2014 UN Environment Champion of the Earth Fatima Jibrell once said: “People are fighting about limited resources, destroyed by displaced youth: a ready pool for hire for war lords, companies of charcoal; for piracy and for every other evil thing that they could find.”
It is up to us to come together and find constructive employment for our young people, she said. “We don’t want to be dependent on aid.” This week she was among experts gathering in Mogadishu this week for the first Somali Government-led conference, continuing the fight to stop the illegal charcoal trade and prevent charcoal production.
The conference from May 7-8 took place as deforestation, soil erosion and drought continue to grip the country. The high-level meeting brought together government officials, senior UN representatives, environmental advocates and donors to support implementation of the ban on importing Somali charcoal.
Throughout her career, Fatima Jibrell has challenged the status quo to protect ordinary Somalis and their way of life, while working to end the unsustainable charcoal trade. Born into a nomadic pastoralist family in Somalia, she is focused on her vision of peace and conservation. A leading environmental activist and founder of Adeso Africa – a non-profit organization established in 1991 – she has fought bravely to protect Somalia’s fragile environment.
Instrumental in bringing about a ban on the export of charcoal in Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region, she has also co-funded Sun Fire Cooking, which promotes widespread use of solar cookers as an alternative to charcoal. In 2002 her work won her the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize and in 2007, the National Geographic/Buffet Award for Leadership in African Conservation.
Exporting charcoal from Somalia was banned in 2012, but an illicit trade has decimated ancient acacia tree populations across the country. Since ordinary Somalis are often not aware of the long-term consequences of deforestation and desertification, they become perpetrators of their environment’s own demise, with harsh economic and social repercussions.
Deputy Prime Minister Mahdi Mohamed Guled said in his opening remarks: “We need a holistic response to address the issues of charcoal in Somalia. Both the demand and supply side have to be tackled – to do this we need cooperation to implement the UN Security Council Resolution and ensure the environmental, economic and human losses that happen because of illegal charcoal trade are curbed.”
Erik Solheim, UN Environment’s Executive Director, said: “Destruction of trees for charcoal leads to degradation of land, destruction of ecosystems and causes greater susceptibility to flooding and drought. This leads to loss of livelihoods and food insecurity, which are contributing to the humanitarian crises in Somalia.
“The charcoal trade contributes to and funds insecurity and conflict as it exacerbates inter-clan tension over control of land and trade and acts as a major source of funding for armed groups which illegally tax exports of the commodity. Somalia needs the support of the international community and the private sector to curb this unsustainable livelihood and to provide viable alternatives,” he added.
Charcoal production – an economic activity that dates to pre-colonial times – has long served communities to meet energy requirements and provide livelihood opportunities. The market value of the exported commodity was estimated to be more than $250 million dollars over two years following the ban.
“The environmental destruction brought on by the charcoal trade contributes to drought, flooding, the loss of livelihoods and increase in food insecurity. Together with conflict, this exacerbates the humanitarian situation in Somalia,” said the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia, Peter de Clercq.
Consequently, the trade in charcoal has accelerated environmental degradation and conflict over the control of resultant revenue. Fatima Jibrell will join delegates to strengthen institutional support to ensure the ban is finally upheld.
The two-day conference was supported by the UN Development Program (UNDP), UN Environment and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), with funding from the European Union, Sweden and Italy.
Learn more about UN Environment’s work on the environmental causes and consequences of disasters and conflicts.
More information about UN Environment’s Young Champion’s work is available here
Contact Russel Galt (Coordinator of the Champions of the Earth) russel.galt[at]un.org or Saidou Hamani saidou.hamani[at]un.org (Regional Coordinator of the Resilience to Disasters and Conflicts Programme Africa Office)
Urban green spaces encourage active and healthy lifestyles, improve mental health, prevent disease, and provide a place for people to socialize. And especially when they feature native greenery, they can improve a city’s resilience. Planting native trees and shrubs in urban spaces can help cities to adapt to the impacts of climate change by bringing down temperatures, buffering storms and floods, and working as excellent air filters.
Biologist Liliana Jaramillo Pazmiño – one of six Young Champions of the Earth in 2017 – is cultivating native trees and shrubs to grow on rooftops in Quito, Ecuador. Her ultimate aim is for these corners of greenery to become part of the city’s infrastructure.
“When you think about urban cities, most of the time you think about concrete. But rooftops are basically wasted space – leftover land,” she says. “It’s time we started converting these spaces into greener spaces for everybody to enjoy.”
“In Quito and in most cities, this means including eco-friendly approaches to urban development and planning. Planting trees in rooftop spaces requires designing buildings with stronger infrastructure to cope with extra weight, for example. If this isn’t tailored into building design, it can be too expensive to do after construction.”
