro; o simplemente compartirla, amamantando a todo aquel que con humildad se aproxime de ella, no en una relación mercantil o de comercio, sino de necesidad y equilibrio elemental con el ecosistema, como la cría o el bebé que nace. Nos evoca o simboliza una conocida expresión bíblica: "La tierra gime con dolores de parto" (Rm 8,32), por dar vida. Y ¡cómo podemos aprender de las mujeres!

Las mujeres sabias y parteras: una práctica concreta

El testimonio de Lorenza nos abre una ventana a esta espiritualidad vivida por las mujeres que viven en las márgenes de los ríos, lejos de la atención médica, pero que guardan en sí el poder de la vida. Siguen su instinto y se solidarizan entre sí, apoyándose mutuamente cuando se trata de defender la vida de un ser viviente.

La vida llega de cuclillas: LORENZA, partera consagrada en Angoteros

Sentadas en un tronco, mientras se celebra una minga en la casa, la mamá de Geni, Lorenza, nos cuenta su experiencia como partera. Una charla tranquila, casi susurrando, pues los kichwa no alzan la voz. Prestamos atención a sus frases entrecortadas, con el español que maneja, y nos confirma que ayudó a muchas mamás a dar a luz de cuclillas. Detalla que amarran una cuerda al palo transversal de la maloca (o casa de madera), y el marido ayuda asegurando la espalda por detrás. Es interesante, lo escuchamos también de otras mujeres de la región, que continúan dando a luz en las propias casas, y que son los maridos los que atienden directamente a sus mujeres en esos momentos. Están "al lado" - como el Génesis[1] sugiere- en la creación del hombre y la mujer.

Las mujeres de esta región (Río Napo- Perú) acostumbradas a dar a luz en sus casas, cuentan sus experiencias, y una nos comenta que había dado a luz en la cocina, en una casa de tablas a varios metros de altura del suelo, y cuenta: "Como era de noche y sin luz, tenía miedo de que, a la hora de nacer, el bebé se escurriese por las rendijas que se abren entre las maderas irregulares. Mi marido fue a buscar ayuda, y yo le supliqué: ¡Ven enseguida!". Al observar el espacio, y las condiciones, percibimos que las mujeres son muy valientes y creen profundamente que el poder de la vida siempre vence. El bebé ahí estaba, corriendo en medio de nosotros.

Contar experiencias como éstas no es para resaltar lo exótico o lo diferente y curioso de lo vivido, sino para colocar de relieve la capacidad de defender la vida. Un poder ancestral: dar vida sean cual sean las condiciones. La historia de las parteras, y el poder de la vida en el cuerpo y manos de las mujeres, es ancestral. Tenemos referencia no sólo en la historia de esos pueblos, sino también en la historia de otros pueblos de otras partes del mundo, como sabemos por otros estudios, como es el caso del pueblo de Israel[2].

El primer arte de la tierra es el de las parteras: dar vida, dejar que las crianzas vivan, nuestros niños y los de las demás. Todas las crianzas de todos. Un oficio de la Antigüedad única y totalmente femenino. Cuando ese primer arte se eclipsa, la vida pierde el primer lugar, y las civilizaciones se confunden, enferman e decaen. Sabemos que permanecen en la sombra, ocultando su poder, sin que se hable de ellas.

Decir no a todo aquello que coloca en peligro el nacimiento y decir si a la vida, por encima de cualquier otra ley, es expresión y símbolo de lo que prevalece: el valor de la vida. Un valor que se perpetúa por siglos y es símbolo de resistencia. Cuántas mujeres se alían por la vida, como parteras, madres de leche, o apadrinan los hijos de sus parientes, más allá del círculo estrictamente familiar, dejando que la vida las hermane y emparente, en la unidad de la familia universal.

Espiritualidad de los cuerpos femeninos

Las mujeres en su cuerpo, como continuidad y símbolo de la relación con la tierra, revelan una espiritualidad de la vida y de la fecundidad que integra y lo envuelve todo, pasando por su propio ser. Una relación que las lleva siempre más allá, estableciendo una hermandad que no se limita al territorio, ni a la familia parental, sino que las incluye en la hermandad universal de ser hijas de la tierra. Pertenecer a la tierra, como identidad primigenia.

Sus cuerpos, son casa que nos acoge. Una relación que ellas experimentan en el propio cuerpo como continuidad de sí, y que revelan en las relaciones con los otros (iguales a sí), el otro (animal) o los bienes (la naturaleza, los frutos que nos ofrece la tierra), haciéndonos nacer constantemente a la vida: son parteras.

Un cuerpo que fecunda y alimenta, como la tierra misma. La tierra es útero de nuestra existencia, hogar y casa. Y las mujeres, como parteras, nos ayudan a romper aguas, enseñándonos una relación nueva con los otros (iguales a sí) de hermandad, con el otro (animales) de reciprocidad, y con los bienes (la naturaleza, y bienes que nos ofrece la tierra) de cuidado. Es esa espiritualidad lo que les permite resistir en el tiempo, más allá de las condiciones físicas o geográficas. Perpetuarse y perpetuar la especie.

La espiritualidad indígena enriquece nuestras propias espiritualidades, al indicarnos: la relación con la naturaleza y lo creado, como parte de nuestro ser, integrándolo de manera natural. El cuidado con la tierra y los otros seres, es algo constitutivo de nosotros, por ser cuerpos abiertos a la vida, dedicados a acoger la vida, cuidarla y alimentarla, porque en el origen y al final de la existencia: Somos tierra.

