About A Rocha
Our first initiative was a field study centre in Portugal, so our name is Portuguese and means ‘The Rock’. We are a Christian organization, engaging communities in nature conservation and working in cooperation with other organizations and individuals who share our commitment to a sustainable world. We are cross-cultural, drawing on the insights and skills of people from the 20 countries where we work:
Our six field study and environmental interpretation centres are in Portugal, France, Czech Republic, Kenya, India and Canada.
Read more about our current job, internship and volunteering opportunities.
Conservation science interns in action
at Brooksdale Environmental Centre,
A Rocha Canada.
Explore how our work targets the Sustainable Development Goals.
Tree-planting at Mekse Village with refugees – A Rocha Lebanon.
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Download our Introducing A Rocha leaflet.
A Rocha at the IUCN Congress
Come and say hello at the A Rocha International stand (map: L15) and the Église Verte stand (map: O19)!
A Rocha Events
4 September, 14:00-15:30
High-level dialogue: Spirituality and Nature Dialogue – responsibility, inspiration and behaviour change
H9 – B1 Auditorium – Mercantour
Onsite / livestreamed
Session with interpretation: EN / FR / ES
This session brings together speakers who are not just spiritual leaders but also critical thinkers, engaged activists and visionaries who promise to bring passion, wisdom and hope to a much-needed debate about the state of humanity and our broken relationship with the natural world.
With over 80% of humanity claiming to follow a spiritual belief system, today’s spiritual leaders have a major role to play in addressing the environmental and climate crisis. Religion and spirituality are one of the few spaces where human behaviour is addressed from within, where collective altruism happens and where changes in human drivers can change at a scale from the very local to global. This dialogue brings together religious and spiritual leaders from mainstream and indigenous traditions to discuss the real root causes of biodiversity loss and climate change. No matter what your personal beliefs, this dialogue is for you!
5 September, 14:00-15:00
Exhibition: Driving elephants – Conservation in bustling cities
H3 Urban Planet
Onsite only
In English
The majority of people now live in urban environments. How they interact with, view and value the environment is of vital importance to their well-being and that of our planet. A Rocha has several projects in or near important urban centres in the UK, Peru, Nigeria, India and Uganda. The session will be divided between a brief overview of A Rocha’s work in urban settings and the showing of Kirsty Wells film, Driving Elephants (30 mins).
About Driving Elephants: ‘Caught in the cross-fire of a shrinking forest habitat and an ever expanding urban population, the elephants of Bannerghatta are being pushed towards extinction. With 40% of the national park’s northern boundary surrounded by one of India’s fastest growing cities, the inviolate forest space available for elephants is being eaten away. Elephants are forced to live in thin forest strips surrounded by subsistence farms. Tempted by the offer of crops, the elephants leave the park and chaos ensues.’
6 September, 11:00-12:30
Thematic stream session: The roots of our ecological hope
H8 – 7 Cévennes
Themes: Landscapes, Rights and Communities
Onsite / livestreamed
In English
Be inspired by the many ways in which faith-based communities are contributing effectively to conservation action. Using case studies from around the world, leaders from A Rocha and Diverse Earth will explore the ways in which faith-based communities are delivering positive conservation outcomes. We will move beyond more familiar cases where faith communities are invited to participate in conservation initiatives or are persuaded to adjust their practices to look at how these communities themselves are the initiators, sustainers and deliverers of conservation outcomes.
6 September – an informal gathering locally for those who would like to get to know us better – details to come!
7 September, 18:30-20:30
Nature and Creation in the spiritual field (with Rachel Calvert of A Rocha France and others)
H1 – Palais des Evénements
30 people maximum
In French
E-Poster: Hope for the ocean: inspiring action from source to sea
Theme: Oceans
Marine plastic pollution is constantly before our eyes in the media, often leading people to be dispirited and hopeless. A Rocha’s Plastics Toolbox offers a response to the plastics crisis with information and activity resources in the areas of Education, Media, Lifestyle, Science and Theology – a way to engage people in hopeful action in the midst of an overwhelming number of choices competing for attention. The toolbox is a first step for many towards a changed lifestyle, resulting in wellbeing and transformation of both people and places, from source to sea.
This poster introduces the Plastics Toolbox, an invitation to learn about plastic pollution and to implement a plastic pollution project.
Congrès OFF
A Rocha France and Église Verte – an ecumenical ‘label’ aimed at encouraging Christian communities be involved in caring for creation – are also part of the events being put on at the ‘Congrès Off de l’UICN – Pour une écologie de l’espérance’, led by the Diocese of Marseille and the Fédération protestante de France / Pôle Marseille.
Meet the team:
Dr (Bob) Robert Sluka – Lead Scientist, Marine and Coastal Conservation Programme, A Rocha International / USA
Bob is a curious explorer, applying hopeful and holistic solutions to all that is ailing our oceans and the communities that rely on them. His focus is on marine protected areas and the ecology of coral reef fish and coral reef fisheries. After graduate work in Florida and the Caribbean, Bob spent ten years in South Asia. He joined A Rocha in 2006 in the UK, supervising marine work in Wales, juniper restoration in the Chiltern Hills and helping A Rocha Kenya start marine conservation in 2010. He is now living in Florida and is Lead Scientist for A Rocha’s marine work internationally, focusing on marine biodiversity conservation, plastic pollution and fisheries. Locally, Bob is involved in horseshoe crab research.
Bob also writes on the interface between Christian faith and marine conservation. His cross-cultural experience and research interests fuel his ultimate goal to glorify God through oceans and communities being transformed using holistic marine conservation. You can hear from Bob directly in this short film and find him @BobSluka on Twitter.
