NCA Ethiopia is pleased to announce that the Ethiopian Orthodox Church Forest Initiative, led by its partner the Ethiopian Orthodox Church Development and Inter-Church Aid Commission (EOC-DICAC) has won the 2023 ACT Climate Resilience Award.
Monks walk through the Church forests of Menagesha Medhanialem Monastery in Ethiopia. Photo: Hilina Abebe/NCA.
The announcement was made on November 24, 2023, in a statement by Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, General Secretary of the ACT Alliance.
We truly are having an impact in various communities of the world and living up to the values of justice, love, and equity for all.”, said Rudelmar in the statement.
The Church Forests project was among five projects submitted for evaluation that demonstrated various approaches to climate adaptation, resilience building, and disaster risk reduction.
“Through the Church Forests project, we have seen how spirituality and indigenous knowledge have been foundational and that our forefathers and mothers have actually been practicing environmental protection efforts for centuries through the Church.”, says Tewaney Seifesellassie, Climate Justice, Peace, Advocacy, Ethics and Policy Advisor with EOC DICAC.
Since 2018, Norwegian Church Aid and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church’s development wing, have been working to protect these Church forests and to expand them to other areas.