Sería un sueño que como mujeres ejerciésemos nuestro poder ancestral, "al lado" de Adán, como los kichwa asisten a sus mujeres: en igualdad y reciprocidad de la diferencia de ser.
* La Hna. Maria Eugenia Lloris Aguado, FMVD, es Misionera del Equipo Itinerante de BOLPEBRA (en la Triple Frontera entre Bolíva, Perú, Brasil).
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[1] - Bíblia Católica Online: Considerando el termino en hebreo, hay varias traducciones o sinónimos:" צֵלָע - tsela, lado, costado, viga, rayo, costilla. Eva fue formada del lado de Adán: "Y le quitó una de las costillas, rellenando el vacío con carne. 22.De la costilla que Yahveh Dios había tomado del hombre formó una mujer y la llevó ante el hombre. 23.Entonces éste exclamó: "Esta vez sí que es hueso de mis huesos y carne de mi carne. Esta será llamada mujer, porque del varón ha sido tomada."

[2] Bruni Luigino in https://www.ciudadnueva.com/libro/19911/las-parteras-de-egipto . Editorial Ciudad Nueva 2017, pp 6: Al comparar ambas vivencias, el pueblo hebreo - pueblo nómada de partos difíciles en tiendas portátiles - colocó en el origen de su historia de liberación el testimonio de las parteras de Egipto, Sifrá("la bella") y Puá, ("esplendor", "luz"), de las cuales sabemos poco, pero casi seguro que fueron egipcias, y probablemente las parteras responsables de los israelitas o de todo Egipto. Son un símbolo de la capacidad que tienen las mujeres de superar normas, leyes, y obstáculos, cuando lo que está en juego es la vida. Y la vida de un ser indefenso, frágil y dependiente. Un gesto que nos recuerda el mito de Antígona, que desobedeció al rey para obedecer la ley más profunda de la vida.

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La espiritualidad de los cuerpos femeninos | Red Eclesial Panamazónica

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Me siento atraída, sorprendida y fascinada por el camino de comunión con el Dios de la naturaleza, que los ancianos de las comunidades viven y pudimos constatar en los diferentes pueblos con quienes contactamos en las Itinerancias. Por Maria Eugenia Lloris Aguado, FMVD * Los ancianos de las comunidades de la Amazonía viven una...

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Weekend of training for COP26. Picture of meeting with Pedro Walpole, community of Balay Laudato Si

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A community of 9 youngsters gathered at casa velha on a weekend organized by FEC (Fé e Cooperação) of formation around ecological activism, on the occasion of CIDSE's youth pilgrimage for COP "Our common journey to COP26''. It was a time to build community, to listen to the cry of the earth and the poor, to share and find ways of commiting together. We had the chance to meet and listen to the testimonies of other pilgrims; we met with FEC and CIDSE's workers, teacher who are partners of FEC and CIDSE, with friends from Casa Velha, and with our friend from ecojesuit and from the community Balay Laudato Si.
Launching our common journey to COP 26! – "COP for the Planet – COP for the People" (wordpress.com)

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Webinar meeting - Faith for ecoside law.
Volunteers from casa velha joined this gathering that has the prupose to raise awareness around the proposed law for international crime - Ecocide. People from different faiths and from over 50 countries gathered to learn about ecocide law and think of ways to commit to this prupose.
Interfaith call for Ecocide Law - Faith for Ecocide Law

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Faith for Ecocide Law - We need new rules in common to respect the living systems we are a part of. We support an international law to protect the Earth, to make Ecocide a crime.

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Interfaith call for Ecocide Law - Faith for Ecocide Law

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Interfaith Call for Ecocide Law Launching conference Interfaith call for Ecocide Law September 16, 9-12 CET (eastern hemisphere), 16-19 CET (western hemisphere). ONLINE This conference invites you to be a part of Faith for Ecocide Law, an international, interreligious coalition for Ecocide as an international crime within the International Criminal Court.

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"Given the complexity of the ecological crisis and its multiple causes, we need to realize that the solutions will not emerge from just one way of interpreting and transforming reality. Respect must also be shown for the various cultural riches of different peoples, their art and poetry, their interior life and spirituality. If we are truly concerned to develop an ecology capable of remedying the damage we have done, no branch of the sciences and no form of wisdom can be left out, and that includes religion and the language particular to it." -Laudato Si' 63 (The Light Offered by Faith)

Photo: Pedro Walpole SJ

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In September 15-16, the Spirit brought to Casa Velha a young family from the Philippines, committed also in Ecology and Spirituality. 

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A family pilgrimage from the Philippines to Portugal

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A family pilgrimage from the Philippines to Portugal

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"Remembering the artist who made this Warli artwork, showing how people in communities close to nature collaborate in daily living. Got this from the art gallery in the CANopy Room of  Asia-Pacific Forestry Week  in 2016.

Remembering too the collaboration with friends in Environmental Science for Social Change , Non-Timber Forest Products - Exchange Programme and IFSA - International Forestry Students' Association    that made the CANopy Room a place of fun, learning and co-creation." (Rowena Soriaga Villa-Real via Facebook)

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This webinar is part of the Care for Creation month and the Ignatian anniversary year, and in keeping alive the legacy of Fr Stan Swamy, who implemented Integral Ecology by taking a stand in solidarity with the tribals and Indigenous Peoples in response to the cry of the Earth and cry of the Poor in an interconnected universe.

Watch the livestream on Sept 26: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko1-m6-WpKo

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Sept 20: Catholics in Africa Rise Up to Protect the Congo Basin Forest ahead of the COP26 negotiations

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Sept 20: Catholics in Africa Rise Up to Protect the Congo Basin Forest ahead of the COP26 negotiations

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Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Catholics in Africa Rise Up to Protect the the Congo Basin Forest ahead of the COP26 negotiations. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.

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Demander la fin de l'exploitation pétrolière et la protection du parc national de Virunga: - Renouveler le soutien aux peuples autochtones, gardiens de la biodiversité: -Living in harmony with wildlife. -Protection of the Peatlands to fight the climate crises. -Mining and Deforestation threatening the Forest.

