During our recent Caring Partners International medical mission trip we had an unexpected connection with one of our visitors. Donna Cox and Timothy graduated from the same rural high school. They had both been educated at Preble Shawnee where the largest social club was the Future Farmers of America followed by 4H. Rural values and rural […]
Missionary zeal does not grow out of intellectual beliefs, nor out of theological arguments, but out of love. -Roland Allen The Apostle John was known as the “disciple whom Jesus loved” His Gospel account has been called the Gospel of love. In his first epistle John even writes the bold theological statement “God is love.” […]
The mark of a great church is not its seating capacity, but its sending capacity. -Mike Stachura Along our mission path we have encountered an attitude in many churches that can best be described as low self-esteem. Many churches have given up hope that they can be world changers. They tend to look at attendance […]
Unless I am sure I am doing more at home to send the gospel abroad than I can do abroad, I am bound to go. -A. B. Simpson In Matthew’s rendering of the Great Commission Jesus puts legs on the Great Commandment. Love of God and love of our neighbor demands that we are in […]
Not every believer has the missionary gift, but every Christian is called to some kind of involvement in missions. We are called to advance the gospel in some way and to participate in the fulfilling of God’s purposes in our generation. -David Shibley In Acts chapter one Jesus tells his original disciples that at the […]
Jesus said: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end […]
We tried something different and…. it was a success! Each year the Church of God Seminary in Ecuador offers a week long intensive to help train leaders in the Ecuadorian Church. This year we expanded the reach of the Seminary by offering more class options, moving to a more spacious location, and including more Ecuadorian […]
Botswana’s Okavango Delta, one of the planet’s most iconic natural areas, has been listed as the 1,000th World Heritage site. The decision follows the recommendation of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the advisory body to UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee on nature. The listing was announced at the 38th World Heritage Committee meeting taking place in Doha, Qatar.
The World Heritage Committee meets once a year and consists of representatives from 21 of the States that are Parties to the World Heritage Convention. The Committee is responsible for implementing the Convention, defines the use of the World Heritage Fund and allocates financial assistance upon requests from Parties. Working closely with its World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), IUCN’s World Heritage Programme evaluates sites nominated to the World Heritage List, monitors the conservation state of listed sites, promotes the Convention as a leading global conservation tool and provides support, advice and training to site managers, governments, scientists and local communities.
The World Heritage Committee has the final say on whether a site is inscribed on the World Heritage List. It examines reports on the state of conservation of inscribed properties and asks Parties to take action when properties are not being properly managed. It also decides on the inscription or deletion of properties on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
“The Okavango Delta has long been considered one of the biggest gaps on the World Heritage list and IUCN is proud to have been able to provide support to this nomination,” said Julia Marton-Lefèvre, IUCN Director General. “We congratulate Botswana’s authorities on their extraordinary commitment to make this historic listing a reality.”
Situated in north-western Botswana, the Okavango Delta is a vast fan-shaped plain of permanent swamps and seasonally-flooded grassland, spanning an area roughly twice the size of Qatar, the host country of this year’s World Heritage Committee meeting. Its extraordinary annual flooding, which occurs in the dry season, supports one of the greatest concentrations of wildlife in Africa.
The delta sustains the populations of some of the most threatened large mammals such as the Cheetah, the White and Black Rhinoceros, the Wild Dog and the Lion. It harbours 24 species of globally-threatened birds and is key to the survival of Botswana’s 130,000 elephants — the largest population of the species in the world.
“The Okavango Delta has been a conservation priority for more than 30 years and we are delighted that it has finally gained the prestigious status it deserves,” said Tim Badman, Director of IUCN’s World Heritage Programme. “Its ecological and biological importance as well as its exceptional natural beauty make it a prime example of what World Heritage stands for.”
Okavango supports the lives of thousands of people by providing freshwater, food, building materials, medicinal plants and employment through the tourism industry. The proposal for World Heritage listing was strongly backed by the indigenous peoples living in and around the delta, who have conserved the area for millennia.
Traditional travel through Okavango Delta is in a mokoro, shallow-bottomed boat powered by pole. Photo: Greenwich Photography. Creative Commons BY 2.0 (cropped).
“The Okavango Delta is an extraordinary and iconic wilderness area,” said Cyril Kormos, Vice Chair of World Heritage for IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas.
“The good stewardship of the site by local communities over thousands of years truly exemplifies the close links between nature and culture. The delta has recently faced threats including from extractive industries and World Heritage listing will hopefully help keep these challenges at bay.”