About A Rocha International

As Christians all over the world have recognised the urgent need to protect and restore important habitats, A Rocha has become a family of projects working in Canada, Canada, USA, Peru, UK, Portugal, France, Netherlands, Finland, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Lebanon, Ghana, South Africa, Kenya and India. 

Research and Conservation
Because of A Rocha, the Aammiq Wetland in South Lebanon, once threatened by destruction, is now a secure habitat for local and migrant wildlife.

Proposals for Natura 2000 status for the Alvor estuary in Portugal stem directly from A Rocha studies.

A Rocha UK’s study area – the once derelict 90 acre Minet Site in multicultural, urban west London – has been transformed into a Country Park.  A Rocha organises local groups to help with managment of the park and undertakes regular wildlife monitoring.

More than 500 volunteers have been trained at our centre in Portugal and many of them continue to be active as conservation professionals.

Teenagers living around the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest (the most important coastal forest for wildlife in East Africa) are receiving secondary school education because of an ecotourism programme initiated by A Rocha.  The benefits from eco-tourism encourage the local people to value and protect the forest.

Environmental education
Environmental education is a key aspect of conservation.  By enabling people to learn about, experience and enjoy the world about them, attitudes towards the environment can be changed.  In particular, through teaching children, the next generation can be encouraged to value and protect the natural world.  A Rocha projects worldwide are involved in many different programmes.  From hosting school groups in Portugal to running an environmental art programme with women in Lebanon,  A Rocha is working to help people to appreciate the beauty and fragility of the natural world.

Building community
One of A Rocha’s priorities is to develop and maintain relationships of quality and depth that reflect God’s relationship with his creation.

The first A Rocha centre in Portugal became an extended family, including team members, people living locally and visitors, and it continues to grow and flourish 20 years later.  As other projects become established elsewhere, new models of community are emerging, not necessarily involving shared living quarters, but always expressing a deep level of personal commitment between their members.