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Sept 29: Ecclesial synodality in the shared mission of Oceania and Asia

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Sept 29: Ecclesial synodality in the shared mission of Oceania and Asia

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Virtual event on Sept 29
9:00am Rome, 1:00pm Dhaka, 3:00pm Manila, 7:00pm Suva, 8:00pm Apia
Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcpce6vrzgiEtQ83cKkKudixtXcKFQFx9Lx

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River Above Asia and Oceania Ecclesial Network

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Ecclesial synodality in the shared mission of Oceania and Asia - River Above Asia and Oceania Ecclesial Network

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Ecclesial synodality in the shared mission of Oceania and Asia Creating a space for synodality through a dialogue between local voices and Church and ecumenical leaders strengthens collaborations and commitments amongst groups with a common desire to care for the oceans and forests, and in the peripheral communities of Oceania and Asia, the cry of ...

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An entry to the #Creating4Change2021 art challenge by Margarida Alvim (prompt: FUTURE)

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"I hope that those who will be able to go to #COP26 and actively engage in the negotiations, might remember "their own ribbons" and bring us to a desired change". (Giorgio Gotra via Twitter; photo: Manos Unidas ONGD)

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Open Letter to COP26: Let the Rivers Flow

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Open Letter to COP26: Let the Rivers Flow

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An entry to the #Creating4Change2021 art challenge (prompt: Future)

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Let the Rivers Flow - full original song | Rai Javier

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An enormous event spanning 2,000 km. For 100 days, a core group of pilgrims will lead a walk through Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Great Britain. The journey over waterways will take place by sailboat or ferries. All are welcome to participate by creating their own walking cohort and keeping in digital contact with the lead group throughout the journey’s 17 weeks.

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A walk and a learning journey from Dunbar to Glasgow to reflect on the climate and ecological crisis in anticipation of COP26. Working with cultural, community and interfaith organisations to reimagine what it means to be ecological.

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S. Gittins and J. Baxter

17th - 31st October 2021
A walk and a learning journey from Dunbar to Glasgow to reflect on the climate and ecological crisis in anticipation of COP26. Working with cultural, community and interfaith organisations to reimagine what it means to be ecological.

The pilgrimage launches in Dunbar on the 17th October with a series of exhibitions, family-friendly events and an evening talk by Alastair MacIntosh. Walking commences on the 18th, to arrive in Glasgow on the 29th, with key events taking place in Edinburgh from the 21st to 24th and in Glasgow on the 30th and 31st. Pilgrims are invited to join the pilgrimage at any point during the journey.

Overview

A pilgrimage from Dunbar to Glasgow to reflect on the climate and ecological crisis in anticipation of COP26.

Why are we walking?

We're walking to raise awareness of the climate and ecological crisis.

We're reflecting on that crisis as it relates to our own lives, the communities we pass through and the lives of those already impacted; both human and more-than-human.

We're building a community of witness and resistance committed to climate justice now and in the wake of COP26.

The pilgrimage includes a public engagement programme to accompany the walkers and encourage participation en route. See here.

Participating organisations include Deep Time Walk Project, Interfaith Edinburgh, Glasgow and Scotland, John Muir's Birthplace, North Light Arts, Scottish Dance Theatre, and more.

The route mostly follows The John Muir Way from Edinburgh to Kirkintilloch - with some deviations. From Kirkintilloch we follow St Ninian's Way along the canal and into Glasgow.
Dates and locations

17th - Dunbar (launch)

18th - Dunbar to N. Berwick

19th - N. Berwick to Aberlady

20th - Aberlady to Portobello/Edinburgh

21st - 24th - Edinburgh Way Station (various events)

25th - Edinburgh to S. Queensferry

26th - S. Queensferry to Bo'ness

27th - Bo'ness to Falkirk (via Grangemouth)

28th - Falkirk to Kirkintilloch

29th - Kirkintilloch to Glasgow

30th - 31st - Glasgow Welcome (various events)

For more details about the route and the public engagement programme see here.

Original statement

'All sites of pilgrimage have this in common: they are believed to be places where miracles once happened, still happen, and may happen again.'

(Victor and Edith Turner)

What we understand by the term 'miracle' is open to interpretation. Here a 'miracle' is understood to be a collective form of hope and hope in action. What we understand by the term 'pilgrimage' is also open to interpretation. Here it refers to a journey freely chosen that offers potential for transformation.

In 2015 thousands of civil society activists journeyed to Paris for COP21 where a UN agreement was made to limit levels of global warming to less than 2 degrees centigrade above pre-industrial levels. Since that time global temperature has continued to rise, negative impacts have been felt across the globe and public consciousness has been shaken.

With the aim of implementing guidelines for Article 6 of the Paris Agreement - guidelines that focus on the 'cooperative approaches' to tackling climate change - will COP26 meet the major challenge of our time? Will it adequately address the social, environmental and economic roots of climate change? Or will it merely seek to decarbonise an economy without addressing the social, ecological and economic injustices that climate change brings to light?

The Pilgrimage for COP26 is being organised to reflect on these questions and discern a way forward. Just as streams flow together to form a river, the Pilgrimage for COP26 will increase its flow as the journey develops. Individuals, communities and cultural organisations are collaborating to bring their concerns, imagination and resources to bear to shape the pilgrimage and articulate its vision.

In addition to other voices, artists, art organisations and faith communities have a key role to play in engaging the public in a value-based conversation around the climate and ecological crisis. To that end the Pilgrimage for COP26 offers a forum to gather and share a collective vision and to sustain engagement beyond COP26.

(See here for an amended statement witnessing to this collective vision, drafted in response to the first multi-partner Zoom meeting called by the Pilgrimage for COP26 in June 2021.)
Quotes
"Pilgrimages are a common cultural practice. Historically associated with religions, today they speak to a wider public. The Pilgrimage for COP26 draws attention to the climate and ecological crisis. It offers a chance to reflect on this crisis by walking two well-trodden pathways, The John Muir Way from Dunbar to Kirkintilloch and St Ninian's Way from Kirkintilloch to Glasgow. A key question animating the pilgrimage is this, 'How can we honour the mutual bond between people and planet, a bond that sustains our very existence?'" Jonathan Baxter, artist-curator, Pilgrimage for COP26.