“Even when we do incorporate trees or green areas into urban construction, these often focus on exotic species, which are not native to our land. Reintroducing native species inside the city is important for so many reasons. They help our ecosystem become more diverse, attracting native birds and species to our city spaces.”
“Bringing native trees and shrubs into the city also helps protect them from disappearing, and connects us to nature and our heritage. Part of my project is about creating awareness about which greenery is native, so people can choose local, native species over exotic species and we can feel more connected to our cultural roots, and connect with green spaces outside the city.”
“During the process of urbanization, many of our native species have been disappearing, but we still don’t have a good record of what has been lost. Multiplying and selling them on a wide scale throughout the city is my goal, so that people can easily find them for their rooftops.”
“Bringing native greenery into our urban infrastructure can help us adapt to changing climatic conditions, so that our cities are more resilient to drought, flooding or higher temperatures. We can learn lessons from other cities where this is already being applied.”
21 March is the International Day of Forests. The theme for 2018 is Forests and Sustainable Cities.
Applications for 2018 Young Champions of the Earth are open until 2 April. Apply now!
At a ceremony last week, the United Nations Office at Nairobi and Mobike, the world’s largest smart bike-sharing company, launched a bike-sharing scheme for the UN’s Nairobi compound. The new system allows employees and visitors alike to use bikes around the compound free of charge; it significantly cuts down travel times for routes that were previously accessible on foot.
The roll out of the system came in the run-up to Africa Clean Mobility Week, which runs from 12-16 March. The Week will feature a series of forums and panels to promote clean transport across Africa. Experts from the public and private sector will come together to discuss a range of transport-related topics and highlight potential solutions as people around the continent increasingly transition to more motorized forms of transport.
Erik Solheim, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme, leads the inaugural ride around the compound. Unlike most bike-sharing services, the UN system is free and doesn’t require an app to unlock and use the bikes.
Local students and teachers from Milimani Primary School were invited to try out the bikes along with UN staff. The new bikes, already being used for transportation, will also be part of a bike-sharing showcase planned for Africa Clean Mobility Week.
Erik Solheim and Sahle-Work Zewde, Director General of the UN Office at Nairobi, pose with students from Milimani Primary School after the ride.
The bikes were provided by the Beijing-based company Mobike, in partnership with the UN Environment Programme. The company, which pioneered the dockless bike-sharing system, is now active in 14 countries. In December 2017, Mobike received the UN’s highest environmental honour, the Champion of the Earth Award, in the category of entrepreneurial vision. Thanks to mobile technology, bike sharing is now easier than ever and is increasing in popularity around the world as a carbon-neutral transportation alternative.
Learn more about UN Environment’s work on transport.
Do you want to change the world? We’re here to help. Young Champions of the Earth aims to celebrate and support individuals between the ages of 18 and 30 who have outstanding potential to create positive environmental impact.
In 2018, seven young people – one from each global region – will be named Young Champions of the Earth. These winners receive seed funding, intensive training, and tailored mentorship to help them bring their big environmental ideas to life.
Submit your application by 2 April!
To mark this year’s International Women’s Day, we spoke to three Young Champions of the Earth - women who are already changing the world. We asked what inspires them to pursue their vision, what got them started and what keeps them going.
We also asked what advice they could share with other young people who are looking to bring a big idea to life.
Kaya Dorey, 29
Kaya Dorey began her fashion label, NOVEL SUPPLY CO., after realizing that stylish clothing made sustainably from natural fabrics were altogether absent in the shops of Vancouver, Canada. Her apparel company produces clothes which are free from toxic dyes and synthetics, sourcing hemp and organic cotton and environmentally friendly inks.
Mariama Mamane, 27
Struck by devastating cropland degradation, caused by chemical fertilizers, Mariama Mamane founded JACIGREEN in Burkina Faso. The project aims to rid Niger’s waterways of the invasive water hyacinth, improving access to fresh drinking water and protecting aquatic life.
Liliana Jaramillo Pazmiño, 29
Ecuadorian biologist Liliana Jaramillo Pazmiño uses native plants to green the rooftops of our urbanized planet. Her work aims to reduce air pollution and vulnerability to natural disasters, while protecting native flora and fauna from disappearing.
And here are their tips:
1) Network. Going to events or exhibitions focused on your interests brings you closer to other strong and inspirational women and men, who can be a powerful source of motivation and inspiration.
2) Find your tribe. Even if it’s just having a coffee with someone likeminded to discuss ideas, connecting with others can give you the courage to try new things, build your confidence and help your idea grow.
3) Write it down. Writing your ideas and goals down helps manifest them. It may be just the seed of an idea, but writing ideas down can bring them to life.
4) It doesn’t happen overnight. Ideas evolve, and some take years of trial and error. Follow your passion, take a course, take another course. Find out how you learn best, and then keep going until your vision takes shape.
