Msikaba Gorge

17 Mar 2005

We, the delegates to the South African Council of Churches Environment Conference meeting at Hartbeespoort, March 14-17, 2005, agree that nation-wide and global environmental degradation is One of the most urgent moral concerns of our century.

We note with dismay:

1. The destruction of our ecosystems;
2. The ever widening gap between excessive wealth and abject poverty:
3. The injustices of the global economy that are a direct cause of contemporary socio- economic problems and environmental destruction;
4. The rampant consumerism that is eroding our spiritual values and threatening God’s creation;
5. The underhanded promotion of Genetically Modified Organisms and the monopoly of trans-national corporations in food production;
6. The destruction of biodiversity and degradation of habitats through monoculture agriculture and forestry;
7. The devastating impact of global warming and climate change;
8. The long term consequences of the use of nuclear energy and fossil fuels.

We believe that faith based communities have a significant role to play in the nurturing and protection of God’s creation. We call on religious leaders to place environmental justice at the forefront of their agenda, to promote a value based economic system and take steps to safeguard the future of our children and planet earth.

We call on our government, and the governments of the world, to establish a just economic system, favouring people before profits.

We affirm our responsibility towards God’s creation because of our love for the Creator and in obedience to the scriptural imperative to love our neighbour which must include future generations.

We ask all South African faith groups to support the establishment and development of a South African Faith Communities’ Environmental Institute to promote the care and nurturing of all of God’s Creation.

17th March 2005