"North Light Arts are co-curating the start of the pilgrimage from Dunbar and across East Lothian along the John Muir Way. We are working with East Lothian Council, Sustaining Dunbar, the Battery Theatre Company and Friends of John Muir's Birthplace to begin the conversation with exhibitions, talks and an opening event on Dunbar Harbour." Susie Goodwin, Director, North Light Arts.

"The simple act of walking together through time and space enables us to explore the many ways humanity is deeply interconnected with the more-than-human world. We are pleased to bring a deep time perspective to the Pilgrimage for COP26, helping to galvanise positive action and advocacy at this critical juncture for humanity." Robert Woodford, Executive Director, Deep Time Walk Project.
For more information and to get involved see the drop down boxes that accompan y this link or click here: cultural partners// route // values // revised statement // sign-up.
#pilgrimageforcop26

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S. Gittins and J. Baxter 17th - 31st October 2021 A walk and a learning journey from Dunbar to Glasgow to reflect on the climate and ecological crisis in anticipation of COP26. Working with cultural, community and interfaith organisations to reimagine what it means to be ecological.

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A walk from London to Glasgow that starts on Sunday 5 September from Parliament Square and ends on Thursday 29 October in Glasgow.

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CAMINO TO COP26

A Walk From London To Glasgow

A walk from London to Glasgow that starts on Sunday 5 September from Parliament Square and ends on Thursday 29 October in Glasgow.

The walk will take place over an eight week period (56 days including a rest day each week) in relatively short stages (averaging around nine miles per walking day) to allow for as much participation and accessibility as possible and so that the focus is not simply on the physical act of walking, but also on interacting with the public. Each stage is accessible by public transport so people can join for short relays.

The walk is for everyone in XR and beyond, not just the faith community. The hope is that local XR groups will take part and that local groups as well as faith groups will help locate resources and host walkers each evening by providing food, somewhere to sleep and other facilities. It is also hoped that local groups will identify opportunities for walkers to give talks within the communities through which they pass.

The wish is to allow space for as many aligned people as possible, and the stages of the walk offer the opportunity for faith and community groups and others outside XR to get involved. Other aligned groups, including faith NGOs will be invited to join us for all or part of the walk - everyone is welcome to join us for any part of it.

This spreadsheet shows the planned stops and the mileage between them from London to Glasgow. Due to the need to be flexible around where accommodation and opportunities for outreach are available, the spreadsheet will be updated over time.
Your planet needs you!
https://caminotocop.com/

"We are really hoping for creative input from thinkers, poets, storytellers, dancers, prancers, puppeteers, imagineers, witches, wizards and Alan Moore (especially Alan Moore). We're connecting with creative groups along the route and we hope to run weekly events and happenings to highlight the need for climate justice ahead of the global conference on climate change in Glasgow in November." - XR Faith Bridge

Extinction Rebellion (XR) Faith Bridge is an interfaith alliance across a broad spectrum from established religions to those who are SBNR (spiritual but not religious), and the concept of a pilgrimage walking from the centre of UK government in Westminster to the gathering of nations in Glasgow is one that fits naturally within its declared intention of working together "united for our sacred Earth". XR Faith Bridge has a COP26 working group and this is one of our initiatives.

The Camino to COP is inspired both by the faith tradition of pilgrimage and great justice marches of the past: the Jarrow March in the UK, the Salt March in India and the March on Washington in the US.
What is COP 26 and what does COP stand for?
COP stands for Conference of the Parties, and will be attended by countries that signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) - a treaty agreed in 1994.
The 2021 meeting in Glasgow will be the 26th meeting, which is where the 26 comes in.
Why is COP26 so important?
US climate envoy John Kerry describes the climate summit as "the last best chance" to avert the worst environmental consequences for the world. He is right.

Small island states such as the Maldives and Tuvalu will be submerged by rising seas if no action is taken on the climate, so they want to see evidence that big emitters are delivering on their commitment under the 2016 Paris agreement to "pursue efforts" to limit warming to 1.5C above the pre-industrial average.

XR Faith Bridge believe that the government must act now to halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025.
What is a Camino?
Camino simply means 'the way'. The Camino de Santiago is 'The Way of St James' and the most popular route is the Camino Frances (the French Way) which traditionally starts in St. Jean-Pied-De-Port in France, before crossing the Pyrenees, La Rioja wine region and northern Spain, before finishing in Santiago de Compostela, the burial place of St. James.

People walk the Camino for many reasons: for a sense of shared purpose, the centuries of history tramped into the soil, or simply the rhythm and joy of walking day after day. There are hundreds of different pilgrim routes across Europe and the UK.

https://caminotocop.com/

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CAMINO TO COP26 A Walk From London To Glasgow A walk from London to Glasgow that starts on Sunday 5 September from Parliament Square and ends on Thursday 29 October in Glasgow.

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Illinois passes nation-leading, equitable climate bill

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Illinois passes nation-leading, equitable climate bill

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After years of work, an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the Illinois House has voted (83 yes to 33 no) to pass the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act ( SB2408), a nation-leading bill to fight climate change, create good-paying jobs, improve the health of Illinoisans, and support disadvantaged communities.

The bill now goes to the Senate, where legislative leaders say they intend to pass it swiftly. Governor Pritzker has championed the bill and has said he will sign it.

What's in the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act?

The Climate and Equitable Jobs Act would:

Slash climate-changing carbon pollution by phasing out fossil fuels in the power sector. Require Illinois to achieve a 100% zero-emissions power sector by 2045, with significant emissions reductions before then. Prioritize environmental justice communities for the fastest pollution reductions. These emission reductions requirements extend to the Prairie State coal plant, the state's largest polluter and the seventh-largest emitter of carbon pollution in the country, which must reduce its emissions by 45% no later than 2038 and to zero by 2045. Illinois will be the first Midwest state to require a carbon-free power sector, joining California, Hawaii, New Mexico, New York, Virginia, and Washington.

