Young entrepreneur Badr Idrissi never waited to be told what to do. Instead, he looked for innovative solutions to problems. He would often take the family TV or video recorder to pieces. “My parents would always tell me to put it back together!” he says. “But that’s how I learned to fix things.”

Today, thirty-seven-year-old Idrissi, from Morocco, is CEO and co-founder of ATLAN Space, a deep technology startup using drones and artificial intelligence to crack down on illegal fishing and protect natural resources in Africa.  

“I had a conversation with a friend, Younes Moumen who is also a Co-Founder of ATLAN Space, about our terrible track record in Africa on illegal fishing, poaching, deforestation,” he says. “We dug deeper into the statistics and what we found shocked us.”

They found, for example, that Mauritania, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, and Sierra Leone, lose an estimated US$2.3 billion in total to illegal fishing annually, as reported by Frontiers in marine science.

A former Microsoft Account Executive with a degree in Telecommunications Engineering, Idrissi and his co-founder worked hard to find a solution. They developed software technology that arms unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, with artificial intelligence.

“The drones use artificial intelligence to decide where to go. We give them information about protected marine areas, illegal fishing hotspots, and the weather. We also program them to distinguish each context,” he explains.

“For example, if a fishing boat is detected, the drone will analyze its behavior based on whether it is located in a protected marine park, what it is doing, whether there is a fleet, etc., to decide if its activity is illegal. It will use the context to decide whether or not to report the situation.”  

Other drones can only cover a radius of about 70 kilometers and need a human pilot. ATLAN Space’s technology increases the operational range of the drones, and allows them to monitor very large marine areas without any human interaction.

Depending on the number of hotspots which need to be monitored, one drone can cover 10,000 square kilometers . They fly at over 300 meters, making them unreachable by non-military means.

“If the drone is 95 percent sure that behavior is illegal, it will send the relevant local authorities information detailing the time of the occurrence, the GPS coordinates, the location and any other relevant data that will help them decide on the course of action,” he says.   

The novelty of the technology lies in its ability to bypass the need for human intervention over long distances. The drones can cover a large area and make autonomous decisions. For example, two drones can communicate and ‘decide’ to split up and track two different boats.   

But Idrissi’s vision is not to replace humans altogether. “Our technology is there to help people do their jobs more effectively. Illegal activities destroy jobs, for example in the tourism industry,” he says.  

ATLAN Space has won a National Geographic award to fund its “FishGuard pilot” partnership, which will deploy the drones for the first time, to tackle illegal fishing in the Republic of Seychelles.

FishGuard is a unique partnership that includes in addition to ATLAN Space, Trygg Mat Tracking - a Norwegian analytical non-profit and the international organization Grid-Arendal, to provide technological solutions to combat illegal fishing.

Idrissi estimates that this system costs half of what is already commercially available on the market, making it a highly cost effective option for tackling illegal activity, especially among emerging economies.

“The deployment cost of the FishGuard solution depends on many parameters and is specific to each project. It doesn’t only include the technological element, but also capacity building for a sustainable ocean resources management strategy,” says Idrissi.

 “This is about more than detecting crime: we can build marine protection capacity; understand trends and patterns to see the bigger picture of what is happening at sea. We expect this will have a deterrent effect, because people will see that the area is monitored,” he says.

After deploying its solution in the Seychelles, Idrissi plans to expand the model to tackle other environmental problems like deforestation and illegal mining in future.   

Idrissi believes that while there is much potential for startups like his in Africa, entrepreneurs and innovators still face challenges. “I do feel that today we focus on educating young people about how to be an employee. That doesn’t allow people to be creative - and that is risky.”

UN Environment Regional Information Officer for Africa, Mohamed Atani, notes that supporting young entrepreneurs in Africa is critical for sustainable development, and for finding more innovative solutions like FishGuard in future.

“Today more than ever, we need young people like Idrissi, who understand challenges in Africa, and who find solutions for which there is great demand,” says Atani. “Entrepreneurs are not people who fail to find a job – they have immense vision for the future. We must support that.”

“Service is my guiding value. One day we will leave this earth, and what remains is what we do for people,” says Omer Badokhon, the Young Champion of the Earth for West Asia. Born in a small village in war-torn Yemen, Badokhon’s daily life is filled with challenges ranging from conflict to no electricity or water.  

Last year, Yemen was hit by the world’s largest and fastest-spreading cholera outbreak. Conflict and economic deterioration, lack of access to clean drinking water and sanitation continue to fuel fears of another outbreak.

And yet despite these challenges, with no internet connectivity, little opportunity to travel or connect with other people, Badokhon continues to build his award-winning dream of supplying electricity for cooking, and fertilizer for growing food to his community.

His technology aims to provide daily meals and hope for his community. “When I hear people are dying in Yemen from cholera, I feel very sorry, because I know there is a solution to avoid this,” he explains.

