UN News June 17
YOUNG ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS TELL THEIR STORY AT UN CHILDREN’S CONFERENCE
A young Australian filmmaker and an Indian child combating water waste are among the 700 children from over 100 countries that are sharing their stories on how to create a better, healthier planet at a United Nations environment conference in Norway.
The biannual Tunza International Children’s Conference, organized by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) in partnership with the Norwegian NGO Young Agenda 21, and with Bayer AG as one of the main sponsors, began today in Stavanger.
One of the largest global children’s conferences in the world, the weeklong gathering brings together children between the ages of 10 and 14 who are engaged in environmental issues, aiming to increase their awareness and equip them with skills to promote environmental projects in their communities.
“The 700 children attending the Tunza Conference are a powerful sign of the creativity, energy and dynamism that children are capable of to protect our planet,” said UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.
“We can all learn from them, and we should all take heart in the fact that increasing numbers of children are becoming a force for positive change as we move towards greener lifestyles,” he added. In addition to presenting environmental projects, participants will go on field trips and learn about energy, climate change and fair trade, as well as plant trees in support of UNEP’s Seven Billion Tree Campaign. They will also learn about becoming an eco-journalist, photographing the environment and planning practical environmental projects.
This year, in partnership with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), UNEP will highlight the initiatives of dozens of young activists through “My Story” – a series of short video clips that will be posted at www.unep.org.
Among the stories are those of a 13 year old in Australia who is making a documentary called “A Kid’s Guide to Climate Change,” for which he interviewed a local indigenous leader, visited a wind farm and a wave generator, and built a model solar car.
Other examples include a 14 year old in India who is campaigning against water waste in his community, a 13 year old in Cameroon who is running clean-up campaigns and tree plantings, and a 13 year old in the United States who has helped organize a recycling drive and collected 100,000 pounds of e-waste.
This is the seventh edition of UNEP’s Tunza International Children’s Conference, which has encouraged hundreds of children in recent years to take action on environmental issues.
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE WILL HELP STOP DESERTIFICATION, UN AGENCY SAYS
Poor farmers and herders in countries bearing the brunt of desertification and land degradation can help stop or reverse those processes by engaging in sustainable agriculture, the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) says.
Marking World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, which is observed on 17 June, IFAD said in a statement that poor farmers and herders can form part of the solution with the assistance of international agencies.
“Ill-conceived agricultural practices, traditional or intensified, only make things worse as their poor populations have no choice but to adopt short-term survival methods, putting more pressure on increasingly scarce local resources,” IFAD said. “Climate change is increasing that pressure, and exacerbating droughts.”
This year’s theme for the Day is combating land degradation for sustainable agriculture.
The agency called for more efficient water use, improved cropping systems and better forest management, adding that hardier seeds will also help poor farmers withstand droughts and floods.
IFAD, which is tasked with reducing rural poverty, said more than two thirds of its projects are now located in ecologically fragile and marginal areas, where nearly half the world’s poor live.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in a separate message marking the Day, said it was time to recognize that drylands and marginal lands are not waste lands and could be devoted to biofuel production or other uses.
“Rather, they are potential areas for agricultural intensification for both food and energy needs. Let us renew our commitment to reversing land degradation and desertification,” he said, adding that the UN Convention to Combat Desertification “could offer a long-term solution to producing more food for more people” and should be fully implemented.
A young Australian filmmaker and an Indian child combating water waste are among the 700 children from over 100 countries that are sharing their stories on how to create a better, healthier planet at a United Nations environment conference in Norway.
The biannual Tunza International Children’s Conference, organized by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) in partnership with the Norwegian NGO Young Agenda 21, and with Bayer AG as one of the main sponsors, began today in Stavanger.
One of the largest global children’s conferences in the world, the weeklong gathering brings together children between the ages of 10 and 14 who are engaged in environmental issues, aiming to increase their awareness and equip them with skills to promote environmental projects in their communities.
“The 700 children attending the Tunza Conference are a powerful sign of the creativity, energy and dynamism that children are capable of to protect our planet,” said UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.
“We can all learn from them, and we should all take heart in the fact that increasing numbers of children are becoming a force for positive change as we move towards greener lifestyles,” he added. In addition to presenting environmental projects, participants will go on field trips and learn about energy, climate change and fair trade, as well as plant trees in support of UNEP’s Seven Billion Tree Campaign. They will also learn about becoming an eco-journalist, photographing the environment and planning practical environmental projects.
This year, in partnership with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), UNEP will highlight the initiatives of dozens of young activists through “My Story” – a series of short video clips that will be posted at www.unep.org.
Among the stories are those of a 13 year old in Australia who is making a documentary called “A Kid’s Guide to Climate Change,” for which he interviewed a local indigenous leader, visited a wind farm and a wave generator, and built a model solar car.
Other examples include a 14 year old in India who is campaigning against water waste in his community, a 13 year old in Cameroon who is running clean-up campaigns and tree plantings, and a 13 year old in the United States who has helped organize a recycling drive and collected 100,000 pounds of e-waste.
This is the seventh edition of UNEP’s Tunza International Children’s Conference, which has encouraged hundreds of children in recent years to take action on environmental issues.
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE WILL HELP STOP DESERTIFICATION, UN AGENCY SAYS
Poor farmers and herders in countries bearing the brunt of desertification and land degradation can help stop or reverse those processes by engaging in sustainable agriculture, the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) says.
Marking World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, which is observed on 17 June, IFAD said in a statement that poor farmers and herders can form part of the solution with the assistance of international agencies.
“Ill-conceived agricultural practices, traditional or intensified, only make things worse as their poor populations have no choice but to adopt short-term survival methods, putting more pressure on increasingly scarce local resources,” IFAD said. “Climate change is increasing that pressure, and exacerbating droughts.”
This year’s theme for the Day is combating land degradation for sustainable agriculture.
The agency called for more efficient water use, improved cropping systems and better forest management, adding that hardier seeds will also help poor farmers withstand droughts and floods.
IFAD, which is tasked with reducing rural poverty, said more than two thirds of its projects are now located in ecologically fragile and marginal areas, where nearly half the world’s poor live.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in a separate message marking the Day, said it was time to recognize that drylands and marginal lands are not waste lands and could be devoted to biofuel production or other uses.
“Rather, they are potential areas for agricultural intensification for both food and energy needs. Let us renew our commitment to reversing land degradation and desertification,” he said, adding that the UN Convention to Combat Desertification “could offer a long-term solution to producing more food for more people” and should be fully implemented.
Labels: desertification, Environment, United Nations, youth
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