Protestant Response to the Climate Crisis

Protestant Community Responds to Climate Crisis: Planting Trees in Mongolia. This was reported in the Catholic Times.

In August 2025, members of Seoul Central Methodist Church planted trees at the "Korean Church Forest" in Töv Province, Mongolia. 

The Protestant community has made responding to the climate crisis a priority and is conducting environmental mission activities to create forests in areas of Mongolia affected by desertification.

Mongolia is one of the countries most severely affected by climate change. While the global average temperature has risen by 1.2°C, Mongolia’s average temperature has increased by 2.22°C, and desertification is underway across 78% of its territory. Additionally, approximately 50% of the permafrost—ground that remains below 0°C for two or more consecutive years—has disappeared over the past 40 years. These environmental changes impact not only Mongolia but also the climate and the risk of infectious disease spread across Asia, including the Korean Peninsula.

Amid intensifying climate disasters such as heatwaves and abnormally high temperatures, the Protestant organization "Tomorrow Planted by Trees" is collaborating with various churches, businesses, and citizens to carry out forest creation and community support projects in Asian regions suffering from desertification. 

Established in 2024, the organization creates "Forests of the Korean Church" in Mongolia and supports climate refugees displaced from their homes by extreme weather and natural disasters. In addition to providing forest and ecosystem services through afforestation, the group carries out community support activities to help local residents rebuild their livelihoods.

In its inaugural year, the organization established the "First Forest of the Korean Church" in Bayankhangai Soum, Tuv Province, Mongolia, covering 10 hectares (approximately 30,000 pyeong) and comprising 4,000 trees. Currently, it is developing the "Second Forest of the Korean Church" in  Selenge Province, spanning 12 hectares (approximately 36,000 pyeong).