Grow renewable energy generation more than five-fold. Invest $580 million a year (more than double current funding) to generate 40% of Illinois' energy from wind and solar by 2030 and 50% by 2040 (compared to less than 10% today, and a target of 25% under current law).

Extend cost-saving energy efficiency programs that save people hundreds of millions of dollars on their electric bills each year. Expand requirements for energy efficiency investments in low-income households.

Expand economic opportunities for disadvantaged communities and people of color in the clean energy sector - both in the workforce and as business owners. Invest $115 million per year to create job training hubs and create career pipelines for the people who need them most, incubate and grow small clean energy businesses in disadvantaged communities, and more.

Clean up Illinois' transportation sector by creating planning processes for beneficial electrification, and providing rebates for electric vehicles and electric vehicle charging infrastructure. These politics are an important tool for reducing pollution from the transportation sector, our state's largest source of carbon pollution.

Support communities and workers impacted by the transition away from fossil fuels. Invest up to $40 million per year to replace lost property taxes, and support economic development and job training. Creates a "bill of rights" for displaced workers and provides them with services and training.

Move towards cleaner buildings by creating a statewide stretch building code and including building electrification measures that reduce fossil fuel use in buildings as part of energy efficiency programs.

Hold utilities accountable with stronger ethics rules and reforms. Replace formula rates (which allow utilities to spend money and profit with little oversight) with a system that makes utilities' profits contingent on achieving equity and clean energy goals. Plan our electric grid in a more transparent, equitable way and help prepare the grid for electric vehicles and clean, efficient all-electric buildings (you can read in another blog post about why this matters).

Create good-paying clean energy jobs across Illinois showing that economic growth and a healthier environment go hand-in-hand. Illinois already has more than 115,000 clean energy jobs, mostly in energy efficiency, with many in renewable energy and advanced transportation. This bill will grow all sectors of the clean energy and the jobs that come with them, and requires family-sustaining wages and benefits for most clean energy jobs in Illinois, encouraging union jobs while also ensuring that small businesses in disadvantaged communities can get a foothold.

What does passage of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act mean?

The Climate and Equitable Jobs Act would establish Illinois as a national leader on climate, equity, and support for communities and workers as they transition away from fossil fuels. It will bring not only cleaner air and a safer climate, but good jobs across the state, and relief for environmental justice communities who have been waiting too long.

This bill shows our growing awareness of the urgent need to address the climate crisis that threatens our state. As Illinois' House Speaker Chris Welch said during passage of the bill, "Our climate cannot wait. Climate change is going to cost us more if we don't act now."

It shows the growing power of the climate movement and in particular the growing power of environmental justice communities, who were central to both the policy design and political push for the legislation.

It shows that social equity and just transition are not only important, but politically crucial to the success of climate legislation - the breadth of the coalition and the overwhelming legislative support for the bill would not have been possible otherwise.

It shows the rapidly changing politics of climate action and the impact of plummeting clean energy prices.

Just a few years ago, laws requiring a fossil-free power sector were considered a pipe dream, even among the greenest states on the coasts. This rapid shift towards climate action and clean energy is as unprecedented as it is necessary.

We're more aware that we are seeing the impacts of climate change rage around us, in real time. Climate change is no longer something we imagine in the distant future or as something that impacts far-away people. It is in our feeds and on the news every day. It is in our backyards, and Illinois is no exception.

This summer in Chicago was among the hottest on record, with record heat and severe drought across Northern Illinois harming farmers and echoing costly droughts in 2012 that were "almost certainly" driven by climate change. The Metro East area in southern Illinois set temperature records as well this year. Illinois had a front-row seat to the hottest summer in U.S. history in 2021.

Chicago set records for rainfall in 2018, 2019, and 2020, flooding homes and businesses. "Uncharted" fluctuations in lake levels are causing property damage along the shore. Devastating floods in 2019 caused more than $6.2 billion in damage in the Midwest, including in Illinois - mostly in the central and southern parts of the state.

But we can prevent these impacts from getting worse. Illinois will send a powerful message if we require a carbon-free power sector - we'd be the first state in the Midwest to do so, and we're currently the fourth largest coal producer in the nation. We can be a cornerstone for U.S. climate action, and U.S. action in turn is the cornerstone to global action ahead of the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Glasgow this November.

For now, closer to home, Illinois appears to be days or even hours away from dramatically expanding clean energy, moving away from fossil fuels, and acting boldly on climate change.

As important as our actions are on the global and even international stage, the benefits in our backyard as just as important: good jobs, cleaner air, and economic opportunity - and across the board, prioritizing the people and communities who need them most.

If Illinois passes Climate and Equitable Jobs Act ( SB2408), it will redefine the possible and define our state as a national leader on equitable climate action.

Let's get it done.

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Illinois Poised for Nation-Leading, Equitable Climate Bill

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After years of work, an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the Illinois House has voted (83 yes to 33 no) to pass the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act ( SB2408), a nation-leading bill to fight climate change, create good-paying jobs, improve the health of Illinoisans, and support disadvantaged communities.

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Forest Voices: To protect the land is to protect indigenous lives 

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Forest Voices: To protect the land is to protect indigenous lives 

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'We are indigenous women in resistance.

'We are a living culture, fighting for our identity, for our territories, and for the environment.'

Ketty Marcelo Lopez has made it her life's work to give a voice to the voiceless. Born in the rainforest of the Peruvian Amazon, she is one of the country's 3.2 million indigenous women and a lifelong campaigner for the rights of her community.

Since 2009, Ketty has been working with Peru's National Organization of Indigenous Andean and Amazonian Women ( ONAMIAP) - an organization campaigning for the rights of Peru's indigenous women.

This is a battle increasingly being waged on one key front: land.

