State of the Environment
Caritas State of the Environment for Oceania
Since 2014, Caritas members in Oceania have been following the impact of environmental changes on the poor through the Caritas State of the Environment for Oceania, released each St Francis’ Day on 4 October.
We follow five key issues affecting Oceania peoples: extreme weather, environmental factors affecting food and water security, offshore mining and drilling, climate finance and coastal erosion, flooding and sea level rise.
Stories, case studies and community-based research aims to influence policy to protect the Oceania environment for the good of all.
State of the Environment Reports
Caritas' State of the Environment for Oceania 2021: Towards our Future Home was launched through a global online webinar on Monday 4 October, the Feast of St Francis of Assisi.
Caritas' annual State of the Environment for Oceania report for 2020, Towards New Horizons, was released through a global webinar on Friday 2 October, followed by an online Mass on Sunday 4 October hosted by the Catholic Diocese of Auckland.
The Caritas State of the Environment for Oceania Report: Seeds of Hope was launched on 3 October at St Mary’s Church Papakura, followed by a presentation on St Francis Day, 4 October, in the Caritas office Wellington.
The Caritas State of the Environment for Oceania Report: Waters of Life, Oceans of Mercy was launched on St Francis Day, 4 October 2018, during the week-long Caritas Oceania Forum held at the Home of Compassion, Island Bay.
Caritas’ fourth State of the Environment for Oceania report, Turning the Tide, was released on St Francis Day, at Te Ngākau Tapu Parish in Porirua, Aotearoa New Zealand.
“People have died and have been sick because they have no food to eat and no safe, clean water to drink.”
Tony Inikre (Caritas Coordinator for Vanimo Diocese in northwest Papua New Guinea), in February, during the peak of the El Niño drought in Papua New Guinea.
“For us Oceania peoples, ... climate change is a daily struggle. For many of our Oceania countries it is a question of whether we remain on or leave our sinking homes. Our livelihoods are linked to the Pacific Ocean. Sea level rise and ocean acidification and other effects of global warming threaten our way of life – and even our national identities. For us it is a matter of life and death.”
- Caritas Oceania leaders
In 2014 we produced our foundational report on the environment in Oceania based on interviews with our partners in the region. We took the title, Small yet strong: Voices from Oceania on the environment, from the Pope Francis quote below.