Coline Raillon – Nature Project Officer, A Rocha France
Coline has been at A Rocha France’s environmental centre at Les Courmettes since 2019, when she took on running the nature and scientific monitoring programme. Prior to that, she worked for four years in Building Waste Management, after completing a Masters in Ecology (Ingénierie en Écologie et en Gestion de la Biodiversité – Montpellier) and a further Masters in environmental management (Paris).
Coline has also given time to A Rocha as a volunteer, first in the Vallée des Baux (Arles), where she helped with environmental education and scientific surveys, and in India where she joined the elephant conservation work in Bannerghatta National Park. She continues to further her professional development in botany and ornithology, and is in the process of being certified as a QUALINAT (Qualité Nature) nature guide.
Daryl Bosu – Deputy National Director, A Rocha Ghana
Daryl worked in the Northern Region for ten years, based at the Damongo office, where he contributed to the development of the first community Natural Resource Management (NRM) programme around Mole National Park. He has wide experience of all Ghana’s ecological zones, stakeholder engagement and community mobilization focused on NRM governance and Tourism Development. His work has earned A Rocha Ghana and himself several national and international awards. He is now based in Accra where he provides support to the programmes and projects throughout the country.
Nicholas Warren
– Projects Conservation Manager, A Rocha International
Nicholas has 18 years of professional experience and a passion for conservation which has taken him to work in environments as diverse as the Antarctic or the Tropics. Nicholas grew up in France and is fully bilingual French-English, though this is his first visit to Marseille.
Nicholas joined A Rocha in 2017, and offers us all-round support for our conservation work, undertaking scientific research, developing, and managing projects or fundraising. Of late, he has played a central role in developing our first African Forest Programme in collaboration with our Ghanaian, Nigerian, Ugandan and Kenyan A Rocha partners. Over the next four years, this programme aims to protect over 50,000 ha of biodiversity rich forest.
Sarah French – Director of International Operations, A Rocha International
Sarah has been Director of International Operations since 2012. She oversees worldwide A Rocha operations and also leads on Environmental Education and the SDGs. Previously she was an international trustee of ARI. She also has extensive experience as a university lecturer, consultant and practitioner in the fields of environment, conservation, development, biodiversity and business. She has led planning processes, project cycle management and due diligence work for major international organizations such as UNEP, FAO, ICTSD, IUCN, the Stockholm Convention, and numerous grass-roots organizations and NGOs. She is a member of IUCN commissions: CEM, CEESP, CEC and WCPA. This includes a focus on issues of biodiversity, spirituality and faith. She has travelled extensively worldwide. Based in Geneva, she is enthusiastic about her biodiversity-friendly garden.
Sarah Walker – International Coordinator, A Rocha International
Sarah works within the International Operations Directorate as a support for A Rocha’s Organizations. She coordinates various international projects, such as the International Volunteer Database, the Leaders Forum and other events, and is the point person for the International Trustees. She brings a background of literature and programme administration to the team and many years of experience with the A Rocha family, particularly in France, Canada, the Czech Republic and the UK. Canadian by background, she and her husband are now based at A Rocha France’s Les Courmettes centre in the hills above Côte d’Azur.
Seth Appiah-Kubi – National Director, A Rocha Ghana
With a background is in finance – as a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, UK and an MBA in International Business – Seth has a strong passion for conservation. For the past 19 years, he has played a key role in formulating the conservation models used by A Rocha Ghana and involving community-based conservation, research and environmental education. He has served on both national and international conservation committees, platforms and forums.
A Rocha Ghana’s leadership and Seth’s coordination of the campaign to Save Atewa Forest have been pivotal in gaining international visibility for the critical biodiversity which makes a home in Atewa.
Timothée Schwartz – Scientific Officer, A Rocha France
Timothée holds a PhD in ecology (specialising in animal population dynamics) from the EPHE (École Pratique de Hautes Études – PSL University) and a forestry engineering degree from AgroParisTech. Internship opportunities in Germany, Guyana and Gabon, and then on A Rocha International’s Climate Stewards project in Ghana, led him to combine his faith and his passion for nature and ornithology and join the A Rocha France team in the Vallée des Baux. He has been leading A Rocha France’s science and conservation activities since 2008.
Since 2020, he has also been the director of A Rocha’s Mas Mireille centre in the Vallée des Baux, focused on the knowledge, management and protection of Provençal biodiversity, with numerous partners (Alpilles and Camargue Regional Nature Parks, Tour du Valat, Voies Navigables de France, Conservatoires d’Espace Naturel, etc.). Flagship projects include the study and conservation of the European Roller, ecological monitoring (including Barn swallow migration) and the conservation and study of the threatened Southern Festoon butterfly (Zerynthia polyxena or ‘la Diane’). He supervises numerous trainees, volunteers and interns every year.
About IUCN
A Rocha has been an active member of IUCN since 2002. Attending the Congress provides us with the opportunity to listen and learn, present our work, explore opportunities for partnerships and engage with Christians in other conservation agencies.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature is a membership union uniquely composed of both government and civil society organizations. It provides public, private and non-governmental organizations with the knowledge and tools that enable human progress, economic development and nature conservation to take place together. Created in 1948, IUCN has evolved into the world’s largest and most diverse environmental network. It harnesses the experience, resources and reach of its 1,300 Member organisations and the input of some 16,000 experts. IUCN is the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it, organized into six commissions dedicated to species survival, environmental law, protected areas, social and economic policy, ecosystem management, and education and communication.
The Congress is held every four years to decide the global conservation agenda.