The twin biodiversity and climate crises are among the most pressing and pertinent issues affecting global health and economic systems and livelihoods today, yet the impacts of human interventions and activities are continuously mounting enormous loads of pressure onto the health of our natural ecosystems and habitats.
However, the twin crises present a highly unique opportunity to revive and restore the integrity and resilience of our distinct ecosystems across the African continent; as we recover into a Green economy for a nature and climate-resilient post-COVID-19 World. In light of the UN Decade on ecosystems restoration, Young Africans are leading the way for landscape restoration and creating local solutions within their communities. They are working with their peers, communities, and stakeholders to run social enterprises, organising to lead in creating innovative livelihoods and nature-based opportunities for people, nature, and climate with an aim of building climate-resilient societies and communities. This was the message we delivered at the Africa Climate Week through our side event co-organised with the Youth In Landscapes Initiative.
The session:
The side event, exploring the Africa Climate Week thematic track Integrated approaches for climate-resilient development; under the session theme; Youth Voices for Nature and Climate; A path to restoration brought forward youth leaders who are engaging with initiatives that are transforming their communities, creating opportunities for youth, and at the same time helping restore nature as well as acting for the climate within their various landscapes from Nigeria, Kenya and Zimbabwe. Watch the full session here:
“When it comes to climate action and the push for restoration in the region, Africa youth are already doing what it takes to leave a positive impact. From initiating strong networks to joining forces, and creating livelihood opportunities around their communities, nothing is impossible for them. And in this session: Youth Action for Nature & Climate - the inspiring Rahmina Paullete, Cinderella Ndlovu & Yemi Adeyeye took us through the ways we can step up and lead from the ground up. Restoration with Youth is possible, we are equal partners to co-create the urgently needed solutions to the climate & nature crises.” - Kaluki Paul Mutuku, Africa Regional Director at Youth4Nature and side event co-lead.
Notes from our speakers
Rahmina Paullete, Founder, Kisumu Environmental Champions - Kenya
It was great to join the discussion to share and learn about the local actions taken by individuals from different countries on climate change and biodiversity. It is no longer a question of whether youths and young people should be involved in climate justice, they are the most affected group by the climate crisis thus their involvement to create a safer space in the environment is inevitable. Restoration aims at regenerating the environment to sustain the living and the non-living things. Climate change is a global crisis that threatens food security, the life cycle of living things, the quality of life, and generally the lifespan of species just to mention a few. The ever-increasing global population adds more pressure to the limited natural resources therefore for the sustainability of the present and future generations; more focus should be channeled to restoring the ecosystem to create more productive land.
Cinderella Ndlovu, Founder and Director of Green Hut Trust- Zimbabwe
The majority of Africa’s population consists of the youth, which gives the continent a unique advantage to harness the energy, skills, and innovations from youths to accelerate climate action. Youths are not only one of the most vulnerable groups to climate change, they are a powerful stakeholder that needs to be engaged if we are to build a sustainable future for our continent, our planet, its population now and in the future. One of the drivers of environmental degradation is poverty which drives our people to destroy the natural environment in order to meet the daily bread and butter issues. To make restoration and other climate action efforts more attractive to youths who struggle to gain meaningful employment, I believe that it is important to look into concepts of restoration ‘businesses’ that will not only address the challenge of high unemployment through sustainable livelihoods but at the same time contribute to environmental conservation and protection. We stand to benefit more from green economies for human and planetary health hence more focus and resources should be channeled towards building greener and sustainably.
“We are not leaders of tomorrow, we are leaders of today!”
Yemi Adeyeye, GLFX Coordinator, Global Landscapes Forum- Nigeria
According to Yemi, we ought to transition from talks to real on-ground action which is key for a scalable and recognisable impact. “Recognising and supporting these ground actions expedites climate action.”
“Use your connections in the nature-climate space to leverage on action. Everyone can be part of the journey, we have people working on the ground and making their hands dirty whereas there are groups of individuals working in the background ensuring that things are running and supported.”
Call to Action
The climate crisis is happening right now and it has to be treated with the urgency it deserves. Vulnerabilities of the earth’s system have been exposed over the past decades, evident in the rises in sea levels, melting of glaciers, extreme weather events (droughts and floods), and most recently, the occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has interrupted global health and economic systems. And yet, these impacts are worst felt by the poor and vulnerable communities, many across the African continent.
With nature and climate revolving at the center of our global health and economic systems, we can only afford to give it the attention it deserves. The involvement of youth through policy spaces and fully-fledged support on-the-ground is critical to building better from these crises into a green economy that puts nature, climate, and people at the forefront.