Six new grants for ARC

ARC is delighted to announce it has secured six important grants in the past three months, ensuring it will be not only be able to support its existing programmes but that it will be able to implement several new programmes to help environmental work by faith groups around the world.



The grants include:

- Funding from the World Bank/Bank Netherlands Partnership programme, making a vital contribution to ARC’s emerging programme in Africa .

- A major grant from the World Bank President’s Fund to support projects in Latin America, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Southeast Asia and Mongolia.

- Two grants from the Dutch government to help finance ARC’s programmes in Mongolia, namely the creation of the Geser Sum Monastery Ecological Centre and a nationwide meeting of Buddhist monks in Ulaan Baator in summer 2005 to develop the northern sector of the Asian Buddhist Network

- Through partnership with the Environmental Management Fund, ARC is able to announce that the development of the Daoist Ecology Training Centre and associated projects on the sacred “Tai Bei Shan” mountain in Central China can be confirmed, and the project expects to be completed, both in terms of rebuilding the ancient pilgrimage temple and in hosting the first study programme there by October 2005.

- Funding from the Wales Tourist Board as a contribution to the ARC, University of Wales and Churches Tourism Network Wales project to create the Cistercian Way.



This welcome news means that several programmes run by ARC for many years can now be brought to the point where they can become independent, while also enabling ARC to move into a major new area of work in Africa.