'My mission and the mission of ONAMIAP is to combat climate change and ensure food sustainability for Peru's indigenous peoples,' Ketty explains. 'And the foundation for all of that is land rights - encompassing everything is the fight to defend our territory.'

Peru's indigenous peoples are stewards of some of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world, with more than half covered in forests and more than 7,500 endemic plant species.

But these forests and their inhabitants are under threat as, without legal recognition, indigenous territories are vulnerable to land grabs by government and industry.

From 2001-20, the country lost 3.39 million hectares of tree cover and, in recent years, the government has leased more than 80 per cent of the Peruvian Amazon to oil and gas companies despite much of this land being inhabited by indigenous groups.

'There has been so much logging going on, most of the forests have been cut,' Ketty says. 'The river is contaminated. There are fewer fish, and there is less food.

'And now we are seeing the impact of climate change. The heat is brutal, we can no longer work the land for long before we have to stop and find shelter.'

For indigenous people such as Ketty and the women ONAMIAP represents, the impact of land grabs and deforestation has been catastrophic.

'For our community, the land is everything,' Ketty explains. 'It is the place where our ancestors rest. It is the place where we build our identity.'

Because of this intimate relationship with the environment, the stakes for indigenous peoples are high. Ketty continues:

'When we fight to protect the land, the forest, and the biodiversity - we also fight for our lives.'

Access to land is one of the most powerful determinants of human wellbeing.

People with secure access to land are less likely to experience hunger or poverty, enjoy better health outcomes, an enhanced status in the community, and improved quality of life.

This is reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with land ownership recognized as fundamental to eradicating poverty and ending hunger, and important for gender equality.

Land rights are a critical element of forest governance. Secure legal backing of these rights empowers individuals and communities to protect their land and natural resources.

Omaira Bolaños, director of Latin America and Gender Justice Programs at Rights and Resources Initiative, explains: 'When we give people legal rights, we equip them to better manage the forest and protect it from harm.'

But such rights are not universally recognized.

More than half the land on the planet is indigenous and community territory used and managed by up to 2.5 billion people. Evidence from Latin America shows forests within these territories are less vulnerable to deforestation and more effective carbon stores than the nearby state-run forests.

But only one-fifth of indigenous land is legally recognized. The failure to acknowledge c ommunal ownership of land, the state's desire to profit from natural resources, and complex land registration processes, all stand in the way of the recognition of indigenous land rights.

Without legal protection, indigenous lands are at risk of seizure by commercial and state interests. Omaira explains:

'We see industry claim the land of indigenous people because their ownership is not legally recognized. There is nothing to tell them not to. They can easily go in and sweep away communities.'

While indigenous land rights are often overlooked, indigenous women face additional challenges.

Women own less than 20 per cent of the world's agricultural land and, although many countries have established targets to increase the number of land titles given to women, legal titling is only part of the solution. Addressing patriarchal customs and practices is also key.

In Peru, indigenous communities have the legal right to manage approximately 27 million acres of territory - around 16 per cent of the country's total land. But a further 24 million acres are still without formal recognition.

Full title is only granted to agricultural land, not forest areas. All forests in Peru are state-owned so indigenous communities can only gain 'usufruct' rights - giving them the temporary right to use resources on the land.

Rights to agricultural and forest lands are granted to communities under the Native Communities Law passed in 1974. Although a communal approach to land titling is positive, it does risk negative consequences for women - particularly indigenous women - as they are under-represented in community institutions.

According to a 2019 survey of indigenous communities in Peru, 43 per cent of men take part in community rule-making activities compared to just 22 per cent of women.

But the situation is improving in Peru and, over the past decade, ONAMIAP had several landmark achievements.

As a result of workshops and awareness raising programmes the group organized with indigenous communities, a number modified their statutes to increase the representation of women in their governance bodies.

ONAMIAP's approach is to work with community leaders to raise awareness of gender issues and of women's contributions to land and resource governance. This helps them gain leaders' support to address these issues, establishing a basis for constructive community-wide discussions.

Working with community institutions and processes is an important principle for ONAMIAP to ensure they are reinforcing their autonomy rather than undermining it.

'It was quite difficult at the beginning,' Ketty says. 'Because community leaders were reluctant to incorporate women's rights into their decisions. But we have helped to advance their views, and things are now more open.' ONAMIAP has also led spokesperson training programmes which focus on building the leadership capabilities of indigenous women.

The programmes aim to equip women both to occupy governance positions within the community and to advocate for their rights more broadly within Peruvian society. Awareness of gender rights - and of the importance of women in forest and land governance - is low among many government officials in Peru.

This emphasis on community governance and leadership should be emulated more widely says Luis Felipe Duchicela, senior advisor for indigenous peoples' issues at USAID: 'National governments and the international community need to work alongside indigenous organizations and devote resources to the training and capacity-building of indigenous leadership.'

ONAMIAP has also made progress at the national level. In 2016, it joined a national advisory committee advocating for indigenous interests in a major rural land titling project - a move which highlighted the importance of multi-stakeholder support for land titling.

The organization has since participated in national and international climate change discussions, raising awareness and understanding among policymakers of the particular needs and priorities of indigenous women.

But Ketty still has much more she would like to achieve.

'The work of ONAMIAP is to reform both the world outside and inside of the community,' she says. 'It's a constant fight to guarantee our rights. There's always more work to do.'

Ultimately ONAMIAP's goal is to securely enshrine indigenous land rights in law.

'The state has had a policy of taking the land from the indigenous community,' Ketty says. 'Now they must guarantee legal security for our territories to ensure the historical continuity of our peoples.

'We need to change the constitution to have clearer rules. We want a proper guarantee that indigenous lands will not be taken.'

Ketty wants to see Peru's constitution revised to include full land rights for indigenous communities regardless of whether the land in question is agricultural or forested.

