"Since 1985, books and magazines have been published around the globe that address environmental issues in Africa. Before 2010, when people described Africa's future, they often used words like 'criticism, crisis, poverty, and despair'.
But after 2011, the development of Africa is visible to all, and we have begun to pay more attention to environmental protection. As a region rich in biodiversity on a global scale, the protection of natural resources and natural products is crucial to us.
But the World Bank estimates that by 2030, the global GDP will lose 2.7 trillion dollars due to ecological damage. We need to pay attention, and even more so, we need action from youth groups."
--Nancy Githaiga
Why do we need a China-Africa Youth Dialogue?
Africa is the second largest continent in the world, where there are vast plateaus, large forests, and rich biological resources. However, with the process of globalization and economic development, problems such as drought and famine, land desertification, destruction of vegetation, and reduction of biodiversity have posed great challenges here. The story of Africa is closely related to every young person on earth, and to pay attention to African issues is to pay attention to our common home for survival.
Considering Africa's priority position in the international community to promote sustainable development issues and the impact of Africa's environment on global development, on April 13th, the organizing committee of the "Design for Peace" Youth Action Initiative (YAI), in collaboration with Africa's most influential environmental protection organization, the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), and the African youth influencer, The Youth Café, will be hosting an event to raise awareness of the importance of Africa's environment to the global development process. On April 13th, the organizing committee of the Design for Peace Youth Action Initiative, together with Africa's most influential environmental protection organization, the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), and African youth influence organization, The Youth Café, launched the China-Africa Youth Dialogue Workshop, which brought together young people to listen to and discuss the status of Africa's environmental problems, the current situation of youth action on environmental issues in Africa, and how to inject more power into Africa's sustainable development.
Let's review this workshop and learn from the discussion. This activity is the fourth issue of the "Design for Peace" youth action initiative, attracted a total of more than 60 young people's attention, the final 35 young people through the screening and participation in the issue of the workshop, the cumulative African community partners, the total number of people on the site of the activity reached a maximum of 60 +.
The Sahara Desert in Africa is the largest desert in the world.
Why are we running a co-creation session?
Before the online dialogue of this workshop, the organizer invited the participants to co-create the document "Me and Environmental Protection" to share their observations, thoughts, and experiences on environmental protection issues.
The reason for this co-creation is that we believe that each individual's vision of his or her own life experience is the basis for constructing any grand development issue. Each person's observations, experiences, feelings and thoughts provide insights and wisdom for the promotion of environmental protection issues. For this co-creation, we have selected some excerpts, and hope that these excerpts can also bring you touch and inspiration.
Seeing is the beginning of our exploration of environmental issues.
Cao Jie:
I saw this picture in some software, it's actually quite beautiful, sparkling and bright water, but if you look closely, you can see garbage on the shore, a lot of it ......
When I was a child, my father would bring me here to swim, at that time, this place, this time, it is very beautiful, the water is very clear, the shore is also a grain of fine sand, there is a big boat on the water, that is a kind of people feel enjoyment, comfortable state.
With the passage of time, I slowly grew up, and nowadays when I go to see this place again, it is already a different landscape and mood. Although the water is still as sparkling as ever, but still find that the water is not so clear, turbid, the shore of the soft golden sand, turned into a piece of mud, there are countless garbage, the mood is also with the piece of mud as well, followed by the muddy up.
At that time I realized the importance of protecting the environment.
Every person on earth has the right to protect the earth, but also have the right to enjoy everything on earth, the ocean, mountains, forests, these are natural, but also every person should go to the care of.
Cynthia Wang:
I saw this picture on the cover of an article and my first intuition was that it was beautiful. In the article I learned its name - Mineral Migration.