5) Believe in yourself. Everyone is human and sometimes the system can be hard – there will be challenges in your way. But remembering you are capable and believing in yourself is crucial to help you navigate difficulties and achieve your goals.
6) Be flexible. Some elements of your idea may not work in the real world at first. Listen to practical feedback from those already in your field – their comments could help your idea fly where it might otherwise fail.
7) Do what you love. Yes, there will be days when you have to do the equivalent of taking out the rubbish. You won’t love doing it yet it has to be done. But whether it’s potting a plant or cutting up fabric, doing what you love can get you back into your groove when things aren’t going to plan, or when your goal seems out of sight.
8) Keep your vision in mind. What would the world look like without your idea? What change will it bring? While you don’t need to have every element figured out at the beginning, building your vision will help you stay on track when you hit challenges.
9) Take it step by step. A vision is important, but the big picture can get overwhelming. Remember to plan smaller goals you can achieve along the way, to keep you motivated and ultimately help you realize your vision.
10) Go for it! You many think your idea needs more planning, or that it’s not good enough yet. But the process of speaking to others, researching and validating your thoughts, will give birth to new and better ideas. And sometimes you have to knock on many doors to open one - so you might as well give it a try.
This International Women’s Day, we hope you’ll raise your game and join those we’re celebrating. Voice your idea. Put forward your own initiative. #PressforProgress in environmental change.
Inspired to be a Young Champion of the Earth? Apply by 2 April!
Young Champions of the Earth is an initiative of UN Environment and corporate partner Covestro which aims to identify, celebrate and support young women and men who have outstanding potential to create positive environmental impact.
By Erik Solheim, Head of UN Environment
It’s not always easy to be optimistic about the future of our planet.
The oceans are rising, and some species are dying off. From Somalia to Nigeria, millions of people are reeling from vicious droughts. Only an hour’s flight from our offices here in Nairobi, the world’s last male northern white rhino lives under 24-hour protection from poachers in northern Kenya. With stakes as high as this, it can all seem pretty overwhelming.
What keeps me from despairing, though, is you, the younger generation. You’re not discouraged by past failures, nor are you beholden to the old ways of doing things.
Among all the heads of states, ministers, and accomplished environmentalists at the UN Environment Assembly this past December, you were the ones who really captivated us with your energy and fresh ideas. You give us hope.
But allow me please – as an old(er) fogey – a few words of guidance. Because as impressive as your contributions are, we desperately need even more. Social media can be a powerful tool, but we mustn’t lose ourselves in our screens. We need to renew our focus on the real world, and the many environmental challenges that lie on our doorsteps.
I implore you put down your phones, your laptops, and help us re-examine how we might make our lifestyles more sustainable. Though more connected to one another than ever before, I fear we’ve become horribly disconnected from the very Earth we’re fighting for.
Above all, I call for you – young campaigners, scientists, engineers and more – to translate that fierce online passion into concrete action on the ground. If we can truly harness your talents to the environment’s advantage, I have little doubt we can right the planet’s wrongs.
Some of you might wonder if you can really make a difference out there, beyond the internet petitions and shareable videos. After all, it’s a big world with formidable-looking environmental challenges. But let me assure you that everyone of us can be part of the change we so desperately need.
Whether it’s just adapting your daily activities to use less water and energy or cutting out waste, every little bit helps. This Valentine’s Day, UN Environment appealed for a “break-up with plastics”. By taking personal responsibility and turning to more environmentally friendly practices, we can begin the slow process of transforming our societies.
And for those of you keen or perhaps able to do more, we’re here to help. In fact, we’re particularly interested to hear from you. Last year, we unveiled the first Young Champions of the Earth, and as we move to tackle a range of challenges – from soil degradation to fast decreasing bee populations, we’re looking for the next crop of brilliant movers, thinkers and shakers in 2018.
If you have an idea or project that addresses pressing environmental concerns, we’re all ears. It was my honour a few months ago to recognize Omer Badokhon, a Yemeni engineer, who even in the middle of his country’s conflict dreamt up a brilliant device that swiftly decomposes organic waste, thereby producing biogas.
The more innovative and daring, the better. Another of last year’s winners, Mariama Mamane from Burkina Faso, developed a programme that uses one problem to help solve another. By taking invasive water hyacinth plants, which clog many of Africa’s waterways, she found a cheap and sustainable means of producing energy and organic fertiliser.
This is a call for youth action because we need you. And we need you now. Don’t sit back, thinking this isn’t your problem. The environment is crying out for your assistance. We’re here to help make that happen.
The 2018 cycle of Young Champions of the Earth launches on 27 February. To learn more, and find out how to apply, visit the Young Champions website.
