Rev. Dr. Alesana Pala’amo of the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa offers a compelling call to action in this short video.

The video highlights the protection of the Manumea, or Tooth-billed Pigeon (Didunculus strigirostris)—the national bird of Samoa, a unique large pigeon, the only member of its genus, and globally endangered with only c.200 surviving in the wild!

The video thus challenges Samoans, who are overwhelmingly Christian, with the biblical call to care for creation: “We are caretakers of creation … We have been entrusted with this task of saving his [God’s] environment.” 

Watch the video here: youtube.com/watch?v=cl8G_JQdAzE&t=3s.

Thumbnail image credit: CloudSurfer (CC BY-SA)

A Rocha International (ARI) has installed a new senior leader as of 1 December. Dr. Simon Stuart, whose appointment was announced in August, comes with a wealth of international experience and recognition. He begins his service just over a year after the tragic loss of A Rocha International’s Executive Director Chris Naylor, with his wife and ARI co-founder Miranda Harris, in an automobile accident in South Africa.

From the ARI announcement:

Simon’s career includes his work on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and his chairing of the IUCN Species Survival Commission. He was recently announced as one of two winners of this year’s prestigious Blue Planet Prize. Simon will join A Rocha on 1 December 2020. He is currently Director of Strategic Conservation at Synchronicity Earth where he will remain active, transitioning to the role of Chief Scientific Advisor.

Simon has a long history with A Rocha, having served as an A Rocha International trustee between 2000 and 2009, and from 2017 to June 2020. He says, ‘I am both excited and humbled to be taking this new position with A Rocha International – an organization I have grown to love over many years. The A Rocha family is in many ways groundbreaking as it brings together practical conservation action with Christian faith. We are facing an unprecedented ecological crisis, and it is imperative that Christians are at the forefront of the fight to save and recover nature.’

Dr Stuart’s Interview on receiving the Blue Planet Prize is below. (Note, the prize is given in Japan, so the interview questions are in Japanese with subtitles; Dr. Stuart’s answers are in English…)