Like me, I think of animal migrations, but the Earth's mineral migrations are much larger than animal migrations, and the distances are not of the same order of magnitude. One of the largest rainforests, one of the widest deserts, it is difficult for us to connect them, but nature is so magical, these "migrants" from the Sahara may fall into the Atlantic Ocean on the way, but there are still more than 100 million tons can come to the coast near the coast, which is about one-third of the Amazon rainforest can be landed in the Amazon rainforest.
Knowing this, the picture is no longer so beautiful, but a reminder that environmental protection of the planet is urgent and that we all have a responsibility to protect it.
Let's take action and learn more about environmental issues!
Da Wei:
The picture shows the activities of TrashRunning, which I have participated in. Trash Running is a public welfare running club that combines trash picking and running, which advocates contributing to the society and the environment, and at the same time, is committed to enhancing one's own exercise through running.
It's a great way for me to run, meet new people and protect the environment. I have also participated in a similar beach litter picking event in Melbourne, where a group of people can make a difference not only to our own lives, but to the lives of the whole city, and the whole world. Hopefully we can not only manage our own health, but also learn and care about the health of our planet's environment.
Zhu Qing:
Because of the "Let Migratory Birds Fly" program, I have spent time in four different protected areas of Poyang Lake (Duchang, Wucheng, Xingzi and Jiujiang). My task was to record the migratory birds (mainly white cranes, white storks, geese and ducks, etc.) with my camera. The white cranes are snow-white with a length of more than one meter, while the white storks have slender red beaks and red legs. In fact, before coming to Poyang Lake, I knew nothing about these creatures. All I knew was, "Ah, this is a sparrow; ah, that's an eagle".
Then, I didn't know what other species there were. (Realizing how little I knew, I was both terrified and grateful.) I once wrote these words after seeing the wetlands and migratory birds at Poyang Lake:
Like a newborn baby, with great curiosity, I went to observe and appreciate you again (thankfully not in a zoo). One by one, I recognized your names, identified your calls, and learned about your food and preferences. Slowly, I came to understand the word "nature", which has always been wrapped in a kind of warmth. This warmth comes from the fact that we all belong to the same heaven and earth. We have always shared the wind, rain, thunder and lightning, as well as the sun, moon and stars under the same heaven and earth. Therefore, I am a newborn baby today, and by recognizing you, I am a newborn again. -- Poyang Lake Whispers
What environmental issues do we need to be concerned about in Africa today?
Problem 1: Shortage of Resources
The shortage of some resources has a great impact on the local area.
The guest of honor at the event, Nancy, Country Director of African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) Kenya, believes that water scarcity needs to be taken very seriously, and that there are still many people in Kenya who do not have access to clean and safe drinking water. Coming from a rural background, she feels strongly about this. Especially with today's growing population, the problem of decreasing per capita access to potable water is becoming more acute.
The guest of honor at the event, Sherry, who is currently working as an intern in sustainable resource management at the UNDP Africa headquarters, also mentioned the problem of water scarcity. She has observed first-hand that some African women and children not only have to spend a lot of time searching for and carrying water, but also spend a lot of time chopping and carrying firewood, and may be exposed to the toxic effects of air pollution.
In addition, in terms of electricity, Sherry mentioned that since many African cities and villages do not have a reliable source of electricity, the storage, distribution and injection of vaccines will be affected first of all, as well as some medical surgeries, and even some women's births will have problems as a result.
Tian Yanqing | In the case of water scarcity, African women often have to search for water, fetch and carry water.
Problem 2: Waste and famine go hand in hand
Guest Sherry shared with us her observation that with Africa's large population, one might think that it is prone to food shortages. However, she personally observed that food waste and famine occur simultaneously. From the perspective of Africa as a whole, 70% to 80% of agricultural products are provided by local smallholder farmers, and food waste occurs after the harvest due to poor road transportation, poor infrastructure, and the lack of better storage and refrigeration technology.
Sherry | Post-harvest causes at least one-third of food waste.
