MACCA holds its first conference in Indonesia in April

	Bogor, Indonesia. Photo: Alex Viajar

The first International Muslim Conference on Climate Change will held in the Indonesian city of Bogor, in West Java, in April this year. Around 150 people from 30 Muslim countries will attend, including scientists, ulama(religious leaders) and green activists.

They include representatives from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Brunei, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Indonesia, as well as from Britain, India and Africa.

Organised by MACCA (the Muslim Association for Climate Change Action), the aim is to inspire Muslims around the world to take action on protecting the environment by providing a framework of guidance as well as practical and innovative measures for them to take.

The move is a continuation of the Muslim Seven-Year Action Planon Climate Change, agreed in Istanbul in early 2009 and announced at the Windsor Celebration in November 2009.

Bogor will be pronounced a ‘green city’ and become a model for sustainable living for other Muslim cities around the world. The conference will also discuss MACCA’s concept of an al-kheer city. This represents the Islamic ideal of a ‘good city’ and goes further than the notion of a green city by encompassing spiritual concerns as well as environmental, economic and social needs.

The conference, on April 9-10, has the support of Indonesian government bodies, such as the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Forestry, Department of Religious Affairs and the National Council for Climate Change, as well as of leading conservation groups such as the Indonesian Biodiversity Foundation and Conservation International (Indonesia).

It also has the support of two of the world’s biggest Islamic organisations, both based in Indonesia: Muhammadiyah, with 29 million members, which runs around which funds schools, hospitals, and organises communities or ‘kampungs’ into groups to help combat poverty.

Jatna Supriatna, regional vice president of Conservation International (Indonesia) said raising awareness and intensifying action would key to success in the fight against climate change.

The conference has been organised with the support of the UK-based Earth Mate Dialog Centre which was a major force behind drawing up the Muslim Seven-Year Plan.

Read more about Islam's teachings on ecology.