Under their proposed reforms, communities would no longer have to apply for usufruct rights but would automatically have legal possession of all territories traditionally occupied by indigenous groups.

ONAMIAP also want changes to the Law of the Right to Prior Consultation for Indigenous and Native Peoples, which says the government must consult with these communities about decisions that could affect their rights - such as the leasing of land to companies.

Enforcement of the law has proved haphazard, with consultations often not taking place or occurring only after a decision has already been made.

ONAMIAP want the law changed so the government would be required to not just consult indigenous communities but actively obtain consent. It is also calling for greater accountability and forest monitoring to ensure laws preventing land seizure are properly enforced.

Luis Felipe echoes this sentiment: 'We need public policies that prevent external economic drivers from doing harm in indigenous territories - that means the use of free prior informed consent.'

Grassroots organizations such as ONAMIAP play a vital role in creating much-needed pressure on government. But they also serve an important function as educators and mobilizers within their own community.

'We must know who we are and we must understand our rights,' Ketty says. 'ONAMIAP helps to inform the indigenous people of their rights and empower them to defend themselves against any sort of threat.'

Ketty and ONAMIAP are also continuing to push for reform in community customs which discriminate against women.

'Our community laws still don't really talk about women's land rights, so we are trying to revise these laws,' explains Ketty.

ONAMIAP's experience demonstrates that, to protect the rights of indigenous peoples and the land they inhabit, change is needed at multiple levels.

​As Omaira puts it: 'The system needs to be willing throughout, from international, to national, down to local governments.'

But, as Luis Felipe explains, this change must be driven by indigenous communities with their interests at its core: 'When you have something that's strictly top down, it's not going to work. We need to engage, to empower, and to partner with indigenous peoples, and to foster an enabling political environment in the countries where they live.

When asked what she enjoys most about her work, Ketty is quick to answer.

'Sharing thoughts with other women and working together to look for solutions. We help each other to be strong, to be resilient.

'Over time, I would like to reach more indigenous communities, to help sustain the soul of resistance among indigenous women.

'Women's voices are often not heard, so we are fighting to give women a voice.'

Secure rights to land are fundamental to enable indigenous peoples, and in particular, indigenous women, to continue their effective stewardship of forests.

A well-designed legal framework is a prerequisite for the recognition and respect of land and resource rights of indigenous peoples. This must encompass tenure rights, processes for titling and establishment of the principle of free, prior, and informed consent. Legal reforms are needed in many countries and should be a priority for national governments, civil society, and the international community.

Indigenous peoples need a good understanding of their legal rights, and the skills and knowledge to defend them, to help ensure the implementation and enforcement of the law. Civil society can play an important role in empowering indigenous peoples in this way.

Multi-stakeholder support is important to facilitate the effective implementation and enforcement of laws establishing land rights. This requires continued efforts to raise awareness and understanding of the role of indigenous peoples in managing land and natural resources.

Indigenous women face particular challenges because of gender discrimination, both within customary norms and institutions, and more broadly in society. Overcoming these requires a multi-pronged approach, with actions from community level through to the international level.

Civil society has an important role in increasing awareness of gender issues in relation to land rights. When working with indigenous communities, it is essential to work in culturally appropriate ways to reinforce their autonomy.

The provision of training and establishment of networks for indigenous women is of critical importance to support them in advocating for their rights, and to strengthen their participation in decision-making processes.

This new set of stories aims to draw attention to the critical importance of good forest governance for achieving global commitments on biodiversity, climate change and poverty eradication. Through personal perspectives on a variety of approaches from around the world, the series seeks to highlight some of the lessons learned so far and what further action will be needed at the UN's COP26 climate conference in November 2021 and beyond.

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Produced by Unfold Stories. Written by Mary Cruse. Graphics by Alex Sommers. Production by James Lovage. The views expressed in this article are those of the experts interviewed and not of Chatham House.

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Forest Voices: To protect the land is to protect indigenous lives

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'We are indigenous women in resistance.  'We are a living culture, fighting for our identity, for our territories, and for the environment.' Ketty Marcelo Lopez has made it her life's work to give a voice to the voiceless.

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Defender con y a las comunidades defensoras de la naturaleza: Los pueblos indígenas de Paraguay

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Defender con y a las comunidades defensoras de la naturaleza: Los pueblos indígenas de Paraguay

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Paraguay es un país que reconoce la existencia de pueblos ancestrales, anteriores a la conformación del Estado. Estos pueblos indígenas son los principales defensores de la naturaleza. Vinculados con su propia vida de una manera inseparable y de respeto, sobreviven a pesar de los avasallamientos. Acompañar desde una misión personal y comunitaria es un compromiso ineludible.

En la CVX Paraguay, rescatamos la misión y el apostolado de la defensa de defensores de la tierra, el agua y la naturaleza, con la complejidad y el riesgo que implican para persistir y compartimos la historia de vida de personas concretas que llevan la misión de acompañar desde la comunidad pequeña y la comunidad nacional en la defensa de los derechos humanos de la tierra y territorio en una federación indígena de Paraguay que busca promover y visibilizar sus derechos. En especial en el cuidado del bosque:

Apoyo a la Federación por la Autodeterminación de los Pueblos Indígenas (FAPI), una federación indígena autónoma y representativa, conformada por organizaciones de Pueblos Indígenas del Paraguay, de las dos regiones del Paraguay: Oriental y Occidental o Chaco.

El rol de acompañar técnicamente a los pueblos indígenas en el cuidado de nuestra casa común, visibilizando que el bosque es muy importante, bosques no sólo como sumidero de carbono, sino cumpliendo otras funciones o servicios como defender y preservar la vida cultural, espiritual y tradicional de varios pueblos indígenas.

La FAPI ha impulsado acciones para sensibilizar sobre rol de los pueblos indígenas en la defensa del bosque y en especial como defensores de sus derechos colectivos sobre su tierra, ambiente y territorio, mostrando la amenaza del agronegocio sobre los bosques.