“The organic waste is the main reason for cholera. We can solve this problem by converting it into biogas. This is a biochemical process in which we produce methane and carbon dioxide. We can collect it and use it for both energy and fuel.”

Badokhon says Yemenis, on average produce half a kilo of organic waste per day. This means each family has enough waste to provide cooking fuel to make a meal.

For Badokhon, and millions of others in regions where harsh realities of daily life make simple tasks like finding food a challenge, being an entrepreneur isn’t a smooth sail. During a period in our history when, in many countries, internet connectivity seems like the most simple and natural solution to many challenges, it’s tempting to think that anything is possible.

Yet in many countries, finding solutions involves overcoming major hurdles, and not just typing a problem into a search engine like Google. Badokhon is still searching for funding and partners to take this project to its next phase.

Eritai Kateibwi, is another Young Champion of the Earth. He lives in the Pacific, on one of the 33 the islands of Kiribati, which are among the most isolated in the world. The low-lying nation in the Pacific Ocean lies only meters above sea level at the highest point.

With a population of 114,000 and only one road, rising ocean waters, salt intrusion, and the cost of importing food has led to high rates of malnutrition and diabetes. Flooding and salt water have decimated food supplies for many families, and nutritious, fresh food is unavailable or more expensive.

But Kateibwi has been working hard to find a solution. “I developed a simple and affordable hydroponic process to grow nutritious food, because people do not have a healthy and nutritious diet,” he explains.

“The hydroponic system does not need soil so it doesn’t take up a lot of space, and can be elevated and raised above the ground so it escapes flooding. I grow the food in containers using water packed with nutrients instead of soil.”

Using his system, Kateibwi has successfully produced lettuce, Chinese cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes and melon. But, he explains, it’s hard to source the inputs needed for making nutrient-dense food for the crops.

Without the option of just going on Google to find out what’s available, Kateibwi is still trying to source local solutions to make sure the plants reach maximum growth. “The major challenge we have is producing our own fertilizer, as we lack resources on the island. We need to import ingredients which is very expensive,” he explains.

“We are undertaking a study to use local materials to produce our own fertilizer, and we are currently doing lots of experiments to make this more effective.” So how will he tackle this challenge?

“Experiments, research and research,” said Kateibwi. For Kateibwi and Badokhon, googling to find solutions isn’t an option. But, as they pave the way in their respective areas of research, and search for solutions, they set an example and raise hope within their communities that anything is possible.

Kateibwi and Badokhon have remarkable courage and perseverance – exactly the ingredients needed to overcome hurdles. Thanks to their efforts, when future generations take to Google to search for solutions in Yemen and Kiribati, they are more likely to find them.

In a remote village of the Himalayas, Kristin Kagetsu was struggling with a recipe. Not your average recipe for cooking up a delicious meal. This one was for making sustainable colored crayons. After trial and error, resulting in crayons of different shapes and sizes, Kagetsu finally hit on the right recipe and the crayons are still sold today.

But the experience taught her a valuable lesson: ingredients for truly sustainable products must be sourced locally. Fast-forward five years, and twenty-eight-year-old Kagetsu, now Chief Executive Officer of Saathi pads, has teamed up with co-founder, twenty-six-year-old Tarun Bothra, to turn their attention to a more pressing environmental and social problem.

In India, 84 percent of women lack access to sanitary pads. Even among the few who use them, many do not have alternatives for reducing plastic waste. On average, every woman using sanitary pads contributes 60 kilograms of pad waste in her lifetime, generating 100,000 tons of waste annually.

“Women are forced to use rags, cloths and even mud to stem menstrual bleeding, which exposes them to a high risk of infection,” explained Brotha. “Improvised alternatives are uncomfortable, unreliable and not very absorbent, making a day at work or school while on a period very difficult to manage.”

Saathi pads set out to improve the lives of women without creating a negative environmental impact. Their pads are 100 percent biodegradable, made from banana fibers, which are strong, abundant and absorbent. Unlike wood pulp or cotton, banana fiber is an agricultural by-product, so it does not take up extra land. The pads do not contain bleach and use eco-friendly adhesive.

“People don’t understand why we are taking a biodegradable product into rural areas,” said Kagetsu. “But sanitary waste affects these communities more directly, because they are using the land to grow food. The waste seriously impacts what they drink and eat.”

In an unassuming factory building on the outskirts of a bustling city, a group of women are busy assembling the sanitary pads. Ahmedabad is an important economic and industrial hub in India, and among its fastest growing cities. To date, the company has made hundreds of thousands of pads from banana fibers which would otherwise go to waste.

 “We started off wanting to give women better access to sanitary pads, but realized that this is only a part of the solution,” explained Bothra. “We’re trying to build a sustainable future: we’re already ahead of the trend. The environment is part of our value chain. We don’t want to harm any part of our value chain,” he said.     

