CHURCH LEADERS TOLD TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE

BY GRACE MACHA IN ARUSHA 

As the world is bracing for the UN Climate Summit later this week (November 30th), the clergy has been advised to support the fight against climate change.

They should complement efforts by the local leaders to mobilize people in tree planting and other projects that enhance conservation. 

"The public have trust in the religious leaders so they should spearhead the effort", said Prof Aidan Msafiri, a scholar on climate change.

He advised the clergy to mobilize people to plant trees around their premises, villages, schools and on the  community land.

The scholar made the appeal during a recent training workshop on climate change impact for various stakeholders in the Kilimanjaro region.

The event was organized by a Moshi-based Kilimanjaro Consortium for Development and Environment (KCDE) with the support of a German agency, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS). 

Church leaders from Arusha, Kilimanjaro and Manyara regions were sensitized on how to address the climate change crisis now ravaging the world.

Prof Msafiri said addressing the crisis was the responsibility of all global citizens; being the public leaders and the clergy.

This year's UN Climate Change Conference, COP 28, will take place in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from November 30th to December 12th.

COP, held annually since 1995, is where the world comes together to agree on ways to address the climate crisis, such as limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. 

The East African Community (EAC) resolved at their summit held in Arusha last week (November 24th) to participate in COP as a bloc.

The support of the clergy in anti-climate change fight will help vulnerable communities adapt to the effects of climate change and achieve the envisaged net-zero emissions by 2050. 

Prof Msafiri underscored the need for the church leaders to start environmental clubs in their respective parishes and designate a tree planting day in their respective parishes.

Speaking at the same event, the Lutheran Church assistant bishop for Mwanga Diocese Rev Timothy Jonas said the workshop was a wake up call on environmental conservation.

He added that formation of environment clubs would be a change maker in enhancing conservation, including addressing the climate change crisis.

A projects manager for the German aid agency, KAS, Damas Nderumaki, said the organization has been motivating the clergy and church believers alike to plant trees.

This time around, the exercise has roped in KCDE, the Moshi-based NGO which recently announced an ambitious plan to plant four million trees around Mt. Kilimanjaro.

The exercise is meant to safeguard the ecology of the mountain which supports the livelihood of millions of people on its slopes and further downstream. 

Tree planting will restore the biological diversity of the mountain which is equally threatened by the impact of climate change through shrinking ice cover on its summit. 

"We will embark on this because we believe the biodiversity of the mountain is under threat", an official of the NGO told The Citizen recently. 

In fast-tracking the exercise, the NGO would enter into a contract with the village governments and institutions to make it successful.

Tree planting will be undertaken alongside community awareness campaigns  on broader conservation of forests.

The Tanzania National Parks (Tanapa) has welcomed the initiative, saying it will support efforts by the NGO and other stakeholders to restore the ecology of the mountain.