This thesis concerns the relationship between poverty and the environment in Mozambique, and the response that is required from the Church. It is a way to describe and analyse the situation, and also to provide possible strategies for the Church. The thesis begins by providing a general overview of the environmental crisis in Africa at present. Then, drawing on field-work in the Matutuine District of Mozambique, and making considerable use of the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework, it provides an indepth description and analysis of people's livelihood strategies, noting the strong link between poverty and the environment, and how there is a cause and effect relationship between them. In order for the Church to respond in an adequate fashion, the thesis provides theological resources for caring for the environment, and then ends with a range of strategies which the Church can be engaged in. The key findings of the thesis are that, given the immense vulnerability of the poor in Mozambique, households have very little access to human, social, financial and physical capital, and so are forced to rely upon the existing natural capital for survival. Livelihood strategies involve subsistence farming, charcoal production and hunting, all of which deplete the natural resource base, and yet there is no commitment to restore the base which provides these things. Thus these strategies are unsustainable and require a response from the church. The thesis concludes with a range of practical strategies for the Church including awakening people to their obligations as creatures on earth, being involved in holistic mission, responding to pollution, deforestation and land degradation, contributing to and enhancing existing livelihood strategies, contributing to food security, and supporting people in small scale farming practices. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.

Consent form, persmission letter and declaration translated into Portuguese. Interview schedule translated into Makhua and Portuguese / Economically, Mozambique is one of the poorest countries globally. Given to its poor state, Mozambique remains environmentally deteriorated. Fortunately, the Mozambican government has embarked on environmental programmes as a strategy for ecological management. However, these strategies seem irrelevant due to ineffective implementation of such programmes. It lacks local community awareness, involvement and participation. The church lacks eco-theology as well as theology that can protect nature and people’s struggles. This study investigated the policies and their implementation towards environmental management in Mozambique. The study also discussed church’s role and proposed a comprehensive theology towards the environment in the city of Nampula. Nampula city is one of the busiest cities in the province and in the northern region of Mozambique due to its business attractions. This study was limited to the Union Baptist Church of Nampula. The data collection was based on two approaches, fieldwork and literature analysis. Fieldwork approach resulted in 20 Nampula citizens’ residents being interviewed. The finding showed that environmental crisis is a socio-economic, political and religious problem of concern. It also revealed that the citizens of Nampula face detrimental and environmental health impacts caused by a weak waste management policy. The incapacity of the implementation of waste management policy, deficiency in the enforcement of awareness and local people input contribute for ecological crisis, leading for water pollution and health problems. The ambiguity of making ecological regulations and resources available worsens ecological crisis. When such regulations are drafted and promulgated without local people’s participation, it may indicate that the law-makers exclude local knowledge about environment into the scientific debate. This can lead local people to resist and not participate even when they are called for. Hence, the research has shown that to make a dynamic ecological policy and an effective waste management, a combination of both top-down and bottom-up approaches are needed. A top-down approach guarantees constant framework while the bottom-up approach encourages local community involvement. In this study, the significance of local community involvement, church advocacy, and pressure in making waste management policy function constitute a key finding. Without active involvement of local people in planning, designing, implementing, monitoring, evaluating, and the decision-making process participation, the earth management may never take place. Therefore, the challenge remains for the government, the church, and the private sector to draw and define methods to attain economic development, protect ecological and civil society. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M. Th. (Missiology)

Consent form, persmission letter and declaration translated into Portuguese. Interview schedule translated into Makhua and Portuguese / Economically, Mozambique is one of the poorest countries globally. Given to its poor state, Mozambique remains environmentally deteriorated. Fortunately, the Mozambican government has embarked on environmental programmes as a strategy for ecological management. However, these strategies seem irrelevant due to ineffective implementation of such programmes. It lacks local community awareness, involvement and participation. The church lacks eco-theology as well as theology that can protect nature and people’s struggles. This study investigated the policies and their implementation towards environmental management in Mozambique. The study also discussed church’s role and proposed a comprehensive theology towards the environment in the city of Nampula. Nampula city is one of the busiest cities in the province and in the northern region of Mozambique due to its business attractions. This study was limited to the Union Baptist Church of Nampula. The data collection was based on two approaches, fieldwork and literature analysis. Fieldwork approach resulted in 20 Nampula citizens’ residents being interviewed. The finding showed that environmental crisis is a socio-economic, political and religious problem of concern. It also revealed that the citizens of Nampula face detrimental and environmental health impacts caused by a weak waste management policy. The incapacity of the implementation of waste management policy, deficiency in the enforcement of awareness and local people input contribute for ecological crisis, leading for water pollution and health problems. The ambiguity of making ecological regulations and resources available worsens ecological crisis. When such regulations are drafted and promulgated without local people’s participation, it may indicate that the law-makers exclude local knowledge about environment into the scientific debate. This can lead local people to resist and not participate even when they are called for. Hence, the research has shown that to make a dynamic ecological policy and an effective waste management, a combination of both top-down and bottom-up approaches are needed. A top-down approach guarantees constant framework while the bottom-up approach encourages local community involvement. In this study, the significance of local community involvement, church advocacy, and pressure in making waste management policy function constitute a key finding. Without active involvement of local people in planning, designing, implementing, monitoring, evaluating, and the decision-making process participation, the earth management may never take place. Therefore, the challenge remains for the government, the church, and the private sector to draw and define methods to attain economic development, protect ecological and civil society. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M. Th. (Missiology)