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Once a banana plant fruits, its stem must be cut down for a new plant to grow. Globally, this generates over 100 million tonnes of crop waste each year, according to one study in the journal Molecules. Much of it is discarded in fields, where it decomposes and releases methane, a greenhouse gas over 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide over short periods.
On Kenya’s Lake Naivasha, local fishers struggle to manoeuvre their boats through mats of floating water hyacinth. The invasive weed spreads as far as the eye can see, blocking sunlight, depleting oxygen, reducing biodiversity and threatening livelihoods.
At a rural health centre in the Dusti District of Tajikistan, Noemi Florea kneels beside a washstand to install a shiny, chrome-coloured filtration unit. The device, which Florea invented, will collect water that runs down the washstand drain, clean it and pipe it back to the tap. The water is pure enough to drink, making the machine a rarity in a region where water treatment is sporadic.
Healthy food systems have a positive impact on the natural environment. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is partnering with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to bring youth action to food systems.
The UN Secretary-General António Guterres shares his message of support for the 2020 Champions of the Earth, the UN’s highest environmental honour, and Young Champions of the Earth, UNEP's forward looking prize.
31 October is World Cities Day. The theme for 2020 is Valuing Our Communities and Cities.
For the Day, we look back to one of our Young Champions of the Earth from 2017, Latin America and Caribbean winner Liliana Jaramillo.
2019 Young Champion of the Earth for West Asia, Omar Itani, founded FabricAid in Beirut, Lebanon. Chemicals from dyes can have severe impacts on soil and water sources from run-off. FabricAID reuses and recycles unwanted clothes. Clothes are graded, sorted into over 46 categories, cleaned in their warehouse and redistributed to disadvantaged communities at US$0.3 – US$2 per item. They have sold more than 60,000 items of clothing to more than 7,000 beneficiaries.
2019 Young Champion of the Earth for Asia and the Pacific, Sonika Manadhar created the Green Energy Mobility (GEM) platform in her country of Nepal.
2019 Champion of the Earth for Asia and the Pacific, Louise Mabulo, works with farmers in the Philippines who live below the poverty line, and are vulnerable to not only disaster, but become targets of terrorist groups. Louise established The Cacao Project, which aims to combat deforestation by reviving barren lands through tree planting, creating economic forests and nurseries, promoting fair trade and reforestation, while empowering farmers with higher incomes.
The 2019 Young Champion of the Earth for Latin America and the Caribbean, Anna Luisa Santos developed Aqualuz, the only technology in the world for cisterns, which only needs sunlight to make rainwater suitable for consumption. It is a validated technology in the field, with many advantages compared to competitors including clay filter, chlorination and water boiling.
The 2019 Young Champion of the Earth winner for Europe has launched the “Plant the Forest” website to reach more people in our reforestation efforts. In the future, she is also planning to launch a “Plant the forest” educational gaming project, where your actions in virtual reality lead to tree restoration in real life.
2019 Young Champion of the Earth for North America Molly Burhans founded GoodLands, where they work to bring Catholic conservation to the scale and impact of Catholic healthcare and education, as the largest global network of its kind. Molly is bringing the most powerful technology for large-scale property planning and sustainability - Geographic Information Systems - to the Catholic Church - the global organization with the most land and the most people.
Young Champion of the Earth from 2017, Mariama Mamane, turns water hyacinth, an invasive species, into fertilizer, bio-gas and energy.
UN Environment is seeking inspired young problem-solvers with big, bold, ideas for the environment, for humanity, for a greener future. Does that sound like you? Apply: unenvironment.org/youngchampions - Narrated by Alec Baldwin.
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In partnership with and support from Planet A, a storytelling platform driving environmental awareness and action through @TheOfficialPlanetA YouTube