“Plastic pads take hundreds of years to degrade, and worse, are frequently burned generating toxic fumes including carbon dioxide,” noted Bothra. “As sanitary pad usage increases in India, access to affordable, biodegradable, non-toxic pads is essential. The pads degrade within three to six months of disposal – 1,200 times faster than conventional pads,” he said.

The pads are also competitively priced. Commercial plastic pads can cost up to 27 cents per pad. Other eco-friendly versions sell for between 52 to 80 cents per pad. Saathi pads retail at 30 cents per pad. “Some products claim to be biodegradable, but they are not 100 percent so”, said Bothra. “Others may use organic cotton for one layer, but still contain plastic and other chemicals.”  

Saathi pads launched sales in 2017 and currently, sells their pads on their website. Soon they will be available in supermarkets. Currently, the company is using sales to subsidize pads for rural women, who live in areas where menstruation is still a taboo subject.

In many rural communities, one in six women still miss about a month of work each year due to lack of access to modern feminine hygiene products. Saathi pads have already reached thousands of women and aim to increase access to sanitary pads for 1.5 million women by 2023.

Kagetsu points out that sanitary products are a necessity not an option for millions of women. “If we can make a dent here, this will have a long-term impact for the foreseeable future for women using sustainable pads, and for the environment,” she said.

Check out these 35 big ideas by young entrepreneurs around the world: they need your vote!  

• 35 young entrepreneurs across 6 regions have made it to the regional finals for the 2018 cycle of the Young Champions of the Earth prize.
• The public can vote for their favorite ideas, with the winners being picked by a global jury.
• The 7 winning Young Champions will be awarded with seed funding, mentorship and access to a wide network to bring their ideas into fruition.

Nairobi, 12 June 2018 – UN Environment today announced the names of the 35 young entrepreneurs across 6 regions who have made it to the regional finals of 2018 cycle of the Young Champions of the Earth prize.

Now in its second year, ‘Young Champions’ is a global competition that seeks out entrepreneurs and innovators with big ideas to secure a sustainable future. All of the finalists’ ideas address urgent environmental issues in bold and creative ways.

The seven final winners will each receive the prestigious prize along with 15,000 USD in seed funding, mentorship from industry leaders and access to a wide network of influencers to bring their ideas into fruition.

 “The Young Champions of the Earth prize is highlighting exactly how creative, dedicated and driven young people can be when it comes to the future of our environment,” Head of UN Environment Erik Solheim said. “These regional finalists are an inspiration to all of us, that hard work and a positive outlook are a powerful way to reach a goal, even one as ambitious as a sustainable world for all.”

“Covestro is proud to continue its full support for the second year of the Young Champions of the Earth competition,” says Covestro CEO Dr. Markus Steilemann. “As one of the world’s leading contributors of materials for sustainable development, we’re honored to partner with UN Environment to inspire and motivate young people across the world to contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.”

From a pool of 760 submitted project ideas across a wide spectrum of impact areas, the 35 regional finalists stood out for their drive, the novelty an scalability of their ideas, and their potential to address pressing environmental issues.

Their proposals range from land-based coral farms that aim to replenish the dying coral reefs around the world and a plan for breeding fatty insects as a source of biofuel, to be used as an alternative for palm oil. They include educational initiatives involving board games, music and digital platforms to raise awareness about environmental issues; tackling plastic pollution through recycling and upcycling – into bricks and urinals – and an integrated system of wildfire detectors that can detect and prevent destructive fires. 

The review of applications was conducted by a global team of 20 UN Environment staff in conjunction with representatives and affiliates of CoalitionWILD, notably: Change the System Executive Director Alan Jarandilla Nunez; CoalitionWILD Steering Committee Member Cécile Tang; Independent Educator and Conservationist Coralie Menet; and CoalitionWILD Ambassador Yoba Alenga.

Members of the public are being encouraged to view and rate the proposals on the Young Champions of the Earth website now. The non-binding public vote will close at 16h00 EAT on Monday 25 June. The public online vote will inform a global jury to select the 2018 Young Champions in September. 

More information about all 35 projects and short biographies of their creators can be found on the Young Champions website.

NOTES TO EDITORS

About UN Environment

UN Environment is the leading global voice on the global environment. It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations. UN Environment works with governments, the private sector, the civil society and with other UN entities and international organizations across the world. 

About Covestro:

With 2017 sales of EUR 14.1 billion, Covestro is among the world’s largest polymer companies. Business activities are focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. The main segments served are the automotive, construction, wood processing and furniture, and electrical and electronics industries. Other sectors include sports and leisure, cosmetics, health and the chemical industry itself. Covestro has 30 production sites worldwide and employs approximately 16,200 people (calculated as full-time equivalents) at the end of 2017.

For more information, please contact:

Keith Weller, Head of News and Media, keith.weller@un.org

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.