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UNEP
Videos
Jinali Mody: Crafting leather from leaves
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.
Joseph Nguthiru: Making plastic from weeds
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.
Noemi Florea: Greywater you can drink
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.
Youth and food systems
Healthy food systems have a positive impact on the natural environment. UNEP is partnering with FAO and WWF to bring youth action to food systems!
Earthshot Prize meets the 2020 Young Champions of the Earth
On 3rd February 2021, The Duke of Cambridge, Prince William spoke to seven young environmentalists from the UN Environment Programme's (UNEP) Young Champions of the Earth initiative to hear their perspectives on the environmental challenges facing our planet and the innovative solutions needed to address these issues.
Champions and Young Champions of the Earth 2020: Message from the Secretary-General
The UN Secretary-General António Guterres shares his message of support for the Champions and Young Champions of the Earth 2020, the UN’s highest environmental honour.
Native plants for green roofs in Quito
2017 Young Champion of the Earth Liliana Jaramillo has been working to build green roofs that host native plant species in her birth city, Quito, Ecuador.
Young Champion of the Earth 2019: Omar Itani
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.
Young Champion of the Earth 2019: Sonika Manandhar
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.
Young Champion of the Earth 2019: Louise Mabulo
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.
Young Champion of the Earth 2019: Anna Luisa Baserra
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.
Young Champion of the Earth 2019: Adjany Costa
The 2019 Young Champion of the Earth for Africa is Adjany Costa from Angola. Adjany is committed to saving one of the world’s last wild places, the Okavango Basin.
Young Champion of the Earth 2019: Marianna Muntianu
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.
Young Champion of the Earth 2019: Molly Burhans
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.
In partnership with and support from Planet A, a storytelling platform driving environmental awareness and action through @TheOfficialPlanetA YouTube