Soy cevequiana, comprometida que anima y comparte, junto a otras personas que así lo hacen dentro y fuera de la agrupación, con toda la comunidad de Asunción y nacional a que la sociedad valore, entienda y respete la importancia del bosque para los pueblos indígenas, en permanente y a veces silenciosas o silenciadas acciones cotidianas, que con oraciones cuidan los últimos remanentes del bosque del Paraguay y los defienden con dignidad y valentía.

Es importante el acompañamiento en la misión apostólica de una comunidad cristiana comprometida en facilitar y sentir con los pueblos indígenas y que ellos puedan hacer llegar su voz, sus propias voces. Como enseña Ignacio: "En todo amar y servir", el motor de las acciones es "poner todos los medios, como si todo dependiera de una, pero confiando totalmente en Dios, porque todo depende de Él."
Mirta Pereira es abogada y asesora jurídica de la Federación por la Autodeterminación de los Pueblos Indígenas (FAPI), y miembro de CVX Paraguay que la asiste en la defensa y promoción de los indígenas y del bosque en Paraguay.

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: Defender con y a las comunidades defensoras de la naturaleza: Los pueblos indígenas de Paraguay - Ecojesuit@COP26

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Mirta Pereira Paraguay es un país que reconoce la existencia de pueblos ancestrales, anteriores a la conformación del Estado. Estos pueblos indígenas son los principales defensores de la naturaleza. Vinculados con su propia vida de una manera inseparable y de respeto, sobreviven a pesar de los avasallamientos.

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Siembra Tu Frente: Acción ecológica en Santo Domingo, República Dominicana

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Siembra Tu Frente: Acción ecológica en Santo Domingo, República Dominicana

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Desde CVX República Dominicana, inspirados en la encíclica Laudato Sii', creamos la iniciativa Siembra Tu Frente como herramienta de empoderamiento ciudadano, para juntos contribuir a mejorar nuestro planeta.

La misma consiste en aunar esfuerzos para sembrar nuestros frentes con especies endémicas predeterminadas de árboles que ayuden a oxigenar, bajar la temperatura, absorber el CO2 y ayudar a la biodiversidad.

El lugar escogido para iniciar el plan de arbolado fue el polígono central de la ciudad de Santo Domingo dada la alta concentración de edificaciones que han creado una gran desertificación de la ciudad.

Para ejecutar la iniciativa acudimos a las autoridades recién electas en el Ayuntamiento de Santo Domingo y allí encontramos muy buena recepción, a tal punto que inspiramos y somos parte de una iniciativa mayor que es el Plan de Arbolado Urbano de Santo Domingo.

Siembra Tu Frente, dentro del plan mayor, constituye la iniciativa ciudadana para las calles terciarias residenciales y luego, las autoridades, junto a ya muchas otras instituciones, se ocuparán de las avenidas y calles principales. El plan se encuentra en construcción junto a algunos pilotos de siembra.

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Siembra Tu Frente: Acción ecológica en Santo Domingo, República Dominicana - Ecojesuit@COP26

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Equipo Incidencia CVX República Dominicana Desde CVX República Dominicana, inspirados en la encíclica Laudato Sii', creamos la iniciativa Siembra Tu Frente como herramienta de empoderamiento ciudadano, para juntos contribuir a mejorar nuestro planeta. La misma consiste en aunar esfuerzos para sembrar nuestros frentes con especies endémicas predeterminadas de árboles que ayuden a oxigenar, bajar la temperatura,...

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500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA, USA

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tUrn Climate Weeks, Santa Clara University

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tUrn Climate Weeks, Santa Clara University

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The Common Good Series Episode 1: Art and Climate Action

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Borgo Santo Spirito, Rome, Metropolitan City of Rome, Italy

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Connect with CLC: https://www.facebook.com/groups/cvxclcecology

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CLC Youth Manifiesto Ignatius 500 ‘Embrace the world in an ignatian way’

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Sukaria, Ketapang Regency, West Kalimantan, Indonesia

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Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Sukaria, Indonesia

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Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Sukaria, Indonesia

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www.congregacion-aci.org

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Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus - Sukaria, Indonesia

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Connect with Casa Velha: projectocasavelha@gmail.com
Learn more: https://casavelha.org/

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Do you feel a calling to explore Pope Francis' Laudato Si and address the climate crisis?

You are invited to join us on a pilgrimage, starting at Sacred Heart Church, Edinburgh and finishing 4 days later with the Climate Coalition march to the SEC Centre, Glasgow. It will take place from the 3-6 November 2021.

Walking alongside the Forth & Clyde Canal and Antonine Wall, this is a sociable opportunity to walk through central Scotland with like-minded individuals. The Jesuit chaplain for the pilgrimage will be Fr Nick King SJ.

Before the pilgrimage we will be teaming up with the St Bueno's Spirituality Centre who will provide an online brief and debrief.

The pilgrimage is aimed at 18-35 year olds but is by no means exclusive to this age group. Transport, food and lodging is provided at no cost after the non-refundable deposit which is £50 (£30 for student/ unwaged persons).

There are only 26 places available please show your interest by sending a message to us below.

Pilgrimage flyer Cop-26-pilgrimage-5-11-21-003-002.pdf

Pilgrimage poster COP26-Pilg-poster.png

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You are invited to join us on a pilgrimage, starting at Sacred Heart Church, Edinburgh and finishing 4 days later with the Climate Coalition march to the SEC Centre, Glasgow. It will take place from the 3-6 November 2021.

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This Page is [ARCHIVED CONTENT] and shows what the site page https://ukcop26.org/ looked like on 1 Apr 2023 at 05:49:04

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Bearing messages of commitment, urgency, and hope for COP26, the youth of Upper Pulangi in Mindanao are stepping forward to a journey to change. Read more: https://apupalamguwancenter.essc.org.ph/?p=3507

Connect with Balay Laudato Si': balaylaudatosi@gmail.com