by Global Youth Biodiversity Network (GYBN)
Youth is the future. The decisions of today shape the world we will live in longer than anyone else. But youth is not only the future, nor are we only beneficiaries. Youth is acting now, at the forefront of biodiversity efforts. Yet, we remain one of the most under-resourced and underrepresented groups in global biodiversity governance.
GYBN consulted youth in different countries on their actions and their consideration in the global report and national assessments. What we found is that these reports largely ignore the myriad of actions led by young people and they fail to recognize us as key contributors to safeguard biodiversity.
Seeing many national reports failing to acknowledge our contributions to biodiversity, we started mapping our actions ourselves to make them visible to everyone. Until now, hundreds of young people all around the world have told us about their projects - organizing sustainability festivals, saving pollinators, researching fungi biodiversity. There is barely an area where we do not contribute.
At COP17, we want to make it clear to all policymakers: We are partners in protecting biodiversity. We are their conscience when not moving quickly enough. We are the future generations dealing with the consequences of their decisions.
However, now we need your support.
If you are a supporter of youth biodiversity actions, we need you to make our actions visible. Share our form in your networks and organizations. Talk to decisionmakers about the importance of youth contributions to biodiversity. Make sure that our contributions will be recognized and included in the next round of national reports!
If you are a young person, fill out our form and tell the world about your action for biodiversity! It doesn’t matter how small or big your efforts are related to biodiversity, if it is in your school yard, in your town or bigger, if it is in person or online - tell us about your goals, challenges and impacts and illustrate your actions with pictures or videos!
Our form: https://tinyurl.com/youth-contribution
You want to get a preview of what youth are doing for biodiversity? Do you want to share your actions with others? Join our side event today, 28th Oct, 5pm at the Youth Pavilion in the Action Zone, Level 1!
