Diocese of Down & Dromore

Please pray for Andrew and Maria Leake working in our link diocese of Northern Argentina.  Andrew works with partner organisation Asociana where he defends and promotes the land rights of indigenous people. Read on for their autumn update:

A model to follow

Andrew recently traveled to the north east of Argentina, to the Esteros de Ibera. He went with the purpose of visiting a project being carried out by the Conservation Land Trust (CLT), established by retired businessman Douglas Tompkins and his wife Kristine. For the past 20 years they have been acquiring tracts of wilderness for conservation with the aim of transforming them into provincial or national parks.  

What was of particular interest to us is the vision, mission and conservation strategy the CLT have developed for their work in the Ibera wetlands, as it largely mirrors what we have been thinking. Andrew met with key leaders of CLTs operation in Ibera, including Douglas Tompkins, learning from their experiences, vision and gathering valuable feedback from these highly experienced people.

Some of the key lessons learnt from the CLT have been the need to define a region for our work, based on a host of criteria, including biodiversity, the technical feasibility of implementing a conservation strategy, the potential to link up with and reinforce other interventions that are aimed at conservation, and the potential levels of conflict that the intervention may generate.

Another important lesson brought back from Esteros de Ibera is the significant impact that wildlife in its natural state can have on local economies if managed in a sustainable manner.  A two-hour boat ride with ten tourists viewing wildlife on the marshes can generate USD 175.  Salta, one of Argentina's primary tourist destinations does not offer any wildlife  viewing excursions (other than bird watching), yet many of the species in Ibera are also found in the Chaco and could be managed in a similar manner.   

C is for Conservation and also for Conflict

In relation to creating protected areas in a conflictive process, the following statement, taken from CLTs website, is a sobering reminder that as we move forward with our vision we are more than likely going to face such situations: The majority of the protected areas on the planet, today socially accepted and valued, share the common story of a social conflict generated by their creation and implementation. We all coincide on the necessity to conserve our ecosystems, landscapes and natural resources, but the perspective changes for those to whom a protected area signifies the regulation of productive activities, and this provokes serious disputes...

Meeting Land Owners

Considering the fact that as our vision is put into practice we will tread on the toes of those with established interests we feel it is important to try and reach out and make contact with land owners who may be interested in promoting land use that adheres to a conservation ethic. Any large-scale conservation in the Chaco will imply changes in attitudes and behavior concerning land use, hence it is important for us to begin developing links in this regard.  Thanks to a link made by our local Doctor (GP), Andrew will be having his first meeting with a leader of one of the most influential farm associations in the south of Salta (the meeting had been scheduled for this week but had to be cancelled). We aim to establish contact with another two land owners, both of whom have large tracts of land they are interested in being managed for conservation.

Anta

At ground level  we have continued to develop our interest and links with the local population in the Department of Anta (Salta south), one of the regions most affected by deforestation in all of Argentina, and situated strategically close to the area we are interested in acquiring lands. Having enabled a local criollo to gain access to information on deforestation has indirectly led to uncovering some particularly ugly situations arising from unscrupulous land owners who having said they would not affect the rights  of local criollos are now seeking to push them off their lands by cutting off their access to their own homes. The criollo we are linked to has, off his own initiative, now initiated legal action to force land owners to reopen roads to his house and stop deforestation in his area.  This will cause some shockwaves among local land owners, and it will be interesting to see where it all leads.  

It is interesting to observe that as we seek to provide some assistance to individuals affected by deforestation, we are rapidly learning about the situation on the ground and making further contacts. This in turn will enable us to better determine how we can best steer our vision so that it contributes to the wellbeing of local people as well as attending the urgent conservation needs of the region.

Developing and strengthening a network with churches

We have been most encouraged by the positive reception that our work has had with CMSs director for Latin America, Bishop Henry Scriven. He visited Argentina recently and we were able to share our news with him in detail. In a similar way, we have also been very encouraged by the Anglican Bishop of Peru, who has invited Andrew to speak at a forthcoming conference on the environment being convened by the Anglican Communion in Lima sometime next year

Andrew was also invited recently to speak at the annual meeting of the Catholic Churches social work team (Equipo Nacional de Pastoral Aborigen) and a group of Catholic Bishops, from the north of Salta, about the issue of deforestation.

Registering the Trust

On the admin side of the story, we are now ready, once again, to re-submit the paperwork for registering our organization as a charity. We trust that this time the initiative will prosper, as the registered status will help us significantly as and when we deal with authorities. Alongside the board, which will consist of four people, together with our Bishop we are considering forming a loose-knit "council of reference".

Moving towards an initial purchase

For some time now we have considered the pros and cons of acquiring a small plot of land as an initial step on the road to acquiring larger areas as and when funding sources allow.  This will give us a toe hold within the region we are seeking to work in, and a base for ground operations. We feel the time is now right and are willing to put some of our own money into the initiative. Another person has already kindly offered.  We need to secure in the region of 50 thousand pounds in order to have a chance of acquiring a good plot, in terms of location, vegetation cover and surface area.  Plots come up for sale every now and then, so it would be ideal to build up a reserve that can then be used if a good plot suddenly comes onto the market.

Our other work

Andrew continues to undertake short-term contract work for Compassion International. He has recently been in Peru, leading an international team undertaking an assessment of the impact of the organizations program in the country.  His next sorties will be Guatemala and Ecuador, and then later on Africa and Asia. Maria continues to do translation work for Compassion and World Vision.

Items for prayer

•    Thank God for the opportunity of meeting with members of the CLT and the valuable experiences that we can now draw on as we design our own conservation program for the Chaco.

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

•    Pray for continued guidance concerning the decision to acquire a small plot of land.  Pray especially for guidance towards the right plot.