Problem 3: Environmental Pollution
The guest of honor at this event, Leriano, who is currently working as an Environmental Health and Safety Officer at Wuyi Industries Limited, a Chinese company in Kenya, shared what he sees as the problem of environmental pollution. While he was involved in environmental science and fieldwork in multiple locations in Kenya, he not only realized that energy in Africa is precarious, but he also found out that, every day, a large amount of agricultural waste is generated in Africa, which is is either dumped or burned. Such waste disposal not only requires large transportation and labor costs, leading to inefficiencies, but also causes extensive pollution of the environment when the waste is burned.
China Agricultural Mechanization Herald | One of the agricultural waste - straw
What does youth action look like in environmental protection in Africa today?
Guest Nancy Githaiga shares with us the current state of youth action in environmental protection in Africa today.
Nancy Githaiga shares with us the current state of the art of youth activism for conservation in Africa, where there is a need for influential youth activists. Especially in industries that affect biodiversity, such as mining, agriculture and infrastructure development, their presence and influence is limited.
Income generation from environmental work influences youth choices. In Africa today, environmental protection work is not a job proposition that effectively attracts young people. From an objective point of view, environmental work does not generate enough income for young people, thus leading to the loss of many aspiring young people in terms of employment options.
At the same time, while there are a number of youth initiatives in Africa today, there is a lack of platforms for linking youth groups due to a lack of resources. These youth action initiatives are often disconnected from youth groups and become ineffective.
Nacny | The youth community's action is crucial today.
As the world's second most populous continent and the youngest, Africa has a rich resource of young laborers, and its biodiversity resources may also provide them with more employment opportunities. Sustained investment in nature can be economically rewarding and ecologically restorative.
Today's youth are the first generation to have a clear understanding of the value of nature and the enormous impact we have on it, and may be the last generation that can take action to reverse the situation. Making Africa's youth the protagonists of environmental action, sustaining attention to Africa's development issues and joining forces is essential for the entire continent, and even for the entire world, the entire planet.
What kind of environmental actions are they taking in Africa today?
Action 1: A new approach to renewable energy
Due to networking problems, Leriano briefly shared with us some of his discoveries in exploring his work in environmental science - using biomass to solve energy and environmental problems.
Leriano became interested in the concept of "biomass briquettes" after seeing the effects of severe agricultural waste pollution in Africa. This is a type of briquette made from agricultural waste such as rice husks, coffee husks and coconut shells, which is an alternative to fossil fuels such as oil and coal.
Biomass briquettes are produced by applying pressure, heat and binder to a loose material to form a residue briquette. Such briquettes are of consistent quality and burn efficiently, while this material helps solve the problem of residue disposal. By collecting and trading agricultural waste, not only will farmers have additional income, but also more local employment opportunities will be created.
Regarding the shortage of electricity resources mentioned by Sherry above, she also shared with us some examples of solutions she learned from her internship in sustainable natural resource management at the United Nations Development Program UNDP. For example, Solar for Health, a program in which UNDP helps government departments install solar panels in some medical centers in Africa, and the African mini grid program, which focuses on setting up small-scale power stations in rural areas where there is no electricity grid, and also provides a local source of electricity through solar panels.
Action 2: Agricultural Development and Innovation
Agriculture is an industry that is closely related to the environment, but also has a significant impact on people's lives and the economic development of society. This is also the part of the industry that Sherry had the most direct contact with and the most profound feelings about during her internship in Ethiopia, and she shared some cases of agricultural development and innovation with us.
The first is Ethiopia's Seed Bank program, which is an important program that protects agricultural development. In Ethiopia, each community will implement the seed bank program, the community will provide improved seeds and fertilizer seeds suitable for African soil, residents can go to the community to collect these seeds, after sowing and harvesting, residents need to return some of the seeds in the finished product to the bank. Such a form can ensure that the seed itself can be better adapted to the local soil, climate, precipitation, but also can be more responsive to climate change, at the same time, such seeds will also be more nutritious.
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