| The Religious Campaign
for Forest Conservation (RCFC) is a coalition of
religious organizations that have joined together
out of a shared concern for forests. Consisting
of churches, synagogues, and para-religious organizations,
RCFC considers forest conservation to be a religious
issue. Critical of the utilitarian values and commercial
interests that shape forest policy, RCFC seeks
to draw attention to the non-economic value of
forests. RCFC has composed a series of advisory
statements and policy positions based on religious
principles that were collectively identified by
religious leaders and organizations involved in
the Campaign. These policy positions include: the
cessation of logging in old-growth forests and
of commercial logging on public land, the use of
industry subsidies for forest restoration, and
the participation of churches and synagogues in
forest conservation efforts. In a national declaration
composed in 2000 entitled “Preserving Our
Forest Heritage”, RCFC draws upon scripture
to articulate a religious vision of forests, identifies
new principles for forest care based on the non-economic
value of forests, and presents ten steps for restoring
forests. RCFC runs a variety of programs that provide
opportunities for people to experience the spiritual
value of forests and other wilderness areas first-hand.
Its primary program, “Opening the Book of
Nature,” is based on the Christian tradition
of gaining spiritual insight from nature and has
led to the development of a new program that aims
to explore and articulate the religious values
of wilderness. In addition, RCFC offers leadership
training seminars, conferences, and volunteer advocacy
opportunities, such as the Washington Week Legislator
Education program. RCFC recognizes outstanding
work on behalf of forest conservation with its “Steward
of the Forest” awards, and publishes resource
materials such as a Hymnal called Creation Song
and a handbook on the spiritual values of wilderness.
RCFC also houses one of the largest libraries on
religion and ecology in the country. Through its
Reform the World Bank Initiative, RCFC seeks to
effect a change in the World Bank’s lending
policies to poor countries in order to prevent
rampant deforestation and environmental destruction.
Through this initiative, RCFC is supporting a major
reforestation effort in northern Mexico. In addition
to making videos on religion and ecology as part
of its media project, RCFC is currently collecting
literature from around the world for an anthology
of writings about the spirituality of nature. |
| Inter-religious |
| United States of America |
| 1998–Present |
| The Religious Campaign
for Forest Conservation grew out of Green Cross,
which was dropped by its parent organization, Evangelicals
for Social Action, in 1997. When it disbanded,
the Director of Green Cross, Fred Krueger, decided
to continue two of its programs: Opening the Book
of Nature and advocating for religious responsibility
for forests. Krueger and other facilitators from
the Opening the Book of Nature program decided
to form a new organization that would bring together
a variety of religious groups to explore and emphasize
the religious values of forests in order to counter
the narrowly utilitarian worldview underlying current
forestry policies. The RCFC was born. After an
initial period of exploration, participants drew
up a set of advisory statements that addressed
such issues as the theological dimensions of forests
and forest conservation strategies. These statements
eventually became a national declaration entitled “Preserving
Our Forest Heritage: A Declaration on Forest Conservation
for the 21st Century,” signed in December
of 2000 at the Cradle of Forestry in the Pisgah
National Forest in North Carolina. The Reform the
World Bank Initiative was also launched in 2000.
In 2001, RCFC expanded the Spiritual Value of Wilderness
programs with the addition of several new sites
for wilderness exploration trips, published a Handbook
and Hymnal, and started a weekly electronic
information service to keep subscribers up-to-date
on forestry
issues. In 2002, RCFC made a video about the spiritual
value of wilderness for use in religious congregations,
expanded and further publicized the Opening Book
of Nature program, and held a conference on environmentalism
from the perspective of the Orthodox Church. At
present, RCFC is working on an Open Letter to President
Bush, in which national religious leaders call
for an end to commercial logging in United States
(US) National Forests, which it hopes to release
in February
of 2004. |
| None Listed |
| RCFC works with numerous
groups across the religious spectrum on a variety
of issues and projects. |
| None Listed |
| None Listed |
| None Listed |
Religious Campaign for
Forest Conservation
409 Mendocino Avenue, Suite A
Santa Rosa, CA 95401
Ph: 707.573.3162
Email: forest@creationethics.org |
